Our sweet addiction.
How many times a day do you feel a craving and reach for a sweet treat?
How many times do you feel guilty about it the moment it reaches your stomach?!
In this post I want to explore the sugar addiction problem and look at one of the tools I use to overcome it.
The fact that our modern society is addicted to sugar is no secret.
Have you ever asked yourself why?
I think there are multiple reasons that lead us to the current predicament, and having a quick look at them might help clarify ideas and get on to recovery!
The high levels of stress in your life leads to seeking comfort in food. Sweets are only too easy to reach for.
- Why are sugar foods so easy to reach for? Because a whole giant industrial food complex is built on them. Billions of dollars are made from processed foods and especially sweets. The food industry wants you to stay addicted!
- Our bodies are not designed to be exposed to a constant intake of sugar and high-carb foods. When we constantly eat sweets our brains undergo lasting changes. Just like with drugs, our dopamine receptors get overloaded and eventually become resistant, making our constantly crave more.
- Constant Insulin release leads to Insulin resistance, then we are stuck on the nightmare roller-coaster of sugar-up, sugar-crash!
Then, why are you tempting me with candy kisses?
One thing I realized long time ago, working with many patients, through detoxes and lifestyle changes is: IT’S NOT ALWAYS EASY!
For example; take a cigarette smoker.
How many ex-smokers do you know who quit cold turkey?
Some, for sure! But many more had to resort to some sort of help, like a nicotine patch, a nicotine gum, an electronic cigarette.
That made it POSSIBLE for them to quit.
The same applies to sugar addiction.
If you know sugar is bad for you and you WANT to quit, but you just can not do it on your own.
If you had tried to leave the stuff alone many times and were not able to.
You just need a little help with that.
What to do.
Here is what I would recommend to help:
- Transition slowly in small steps
- Instead of cutting sweets completely, start substituting your rewards from bad to healthy ones, like the keto chocolate candy kisses.
- Eat a well designed low carb or keto diet. Preferably one which is designed for YOUR INDIVIDUAL BODY.
- Work with a nutritionist / coach who can help you succeed, so yo do not waste valuable time and effort, and avoid getting burnt out and frustrated.
I have had a lot of success helping clients with sugar additions.
If you are frustrated and tired of being a slave to sugar subscribe to my newsletter and let me help you figure out what is stopping you, slowing you down or standing in your way!
About the Keto Chocolate Candy Kisses
In this recipe I wanted to ave total control over my ingredients.
Many keto chocolate recipes you find on the internet use bitter chocolate, or baking chocolate or sugar-free chocolate.
I looked at all those and their ingredients and was not 100% happy with any, either because they were too high in sugar, carbs or using the wrong sweetener (toxic) .
In this recipe I wanted to use a minimal amount of high quality ingredients, and make them into a delicious, sugar-free, dairy-free, high fat treat!
Here are a few important tips to make this recipe a success;
Use a coffee grinder to grind the nuts and powder the Swerve sweetener, or you will get a gritty texture! (This one is awesome as you can set the fineness of the grind!)
Use Cocoa Butter. It will make a big difference in the result. That is what real chocolate is made with. (This Cocoa Butter is less expensive, 100% pure and food grade. That is what I use!)
Use raw organic cacao powder if possible, it is a true superfood! (This one is great!)
I used Swerve sweetener because I am not allergic to it and it tested good on my blood sugar levels. Instead of buying the confectioner’s one I buy the regular granulated one (This one) then grind it in the coffee grinder to a fine powder.
I recommend using only 2 tablespoons of Swerve. If not sweet enough for you, use 3, but reducing the taste for overly sweetened treats is important.
- Serves: 12 candies
- Serving size: 1 candy
- Calories: 117
- Fat: 11.6 gr
- Carbohydrates: 0.86 net
- Sugar: alcohol 2.5 gr
- Fiber: 1.2gr
- Protein: 1.5 gr
- Filling:
- 2 ounces / 56 grams cocoa butter
- 1 ounce / 28 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 ounces / 56 grams toasted hazelnuts + 12 whole hazelnuts
- 2 to 3 tablespoons Swerve Sweetener - powdered in the grinder
- Covering:
- 1.5 ounces / 42 grams cocoa butter
- 0.5 ounce / 14 grams unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon Swerve Sweetener - powdered in the grinder
- Melt the cocoa butter for the filling in a double boiler sauce-pan. (I just placed it in a larger pan, filled with water and set on a medium flame)
- Add the cacao .powder and the powdered Swerve to the cocoa butter
- Mix well until all ingredients are blended.
- Coarsely grind hazelnuts in the coffee grinder.
- Add to melted mixture.
- Stir in well.
- Place the saucepan into a bath of water and ice to speed up cooling down. Make sure no water gets into the chocolate mix.
- Stir continuously until mix starts getting harder and crumbly, but still workable.
- Now make 12 balls out of the chocolate mixture using a spoon and your hands.
- Push a whole hazelnut on the top of the balls and shape in so it still slightly stick out.
- Place balls on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or foil.
- Place in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
- While chocolates cool, melt the covering's ingredients in a small saucepan, with the same system as before.
- Just melt until liquid and well blended then set aside. Let cool for 5 minutes, until starting to thicken.
- Now remove chocolate balls from the freezer.
- Stick individual balls onto a bamboo skewer of toothpick.
- Now dip individual balls into the liquid coating and roll around well to coat evenly.
- Set in a glass or jar to cool until coating is hard and yo can remove them from the bamboo skewers.
- If you desire a thicker chocolate coating, double coating ingredients and repeat this process once more.
Original “Baci Perugina” candy: 1 piece, 230 calories, 17 gr fat, 22 gr carbs of which 18 gr sugar, 0 grams protein.
Vivica’s Keto Candy Kisses: 1 piece, 117 calories, 11 grams fat, 0.86 grams net carbs, 2.5 grams sugar alcohol, 2.5gr fiber, 1.2 gr protein.
If you enjoyed the recipes in this post, you might want to get the one week Meal Plan! It’s the best way to get started with a WELL FORMULATED Ketogenic diet! The meal plan contains a full week of unpublished recipes, (all Paleo too!!), a shopping guide, and a list of good and bad foods!
Everything you will need to get started with Keto in the best / healthiest possible way!
Just click HERE to have a look at the MEAL PLAN!
Comments 11
Hi Vivica, Do you think these would stay together if I don’t add the chocolate coating? It’s too much chocolate for me Yeah I am weird, I don’t like chocolate very much! I was thinking of rolling them in coconut flakes instead. What do you think? Trying to start my holiday baking this week.
Ha! I hear you Bev, I am actually pretty allergic to cacao! So YES coconut flakes on top…or maybe ground almonds?? 😉
I just love all of your recipes!, can’t wait until the next one.
You are so kind Kelly!!!
Wondering if this recipe will work in a silicone mold? Thank you.
Absolutely!!!