Caramel Slice by Nadia at "the Good Food Cook"

Because I've been doing mainly writing posts as I work through the series How Our Family Went Refined Sugar Free, I thought I would share a review on a great recipe that a family member came across and asked me to try.

Since going refined sugar free one of my biggest challenges is finding recipes that actually taste good.  Let's be honest: sometimes I think people who no longer eat sugar have lost their taste buds.  I know I'm one of those non-sugar eating people, but so often I try a recipe that has been labelled "tastes exactly like the real thing" and find that it tastes nothing like the real American brownies I was attempting to make.  I've had more fails than I can count attempting new recipes and I've thrown a lot of food in the bin because it was inedible.

One of my markers of success is when I can feed a naturally sweetened, refined sugar free recipe to a white sugar eating friend or family member and they tell me how incredible it was.  That was the response I got with this one. 

Healthy Date and Cashew Caramel Slice 
from Nadia Lim 
at The Good Food Cook

7 Tried and True Refined Sugar Free Recipes

I've tried a lot of refined sugar free recipes and failed.  A LOT.  It always the same thing. The taste isn't right.  The sugar substitute used doesn't create the right flavour combination. It's bland or difficult to eat.

Just because I don't eat refined sugar doesn't mean I don't want to enjoy sweet foods.  It means I want to eat healthier without the nasty side effects of sugar addiction and teach my kids to eat foods that aren't highly processed with chemicals and additives.  I want real food recipes that we can enjoy and savour that I'm not ashamed to feed to my sugar eating family and friends.

I've dug through piles of blogs and tried hundreds of recipes to compose this list of  my tried and true refined sugar free recipes from other bloggers for you to enjoy as well.  These recipes please the hardest of critics (including my kids), and are made over and over in my kitchen.  I hope you love them as much as we do!

Honey Vanilla Toffee -- Gluten and Refined Sugar Free

Last week I shared my recipe for homemade vanilla ice cream topped with honey vanilla toffee.  This week, I'm sharing my recipe for the toffee. 

This is the perfect recipe for parties and special events when you need something that sugar eaters will enjoy as much as you do! 

Vanilla Ice Cream -- Gluten and Refined Sugar Free

Ah, ice cream.  How I love thee.  If anything were to ever make me return to eating refined sugar, it would be ice cream.  Especially Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough or Maple Tree Hugger...Yum!  Or Snickers ice cream bars...drool!!  My friends and I ascribed to the motto at college that there was always room for ice cream because it just fills in the cracks!!  In my opinion, there is always a reason to eat ice cream.

3 Ingredient Fruit Juice Jell-O (Jelly for the Aussies!)

When we removed refined sugars from our kids' diets, I never considered Jell-O.  My kids love it.  It used to be an easy treat, boil some water, pour in the box and stir.  They were devastated the first time we walked past a box in the grocery store and they realized I wasn't going to buy it for them anymore.  The thought remained in the back of my head that mums must have made it for their kids prior to processed foods being readily available.  I did some research and discovered that making Jell-O from fruit juice is as simple as making it from a box, and much better for them.  No nasty colours or flavours and it's not pure refined sugar!

Vanilla Cinnamon Poached Pears -- Gluten and Refined Sugar Free

Want a dessert that's tantalizing enough to serve at a dinner party, but simple enough that you can make it as a weeknight dessert for the kids?  These beautiful Vanilla Cinnamon Poached Pears are it!

Poached Pears are one of the simplest desserts, but also one of the most sophisticated.  They are beautiful, rich, and impressive, but so easy to make and you probably already have the ingredients in your kitchen!  With simple and wholesome ingredients that are also good for you, you'll never feel guilty indulging!!

Honey Toffee Slice -- Gluten and Refined Sugar Free

This beautiful slice is so good, people will have no idea it's refined sugar free!  Made with honey and butter, the toffee is buttery and smooth, just like the white sugar kind!  The base, made with almond meal is crumbly and sweet.  Combined with the thinnest layer of bitter dark chocolate on top, this sweet treat is satisfying for any sugar craving, no matter how big!

Apple Rhubarb Pie -- Refined Sugar and Gluten Free

This easy and quick winter warmer dessert is great for using up in-season rhubarb.

The pie crust, from Primal Palate (http://www.primalpalate.com/), combines salty and sweet, and pairs perfectly with buttery, honey sweetened apples and rhubarb.

Apple Rhubarb Pie -- Gluten Free
Serves 10
printable recipe

Chocolate Coconut Mousse Pie -- Vegan and Gluten Free

This is simple, amazingly easy, yummy pie to make.   My beautiful friend, Ama, created this recipe to her family's taste, and it's a wonderful sweet, rich dessert.

A beautiful, delicious, naturally sweetened chocolate coconut pie!