Introduction 1 About This Book 1 Foolish Assumptions 3 Icons Used in This Book 3 Beyond This Book 4 Where to Go from Here 4 Part 1: Discovering Delicious And Nutritious Desserts 5 Chapter 1: Defining Diabetes-Friendly Desserts 7 Exploring Blood Glucose Levels. 7 Looking at how sugar affects the mind and body 8 Regulating your blood sugar while enjoying desserts 9 Creating a Lifestyle That Supports Diabetes Desserts 9 Eating right -- Focusing on macronutrients 10 Fitting diabetes-friendly desserts into your diet 10 Having the right ingredients on hand 11 Choosing healthful desserts when not home 11 Preparing and Eating Delicious Dessert Recipes 13 Chapter 2: Understanding Sugar''s Role in the Body 17 Noting How the Body and Brain Use Sugar 17 Listing the types of diabetes 18 Understanding the basics of diabetes 18 Taking control of your behavioral health 19 Examining the Causes of Sugar Cravings 20 Understanding cravings often lead to impulsive eating 20 Curbing sugar cravings: The how-to 21 Recognizing what to eat when you''re craving sugar 22 Making easy substitutions 22 Preparing yourself to give up your sugar cravings 23 Adding "Sweet" Lifestyle Strategies to Your Day 24 Tapping into your happiness hormones 25 Utilizing the emotional guidance scale 26 Selecting Healthy Ingredients Directly Impacts Your Diabetes 27 Discussing glycemic index and load 27 Using better ingredients to make better choices 28 Making Desserts Healthful with These Ingredients 30 Fresh fruit 30 Almonds, almond butter, and almond flour 32 Pure cinnamon 32 Other sweet spices 33 Dark chocolate 34 Extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) 34 Unsweetened peanut butter 34 Tree nuts 35 Greek yogurt 35 Seeds 35 Whole-grain flours 36 Identifying Ideal Desserts for People with Diabetes 36 Desserts Redux -- Making Desserts Diabetes-Friendly 40 Chapter 3: Keeping Blood Glucose Balanced While Eating Desserts 43 Regulating Blood Glucose Levels 43 Shining a spotlight on blood glucose 44 Measuring blood glucose at home 46 Comparing testing for people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes 47 Perusing the Best Diabetes Care 48 Relying on professional help 48 Making a plan to seek help 50 Focusing on Problematic Foods 51 Spotting problematic dessert food 51 Getting rid of problematic food and subbing it with more healthful options 52 Noticing your emotional triggers to food 53 Satisfying your sweet tooth in a wholesome way 54 Keeping Track of Your Goals 55 Starting a food and exercise journal 55 Noticing patterns 56 Part 2: Incorporating Desserts Into Your Diet 59 Chapter 4: Making Macronutrients Work Together 61 Understanding How Protein, Carbs, and Fat Affect What You Eat 62 Going deeper into macronutrients 62 Recognizing how your body uses nutrients 64 Identifying the Best Proteins, Carbohydrates, and Fats 64 Taking a closer look at protein 65 Considering carbohydrates 67 Exploring fat 72 Chapter 5: Enjoying Diabetes-Friendly Desserts: The How and When 73 Focusing on Timing 73 Knowing the right time to eat dessert 74 Making smart lifestyle choices 75 Strategizing Your Meals When You Have Diabetes 76 Planning your meals with dessert 76 Preparing ahead: Adjusting desserts to make them more diabetes-friendly 77 Putting together sample meal plans with desserts 78 Calming Your Feelings of Shame and Guilt 83 Comparing Desserts: Eating Out and Store-Bought versus Homemade 85 Looking at store-bought and restaurant desserts 86 Making homemade desserts (and a plan) 87 Chapter 6: Building a Pantry and Choosing Healthful Sweeteners 89 Decoding Nutrition Labels 90 Stocking Your Kitchen with Diabetes-Friendly Dessert Ingredients 91 Supplying your pantry 92 Keeping your fridge stocked 93 Freezing some foods 94 Sweetening the Pot -- Sweeteners 94 Deciphering the good from bad 94 Identifying healthful sweeteners 96 Swapping Out Healthful Sweeteners in Recipes 100 Chapter 7: Fitting Homemade Desserts into Your Schedule 105 Analyzing Your Schedule to Include Baking 105 Getting started 106 Fitting baking into your schedule 106 Creating a plan to make desserts 109 Making Desserts in Advance 110 Whipping Together Last-Minute Desserts 111 Reinventing Baking Day: Recognizing the Benefits to Baking with Others 112 Part 3: Preparing Diabetes-friendly Desserts: the Recipes 115 Chapter 8: Introducing Base Recipes to Your Kitchen 117 Baking Crusts 117 Whipping Up Custard 121 Making Ganache 123 Chapter 9: Focusing on Fruit-Based Desserts 127 Transforming Fruit into Dessert 127 Preparing Creamy Fruit and Dairy Desserts 138 Chapter 10: Making Brownies and Bars 147 Indulging in Chocolate Brownies and Bars 148 Savoring Fruit-Studded Brownies and Bars 152 Whipping Up Whole-Grain Goodness Bars and Squares 157 Chapter 11: Enjoying Cookies 161 Making Cookies: The Basic How-To Techniques 161 Baking Cookies with Chocolate 163 Enjoying Nutty Cookies 167 Traveling the World: Classic Cookies from around the Globe 174 Adding Oatmeal Cookies to Your Repertoire 180 Chapter 12: Preparing Spoon Desserts and Puddings 185 Making Panna Cotta and Puddings 186 Creating Comfort Desserts: Crisps and Cobblers 196 Adding Fruit to Traditional Dessert Recipes 201 Chapter 13: Creating Truffles and Fruit-Based Sweet Treats 209 Satisfying Your Sweet Tooth with Bite-Sized Treats 209 Pleasing Your Palate with Fudge, Clusters, and Bark 215 Dipping Fruit in Chocolate 219 Chapter 14: Whipping Up Frozen Desserts 223 Having Fun with Frozen Yogurt 224 Transforming Ice Cream into a Healthful Finale 230 Trying Granita and Sorbet Recipes 236 Freezing Delightful Frozen Classics 240 Chapter 15: Mastering Pies and Tarts 245 Creating Crostata and Strudel 246 Making Tarts and Pies 251 Serving Jars and Pots 255 Chapter 16: Sipping on Sweet Drinks 259 Crafting Some Sweet Fruit Sips 260 Cooling Down with Drinks 263 Warming Up with Hot Drinks 268 Chapter 17: Baking Cakes 273 Experimenting with Classic Cake Recipes 273 Baking Fruit Cakes 278 Relishing Chocolate Cakes 284 Part 4: the Part of Tens 287 Chapter 18: Ten Ways to Enjoy Desserts When You Have Diabetes 289 Relishing Desserts 289 Consuming All Three Macronutrients during Each Meal 290 Monitoring Your Blood Glucose Levels 290 Eating More Fruit-Based Desserts 290 Paying Attention to Portion Sizes 291 Substituting Butter with EVOO Whenever Possible 292 Making It a Team Effort 292 Exploring New Tastes and Dessert Styles 293 Planning Ahead 293 Exercising on a Regular Basis 294 Chapter 19: Ten Myths Debunked about Diabetes and Desserts 295 Knowing Your Current Blood Glucose Levels Doesn''t Matter 296 Exercising to Control Your Glucose Doesn''t Help 296 Increasing Medications Enables You to Eat Anything 297 Using Alternative or Artificial Sweeteners Is Okay 298 Preparing Desserts in Advance or Thinking about Them Is Taboo 299 Making "Healthful Desserts" Taste Good Is Impossible 300 Planning for the Unexpected Isn''t Necessary 300 Thinking That Desserts Can''t Be Good for You 301 Prepping Tasty Diabetes-Friendly Desserts Is Hard 301 Avoiding What Is Problematic Is Difficult 302 Chapter 20: Ten Best Ingredients for Diabetes Desserts 303 Cinnamon 304 Dark Chocolate 304 Almonds and Almond Flour 305 Other Nuts 305 Extra-Virgin Olive Oil 306 Seeds 306 Citrus: Oranges and Lemons 307 Plain, Full-Fat Greek Yogurt 307 Fruit 308 Index 309.