Help To Combat Sugar Cravings and Maple Pecan Meltaways Recipe

Sugar Cravings? Especially around the holidays, most of us have cravings for sugary treats. For some it is candy, others cookies or bars and for some of us (me included) it is both.

Often, we really aren't even hungry but seeing a plate of tempting treats (or even just knowing they are in the house) is enough to make us take one, two or maybe more! It is nearly impossible to get our mind away from the tempting thought without indulging. What makes it worse is that the sugar and highly refined sugars in them are addictive, and telling yourself you'll only have one doesn't work (at least not for me). A chain reaction occurs and one treat leads to another and another and another!

If you don't follow a low-carb or keto diet or others in your house eat the SAD diet (Standard American Diet). What do you do to prevent this from happening? No, it isn't eat some celery or make yourself busy with something else. That doesn't work for me at least. When thoughts of something sweet enter my head it is impossible to think of anything else until I satisfy that craving. Sound familiar?

What does work for me and should for you, is to eat something high in healthy fat (like coconut oil, coconut butter, avocado or unsalted nuts. It doesn't necessarily have to be sweet but if you find you really want a sweet treat, have a stash of low-carb/high (healthy) fat treats sweetened with zero carb sweeteners available. I find my sweet tooth is completely satisfied with just a single piece of candy or one cookie when made low carb/high fat.

These Pecan Maple Meltaways satisfy those temptations and have less than 1 net carb per piece and have no sugar or refined carbs. Yay!

Maple Pecan Meltaways Less than 1 net carb per square. No guilt if you have a second piece! 1 tbsp. low carb maple flavored syrup (maple Allulose, Lakanto, etc.) (I use this brand) 2 tsp. Brown Swerve or other zero carb brown sugar substitute (I use this brand) 1/4 tsp. maple extract or to taste* (I use this brand) 1/4 cup coconut butter, softened (I used homemade but this is a good brand) 2 tbsp. coconut oil (solid not melted) (I use this brand) 1 pinch unrefined sea salt (I use this brand) 2 tbsp. chopped pecans Chopped pecans for garnish, optional 1. Have all ingredients at room temperature. In a deep narrow bowl or measuring cup, combine maple flavored syrup, brown sugar substitute and maple extract; stir until sugar substitute is dissolved. 2. Add coconut butter, coconut oil and salt. Using an immersion blender with a whisk attachment; beat several minutes or until light and creamy like a thick buttercream frosting. Adjust maple flavoring and salt to taste. Fold in the 2 tablespoons chopped pecans. Spread into a wax paper, parchment or foil lined mini loaf pan 5-1/2-in. x 3-in. or spoon into 8 mini parchment muffin cup liners. Sprinkle with chopped pecans, pressing slightly. 3. Chill 20-30 minutes until firm enough to cut, slice into 8 pieces (if using the mini loaf pan). Chill until solid. May be stored at room temperature in a cool house (68°F.) or in the refrigerator for a firmer texture/warmer house. Servings: 8

*Maple extracts vary in strength so you may need to adjust the amount used. Nutrition Facts Serving size: 1/8 of a recipe (0.6 ounces). Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients. The sweeteners, maple extract and optional pecans are not included in the recipe nutrition data. Amount Per Serving Calories 96.21 Total Fat 9.99g Saturated Fat 7.56g Cholesterol 0mg Sodium 39.67mg Potassium 7.62mg

Total Carbohydrates 2.26g Fiber 1.43g Sugar 2.26g Protein 0.67g