FATHER’S DAY SPECIAL. This Post is entirely dedicated to the man who brought me in this world, who taught me everything, who always loved me selflessly, the man who is my Ideal…MY FATHER. This dessert is for you Papa.

Celebrate Father’s Day with DFT Team with healthier and diabetes friendly desserts, this week.

I am a Proud DFT blogger; Creating Recipes with a cause!!!
To learn about DFT click here
To find more DFT recipes click here

DFT brings this time a very exciting, tricky and sweet theme on the occasion of father’s day..DESSERT SPECIAL THEME.
I was so confused as what to contribute for this theme as it was really challenging to make something sweet without sugar. After researching on various sites, I was so happy to know that a lot of natural sugar substitutes are there, which we can use in cooking to make desserts for diabetic Patients. Please check the footnotes for the links I have shared on the above mention substitutes.

Finally, I managed to succeed the challenge and made a simple and sweet dessert OATS AND CINNAMOM BERRY BASKETS, a healthy, Delicious and beautiful guilt free dessert. I would ask all of you reading this recipe to please try this at home and serve this delicious , sugar free sweet dessert to the one’s who have diabetes or who have sweet cravings and can’t eat much due to health reasons.

The entire recipe is divided into two parts
1. Making the baskets.
2. Making the filling.

For baskets we need

Oats coarsely grounded- 1/2 cup
Whole wheat flour- 1 cup
Molasses or Raw ( original Honey)- 2 tbsp.
Oil-1tbsp.
Cinnamon powder- 1 tsp.
Fat free milk- 2 or 3 tbsp. to make dough

for filling we need

Black berries- 1 for each basket
Strawberries- I slice for each basket
Blue berries- 2 or 3 For each basket
basil leaves
low fat ricotta cheese or Crumbled Paneer – 1/2 cup
few drops of honey.

METHOD

1. For making Baskets, mix all the ingredients in a bowl and knead a dough. Keep it in the refrigerator for 15 or 20 minutes. Preheat Oven at 450 degree F or 200 degree C
2. Take the dough out and divide it into 16 or 18 equal balls. with a rolling pin roll it into a big disc of about 5 inch diameter and 1mm thickness. Just like a thick poori( Indian fried bread)
3. Grease the muffin tin with some oil and place these discs or pooris into the muffin tin depressions, so that they take the shape of tins.
4. Bake them for 10 to 15 minutes and take them out on a cooling rack. Let them cool completely.
5. For Filling, In a bowl stir Ricotta cheese or if using Panner crumble Paneer and mix some milk and blend it in a blender till it looks like this”
6. Fill the baskets with a teaspoon of paneer or Ricotta cheese and decorate with berries as shown in the pics. Place a small basil leaf or Tulsi leaf for that herbal flavor and enjoy this dessert with your family and loved ones.

FOOT NOTES

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS
Honey/ Molasses and Blood Glucose

Consuming honey might lower glucose levels, according to a study conducted by researchers at the Islamic Establishment for Education in the United Arab Emirates. They discovered that diabetic subjects consuming 250 milliliters of water with 75 grams of honey daily for 15 days experienced decreases in blood glucose levels compared with those ingesting dextrose. For more info on usage of honey please read
http://www.everydayhealth.com/diabetes-specialist/can-diabetics-eat-honey.aspx

People with diabetes can eat small amounts of molasses as part of an overall healthy diet. According to the American Diabetes Association, the amount of carbohydrate consumed has a greater impact on blood sugar than does the type of carbohydrate consumed — in this case, molasses. If you choose to consume added sugar, whether from molasses or another source, the ADA advises reducing other carbohydrates in the meal so that your total carbohydrate consumption remains in check. For example, if you plan to have a dessert made with molasses after dinner, you might omit the rice or bread from the meal.

OATS
oats have a lower glycemic index and help to balance glucose levels for better diabetes control and prevention of related complications. Oatmeal has this effect because it increases the viscosity or thickness of the contents of the stomach, slowing digestion and prolonging the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream. This also gives the body a stable, long-term source of energy.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/450065-oatmeal-for-diabetes/

CINNAMON
cinnamon cut cholesterol by about 18% and blood sugar levels by 24%.
cinnamon has been used medicinally since ancient times. This popular spice was used in ancient Egypt, China, and India for culinary and medicinal purposes. Read more
http://www.diabetesselfmanagement.com/blog/is-cinnamon-good-for-diabetes/

BERRIES
Berries are a superfood — high in vitamin C, folic acid, fiber and phytochemicals. As part of a healthy diet they have been linked to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, memory loss, high blood pressure, cancer, and now type 2 diabetes in both men and women, according to an October 2010 Journal of Nutrition article. Though a source of carbohydrates, the high-fiber content of berries makes them an excellent addition to a diabetic meal plan — of which approximately half the calories should come from carbohydrates. Read more
http://diabetes.about.com/od/dieticianapprovedrecipes/a/Diabetes_Berry.htm
http://www.driscolls.com/nutrition-health/health-benefits/diabetes

For information please refer to these links
http://www.m.webmd.com/default.htm
http://www.livestrong.com
http://www.diabetes.org
http://www.idf.org/membership/sea/india/diabetic-association-of-india

Disclaimer
I am not a nutritionist or dietician. My knowledge and information is based on my research and reading from different resources. Please consult your doctor or dietician before making any changes to your diet.

Other recipes this week are

Anu
http://easybitesonline.com/apricot-cashew-and-coconut-bites-diabetes-friendly/
Shailja
https://shailjatomar.wordpress.com/2015/06/17/fresh-fruit-popsicles-dft/
Paro
https://crackleandtemper.wordpress.com/2015/06/17/vegan-gluten-free-brownie-bites-diabetic-friendly-thursdays/
Chahat
http://gorgeandserve.com/2015/06/17/watermelon-kiwi-pops/
Prachi
http://divinespicebox.com/2015/06/17/cinnamon-scented-oats-tart-with-dark-chocolate-ganache/
Aprasa
http://eatingwelldiary.com/2015/06/17/pineapple-kesari-a-fathers-day-special-for-diabetes-friendly-thursdays/
Sonal
https://simplyvegetarian777.wordpress.com/2015/06/17/badaam-anjeer-ki-kheer-almonds-figs-pudding-diabetes-friendly-thursdays/
Suchi
http://sus-healthy-living.blogspot.ca/2015/06/fruit-bouquet-fathers-day-special.html
Vidhya
http://www.vidhyashomecooking.com/2015/06/17/sugar-free-apple-rabadi/