One of my close friends is borderline diabetic, but has the sweetest tooth in the world. She has a treasure trove of sweets, which her concerned family is not aware of because it is stashed away in some secret hideaway in her home. She eats them on the sly like a naughty child breaking parental rules.
Acting like a missionary of goodwill, I said to her one afternoon, “I am the way, the truth, and the light, come follow me on a shopping spree for sweet things!†On that humorous note, I took her to two places where she could satisfy her cravings for sweets without necessarily causing havoc to her blood sugar.
During the holiday season, we cannot avoid breaking our diet, as there are the traditional family gatherings and reunions to attend where food and desserts are overflowing. We should therefore look for tasty but healthy alternatives so as not to compromise whatever health issues we have.
Our first stop was Healthy Options, one of my favorite haunts in the city. Healthy Options has many branches — Rustan’s Supermarket in Makati; 2nd floor of Rockwell, Power Plant Mall; ground floor, Edsa Shangri-La, to name three. Believe me when I say that I can spend hours in any of their stores, marveling at all their products and reading the ingredients at the back of the pack to make sure that I am not allergic to any one of them. This time of the year, Healthy Options has interesting offerings of health, love, joy, hope, peace, and beauty. Most interesting for my friend Anna is the package of Peace, so called because you can indulge in the goodies with peace of mind, without fear of your blood sugar spiking to highs and lows as these are sugar-free, preservatives-free, and some are gluten- free. Sugar-free truffle chocolates, chocolatey brownies, peanut butter, gluten- free chips, chocolate chip cookies, fig cookies, and a whole lot more of guilt-free goodness! While Anna was drooling and making her choices among the peace offerings, I reveled in the joy and health offerings. My favorite spread, the Natural Nectar Speculoos, topped my list as I love it on my toast, waffles, crepes, and bagels. A healthy snack, especially after a gym workout, is my Greek Yogurt granola bars, a protein-rich mix of Greek yogurt, granola, and fruit. I also put on my list my favorite chips, the Beanitos Bean chips, which are fiber filled and protein packed. Some of my guilty pleasures are the Himalania Goji Berry Crunch (goji berries and nuts in a cluster), tea cookies, hummus dip, high-fiber oats and crackers, and many other goodies that don’t give one high cholesterol or high uric acid.
I also like their sparkling organic wines, the Peach flavor being my favorite.
It was difficult leaving Healthy Options, but I had to bring Anna to the kitchen of Pierre Marmonier, the Frenchman behind the delicious products of the Fruit Garden. The Fruit Garden jams and honey should be in every jam lover’s refrigerator. First-hand testimony from yours truly, Marmonier’s kitchen is spotless and sanitized like a hospital’s OR. Nobody is allowed inside without hospital booties and masks. Marmonier uses only fresh fruits that are in season and high-grade ingredients. For those with sugar concerns, he has jams that are sugar-free, cooked only with fruits and honey. The Fruit Garden also has new flavors of jams like Mango Lavender, Calamansi Brandy, Strawberry Mint, and PineApple Coco Rhum. The Fruit Garden has Christmas offerings that one can buy from his commissary at 295 Haig Street, Mandaluyong, the Sunday Legaspi Market in Legaspi Village or online at www.speedregalo.com. They are very reasonably priced and for the high quality that they are, every spoonful of sweetness is worth the low calories that you ingest.
I felt good doing my messianic crusade for my friend Anna who can now openly indulge in her sweet cravings without alarming her concerned husband and children. The last I heard, they were also enjoying her sugar-free goodies!