Valentine’s Day is right around the corner, but it can be hard to fully immerse yourself into the beautiful day when you are stressed about finding food that accommodates your dietary restrictions, especially when it comes to dessert! But do not worry, because I have found a versatile assortment of Paleo desserts that are are also extremely easy to make. The Paleo Diet, which restricts processed foods and foods that contain gluten, dairy, grains, sugar or legumes, addresses many common food intolerances and concerns that people may have. Also, the Paleo Diet is considered an anti-inflammatory diet, meaning it protects against common, food-related causes of bloat, helping you look your absolute best on Valentines Day! Here are 4 recipes for paleo-friendly Valentine’s Day desserts:
- Dark chocolate-covered strawberries
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Ingredients:
¾ cup paleo vegan chocolate chips
12 strawberries
Directions:
1. Wash and dry the strawberries. Leave the leaves on for easy dipping!
2. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
3. Add chocolate to a small, microwavable bowl and microwave the chocolate in increments of 20 seconds until melted. Once melted, stir until smooth.
4. Holding a strawberry by the leaves, dip it into the melted chocolate and place onto the baking sheet. Do this with all of the strawberries.
5. Refrigerate until hardened. This should take somewhere around 20-30 minutes.
- Salted Almond Chocolate Truffle
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These truffles are to die for and they are also naturally gluten-free, which is always a plus! The best part: they are super easy to make, yet the final product makes it seem like you spent hours laboring away at these truffles. This recipe, adapted from bakerita.com is by far the best truffles I have ever made.
Ingredients:
10 oz 70% dark chocolate. You can go darker or lighter- just make sure it is dairy-free!
½ cup canned coconut milk- the full fat version helps to get the best texture for the truffles.
½ cup toasted almonds
½ tsp flaky sea salt (optional)
Directions:
1. Place the finely chopped chocolate into a small bowl. In another bowl, pour in the coconut milk and microwave it for about one minute, or until it begins to bubble.
2. Pour the coconut milk over the chocolate and let it sit for two minutes.
3. Whisk until smooth. If any chocolate chips are not melted, place in the microwave for 15 seconds.
4. Stir in the chopped almonds and sea salt.
5. Cover with a plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm. This will take about two hours.
6. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and use a small scoop or even an ice cream scooper to scoop 1” truffle balls. Place on a baking sheet and repeat until all chocolate is gone.
7. For the coating: after the last step, roll the truffle balls in cocoa powder, nuts or more sea salt. Or if you prefer, you could even keep them plain!
8. Place the truffles in the refrigerator and you are done!
- Paleo Sugar Cookies
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Growing up, my Valentine’s days in elementary school were centered around these delicious, store-bought, pink and blue icing-covered sugar cookies. Those cookies were always the first thing to be snatched up during our lunchtime Valentine’s Day parties. This recipe tastes exactly like those mouth-watering cookies with half the carbs, low fat and no processed ingredients or chemicals added.
Ingredients:
3 cups almond flour
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp baking soda
1 pinch ground nutmeg
½ cup melted coconut oil
¼ cup honey
1 tbsp orange zest
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mix almond flour, salt, baking soda and nutmeg.
2. In another bowl, mix together coconut oil, honey and orange zest.
3. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry.
4. Separate the cookie dough into two balls and place them on parchment paper. Then place another piece of parchment paper on top of each dough ball and roll out the dough until it is ¼ inch thick.
5. Place the rolled-out dough in the freezer for 30 minutes.
6. Use heart-shaped cookie cutters to cut out each cookie.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 5-7 minutes.
- Paleo Chocolate Raspberry Ice Cream
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In SoCal, ice cream might be the perfect dessert for our semi-warm February nights. I love to top off my ice cream with some paleo chocolate chips and it is absolutely delicious as well as healthy!
Ingredients:
1 13.5 ounce can of full fat coconut milk
1 13.5 ounce can of light coconut milk
2 frozen bananas
1 cup raspberries
1 pinch of sea salt (optional)
1 handful of cocoa nibs (optional)
Directions:
1. In a blender, blend together the milks, bananas, raspberries and salt until smooth.
2. Transfer to an ice cream machine and churn for 20 minutes.
3. Add cacao nibs and churn for another five minutes (optional).
4. Enjoy immediately or store in freezer.
Whether you are with someone else or happily in love with yourself, celebrate what Valentine’s Day really stands for- the dessert! These desserts are not only absolutely delicious, but they are healthy as well, so this holiday will not totally derail your health goals. While this holiday is mainstreamed to express love to others, try expressing some love to your body this Valentine’s Day as well!