Any type of no-bake dessert with a cookie-dough consistency has my name written all over it! I already have a feeling that these paleo blueberry lemon flavored bites will be a staple in my freezer this summer…

A Healthier, Low Sugar Snack!

The name of the game for busy college semesters is having a plethora of healthy snacks on deck. To make it on my list of go-to snacks, a recipe has to be:

Delicious
Easy and fool-proof
Nourishing
Preservable

Since I’m in the phase of life where I’m only cooking and grocery shopping (aka budgeting) for myself, reducing food waste has been a big focus of mine recently. Especially in the past few years, I feel like I’ve been able to acquire lots of tips and tricks to save food/ make it last longer!

It might go without saying, but FREEZERS ARE UNDERRATED.

Making freezer-friendly treats as the weather warms up is my absolute favorite ways to make sure I have snacks prepped for the next couple of weeks. These healthier, no bake bites last in the freezer for at least a whole month, which is amazing if I’m grabbing something as I’m running out of the door.

blueberry lemon snack with monk fruit sweetener

My Fav Refined Sugar Replacers:

Since I was diagnosed with severe ulcerative colitis last year, I’ve been able to move my disease into remission 90% of the time… that’s a win in my book! After going through the up’s & downs of UC for over a year now, I feel like I can truly say that I am able to control the symptoms by a combo of diet and medicine.

My mom actually found and researched the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD)– so I can’t take the credit for the idea being mine to go this route. Since I’ve been following the SCD to manage IBD flares, I’ve felt amazing!

But oh. my. goodness. Cutting out sugar and my favorite carbs (aka bagels and oatmeal) was no joke.

I remember first starting out on this diet out of desperation last year coming out of the hospital from a severe UC flare. The list of “can’t eat” foods were daunting, even coming from someone who lived a very health-conscious lifestyle before being diagnosed! The “illegal foods” on the SCD include grains, all processed sugar, gluten, dairy (unless its fermented), and most beans/soy (unless fermented). This was an extremely alarming reality for my sweet tooth and bread-loving soul to take.

*Cue crazy, board line psycho-level recipe testing marathons in my slivers of free time for the next year*

Through this past year of recipe testing and experimenting with more natural, SCD-friendly ingredients I’ve been able to finally a.) figure out what I can & can’t tolerate b.) figure out how to use these to make fun snacks and desserts to satisfy my sweet tooth cravings.

Most of my favorite SCD-legal baking and pantry staples are on this page, but for this post I’ll just stick to my three favorite sugar replacers!

Let’s talk honey first… yup you caught me: honey is in fact pretty much straight up sugar. BUT honey is the one SCD-legal natural sweetener, besides fruit! This is because it doesn’t have quite the same inflammatory effect on the body as processed sugar. It also doesn’t seem be available to help “feed” the “bad” bacteria in our gut my the time it reaches the large intestine. Besides the science and research, I can anecdotally say that I personally feel really good consuming small amounts of honey!

Low sugar gut healthy recipe idea for the specific carbohydrate diet

My second favorite is monk fruit sweetener– which is definitely still a little bit controversial in the SCD/ IBD space since it’s such a recent addition to the ever-growing amount of sugar replacements in the market. However, it is certified “Paleo” and I personally feel good incorporating small amounts into baked treats every once and awhile! Granulated sweeteners are KEY for fluffy muffins, cakes, and cookies so this was an exciting find for me!

Fruit seems like the most stereotypical health guru’s response to a sugar substitute, but fruit can add some really fun sweet dimensions to recipes! Take banana bread for example, it’s delicious just the way it is. My favorite fruit-sweetened recipes include:

For this recipe, I relied on a blend of freeze-fried blueberries and monk fruit to balance out the tangy lemon.

How to Make Blueberry Lemon Freezer Bites:

Step 1: Combine the melted coconut butter, melted almond butter, and melted coconut oil. stir well.

coconut butter and almond butter in recipes

Step 2: Add the almond flour, monk fruit, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract.

Step 3: Lightly crush the freeze-dried blueberries with the back of a spoon, leaving a few whole. Stir those into the mixture.

Step 4: Use a 1 tbsp. measuring spoon to scoop out evenly sized balls of the dough. Roll each scoop lightly between the palms of your hands to smooth. Space the bites out evenly in an air tight container and freeze for at least 2 hours before serving!

These bites have the best texture when they are cold, but they are ok to be left out of the freezer for awhile too. It’s really just personal preference!

My Other Favorite No-Bake Snacks: