One of the most popular New Year’s resolutions is to wean off sugar or at least do a temporary sugar detox.
While an admirable health goal that will absolutely improve your health in every way, it is quite difficult to accomplish in our sugar-saturated society.
Having a little trick up your sleeve that tastes like a treat without any sort of compromise can be a very valuable tool on the road to success.
This is especially true when children are involved and sugar elimination is necessary to help resolve autoimmune diseases via the GAPS, AIP, or SCD diet.
For those days when a little something sweet would be a godsend, try this fruit sweetened chocolate syrup recipe.
I suggest making a single serving at a time so that you only eat it occasionally.
You can, of course, make a lot, put it in a jar, and store in the refrigerator. But, I think you would end up eating a lot more than you intend this way!
I enjoy it with three or four sliced strawberries (not hydroponically grown!) or mixed with an equal amount of organic peanut butter.
If you have a preference to buy rather than make your own, this sugarfree, fruit-sweetened organic chocolate syrup is an excellent option too.
If you enjoy making your own sauces as I do, check out this complete list of the homemade sauce recipes I use in my home including strawberry syrup, white sauce, and butterscotch!
Homemade Sugar-free Chocolate Syrup
Simple, 4 ingredient recipe for chocolate syrup that is sweetened only with fruit. No sugar, sugar alcohols, stevia or artificial anything.
Ingredients
- 1 tsp cocoa powder preferably roasted and organic
- 1-1.5 tsp date syrup
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp melted cocoa butter optional
Instructions
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Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
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Enjoy on sliced fruit, homemade ice cream, mixed with an equal amount of nut butter or straight off the spoon.
Recipe Notes
I don't recommend raw cacao powder for this recipe as it is extremely high in phytic acid. This substance can cause digestive distress in those with a sensitive stomach or unbalanced gut environment. Worse, phytates block mineral absorption.
Roasted cocoa powder is a better option as it is much lower in anti-nutrients. Some nutrients are lost in the roasting process, but the gains in digestibility more than offset this.
Either raw cacao butter or cocoa butter is fine for the healthy fat portion of this recipe.
I just read that cacao is made from fermented beans that have not been roasted, so wouldn’t the fermenting take care of the phytate issue? And what about cooking with the chocolate, would that not be the same as roasting to help break the phytates?
Factory fermentation is not the same as home fermentation.
I try to add raw cocao powder and now read this. Have I been adding back everything that I sprout and soak put?
Am a bit panicked now
Thanks
No need to panic 🙂 Just use roasted cocoa powder from now on. Your gut will thank you.
So is maple syrup bad or good ? I thought studies showed it to kill cancer cells in the colon ?
Maple syrup is ok in small amounts for someone with no gut or autoimmune issues.
“Sugar-free” caught my eye but I see it was just a small oversight. The date syrup is 13g of sugar per TBSP.
But I would still use it, or organic fair-trade sugar, etc… both sound good to me! Thanks for a great recipe and suggestions!
The date syrup is pure dates … like using applesauce. It is fruit only sugar which is HUGELY different than cane sugar, maple syrup or other disaccharride type sugars that inflame autoimmune symptoms.
Only fruit and honey are monosaccharride sugars.
If the cacao powder is heated during preparation (baked goods or sauces), will the phytic acid be reduced?
It would be reduced, yes, but likely not by as much as the roasting that occurs during processing.
Hi Sarah, good to know that the raw cacao is high in phytic acid! I thought it a better choice because it’s higher in antioxidants.
Wilderness Family Naturals has a raw fermented cacao powder – do you think this would be a good choice and lower in phytic acid? Thanks for all your great research!
Wow .. I will have to look into that. The fermentation may definitely reduce the phytic acid in the cacao and may be a great alternative to roasted cocoa powder. I will have to investigate to determine how long/what the culturing process involves. Thank you for sharing!
I live in the UK and ive never come across roasted cocoa powder.. .can you recommend a brand please…
There is a brand linked in the recipe. https://amzn.to/2BSrO27
By the way, cocoa powder by definition is roasted … when it is raw it is called cacao powder.
I love chocolate on strawberries! You totally got me with that picture. I will be trying it for sure. I love the idea of fruit sweetened chocolate.