DRAGON BITES carb-counted recipe
A family-friendly, mostly healthy (sometimes treat-y!) easy recipe for families living well with Type 1 Diabetes.
Blueberry Clusters Wrapped in Chocolate
Go Blue for World Diabetes Day!
A delicious combination of tangy and sweet, with the benefit of fibre to help mediate blood glucose… these Chocolate Blueberry Clusters are gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free, and have only three simple ingredients that will please both parents and kids. They’re easy to make (just melt, mix and chill) and relatively low carb for a sweet treat. But beware… once you eat one, it’s SO easy to eat six!
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Low-Carb? Moderately
Gluten-free? Yes
Dairy-free? Yes (though semi-sweet chocolate chips “may contain milk”)
Nut-free? Yes
Active Time: 15 min
Cool: 10-15 min
Ready in: 25-30 min
Total Yield: 28 blueberry clusters
Carb Content: 5g each (depending on the size of your spoonful)
(Recipe adapted from “Healthy Recipes” by Dr. Axe)
Note that high fat food can lead to high blood sugar later that is resistant to correction – you may need to cover the fat content in this dish with extra insulin, especially if you do not regularly eat foods high in fat. For more information on this, check out How Fat Affects Blood Glucose.
INGREDIENTS:
200g (1 ¼ cups) semi-sweet chocolate chips1
30g (4 Tbsp) ground flaxseed2
150g (1 cup) fresh blueberries3
Notes:
- 120g net carbs (including 13g fibre); 53g fat for President’s Choice, The Decadent Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- 2g net carbs (including 6g fibre); 14g fat for CanMar Cold Milled Golden Roasted Flaxseed
- 18g net carbs (including 4g fibre); <1g fat for blueberries
INSTRUCTIONS:
1.
Melt the chocolate chips.
You could use a medium bowl in the microwave, stirring after each 30-second increment until smooth (approximately 2 minutes, more or less depending on microwave wattage).
Alternately, you could use a double boiler (or a bowl over a pan of simmering water), stirring frequently until melted and smooth.
We find the microwave method easier, as the chocolate can quickly turn from smooth to over-tempered on the stove, but feel free to use whichever method you’re most comfortable with.
2.
Once chocolate chips are melted, remove from heat and immediately stir in ground flaxseed.
3.
Working fairly quickly (before chocolate hardens), toss in handfuls of blueberries, stirring to coat, then spoon small clumps of blueberries onto wax paper on a baking sheet.
4.
Refrigerate until chocolate is solid (10-15 minutes).
Tips for Storage & Serving:
As the blueberries are fresh, it’s wise to keep any extra clusters refrigerated until you’re ready to eat them. Personally, I think the chocolate tastes best cold, too! You can freeze these for future use, but thawing makes the blueberries mushy; I didn’t love the resulting texture, but the rest of my family loved them either way. You can also skip the thawing process and serve them frozen... this is my favourite way to eat them!
CARB & FAT CONTENT:
Total yield: 28 blueberry clusters (with a total finished weight of 370g).
Total carbs: 140g
Total fibre: 23g
Total fat: 67g
Per Item Nutrient Content: Each blueberry cluster contains 5g carbs, 0.8g of fibre, and just over 2g of fat (depending on the amount that you spoon into each).
Carb Factor: 0.38 (100g serving of blueberry clusters contains 38g of carbs.)
To calculate the total grams of carbs in in your individual serving size, multiply this carb factor by the weight (in grams) of the serving size you dish up. For example, a serving that weighs 50g would have 50x 0.38 = 19g of carbs.
Fat Factor: 0.18 (100g serving of blueberry clusters contains 18g of fat.)
To calculate the total grams of fat in in your individual serving size, multiply this fat factor by the weight (in grams) of the serving size you dish up. For example, a serving that weighs 111g would have 111 x 0.18 = 20g of fat.
Tip from the Trenches: Given the small amount eaten in a serving, my son would not bolus for fat, but your diabetes may vary.
Should I Give Insulin to Cover the Fat???
What is a Carb Factor? How Do I Use It?
By Cup or By Weight?
Please don’t rely exclusively on my carb counting! Nutritional information is given for general information only, and will vary depending on the amount, type and brand of ingredients you choose - Please verify your carb and fat content when you make your own version of this recipe.
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