She recalls, remembering the early days of her plant-based path, “I thought I was doing fine.” Still, I was depending on maple syrup, coconut sugar, agave; it mounted up.
She decided boldly to go sugar-free when she started to discover how additional sugars—including natural ones—affect energy, mood, and long-term health.
First of all, it was difficult. Cooking without sugar seems like attempting to paint without colors. “My early tries were disasters,” Livia says. “Dense muffins and plain cookies. I even produced a chocolate mousse with avocado-like flavor.
Livia did not give up though. She began instead questioning what dessert may be. She investigated the inherent sweetness of fruits—ripe bananas, luscious dates, even cooked apples. She experimented with textures as well, building pleasing layers and nibbles from coconut cream, nut butters, and oats.
She began to crave differently over time. Her preferred evening treat turned out to be a chilled bowl of mixed frozen mango topped with a sloshful of almond milk and some cinnamon. Not a bit of additional sugar. Not one inch of sacrifice on taste.
“I came to see dessert doesn’t have to strike you with sweetness,” Liva says It may be still luxurious, comforting, and soothing.
The change for her was about finding balance rather than about constraint. And today, her friends constantly find her works shocking when she shows them. “Wait, this has no sugar?,” they query. She just beams.
