Dessert. It is like a tiara that crowns the end of a beauty pageant. A great meal is not complete without it. Especially for those afflicted with a sweet tooth.
But if you’re a diabetic, meals have to end minus this delight. My friend, Maan always goes without cakes & pastries for dessert to curb her sugar level. Or, if she’s lucky, some restaurants have a handful of sugar-free variants she can make do with. Otherwise, it’s fruits for her.

Recently we were in Podium after an appointment. She was looking for a place where we can have dinner. I suggested sugarnot! I know about it because Cheryl Lua Yap, a good friend from graduate school is the COO and one of the partners. Initially hesitant because she only heard the word “sugar”, Maan got excited when I emphasized the “not” part.

Sugarnot! is heaven-sent to the health conscious and to diabetics. Emblazoned on the frontage of this bakeshop, coffee shop cum deli is its battle cry: sugar-free, low-carb, low-fat. It was the brainchild of a diabetic, Eli Beltran, who like most people with this illness must have been frustrated about dessert-less meals.

Before ordering, we ogled the display counter to heighten our anticipation for dessert. We then decided on pasta but branch OIC, Ailyn Kandt, enticed us to try their other bestsellers. Looking at the menu made us realize just how unique this place is. Under each dish is its corresponding calorie count together with carbohydrates, protein and fat content. This is a weight-watcher’s dream. Imagine not having to guess at how much calories your meal is packing.
Ailyn assured us that everything on the menu is healthy:
•Pasta is made from whole wheat.
•Sauces and dressings are made with unsalted butter, low fat cream, olive oil or tomato
•Meat used for pasta, panini and sandwiches is grilled white chicken
•Sugar-free Torani syrups and chocolate sauces are used to flavor beverages.
•Doughnuts are baked, not deep fried.
•Best of all, their cakes and pastries and other dishes that need sugar use isomalt, a unique sugar replacer with natural taste made from sugar beets. It has a low glycemic index (this measures the effect of carbohydrates on blood glucose levels) and has half the calories of sugar. Since it is also a low digestible carbohydrate, it stimulates tummy activity. And did I mention it prevents tooth decay?

Our meal started with soup – Creamy Pumpkin (43 kcal) for me and Minestrone (110 kcal) for Maan.

Creamy Pumpkin Soup

Minestrone

We shared a Mango Salad (210kcal) which had assorted fruits and vegetables, organic salad greens with mango dressing.

Next was the pasta. We chose Al Pesto (366 kcal) and also tried their new Salmon Pasta (236.68 kcal). Both were delicious. Pesto is my favorite and I usually end up disappointed with the bland mix I find in other restaurants. Sugarnot’s Al Pesto is flavorful which is surprising because of their “low in everything” ingredients.

Al Pesto

Salmon Pasta

Of course the piece de resistance was the dessert: Ultimate Temptation (360 kcal)! It came beguilingly covered with chocolate frosting streaked with low fat whipped cream and caramel. We were told even the syrups used in the plating – that cute little red flower on the side – were also sugar free. As we dug our forks into it Maan was dancing for joy. Well, we were seated, but if she was standing up I swear she would have done a little jig. It was such a treat for her to have chocolate cake for dessert without worrying about her glucose level.

Ultimate Temptation
The total calorie count for our meal is 1,325.68 kcal. Divide that between the two of us because we shared everything except for the soup is about 662.84 kcal each. The recommended intake is 2000 calories a day or 666.67 per meal. We were joyfully within the limit!
We were tempted to try the other pastries but were too full for more. And that would have tipped the calorie counter. We will save that for another day. Maan just bemoaned that their branches were too far from the South were we both live. Here’s hoping they get a space in the Greenbelt area or in Alabang Town Center so we can have guilt-free meals more often.

Sugarnot! branches are located at:
1.The Podium
5th floor, ADB Avenue
Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong
Tel.: 636-1714
2.Megamall
5th floor Bldg. A
Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong
Tel.: 635-2706

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• Food / Recipes