SMART SHOPPING SANDRA PHILLIPS

Just what the doctor ordered

Shops sell sugarless Valentine's Day sweets - diabetics don't need to feel deprived Coffret Belles Choses, 6820 Cote St. Luc Rd. (514) 487-3575.

Hours: Monday to Friday a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 10a.m. to 4 p.m.

This shop looks tiny but carries a surprising variety of products. Sugar-free, even sugar-free kosher, products figure prominently. Remember bridge mix - chocolate-covered raisins, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews and almonds? Here, there's a sugar-free version. Try the no-sugar milk-chocolate almonds, chocolate-covered espresso beans, pecan-caramel patties or buy an assorted box of Valor sugar-free chocolates (12 kinds) at $16.99 for 200 grams.

There are many kinds of sugar-free candies available by the pound: jujubes, chocolate Tootsie like rolls, chocolate and caramel fudge, almond brittle, butterscotch crunch, hard candies and Jelly Belly jellybeans in 49 flavours.

If you like chewy candy, there's Frugeli, a Turkish delight. And there's sugar-free fruit cake. In "regular" products, check out the British items like Shropshire spices for a wine toddy, Devon rice pudding, Baxter's soups (Stilton with port, cream of smoked salmon), MacKay's lime or lemon curd and the rest of the eclectic mix: Austrian jams, Seattle's Best coffee, cranberries bathed in vodka, organic condiments, hot sauces, and even chocolate Tequila shots. Gift baskets are available.