Dear all,
My son has been pretty good with avoiding sugar, but on a rare occasion when he wants something sweet (sweetening a veggie smoothy or adding it to baking), which substitute do you think could be less harmful - honey? agave? stevia? Thanks!
Stevia is the best option, as it has 0g of sugar. It is very sweet, so it's difficult to bake with it because the of the volume difference which alters the recipe. I'm sure you can find stevia specific recipes though.
ReplyDeleteHoney and agave still have sugar in them, so while they are a better option than sugar crystals, if you are trying to avoid the blood sugar spike and the carbs in general, then stevia is your best option.
There is a website I used to follow called sugarfreemom.com. She uses a lot of stevia. You may have to search for gluten free options, if you're doing that too.
ReplyDeleteI just melt down some coconut oil, add seeds, blended fruit, coconut, nutbutter, etc. and combine with cocoa powder. You can roll into balls and coat with coconut flakes. Until you master the consistency, you may need to keep them in the freezer. I add honey sometimes but all the fat in the coconut oil will keep the blood sugar steady. You can add stevia too. It turns out to be an easy recipe that you can quickly whip up. I add coconut milk too sometimes. Pour the mixture onto a parchment lined tray and freeze.
Also, berry smoothies with a coconut milk base. You can also make macrobiotic style pudding with kuzu. They use rice syrup to sweeten, so be careful with that. I always make mine with sliced strawberries, just a few. Coconut macaroons should also be easy to convert using stevia.
I also drink really sweet tea like hibiscus or lemon. I don't add sweetener. It the tart glamour helps my sweet tooth. They do sell chocolate tea as well. I forget the brand that is extra tasty but it's sugar free (all natural) and really tastes like chocolate. Add a little milk too. I think the brand is Reishi.
Sorry, autocorrect doesn't always like my spelling. :)
Deletethank you, ladies, so much!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great help! Thank you Kendall and Maria. This is a topic my family has been learning to become very creative...
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, Ari. I've been at sugar free living for years, so I'm always happy to discuss what I've learned/do. I've been raw vegan, just vegan, paleo, macrobiotic. You name it. I still have a brain tumor but it didn't grow during pregnancy so maybe that's why...if you need a recipe idea just let me know. My family is about to eat one of our favorite snacks - steamed artichoke leaves dipped in melted ghee. It's not sweet but it really is yummy. You can also make a banana and coconut milk based ice cream really easily. If you eat eggs then a coconut, vanilla and honey ice cream is really delicious. Most people can't tell it's not milk based and the coconut milk really helps stabilize blood sugars.
DeleteAnyway, always happy to discuss. This is an area I can actually help with. :)
Xylitol is another option that is an in between one. It cooks/bakes like regular sugar but has about 40% less carbs, but more importantly has a 5x lower glycemic index. For stuff like smoothies stevia works good, but it seems like baked goods or something with a milder flavor that aftertaste from stevia really comes thru.
ReplyDeleteAlso as noted, adding fat and and/or fiber with the food significantly lowers glycemic response.
What about aspartame?
ReplyDeleteI'd stay far away from that. I've even heard it can cause brain tumors. I'm not sure that's true but there's a lot of concern about it in general.
DeleteThere is also coconut sugar. You'd have to Google the GI of it but it's a pleasant substitute as well.