6 Wonderful Sweeteners Better For You Than Sugar
Even if you never touch dessert it’s still easy to have too much sugar in your diet. We all know now that sugar is virtually everywhere in our food system. Plan Z dieters know to stay away from things like bread, pasta, pancakes, baked goods, sodas, fruit drinks, and virtually every processed food. When you include HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) it seems like sugar is everywhere.
Good news is once you’re in ZReboot and beyond, you can still enjoy sweets and not totally blow a low carb existence. You don’t have to feel deprived either.
One trick is to concentrate on NATURAL sugar sources. Obviously, you’ll have to keep them in check and not go crazy with these but here are some ideas on how you can use them. Leave all the chemistry involved in processed table sugar and artificial sweeteners by the wayside. That means diet soda is not your friend. Research has proven that it never really made you skinnier, and some new research even links it to overeating.
Here are the top 6 sweeteners to use when you’re living a low carb life:
Stevia
This product is not perfect, but it’s natural, it has vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and ZERO calories. You can use it to sweeten anything that does not need heat. That’s when it tastes the best, like with plain, unsweetened yogurt with a little stevia and vanilla stirred in. Add berries and nuts on top and you’ve got a healthy breakfast that will keep you full until lunch.
Stevia comes in a granular form and in liquid drops, too. You can use the flavored drops to make your own diet soda. Pick up plain sparkling water and then add stevia drops. They even have cola flavored drops now. You can make grape soda, orange, strawberry, cherry, lemon-lime…even cream soda. And there are flavored stevia drops that will make a delightful cup of flavored coffee. Save the money on those fancy coffee drinks you stand in line for at a coffee shop and make your own in about 2 extra seconds. You can find flavored stevia drops in the baking supply section of your grocery store, usually on the bottom shelf.
Raw Honey
I always recommend you get your food from the closest source possible. So, if you’re in ZReboot 3.5 or later and are at the point where you can enjoy honey, the beekeeper at your local farmer’s market is a prime guy/gal to get to know. Raw honey has vitamins and minerals in it, too. The glycemic index is reasonable at 35. Any food with a glycemic index under 50 is pretty good, but you still have to watch your intake. You can’t go overboard. A little drizzle goes a long way.
Erythritol
This is found naturally in many fruits and vegetables. Erythritol has some real bonuses. Zero on the glycemic index. Zero calories. This one is a sugar alcohol. And the best news is it caramelizes. That means if you bake cookies with it, they will get the lovely crunch around the edges you’re striving for. My favorite brands are ZSweet and Swerve. I have never seen either of these in a store so you’ll likely have to order online. There are other brands you can look into, too. You can make frosting with the powdered version. A cream cheese frosting made with this is about as close to dessert-healthy as you can get. Make a low carb cake and you have the makings of a healthy version of a birthday party! Erythritol is slightly less sweet than sugar but in truth, I cut the amount necessary for a recipe by about 1/3 to half and I’m satisfied that the end product is sweet enough. You’ll find your own sweet spot.
Coconut Sugar
The good news about coconut sugar is it contains potassium, magnesium, zinc, vitamin B1 and vitamin C. Table sugar has no redeeming value at all. You’ve never heard of coconut sugar? Let’s fix that. Coconut sugar is also called coconut palm sugar. It comes from coconut blossoms; before they form coconuts. Coconut sugar is half the glycemic index of table sugar which is a huge plus. That means it won’t jack up your insulin as much as regular sugar will.
Coconut sugar is a light brown color. Some people put a little in coffee (ZReboot 3.5 or later, obviously) if they have to have sugar. That’s the only reason I keep it around. If I have a guest who has to have sugar in coffee, this is a better alternative. If you like making baked goods you can find plenty of low carb recipes that use coconut sugar. Again, cut it back from what the recipe says if you dare to stay even more low carb.
Pure Maple Syrup
In a dressing or a sauce that needs a sweet taste sometimes, I’ll use a little drizzle of maple syrup. Don’t worry, it doesn’t make a sauce taste like syrup! Be sure to get the real stuff though; not that sugar water flavored with maple. When I make pancakes now I’m more likely to top them with chopped up fruit flavored with stevia or even whipped cream flavored with stevia but a little drizzle (and I’m talking 2 tsp or less) of real syrup can go a long way too. Here’s my low carb pumpkin pancake recipe. Try these pancakes that are low carb and much healthier and choose your own topping. I’d even give a nod to a little of the whipped cream with a drizzle of the maple syrup on top. Wink, wink. And don’t forget the butter!
Blackstrap Molasses
My last offering is also a sugar option that has plenty of vitamins and minerals. The folks living on the prairie in the olden days knew about this and used it as a sweetener. This was a cheap sweetener when the refined stuff we are familiar with today was very expensive. Regular people ate blackstrap molasses. Try to find unsulphured. That’s the healthiest version. Use a drizzle in a dressing. Or make a poultry glaze with it in place of other sugar. Barbecue sauce is another option. But like I said before, cut it back. Use mostly stevia in a barbecue sauce and just put in a tidbit of this for extra flavor.
No sugar is good for you in major quantities. The average American now consumes over 150 pounds of sugar a year. No wonder there’s an obesity crisis. At the turn of 1900, that number was 7.5 pounds of sugar a year. We have come a long way… and it’s not a good way to be.
So do yourself a favor and try to stay off the sugar. When in “need” consider incorporating these.
For this week’s featured recipe indulge your sweet tooth without overdoing the carbs. My pumpkin pancakes with pumpkin spiced whipped cream are a delightful way to start your day.
Cheers,
Pumpkin Pancakes with Pumpkin Spiced Whipped Cream
This makes 12, 4” pancakes. The carbohydrate count will be very low on these cakes. They fill you up too. If you want your kids “full and focused” before school give them these instead of cereal.
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Smash burgers are all the rage. Step into a brew pub and you’ll likely find a smash burger on the food menu. These are NOT the huge, 8oz burgers we’ve been fed in the past. These are a thinner burger…
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How to Cheat on Your Diet at Thanksgiving
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In the paragraph about Stevia you say “You can use it to sweeten anything you’re not going to cook”, am I not supposed to use this to cook? Is it not supposed to be heated or does the end product just not turn out as well? Thanks!
Shonda: There are several recipes on the site in which I used stevia and heated it. There have been some failures too – which I have not posted. The reason I said it that way is because anything NOT heated using stevia will be just fine. In baking sometimes it doesn’t work well. It gives a tinny aftertaste in some cases that can be real turn off. Now that there’s ZSweet and Swerve you don’t have to worry about that cuz you can use those items.
For recipes I have not started using ZSweet and Swerve a lot because you can’t find it in stores. There are some things I have used it in and I always let people know they are going to have to order it.
make sense?
Yes, that does make sense! Thank you for your response! Can I order the ZSweet or Swerve from amazon?
Thanks for an informative Blog. Have you ever tried growing your own stevia. I found a pot at the nursery last spring and bought it just for fun. I am no gardener but… low and behold… it grew into a nice green bushy plant. At the end of the summer I cut it off, washed it and hung it in the kitchen to dry. After a couple of weeks, when I was sure it was really dry, I took the leaves off and whizzed it up in the food processor. The stuff worked great in smoothies, loose tea and salad dressing. It’s great for anything where you don’t mind a few little green pieces floating around. It’s way cheaper than the store bought stuff and makes you feel kind of virtuous to think you grew your own. If spring ever gets here I think I will try growing it again. Cheers – Margaret
Yes I did grow my own stevia. Two summers ago. I used it all summer. I think you had a great idea to cut it down and dry it. Way to go!
What do you know about the Whole Earth Sweetener Company’s Nature Sweet packets now in Starbucks? The sweetener is a combination of stevia and monk fruit extract. Is monk fruit an acceptable natural sweetener?
I had high hopes for this new sweetener when you first said stevia and monk fruit. Those are both fine. But here’s the description from the site.
What is Whole Earth Sweetener made from?
Made from a blend of raw cane sugar and organic stevia, these golden brown crystals are here to start your day with a little sweetness. This crunchy, delicious sweetener with half the calories of sugar per serving goes great with your coffee, fruit or cereal.Mar 14, 2019
So it’s a no. Sorry.
Zola
Thanks for the information. I am glad to know that the monk fruit sweetener is okay. The website for Whole Earth Sweetener had conflicting descriptions of its products. The packets i I saw in Starbucks listed only Erythritol, Stevia Leaf Extract, Natural Flavors, and Monk Fruit Extract (packet image and information here … http://wholeearthsweetener.com/products/whole-earth-sweetener-stevia-monk-fruit-blend-packets/) I did find a “baking blend” listed on the Whole Earth Sweetener website that listed raw cane sugar.
Thanks for clarifying. They are coming out with so many new sweeteners these days I’m dizzy trying to keep up. if you found a version with no sugar I’d say you are good to go. I don’t know what “natural flavors” means in this context but it’s probably negligible.
Hello –
Along the line of molasses, have you ever test out Sorghum Syrup?
Thank You,
Deborah
i have never tasted sorghum syrup but I loved this description of what it is and how to use it. I’d use it in recipes the same way I do molasses or syrup. In SMALL amounts. When I convert a recipe for Plan Z I usually start off with about 1/3 of what they recommend and that’s usually PLENTY sweet. https://www.americansorghum.com/sorghum-syrup-benefits-nutritional-value/
Zola