If you’re concerned about your health at all, then you probably know that sugar might just be the worst thing you can eat. But if you have a sweet tooth, it can be difficult to give up these comforting desserts. Luckily, there are some healthy sugar alternatives you can use to make your own guilt-free desserts that actually help, rather than harm, your health.
Brown Rice Syrup
Brown rice syrup is made by cultivating white rice with enzymes. It’s not made from brown rice as the name might suggest, the name actually refers to the color of the syrup, which is obviously brown. Combining enzymes with rice breaks down the starch and boils the resulting liquid, creating a syrup that’s about half as sweet as sugar.
To use in baking, replace each cup of sugar with 1 1/3 cups of brown rice syrup and reduce the other liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup, then add 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda to the ingredients in the recipe.
treasure
Honey is one of the healthy sugar alternatives that everyone should consider as a substitute in baking. Honey, especially raw honey, is extremely healthy and packed with antioxidants, as well as antiviral and antibacterial properties. It contains a variety of vitamins and minerals to help your health, unlike table white sugar which contains no nutrients, vitamins or minerals.
To use in baking, substitute equal amounts of honey for white sugar. You’ll also need to reduce the liquid in the recipe to give the batter the right consistency, since honey contains more liquid than sugar.
maple syrup
If you’re looking for healthy sugar alternatives that will add a unique flavor to your baking, look no further than Maple Syrup. Made from the sap of maple trees, this thick syrup can add an interesting flavor to any recipe. Be careful when buying though, you want to make sure you’re buying pure maple syrup, otherwise you’re just buying flavored corn syrup with no nutritional value. Pure maple syrup is packed with nutrients and is actually three times sweeter than table sugar.
To use maple syrup in baking, substitute 3/4 cup maple syrup for each cup of sugar and reduce the other liquids in the recipe by 3 tablespoons.
There are two reasons why you should consider a healthy alternative to sugar when baking. The first is that when table sugar is made, all the nutrients are removed from it. It’s just empty calories that aren’t good for your body. The second reason is that table sugar has a very high glycemic index and therefore causes a harmful spike in your blood sugar and also eventually causes a drop in your blood sugar leading to moodiness, fatigue and cravings.
Look for healthy sugar alternatives packed with vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, as well as those that are low on the glycemic index like brown rice syrup (with a GI of 25) so you can bake desserts that are nutritious and good for your body’s health, and you will don’t give that sugar high and subsequent crash or lead to cravings.
Thanks to Lee Dobbins