If you’re at all concerned about your health, then you probably know that sugar is, perhaps, the worst thing that you can eat. But, if you have a sweet tooth, it can be hard to give up those comforting desserts. Luckily there are some healthy sugar alternatives you can use to make your own guilt free desserts that will actually help your health instead of harm it.
Brown Rice Syrup
Brown rice syrup is made by culturing white rice with enzymes. It is not made from brown rice as you might assume from the name, the name actually refers to the color of the syrup which, obviously, is brown. By combining enzymes with rice the starch is broken down and the resulting liquid is cooked, turning into a syrup that has about half the amount of sweetness as sugar.
To use it in your baking you want to substitute 1 1/3 cups of brown rice syrup for every cup of sugar and reduce the other liquid in the recipe by 1/4 cup and then add a quarter teaspoon baking soda to the ingredients of the recipe.
Honey
Honey is one of the healthy sugar alternatives that everyone should be considering as a substitute in baking. Honey, especially raw honey, is extremely healthy and loaded with antioxidants as well as antiviral and anti-bacterial properties. It has a host of vitamins and minerals that will help your health unlike white table sugar that is devoid of any nutrients, vitamins or minerals.
To use it in your baking substitute equal amounts of honey for white sugar. You’ll also need to reduce the liquids in the recipe in order to get the batter to come out to the proper consistency since honey has more liquid than sugar.
Maple Syrup
If you are looking for healthy sugar alternatives that will add unique flavor to your baking, then look no further than maple syrup. Made from the sap of Maple trees, this thick syrup can add n interesting flavor to any recipe. Be careful when buying it though because you want to be sure to buy pure maple syrup otherwise you are just simply buying flavored corn syrup with no nutritional value. Pure maple syrup is loaded with nutrients and is actually three times sweeter than table sugar.
To use maple syrup in your baking, substitute 3/4 cup maple syrup for every cup of sugar and reduce the other liquids in the recipe by 3 tablespoons.
There are two reasons why you want to consider using a healthy alternative to sugar in your baking. The first is that the process of making table sugar, strips all the nutrients out of it. It is just empty calories that does your body no good. The second is that table sugar is very high on the glycemic index and, therefore, will cause a spike in your blood sugar which is harmful to your health and will also eventually result in a drop in your blood sugar, thus creating moodiness, tiredness and food cravings.
Look for healthy sugar alternatives that have vitamins, minerals and other nutrients as well as ones that are low on the glycemic index like brown rice syrup (which has a GI of 25) so that you can bake desserts that are nutritious and good for your overall health and that won’t give you that sugar high and subsequent crash or result in food cravings.
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