You can stop beating yourself up -- turns out, your preference for sweet foods is innate, according to the American Dietetic Association. Unfortunately, most of the sweet food choices in the American diet are also high in fat and calories, and provide very little nutritional value. Using sugar substitutes can help save calories. Splenda, also known as sucralose, is a type of sugar substitute approved for use in the United States in 1998. It is considered safer than other sugar substitutes, including saccharin and acesulfame-K. It is 600 times sweeter than regular table sugar and can be found in sweet snack foods, dairy foods, processed fruits, jams and jellies, sugar-free drinks and nutrition bars.
Sweet Snack Foods
You can find Splenda in some brands of low-calorie baked goods. For example, Splenda is the sweetener used in Nabisco-brand Snackwells sugar-free sandwich cookies. It is also used in Sorbee-brand sugar-free cookies. Heavenly Cheesecakes also uses Splenda in its line of cheesecakes.
Dairy Products
Splenda is also used to sweeten sugar-free yogurts and ice cream. Blue Bunny uses Splenda in its Lite 85 Yogurt, no-sugar-added, reduced fat and fat-free ice creams, and its Lite Chocolate Fat-Free Milk. Dannon Light and Fit yogurts also use Splenda as one of the sweeteners in its low-calorie yogurts. Weight Watchers also uses Splenda in its line of nonfat yogurts.
Processed Fruits
Processed fruits include canned fruits and fruit gels. You can find Splenda in the Del Monte line of sugar-free fruits, such as the No Sugar Added Diced Peaches and the No Sugar Added Mandarin Oranges. Dole also uses Splenda in its line of sugar-free fruit gels.
Jelly
Some brands of sugar-free jelly also use Splenda as a sweetener. Examples include Polaner, Smucker's and Delightful Fruit Spreads.
Sugar-Free Drinks
A number of diet drinks, including soda and juice drinks, use Splenda as a sweetener. Crystal Light's powdered-drink mixes are an example. Diet Rite, Diet RC Cola and Diet Shasta also use Splenda, which is also used to sweeten Ocean Spray Light Juice Drinks. Arizona Diet Iced Teas also contain Splenda. The sports drink Propel Water also adds sweetness with Splenda, as well as the fruit drink Fruit2O.
Nutrition Bars
Some nutrition bars also use Splenda, which is carbohydrate-free and is used in many low-carb bars, such as the Atkins Advantage Bar, Breakfast Bar and Endulge bar. Met-Rx also uses Splenda in its Protein Plus High Protein food bar.
References
- "Journal of the American Dietetic Association"; "Position of the American Dietetic Association: Use of Nutritive and Nonnutritive Sweeteners"; February 2004
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 -- Foods and Food Components to Reduce
- Splenda: No Calorie Sweetener -- Nutrition Information
- Dr. Janet Starr Hull: Splenda Product List
- Wegmans: Product Search
- Center for Science in the Public Interest: Chemical Cuisine -- Learn About Food Additives -- Sucralose
