To maintain a healthy diet, sweets should be an occasional treat, not a daily indulgence. And while you can often reduce the amount of sugar without altering the taste or texture of your sweets, natural plant sweeteners and synthetic sugars are viable alternatives that can provide sweetness, without the added calories. Although fruit juice concentrates, bananas, applesauce, agave and honey may serve as satisfactory substitutes for sucrose, they are natural sugars and should be used with discretion. As of 2011, a variety of artificial sweeteners have the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, though concerns remain about the safety of their long-term use.
Step 1
Sweeten your hot and cold liquids, puddings and sauces with two to three drops of liquid stevia for each tseaspoon of sugar. Because stevia is much more potent than sucrose, you can substitute 1/3 tsp. of stevia extract powder for 1 cup of white sugar in your dry ingredients.
Step 2
Use an equal amount of xylitol for the sugar in your cookies and yeast-free recipes. Although xylitol has 40 percent fewer calories than sugar, it does not interact with yeast, and so it is not a suitable substitute for sugar in some baked goods.
Step 3
Substitute 1 cup of granular sucralose, brand name Splenda, in your baking recipes. Although sucralose is derived from sugar, it is chemically altered so the body does not metabolize it.
Tips and Warnings
- Experiment with different types of sweeteners before using them to make your sugar-free treats. Xylitol is a naturally occurring sugar substitute found in fruit and vegetable fibers. Try using unsweetened fruit spreads and spices, such as cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg, to heighten the flavor of your sugar-free treats.
- Both artificial and natural sugar substitutes can cause intestinal upset. The taste, consistency and baking times vary according to the type of sugar substitutes you choose. Read the labels carefully before baking with any particular brand.
Things You'll Need
- Stevia liquid or stevia extract powder
- Xylitol
- Granular sucralose
References
- Mayo Clinic: Artificial Sweeteners: Understanding These and Other Sugar Substitutes
- Family Doctor: Sugar Substitutes: What You Need to Know
- Women to Women; Sugar Substitutes and the Potential Danger of Splenda; Marcelle Pick
- Stevia Info: Stevia Sugar Stevia/Sugar Equivalency Chart
- Xylitol: Nutritional Benefits of Xylitol
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