Contents
How to replace sugar: 5 natural sweeteners
What to do when you want something sweet, but the diet is categorically against it? Only seek a compromise.
Nowadays, when everyone is obsessed with a healthy lifestyle, sugar is not held in high esteem. But you can’t do without it, life seems insipid without sweet. Replacing sugar is easy, especially since healthy lifestyle fans have made up a bunch of recipes using sweeteners. And we have collected the most natural of them, which will definitely not harm your health.
Stevia
One of the most popular and affordable sweeteners. It is obtained from the leaves of a shrub native to South America. There are no calories in stevia – not at all, as in Pepsi Zero. Despite this, it is much sweeter than sugar – about 200 or even 300 times.
Stevia can be purchased in powder, extract, granules and leaves. They are brewed and get a sweet liquid. There is only one drawback: stevia has a specific flavor that not everyone will like.
Agave Syrup
Or agave nectar. It is also several times sweeter than sugar, and it also contains useful trace elements and vitamins. Agave syrup looks like honey, but even more sticky. Agave nectar is used both in cooking and in cosmetology, and excellent cleansing masks are obtained from it.
But this syrup is quite high-calorie, it contains a lot of fructose, so doctors do not recommend it to people with diabetes. However, if everything is in order with your health, then this is an excellent option, it does not even spoil baked goods. And it is relatively inexpensive, about 300 rubles for 250 ml.
Jerusalem artichoke syrup
Jerusalem artichoke, aka earthen pear, is good for everyone: the benefits of this root vegetable are legendary. You can even cook jam from it – Jerusalem artichoke takes on the taste of the fruit to which it is added. For example, with apples, lemon peels or melons, it is simply delicious. And also syrup is made from Jerusalem artichoke without adding sugar to it, because its tubers are already sweet.
The syrup is quite high in calories, so you shouldn’t get carried away with it. But it contains useful vitamins and minerals, unlike sugar.
Klenovыy syrup
In American films, pancakes are often poured over them – pancakes, as they call them, and we have this product appeared relatively recently. It contains many antioxidants (even more than honey!), Minerals and trace elements: calcium, potassium, iron, zinc, manganese. According to some studies, maple syrup even has anti-cancer properties.
You can add this syrup not only to baked goods, but in general anywhere, even in sauce. However, it is also quite high in calories.
Another drawback is the price: about 600–800 rubles for 250 g. Natural maple syrup is obtained by boiling natural maple juice, so it simply cannot be cheap. But the market is full of supposedly syrups – a sweet liquid “with a maple syrup flavor.” There is no longer any question of any benefits. Pay attention to the label: it should be maple syrup, not Maple syrup.
Coconut sugar
It is tasty and healthy, and contains zinc and iron, fiber and antioxidants. Coconut sugar is extracted not from coconuts, but from the juice of a coconut tree. It is the same sweetness as white and brown sugar, but does not cause fluctuations in blood sugar levels. There are also a lot of calories in it, so you should not get carried away with it.
Coconut sugar is quite expensive, at least 700 rubles per kilogram. Manufacturers warn: it is easy to run into a fake, coconut sugar is often diluted with cane sugar, which is a little cheaper.
What else
Honey – everyone knows about this “sweetener”. The only drawback of honey is its high allergenicity. In addition, it is easy to run into a fake.
Date syrup and date paste – sweet, tasty, aromatic. In addition, you can make the pasta yourself if you can find fresh dates: you just need to mix in a blender a glass of pitted dates, ¾ glass of water and half a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
Chicory syrup not as high in calories as sugar, but sweeter. It contains fiber, but it contains much less carbohydrates than Jerusalem artichoke syrup, for example. True, it is even more expensive than date paste.