Super Sweet Sugar Substitutes

Life is short, let’s make it sweet! But let’s not make it shorter by living off of refined sugar everyday. These 5 sugar alternatives will get you more creative in the kitchen and your blood sugar more stable.

Oh, honey!

Why should we minimise sugar?

Sugar is something we are trying to avoid more and more. It has been associated with many serious diseases, including obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. There is no reason to panic and be deadly afraid of ALL sugar, the main reason to be aware of sugar and the “bad” sides to it, is that we just get way too much of it in our diet, through ready made food and food at restaurants.

When we cook at home, we can take control of our intake and not add to the amount of sugar we are already consuming, sometimes without knowing it.

Here are 5 sweet, healthier alternatives to refined sugar:

1.  Honey

The great thing about honey, is that it is high in antioxidants. We want those! Antioxidants can help prevent diabetes, inflammation, heart disease, and cancer. However, it does also contain fructose, or fruit sugar, which we definitely want to consume in moderation. So honey is a great alternative to sugar, but that doesn’t mean that we should go crazy with using it! Also, it’s worth noting that honey, if you think about it, is insanely sweet. So you can use a small amount in most cases and that will do the trick. That in itself is a great reason to use it.

2.  Maple syrup 

Maple syrup is made by cooking down the sap from maple trees. It’s still sugar, but it is an unrefined sugar, unlike normal sugar or syrup you would use. It contains over 20 different antioxidants! But it still raises your blood sugar levels, so just like honey – go easy when using it. It’s also a super sweet sweetener, so you only need the tiniest bit!

3.  Monk fruit sweetener

A natural sweetener extracted from the monk fruit, contains zero sugar and contains no calories or carbs. Not that calories or carbs are bad – you need those – but it’s just interesting to know! It is about 100-200 times sweeter than sugar. Be careful when buying monk fruit sweetener to make sure you know whether it is pure monk fruit, or mixed with other sugars or molasses – this is often the case.

4.  Stevia

Stevia is a plant based sweetener, and actually lowers your blood sugar levels, as well as your blood pressure and insulin levels – so this is a great option. It is quite pricey sometimes, but it is also many times sweeter than sugar so you need way less, and it also contains zero calories.

5.  Natural occurring sugars in fruit and berries (apple sauce, mashed banana etc)

When you bake or cook with fruits or berries – I would really recommend trusting that the naturally occurring sugars are more than enough to sweeten what you are making. And the flavours are often much more exciting than just sweet, sweet sugar.

For instance, I use cooking apples a lot, and if you just eat one of these raw, they are super tart, way too sour for me, but the second I slice them up and simmer them in water, they become so lovely and sweet. I use these apples for my homemade applesauce and no sweetener is needed. The same goes for baking with banana, or adding some dried or fresh berries. They are naturally so sweet – and that sweetness is released through cooking, so give some of your recipes that contain fruit or berries a go without adding much or any other sweetener. You might find that the lovely, natural flavours get a chance to come out more too!

I would in general encourage you to embrace other flavours than just “sweet sugar” taste when making something indulgent – for example, I have hot cocoa with just hot milk and cocoa powder, no sweetener of any kind. When milk is heated, we perceive it as sweeter, so there is plenty of sweetness there – and also, that lovely bitterness of the cocoa is actually awesome, if you aren’t too concerned with trying to copy the taste of a store bough hot chocolate (which you will see, when you read the ingredients, is normally PACKED with sugar). Embrace nature’s awesome flavours, and your body will get an easier ride too!

Which sugar alternative is your favourite? Post on Instagram and tag me @TheFromScratchBody and use the hashtag #TheFromScratchBody so I don’t miss it!