Healthy Baking: What to Use as a Healthier Substitute for Sugar

Healthy Baking: What to Use as a Healthier Substitute for Sugar
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Cutting Back on Sugar

We all love dessert. There is just something about warm chocolate chip cookies that makes me feel safe and content and completely satisfied. Not too long after the cookies are gone I also usually feel like I’ve over indulged. Cookies, cakes, pies, and shortbreads don’t have to be full of sugar, fat, and empty calories. By stocking up your cupboard with healthy substitutes you can bake for your family knowing you are doing all you can to help them get the most nutrition out of what they eat. What kinds of substitutes are best for sugar when you are baking and why is it important to cut back on sugar and high fructose corn syrup when you can?

Cutting back on sugar is an important factor for helping to fight obesity in America as well as in order to help prevent diabetes. On a personal level, cutting back on sugar can improve your success in your endeavors to diet and build muscles. The main problem with limiting your sugar intake is that sweetness triggers pleasure receptors in your brain and can become very addictive. If that wasn’t bad enough, when you consume simple sugars and simple carbohydrates your blood sugar will often spike, signaling to your body that you are hungry. By using sugar substitutes you can help satisfy your craving without the consequences or excess sugar.

Sugar Substitutes

There are two categories that sugar substitutes would fall into, liquid forms and powdered forms. Molasses, honey, and fruit concentrates can be used for making exceptionally moist cakes and brownies. Generally the exchange will be ¾ a cup of honey or juice for every recommended cup of sugar. You may also have to adjust the other liquid ingredients in order to control the moisture. For powdered substitutes like Splenda, Sweet & Low, and refined fructose the exchange is generally 1/3-1/2 a cup for every cup of recommended sugar. I have found that with some brands of artificial sweetener your baked goods will come out too dry or with an unpleasant aftertaste. The best brand for baking healthier while still getting delicious and easy results is the Splenda blends brand.

Using Sugar Substitutes in Baking

Splenda makes a line of baking sugar blends including a white and brown sugar mix. These blends are half sugar and half Splenda. The exchange is ½ a cup of Splenda blend for every cup of sugar. Splenda also makes a granulated no calorie baking sugar. It’s perfect for pies, cakes, and cookies. It has a light weight airy texture and has an exchange rate of cup for cup with sugar. When I first lifted the bag I thought something was wrong, a bag that is equivalent to a 5lb bag of sugar weighed only a few ounces. I’ve found that adding just a few tablespoons of extra liquid help keep your cookies and cakes moist.

In the list of ingredients for my favorite cookie, original tollhouse chocolate chip cookies, over half the recipe is sugar. As much as I love the way fresh baked cookies taste I can’t justify that much sugar in anything I’m eating. Using Splenda granulated no calorie sweetener and Splenda brown sugar blend I was able to revamp the recipe as follows.

2 ¼ cup of stone ground whole wheat baking flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1cup (2 sticks) of “I can’t believe its not butter” baking butter

¾ cup of Splenda granulated no calorie sugar substitute

Roughly 1/3 of a cup of Splenda Brown sugar blend

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon of water

2 large eggs

2 cups of chocolate chips

1 cup of chopped nuts

Using Healthier Ingredients

It took a few tries for me to get the right consistency but it feels good knowing I am doing all I can to eat healthy. Any recipe can be altered to include more wholesome ingredients. Butter, white flour, sugar, whole milk, and shortening are all ingredients that can be replaced with healthier items while having little to no effect on the flavor. These baked goods are also appropriate for diabetics who need to watch how much sugar they consume. If you want to enjoy a sweet snack without all the guilt, sugar substitutes are a great way to bake healthier.

Resources

Sydny Carter, Baking with Sugar and Sugar Substitutes, Allrecipes.com

Splenda Brand Sweetener, Splenda.com

Dangers of Sugar, Fitnesspillars.com