If you're anything me, you're always looking for ways to reduce your sugar consumption without reaching for artificial sweeteners. There's just something about that white sweet powder that just doesn't sit well with me. It makes me feel shaky and then zaps my energy just a few minutes later. Just as much as I don't enjoy the way sugar makes me feel, I don't like the artificial alternatives either. While I love sweets, I prefer them to be made with natural sweeteners over chemically processed white sugar or artificial sweeteners made in a lab. If you're trying to reduce your sugar consumption but still want to enjoy something sweet every now and then like me, try a few of the following ways to reduce your sugar consumption without reaching for artificial sweeteners.
1 Dates and Date Paste
Reaching for dates is one of the best ways to reduce your sugar consumption naturally. While processed sugar has zero nutritional benefits, dates are packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, phytonutrients and fiber! I like to use dates to sweeten homemade granola bars, protein bars, oatmeal, desserts and smoothies. You can also make a date paste by combining water and dates, soaking them and then blending them. This natural sweetener is great in oatmeal, smoothies, or even spread on toast! Dates are a great post-workout recovery snack too!
Frequently asked questions
2 Spices and Herbs
While most spices and herbs certainly aren't sweet like sugar, they add yummy flavors to food causing you to not even miss the sweetness. Spices like cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves all add a sweet, enriched flavor without adding any calories or negative effects like sugar. Other herbs like basil, mint, and coriander add a sweet flavor to savory dishes. Even more, herbs and spices can provide ample health benefits far beyond what science knows!
3 Fresh Fruit
There's nothing wrong with reaching for a piece of fresh fruit when you're craving something sweet. Fruits like apples, pears, bananas, and cherries all provide a sweet flavor without any added sugar. Try adding fresh fruit to your morning oatmeal, plain yogurt, sandwiches, homemade cookies, and desserts to satisfy any sweet tooth! I love to add fruit to savory dishes like veggie burgers, salads, and vegetable dishes to experience two different tastes in one bite!
4 Honey
Produced by bees, honey is one of my favorite natural sweeteners. Known for its anti-bacterial properties as well as providing healthy antioxidants, honey is a great sugar substitute to use in your morning coffee, to drizzle over plain yogurt, in baking and in cooking as well. Dark, raw, local and unprocessed honey all have higher antioxidant content than other forms of honey, therefore, when choosing honey select one of these varieties.
5 Pure Maple Syrup
The keyword here is pure. There are several different maple syrups on the market that don't even have any real maple in them at all. Instead they are high fructose corn syrup combined with caramel coloring. Sneaky aren't they? Maple syrup contains a few vitamins and minerals, particularly the B vitamin, riboflavin. Choose pure maple syrup for pancakes, homemade granola bars, or to drizzle over vegetables for a sweet and savory taste!
6 Blackstrap Molasses
A great sugar alternative for vegetarians and vegans, blackstrap molasses provides a large amount of iron, manganese, copper, and calcium in just one tablespoon. Blackstrap molasses has a more acidic flavor than other sweeteners, and therefore, when using it as a substitute, combine it with another natural sweetener. I like to use blackstrap molasses to make homemade baked beans; it gives them the same sweet flavor as the store or restaurant bought version with added vitamins and minerals too!
7 Whole Leaf Stevia
Much different than stevia extracts that are sold in most grocery stores, whole leaf stevia is a naturally-derived sweetener from the stevia (yerba dulce) plant. Stevia is calorie free and nearly 100 times sweeter than table sugar, therefore, when substituting stevia for sugar, much less can be used. When purchasing stevia, look for a product with !00% pure stevia extract and no fillers or additives listed on the label.
You can have your cake and eat it too if you substitute sugar for any of these natural alternatives. Have you ever tried any of these healthier sweets? If so, what is your favorite?
