If you are anything like me, you have felt overwhelmed by all the selections of natural sweetners out there. There are A LOT of them. Growing up, we had two types of sugar in my house, white and brown. That was that. It's wonderful that there are so many types to choose from, and they are so readily available, but it can be confusing! Here is a list of some of my favorite natural sweeteners, and a little info on why I don't recommend Agave nectar.
Holistic Mom R.N.'s Favorite Natural Sweetener
1. Sucant - My favorite sugar to use to date. Sucant is made from sugarcane, and is whole unrefined cane sugar. The sugar cane juice is extracted manually, then cooled and little brown crystals form. It is brown, because it still has some of it's molasses content. It has a mild molasses/caramel flavor. Sucant also has less sucrose than table sugar. It can replace table sugar in any recipe 1:1.
2. Rapadura- Very similar to Sucant, as it is also made from sugar cane juice. Rapadura is unrefined dried sugar cane juice. It contains all of the vitamins and minerals that are normally found in sugarcane juice, namely iron. It replaces sugar 1:1 and adds a molasses flavor and dark color, so it’s great in baked goods like brownies, cookies, and cakes, coffee and black tea. It does have a pretty strong molasses flavor, so keep that in mind when using it.
This is a brick of rapadura
3. Turbinado- This sugar is often confused with sucanat, but the two are not the same. After the sugarcane juice is extracted, the juice is then boiled, cooled, and allowed to crystallize into granules. These granules are then refined to a light tan color by washing them in a centrifuge to remove impurities and surface molasses. Turbinado is lighter in color and contains less molasses than both rapadura and sucanat. A popular brand-name of turbinado sugar is Sugar in the Raw, that you often see in every coffee shop. It replaces sugar 1:1.
As you can see, the crystals are much larger and formed than sucant and rapadura. It is also much lighter in color.
4. Maple Syrup- I love using maple syrup when I want a liquid sweetener. I usually buy the lighter grade one (lighter color and milder taste). It can be used as a substitute for sugar in just about any way. It can be used for making cookies, cakes, adding sweetness to smoothies, nut butters, nut milks, and of course...pancakes! It is known that maple syrup can bring many benefits to the body, including promoting the health of the heart, boosting the immune system, lowering the risk of prostrate cancer and others.
Trader Joes Grade B is great! It is the most reasonably priced organic maple syrup I have been able to find.
5. Raw Honey- Raw honey is a natural sweetener that is made by bees. It is important that you buy raw honey, so that you can get the many health benefits and nutritional qualities from the honey. If you add it to your tea, let the water cool a bit before adding it. Honey has been used as a sugar substitute for centuries. It has a low glycemic index, and is ideal for those who want to lose weight. I have read, that if you are trying to lose weight, you should take some honey every morning. Honey is rich in antioxidants, which can protect your body from a variety of illnesses. It can also treat insomnia, beautify the skin, help wounds heal and promote digestion. Wowza!! We use it a lot here in my house as a natural cough syrup. It is very soothing to the throat when you have an upper respiratory infection. My favorite sick "tea" is made with hot water, raw honey, ginger, and lemon juice.
***IMPORTANT!!!!!! Honey should NOT be given to infants under one year of age due to the fact that it can carry botulism toxins. ***
This is my favorite brand. It's good quality and quite reasonably priced.
You might wonder why I didn't add Agave to this list with all it's hype and popularity in the media over the past few years. There are some new concerns over Agave being no better for you than high fructose corn syrup. One of the worst "sugar" substitute offenders. Agave nectar is produced from the juice of the core of the agave, a succulent plant native to Mexico. Far from a whole food, agave juice is extracted, filtered, heated and hydrolyzed into agave syrup. Vegans often use agave as a honey substitute, although it’s even sweeter and a little thinner than honey. It contains trace amounts of iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium. The fructose content of agave syrup is much higher than that of high fructose corn syrup, which is of concern since some research has linked high fructose intake to weight gain (especially around the abdominal area), high triglycerides, heart disease and insulin resistance. High fructose corn syrup contains 55% fructose while agave nectar syrup contains 90%. Despite this, it has a low glycemic index because of its low glucose content.
Well, I hope this helped, and makes your day a little sweeter ;)
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