Sugar substitutes

In trying to make recipes healthier and with little refined sugar, I have been looking up different substitutes to put into my baking for my toddler.

Of course, not all sugar is bad- it is found naturally in many foods. I am talking about the refined white sugar in foods like store bought cakes and other baked and packaged goods that should not be consumed by little ones if possible. 

Here is some of what I have found:

Sugars come in many forms, and all have different Glycemic Indexes (GI).
"When carbohydrates are digested, glucose is released into the bloodstream. The glycemic index is a comparative measurement of the amount of glucose released by a particular food over a two to three-hour period.
Foods that rapidly release glucose rate high on the glycemic index (GI). Foods that slowly release glucose are low on the glycemic index. Mixing high and low GI foods can result in a moderate glucose release" (www.OrganicLifestyleMagazine.com)

A food/sugar with a low GI means that you won't get the sugar rush then crash. A higher ranked GI means you will get that spike then low energy.

Some great alternatives to regular sugar include: natural stevia, agave nectar, date sugar, brown rice syrup, evaporated cane juice, organic bootstrap molasses or organic raw honey.

Click here to read a lot more- VERY interesting! This link also includes a full chart of sugars and their respective GI rankings.


Agave
For each cup of white sugar replaced, use 2/3 of a cup of agave and reduce other liquids by 1/4 to 1/3 cup. 

For each cup of brown sugar replaced, use 2/3 of a cup of agave and reduce other liquids by 1/4 cup. Because the moisture content of Brown Sugar is higher than that of white sugar, liquids may not have to be reduced as much when substituting agave nectar. 


(Agave syrup may cause baked items to brown more quickly, so reduce oven temperatures by 25°F is and increase baking time slightly.)


Honey
To replace sugar with honey use 2/3 to 1 cup honey for every cup of sugar, and add 1/4 tsp baking soda per cup of honey.

Brown Rice Syrup
For brown rice syrup try replacing 1 cup of white sugar with 1 + 1/3 cups of brown rice syrup, and add 1/4 tsp baking soda per cup of syrup.

Molasses
For molasses use 1/3 cup molasses for every cup of sugar, and reduce liquids by 1/4 cup per cup of molasses. It may take some trial and error but many baked goods can be altered to include healthy ingredients.

Click here for more nutritional information on sugar substitutes

Do you have more information on this subject? Leave a comment and share your knowledge!

(Image courtesy of http://www.naturalhealthmag.com/images/nat/209302/2263.jpg)