# Cutting out the Sugar



## Shin (Mar 25, 2014)

Anyone have any recommendations for replacement pure white sugar and brown sugar in recipes with alternatives?

One recipe I read was revised to use apple sauce instead of sugar in it, which sounded intriguing, haven't tried it yet though.


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## Horseyrider (Aug 8, 2010)

You can replace part of the sugar with applesauce, but not all. Using all tends to give a flat flavor and tough, rubbery texture. But who knows, you might grow to like it that way. 

So much depends on your recipe. I often use honey instead of sugar when baking yeast bread. I also reduce the sugar in many baked goods to two thirds the original amount. For things like fruit smoothies, I simply leave it out. 

In quick breads, instead of sugar and oil I use butter and honey, reducing the volume of the sweetener by half. 

Do you have any specific recipes you want to tinker with? And, are you trying to reduce sugar for medical reasons or for flavor? I love my sweets, but many recipes go well beyond sweet and are simply cloying.


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## violetdelusions (Feb 10, 2015)

Some of my favorite sweeteners are honey, pure maple, coconut palm sugar (somewhat similar to brown sugar with a hint of nuttiness), organic raw cane sugar, stevia in the raw (not truvia), sucanat... That's all I can think of for now. Almost all of them can replace sugar with the same measurements and will taste quite similar. Stevia is the only calorie free one, but the rest are still healthful in comparison to white sugar. My suggestion would be to go gradually. Start with raw cane, then sucanat, then coconut palm sugar or stevia. 

I'd also have to second the suggestion to not use all applesauce. It makes for dense baked goods in my experience.


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## Shin (Mar 25, 2014)

I've got a diet with too much sugar in it, it's not causing me medical problems, but it's not doing me any favors health wise either. 

I figure if I can cut the normal amount of sugar in my recipes et all, to a fraction, and replace the rest with substitutes it'll be healthy for me in the long run.

I've been replacing part of the normal amount of sugar I use with xylitol and it's been decent so far in what I've tried it in, I'm just starting out seeing what works.


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## Shin (Mar 25, 2014)

Coconut palm sugar sounds interesting!

I think I am going to keep experimenting with mixing alternatives with the normal stuff. 

I'd certainly like to grow something producing a sugar alternative in the yard eventually.


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## Pepsiboy (Dec 2, 2014)

Shin said:


> Anyone have any recommendations for replacement pure white sugar and brown sugar in recipes with alternatives?
> 
> One recipe I read was revised to use apple sauce instead of sugar in it, which sounded intriguing, haven't tried it yet though.


 Several years ago my wife became type 2 diabetic. We have changed over to using 'Splenda' and the generic version of it from Wal-Mart. Same for the brown sugar. Splenda gets used measure for measure the same as white sugar. With the brown sugar, follow the conversion on the package. We have had no problems with anything turning out tasting the same. We get the generic version, because it is about $2 per bag cheaper than the Splenda. Same ingredients, same taste. 

Best wishes.

Dave


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## countryfied2011 (Jul 5, 2011)

I dont normally like sugar replacements but I came across one that was recommended and I like it. It is called Swerve(it doesnt mess up my stomach)I use it for granular then they have a confection type of Swerve. For brown sugar I use coconut sugar.

i use unsweetened applsauce for butter, you can use puree prunes and bananas also

Egg Substitutions:
http://www.swansonvitamins.com/blog/kaitlins-blog/egg-substitutes


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## TraderBob (Oct 21, 2010)

We use Truvia as a 1:1 replacement. It comes in paper bags just like white sugar.


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## Pepsiboy (Dec 2, 2014)

TraderBob said:


> We use Truvia as a 1:1 replacement. It comes in paper bags just like white sugar.


 How does Truvia compare to Splenda for cost?? Can you find it at Wal-Mart? Just asking, as Splenda is a bit pricy. That's why we use the Wal-Mart generic version.

Dave


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## Shin (Mar 25, 2014)

I hadn't heard of these before, I will definitely try some of these. I like the sound of Swerve particularly.


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## Shin (Mar 25, 2014)

While we're on the subject of cutting out tasty sprinkly white stuff, anyone have any salt substitute recommendations too?


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## violetdelusions (Feb 10, 2015)

For asian dishes, use Braggs liquid aminos for soy sauce. For most other things, I find it's a much better idea to just use real, pure sea salt. A little goes a long way and it's full of wonderful minerals. Also, use more spices and less salt. Herbs, spices, and general seasonings extend the flavor, making you need less salt to enjoy it.


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## TraderBob (Oct 21, 2010)

Pepsiboy said:


> How does Truvia compare to Splenda for cost?? Can you find it at Wal-Mart? Just asking, as Splenda is a bit pricy. That's why we use the Wal-Mart generic version.
> 
> Dave


Wow, it's been a while since I had to buy some so I checked when I went to the store. They don't have it now, they have something else.

Truvia Baking Blend Natural Sweetener 24 oz for $9.99 1/2 cup replacement for 1 cup sugar. Seems more expensive as well.


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## sniper69 (Sep 23, 2007)

The thing I really enjoy is sweet tea. Now sweet tea uses a good amount of sugar to make. So what I've been doing for a couple years now is to use a sugar/stevia blend. This cuts the calories in my sweet tea considerably, and not having as much sugar is a definite plus too. Instead of 1 1/2 to 2 cups of sugar to a gallon of tea, I use a 1/2 cup of the sugar stevia blend. I started down this path of sugar/stevia blends with Sweetleaf sugarleaf (It is the name on the package, lol), and then I found a better deal in using Domino Light sugar and stevia blend. The Domino light comes in a 2 lb. plastic bag and says it sweetens the same as 4 lbs of sugar. The Sweetleaf Sugarleaf comes in a 16 oz. plastic bag. Both are around the same price point (around $5.99 a bag), so that is one reason I switched to the Domino brand. I tried the truvia baking blend - but don't feel it sweetens as nice as the above mentioned brands.

When splenda first came out, I tried making tea with a splenda sugar blend I made myself. It worked, but left that aftertaste that left me wanting for something better.

With baking bread I use honey instead of sugar. I also keep maple syrup in the house for use as a sweetener with some recipes.

As for coconut sugar, I have some on the shelf - I use it when I make gluten free nutella brownies (that recipe uses coconut flour too  ).


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## RFran (Feb 17, 2015)

I tried replacing maple syrup 1:1 for a cake recently, never rose. On second attempt with white sugar, no problems. I don't know enough about the chemistry of this and that to figure out how much and when to use maple syrup instead of sugar. My chocolate chip cookies were good but flat as an iron. In cooking it's not an issue, but in baking I'm finding it an expensive little challenge.


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## sniper69 (Sep 23, 2007)

RFran said:


> I tried replacing maple syrup 1:1 for a cake recently, never rose. On second attempt with white sugar, no problems. I don't know enough about the chemistry of this and that to figure out how much and when to use maple syrup instead of sugar. My chocolate chip cookies were good but flat as an iron. In cooking it's not an issue, but in baking I'm finding it an expensive little challenge.


RFran - A basic rule of thumb when using maple syrup in place of sugar in a recipe is to use 3/4 cup of maple syrup for each cup of white sugar called for in a recipe. Then reduce the other liquid in the recipe by 3 Tablespoons. This is what I've always been told.

One item I have bookmarked is much more informative on the subject, it is a pdf, so can be saved as a pdf to your computer for future viewing or for printing etc. It is from Cornell University and goes into a lot of detail.  http://www.nnyagdev.org/maplefactsheets/CMB%20205%20Replacing%20Table%20Sugar%20with%20Maple%20Sugar-1.pdf


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

I find that most of the recipes written in the past decade have way too much sugar and it is possible to cut the sugar by about 1/3 and come up with something that tastes a lot better.

Sugar adds tenderness to baked goods, so there is a limit to how much sugar you can cut from a recipe.

I suggest that to cut sugar, you experiment with reducing the amount of sugar in the recipe, but the most successful way to reduce sugar is to cut down on the times per week you eat sweets.

Substituting brown sugar won't gain you anything, That's the same sugar as granulated sugar but with molasses added.

I like sweets, but for me a piece of fresh fruit after my meal satisfies the craving for a sweet.


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## Tyler520 (Aug 12, 2011)

naturally occuring sugars are metabolized more slowly, so one option would be to use fresh fruit as a sweetener. 

I also enjoy using honey (especially raw unfiltered honey which isn't as sweet) as a substitute. a basic rule of thumb is a 1-to-1 exchange of honey to sugar in recipes, up to 1 cup, and .75-to-1 for anything calling for more than 1 cup.

maple syrup is a good substitute for things calling for brown sugar.

granulated sugar is required in baking because it acts as a leavener ofr the yeast, and aerates and stabilizes the batter when whipped, so swapping out granulated sugar in baking isn't necessarily always possible


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

if you go 3 weeks cutting out the sugar and not replacing it with other more natural sugars or nasty chemicals that trick your body into thinking they are sugar you will need 1/8 or less of the sugar you were using.

after a few weeks it is amazing what tastes sweet that you never thought of as sweet before , and how things you didn't used to think were overly sweet are now so sickly sweet you don't want them

wife and I went to a no sugar life style 6 months ago the kids started reduced sugar with the new year my son who would have made a face at 85% chocolate said how sweet it was when he got a pice this week 


85% chocolate has little enough sugar that it doesn't get counted as sugar 
watch the intake of fruit , dried fruit has concentrated sugar , eating mostly meat and vegetable with some nuts and some fruit 

I probably over do it on the fruit to often when I have a banana or two , an apple and an orange in the same day 

it definitely changes the way you eat


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