In the modern world of cooking and baking, sugar-laden recipes are ubiquitous, but the health hazards of excessive sugar intake have become a focus of public concern.
Sugar provides our bodies with energy for daily activities, but it contains almost no nutrients. Various desserts such as donuts, pies, cakes, and cookies may be tempting, but consuming too much sugar can lead to a rapid increase in blood sugar levels, not only causing weight gain but also increasing the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and other chronic illnesses.
How can we reduce sugar intake without sacrificing taste? Professionals suggest consuming sugar in moderation and opting for healthier sweeteners like natural sugars, fruits, etc., as an important way to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
Here are five low-sugar baking strategies to make your desserts both delicious and healthy.
You don’t have to completely cut out sugar; just reduce the amount of sugar used in baking. For example, in recipes like strawberry pie that contain a lot of sugar, reducing the sugar by 1/4 won’t make a significant difference in the overall taste of the baked goods.
In other words, if a recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, you can try using ¾ cup, gradually reducing it to ⅔ or ½ cup, maintaining the flavor while enhancing health benefits.
Studies by the UK non-profit organization Cochrane show that moderate reduction in sugar intake can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, with lower levels of added sugar leading to modest reductions in blood pressure and cholesterol levels.
Refined white sugar is not the only sweetener option; coconut sugar is a great alternative.
Coconut sugar is favored by nutritionists and bakers for its content of prebiotic fibers, which are beneficial for stabilizing blood sugar. Dietary fibers can help regulate blood sugar, especially soluble fibers that mixed with food can slow down sugar absorption, preventing rapid blood sugar spikes.
Furthermore, using coconut sugar doesn’t require recipe modifications, as its impact on blood sugar is low, making it a convenient alternative sweetener. These characteristics have made coconut sugar a popular sweetener choice.
If you still want to retain some of the sweetness of refined sugar, you can try mixing half white sugar and half alternative sugar. Using allulose with refined sugar in a 1:1 ratio, for example, has minimal impact on blood sugar.
Research shows that after absorption into the bloodstream, most allulose is excreted directly in the urine and not used as an energy source, therefore having minimal effect on blood sugar. However, the long-term effects and side effects of allulose are still not fully understood. When considering using allulose as a sugar substitute, it is recommended to discuss with a physician or nutritionist to ensure choosing a suitable sweetener for oneself.
Additionally, you can try replacing half of the sugar with applesauce in recipes, starting from half sugar and half applesauce and adjusting the ratio until you reach the desired level of sweetness in the baked goods.
Honey or maple syrup are also natural sugar substitutes. You can replace 3/4 cup of sugar with honey or maple syrup, slightly reducing the recipe’s liquid content and lowering the baking temperature by 25 degrees Fahrenheit (around 3-4 degrees Celsius).
Cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg are warm spices that naturally enhance sweetness and flavor in baked goods. Fruits are also a good choice for adding natural sweetness and texture, such as berries, apples, pomegranates, cherries, mangoes, bananas, etc.
While dried berries may not completely replace sugar, they can bring different layers of flavor to baking, especially enhancing the taste of chocolate cookies with the addition of dried berries.
Change your mindset about sugar by sprinkling some sugar on top of the finished product, similar to adding salt to a dish at the end, treating sugar as a garnish rather than a main ingredient. Sprinkling sugar on sugar-free muffins allows you to savor the sweetness with the first bite, without consuming excessive sugar. This is a way to reduce sugar usage.
Hopefully, the aforementioned five low-sugar baking strategies mentioned can help us enjoy delicious treats while maintaining a healthy lifestyle and taking care of our physical well-being.