Stevia

[beaton]

I am trying to cook my own food rather than buying because of the other ingredients in G/F foods. I,m struggling which is hard for a pro. cook. I am looking to replace sugar with Stevia but can't find a brand which has a conversion table. The one from the supermarket said spoon for spoon but the food came out tasteless. Anyone know the answer?? Thanks.x

[Lynilou]

I'd be interested to hear too. I tried stevia but it didn't agree with me unfortunately, now I try to cut down on sugar where I can but use the golden rather than the more refined white.

[Penel]

I have tried cutting down on the amount of sugar in recipes by about a quarter, and it seems to be ok. I've also found some 'no added sugar' cake recipes, just to satisfy the need for cake. Not happy about artificial sweeteners, so try to avoid them.

[beaton in reply to Penel]

Thank you Penel,I don't like the idea of chemical sugar substitutes either.xx

[poing]

I do my own baking for the same reasons.

Replacing sugar with stevia is hard because stevia doens't have the same volume as sugar and has to be bulked out with fillers. You could end up eating a lot of those fillers, and they might be just as problematic as sugar. I've decided that I'd rather eat the sugar in moderation.

Unless you are diabetic, there's no reason to fear sugar. I can't find anything intrinsically evil about sugar in moderation. If cakes are a treat that are only eaten occasionally, and don't replace other more nutrient dense foods, then where's the problem?

Low sugar recipes can help. I like Nigella Lawson's chocolate chestnut cake. It has only 60g of sugar in the whole cake. Of course, it has quite high fat content instead, from the butter, the chocolate and the chestnuts. Let's remember it's cake! It's a treat. It ain't going to be nutritionally perfect. Having said that it does have a fair bit of protein from eggs and the chestnuts.

I tend to look for cakes based on proper whole foods rather than a lot of flours. I like cakes based on nuts (almonds, chestnuts, coconut), fruits (apple, blueberry), or even root vegetables (potato, beetroot, carrot). If I'm going to have some cake, I like it to have a bit of nutritional value too.

I'm on the look out for a really good recipe for carrot cake, if anyone knows of one.

[beaton in reply to poing]

Thank you Poing, I like the sound of the Nigella cake.xx

[Karen77]

For those of you who think sugar is harmless, you should watch Sugar: The Bitter Truth on Youtube! I have tried baking with stevia (most of the Wheat Belly recipes call for it), but I don't care for the taste. I would rather use raw honey or pure maple syrup. My tastebuds prefer the maple syrup over the honey, but that could be the "Canadian" coming out in me! Try paleo recipes online which use sugar replacements such as honey, maple syrup and dates. They've done the guess work for you. I like againstallgrain.com and elanaspantry.com for dessert items, but a simple search will come up with lots of options.

[beaton in reply to Karen77]

Thank you Karen,I will look at those links and like the sound of the paleo recipes. I much prefer the idea of real food deserts.xx

[Venetia]

I also found stevia difficult to use. Does anyone know much about AGAVE. SUCRALOSE . RICESWEETENERS, OR ANY OTHER ………

Maybe our problem with sugar is unhealed villi as sugars and carbohydrates are digested on top brush borders of villi and if our villi are still damaged maybe we are just not digesting and absorbing properly

[beaton in reply to Venetia]

Now there's a thought.

[Penel in reply to Venetia]

Agave sugar is really a bad idea. It may be low GI but it contains a lot of fructose and can affect your liver.

authoritynutrition.com/6-he...

[beaton in reply to Penel]

Thanks for this Penel,will look at it. I think this is why I was interested in Stevia.x

[Penel]

I have watched the video by Robert Lustig on the effects of sugar (very good, but long and complicated, needed coffee to stay awake) and he was talking about excess consumption. The problem the US and UK is the amount of sugar added to food by the manufacturers.

If you cook your own meals generally then I don't think a small amount of sugar in the occasional cake is going to matter, unless you are very overweight or pre-diabetic. But don't be fooled by any claims that a particular sugar is "healthy", it doesn't matter where it comes from or if it's organic, the body will still see it as sugar.

I had to fight my sugar addiction for quite some time! I can now have a small amount but I know I've got to be very careful not to slip back into bad habits.

[beaton in reply to Penel]

Thanks Penel, I look into Robert Lustig. I'm trying to be kind to my liver.I don't as a rule eat much sugar and I suppose a little doesn't hurt.