|
SLASHING SUGAR
Sugar, like salt, is a flavor enhancer. In fact, a pinch of sugar in a recipe helps boost the salty flavor. While it's sometimes given a worse rap than it deserves, sugar is still an empty calorie. In other words, the only benefit you get by adding it to a recipe is that oh-so-sweet boost in flavor; sugar adds a big zip, nada, nothing in the way of nutritional value. (Despite studies that show that for the diabetic, sugar has about the same adverse affect [read: increase] in blood sugar levels as does other refined starches like white bread and rice, the choice as to how a diabetic should use sugar in his or her diet is between the diabetic and his or her dietician. The rest of us are on the honor system.)
Some painless, lazy about ways you can go about decreasing the amount of sugar in your diet include:
- If you can tolerate them, use artificial sweeteners. Just keep in mind that you won't be adding any nutritional value to your diet when you do so. Also diabetics need to consult with a dietician because some artificial sweeteners can still adversely affect blood glucose levels.
- Eat more fruit! This satisfies your sweet tooth, has that needed extra nutritional value of vitamins and minerals, and increases the amount of fiber in your diet. Fresh or unsweetened frozen is best. When you must use canned, select the unsweetened kind packed in water or its own juices.
- Eat whole grain snacks. For most people, baked goods made with whole grains need less sugar to taste sweet enough to enjoy, plus there's the added benefit that whole grains seem to reduce that sugar rush followed by another craving for sugar caused by eating pastries and candy. (The reduced metabolism time for sweets combined with whole grains is based on studies done determining the glycemic index for foods, which is a still somewhat controversial method of analyzing how a food converts to sugar in the blood stream. You can read more about the glycemic index at
www.mendosa.com/gi.htm.)
- Replace the soda that you drink with one of the healthier drink suggestions in Chapter 16.
I've been testing recipes using a new, all natural, low-glycemic, reduced calorie one-to-one sugar replacement product that I'm crazy about! Depending on the "formula"
-- regular Whey Low™ Granular or Whey Low™ Powder (confectioner's sugar variety), or Whey Low™ Granular, Type D (diabetic
version) -- and depending on whether or not you're diabetic, the glycemic index for this sweetener ranges from 12 to 20; granulated cane sugar is 100. While none of the Whey Low™ products are free of calories, they do only have 25% of the calories in cane sugar, or 4 calories a teaspoon versus the 16 in sugar. A very important consideration if you want to substitute sugar in a grilling marinade, is that unlike artificial sweeteners, Whey Low™ can withstand high temperature.
Unfortunately, this product isn't expected to be available in stores nationwide until sometime in
the future. For now, however, you can order it from the company Web site at
www.wheylow.com.
To see a Nutritional Analysis comparison for a recipe using
sugar versus Whey Low, check out Spiced
Chai-Style Creamer Mix.
End of Excerpt
Copyright © 2002-2006 Pamela Rice Hahn
Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved.
Whey Low
recipes: SugarFree
Tootsie Rolls
Low-Carb
Gourmet Coffee Drinks
Low Carb Lemon-Almond
Flour Pound Cake
Low Carb
Phillipine Ginger Tea (Salabat)
Low Carb
Poppyseed-Lemon Pound Cake
9 Grain Cracked Cereal Bread
|
|
