Low sugar hints for sugar high Friday

by Sarah Gilbert, Posted Jan 6th 2006 @ 3:52PM

fresh raspberries are a good replacement for sugar
When I read Andrew's post on Sugar High Friday I chuckled to myself. Mwa ha ha, I said evilly. I've been practicing for this event for over a year!

Yes. You see, last August when I became pregnant, I consulted with a midwife about how to reduce the possibility of having a second c-section. Her advice, given my particular situation, was to try to keep the baby's weight down by switching to a very low-carb, almost no-sugar diet during the last few months of the pregnancy.

I was completely unsuccessful in my attempt to either (a) keep the baby's weight down or (b) avoid a c-section. So this will NOT be a post about pregnancy diet strategies. It is, however, a post on how to bake delicious things with no, or very little, refined sugar. Because I'm a bit of a sugar freak. I adore baking, and there's nothing that makes me happier than curling up at the end of (every) meal with something sweet. I thought, at first, that it was impossible to go without sugar.

Happily, I was wrong.

At first I walked into the low-sugar thing gingerly, thinking about sugar substitutes and just reducing the sugar in my recipes. Then I got brave and started taking it out altogether. And it worked!

In recipes with fresh fruit, you can often take out the sugar altogether. I made a delicious berry crisp with no sugar that totally satisfied my craving for sweets.
Fat, unsurprisingly enough, is a substitute for sweetness. This may go against the whole "healthy" part of the low-sugar theme but... whatever. It met my personal requirements. Try pouring organic fresh cream on something (berries, for example) instead of sugar and you'll see what I mean.
I spent hours looking at ice cream labels at the grocery store and just gave up on finding anything that was sugar free or low sugar, without being also low on fat and high on chemicals. I borrowed an ice cream maker and made my own ice cream. I just used the recipes provided, but didn't add sugar. And do you know what? Delicious. Try fresh cream with (a) frozen berries and bananas; (b) bananas and coffee; or (c) toasted walnuts and a little maple syrup.
Maple syrup is just amazing. I added it to everything. In all but the most delicate baking recipes, it's a perfect substitute.
You can reduce sugar in almost any baking recipe without major effects to the consistency. Just try it.
Try cake recipes with buttermilk in the mix; they usually don't require much sugar and something about the buttermilk gives you that yummy mouth feel you're looking for. Added benefit: reduced fat.
Nut butters and shaved coconut (try an organic store so you don't get the kind coated with sugar) together make a delicious sweet snack. Try them on bananas or very good sourdough bread.
Peanut butter honey = vegan, low-carb, gluten-free deliciousness. A local bakery makes peanut butter truffles that are basically just peanut butter balls dipped in super dark chocolate (try the really good quality stuff).

[Photo Sarah Gilbert]

Filed Under: On the Blogs, How To, Methods
Tags: avoiding refined sugar, AvoidingRefinedSugar, baking, baking without sugar, BakingWithoutSugar, cut down on sugar, CutDownOnSugar, dessert, low sugar recipes, low-sugar, LowSugarRecipes, refined sugar, RefinedSugar, sugar, sugar high friday, sugar substitutes, SugarHighFriday, SugarSubstitutes