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It's January, and most of us are full of good intentions for better eating habits in the new year. I'm guessing that losing weight is the most common resolution for adults, and more people start dieting in January than any other time of year. Of course, there are as many diets as there are people who want to lose weight, but one thing that's included in pretty much every weight loss diet is the realization that sugar is full of empty calories. While most of us enjoy the taste of sweet things, we know that eating too many sugary foods will pack on the pounds.
I'm one of those people who believes that sugar is just plain bad, and I try to avoid eating it for the most part, but during the holidays when temptation is everywhere, inevitably I will eat a few sugary treats. It doesn't take too many times of eating a few cookies or pieces of candy before I remember why I quit eating sugar in the first place. Eating sugar makes me start craving sugary foods, and if I'm not paying attention I can start to consume an unbelievable amount of sugar. This is an actual physical craving for me, not just a "Hmm, that tastes good" kind of thing.
I can also tell that I should avoid sugar by how my body reacts when I eat sugar. When I'm following my normal diet of eating mainly foods that are low on the glycemic index, I'm one of those people who are full of energy and always get a lot done. When I've been eating sugar or other empty carb foods, I start having a hard time getting out of bed in the morning and find I need more caffeine to make it through my day. Sugar also causes me to have mood swings in a way that I never experience when I'm avoiding it.
Avoiding sugar completely may be easier said than done for most people, but there are many ways you can reduce your sugar intake and not have to completely give up desserts either. When it comes to low-sugar or sugar-free desserts, there are many options about what sweeteners to use. Because my body reacts so much to sugar, making dessert with Splenda is a good option for me, especially since I make dessert less than once a month. For people who want to avoid artificial sweetners, there are natural sweeteners like low-glycemic Agave Nectar or low-calorie Stevia which can give a sweet taste. You can also make great tasting things just by using the natural sweetness of fruit.
Whatever your personal choice is about eating sugar, a few low-sugar desserts are a great thing to have in your cooking repertoire. Here are some low-sugar or sugar-free dessert options food bloggers have been cooking up lately.
The Chocolate Orange Muffins from What's For Lunch Honey look delicious, and uses less than two ounces (50 grams) of sugar. Meeta also uses Muscavado sugar, which is more nutritious. (Meeta's Chocolate Orange Muffins from What's for Lunch Honey are pictured above.)
Johanna at Green Gourmet Giraffe in Australia makes Cherry Banana Muffins using something she calls golden syrup as a sweetener. I'm not sure what that is, but there's only one tablespoon in the whole batch of muffins, with the rest of the sweetness coming from cherries and bananas.
Dani Spies has Feel Good Chocolate Truffles that look amazing, and they're sweetened with agave nectar and fruit.
The Chocolate-Orange Fudge with Apricots from Diet, Dessert and Dogs is sweetened with agave nectar. (Diet, Dessert and Dogs' Chocolate-Orange Fudge with Apricots is pictured above.)
The Applesauce Raisin Cake made by Cookbook Cuisine is sweetened with Splenda, Applesauce, and raisins.
Sarina at TriniGourmet in Trinidad makes a type of sweetened corn cake called Pumpkin Pone, with only 1/4 cup of sugar in the whole batch. (TriniGourmet's Pumpkin Pone is pictured above.)
Gluten-Free Bay uses Splenda to sweeten Low-Fat Sugar Free Sesame Banana Muffins.
Susan from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen experiments using stevia to sweeten
