The Best Natural Sugar Substitutes
Stevia LeafStevia – 50 times sweeter than sugar, no calories, no glycemic index, completely natural, widely used throughout Europe, Japan and South America. I know it sounds too good to be true, but it isn't! It's wonderful for sweetening tea and coffee and I use it in my high protein smoothie every morning! In baking, the stevia sugar substitute can be a bit tricky because it is essentially a liquid and doesn't add volume, but there are several wonderful cookbooks devoted to the art of baking with stevia.
Turbinado SugarSuccanat or Turbinado – this is a great white and brown sugar substitute. It is made by pressing the juice out of the sugar cane plant and then dehydrating it. This means it still contains the molasses and minerals that give brown sugar its richer taste. Sucanat is technically not raw because it is generally dehydrated at temperatures above 115°, however it is certainly a great substitute in baking. I use it in my vegan brownies.
Rapadura – This is the most raw form of sugar available and is considered acceptable by many raw food chefs. It looks and tastes much like Sucanat. Rapadura can be substituted 1:1 for sugar in baking, but it's much better used in raw desserts. Be prepared - the taste and texture will be different, but most people prefer this!
Maple Syrup or Maple Sugar – - Although it is well-known as a natural sugar substitute, it's not as well known that grade B is better to use if you can find it, because the minerals are still in it.
DatesDate Sugar – a great natural sugar substitute made from ground up dehydrated dates, so it still contains all the minerals and fiber of the fruit. This form of sugar is also commonly used in raw food preparation. It is not good in drinks because it doesn't dissolve well, but it works very well in baked goods.
Yacon SyrupYacon Syrup – made from the roots of the Yacon plant, which grows only in the Andes, this rich, thick syrup is very sweet and has no glycemic index. This is a terrific natural sugar substitute - I use it in many of my vegan recipes and it's great with unsweetened or raw almond milk on cereal and oatmeal. Yum!
more at link:
http://www.busy-vegan.com/natural-sugar-substitute.html
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