SB without sugar alcohols
Find a Conversation
| Thu, 07-10-2008 - 4:15pm |
Since this week is almost over, I am already starting to get recipe ideas and plan meals for next week. (I love meal planning and grocery shopping). The only part of this diet that doesn't work for me is replacing sugar with sugar substitutes. This may be TMI, but I have a really spastic colon, and my doctor advised me to stay away from sugar alcohols, which has really helped my digestive system.
So, for recipes that do call for minimal amounts of sugar, what do I do? Not make the recipe at all, or use the small amount of regular sugar? Is there another way to sweeten things without using illegal sugar?
It seems to effect SO many recipes. Like, so many of the slaw recipes look delicious, and I want to make one to go with lunches next week. But even so many of those call for sugar.
Sorry for asking so many questions! I just want to make sure I am doing my best to follow all the rules without feeling super limited.
Thanks again!!!
-Katie

I don't like to use a lot of artificial sweeteners either and tend to lean towards Agave Nectar, which is legal , and completely natural. Agave is sweeter than sugar or honey and also more liquid, so recipes will need to be adjusted :-)
I use agave nectar in some recipes.
I just want to clarify that artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols aren't one in the same. A lot of artificial sweeteners do NOT contain any sugar alcohols. Sucralose does not, for example. Sugar alcohols come from things that end in -ol, like sorbitol, maltitol, xylitol. Some sugar-free products contain both artificial sweeteners and sugar alcohols, some do not contain any sugar alcohols at all but do contain artificial sweeteners. They don't always go together.
I am VERY VERY sensitive to sugar alcohols, but I have no digestive issues from other types of artificial sweeteners, like splenda or nutrasweet. Now if you are sensitive to both types, that is a different story, and things like stevia or agave nectar my work for you. But I just wanted to clarify about the term "sugar alcohol".
belizesig1
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
Yes... my bad. I wasn't clear in my post. I do know there is a difference. The doctor said no sugar alcohols, so I try to stay away from them. I personally have a thing about artificial sweeteners... and even though I do consume them, I try to keep it to a minimal amount, because there is a lot of conflicting information out there about them right now.
I know I come across them in some of the prepackaged things that I eat... but I try not to add them to food if I don't have to. The agave nectar sounds like a good idea to me. Since it is a liquid, about how much would you use in comparison to sugar? What recipes does it work best in? What does it definitely not work in?
Thanks for all the help!
belizesig1
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
I dont know anything about agave nectar and I hope to learn more! I am a splenda addict and am always looking for ways to not use it as much.
I find Stevia horrifying as well, EXCEPT in smoothies or mixed into plain nf yogurt, where it works really well! I keep a box of stevia just for that.