natural sweeteners

January 3, 2007

SLUGGY! Welcome! I'm so happy you are here!

I do remember the horrid withdrawal you went thru with Aspartame. It truly takes dedication to stick with it. For me, caffeine was much harder. Now I don't miss it at all. I still love the taste of coffee, but limit myself to an occasional decaf treat.

I'm interested in hearing more about Agave syrup! I have been wanting to try it. If you've had any experiences cooking or baking with it, please, please let us know. :-)

I am not wild about Stevia. I've heard that different brands taste different, though. I use it anyway, but I'm hoping I like Agave better. Thanks for the primer, I haven't researched it enough yet to discover the dreaded fillers.

Welcome again. :-)Cyndi

In a message dated 1/3/2007 11:17:54 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, arcure writes:

I guess I should chirp in here now on the sugar topic. When I get more time I'll send a proper introduction email. ;-)

Aspartame Poisoning caused me to swear off of ALL artificial sweeteners almost 2 yrs. ago. I was a Diet Dr. Pepper Junkie!

Cyndi can tell ya the hell I went through for the 8 weeks or so I suffered w/the withdrawal from aspartame.

I started using Stevia about 6 months ago. If you are use to processed table sugar, it does take getting use to. It has a bit of a licorice taste....to me, at least.

A tip for getting it to dissolve in liquids....put the stevia powder in first, then a small amount of the drink. After that's dissolved, then add the rest of your liquid.

I have also just gotten some agave, which is another natural sweetener. It comes in blue or red varieties mostly. Agave has the advantage of being lower on the Glycemic Index, which measures how quickly food is absorbed into the body. Having a lower value/number is better.

Foods high on the scale cause blood sugars to spike, which is bad for diabetics or anybody who wants to watch their blood sugar levels. Processed table sugar is about a 100 on the scale....Honey is better at about 83. "Pure" agave is about 26 AND it's 25% sweeter than processed sugar so you need much less. That being said, it difficult to find 'pure' agave. Alot of what's sold isn't pure.....it has fillers companies put in to stretch their supply, as agave cactus take longer to mature and produce nectar than say sugar cane plants. Many companies find supply is outstripped by demand so they add fillers or even worse, other sugars. I've read that these fillers can double the GI number of agave, but even still, it's better than using white sugar at 100. ;-)

Just be careful when buying agave.....

Oh, and it's got some molasses like overtones....that rich 'heavy' flavor. Some people don't like that, some do.

With me, it's taking alot of experimenting to see which sweetener to use in what....cooking, baking, hot drinks, cold drinks, etc.

HTH,

Denise

'sluggy'

January 3, 2007

I guess I should chirp in here now on the sugar topic. When I get more time I'll send a proper introduction email. ;-)

Aspartame Poisoning caused me to swear off of ALL artificial sweeteners almost 2 yrs. ago. I was a Diet Dr. Pepper Junkie!

Cyndi can tell ya the hell I went through for the 8 weeks or so I suffered w/the withdrawal from aspartame.

I started using Stevia about 6 months ago. If you are use to processed table sugar, it does take getting use to. It has a bit of a licorice taste....to me, at least.

A tip for getting it to dissolve in liquids....put the stevia powder in first, then a small amount of the drink. After that's dissolved, then add the rest of your liquid.

I have also just gotten some agave, which is another natural sweetener. It comes in blue or red varieties mostly. Agave has the advantage of being lower on the Glycemic Index, which measures how quickly food is absorbed into the body. Having a lower value/number is better.

Foods high on the scale cause blood sugars to spike, which is bad for diabetics or anybody who wants to watch their blood sugar levels. Processed table sugar is about a 100 on the scale....Honey is better at about 83. "Pure" agave is about 26 AND it's 25% sweeter than processed sugar so you need much less. That being said, it difficult to find 'pure' agave. Alot of what's sold isn't pure.....it has fillers companies put in to stretch their supply, as agave cactus take longer to mature and produce nectar than say sugar cane plants. Many companies find supply is outstripped by demand so they add fillers or even worse, other sugars. I've read that these fillers can double the GI number of agave, but even still, it's better than using white sugar at 100. ;-)

Just be careful when buying agave.....

Oh, and it's got some molasses like overtones....that rich 'heavy' flavor. Some people don't like that, some do.

With me, it's taking alot of experimenting to see which sweetener to use in what....cooking, baking, hot drinks, cold drinks, etc.

HTH,

Denise

'sluggy'

January 3, 2007

I'm using stevia for last 1 1/2 years and find it without any aftertaste. I use a liquid, made be NOW. I tried to make ice cream with it but the ice cream does not have a good consistency...it falls apart like a powder. It also had a little bitter taste to it, maybe I put too much stevia in it.

I'm interested in your powder...who makes it? I see the powder in the health food store but am afraid to get it because I know some stevias may have an aftertaste...

Barbara

I started using Stevia about 6 months ago. If you are use to processed table sugar, it does take getting use to. It has a bit of a licorice taste....to me, at least.

A tip for getting it to dissolve in liquids....put the stevia powder in first, then a small amount of the drink. After that's dissolved, then add the rest of your liquid.

HTH,

Denise

'sluggy'

January 4, 2007

I'm interested in hearing more about Agave syrup! I have been wanting to try

it. If you've had any experiences cooking or baking with it, please, please

let us know. :-)

***************

We haven't gotten to the 'baking with it' part yet, really. I've used it in

hot and iced tea so far. It's not really a diet aid for those needing to

reduce calorie intake as it has the same caloric count as table sugar. And

the price of agave is higher than refined sugars(white, brown, molasses,

etc.)so I think baking with it might be prohibitive to those watching the

pocketbook. But we'll be doing some baking with it soon.

I did substitute agave for brown sugar in the pretzel dough recipe last

night. My youngest son, Noah, dearly loves those pretzel dogs you get at

that Auntie Anne's place in the mall......his father takes him to the mall

b/c I don't do malls, so this addiction is all HIS fault....lolol

Anyway, I figured it would be better to make them at home for him....that

way we can control what goes into them, how much/what kind of oil is added

in the cooking process, etc. So I found one of those copycat recipes for

famous fast/processed foods online-for the pretzel dough part, and tried it.

Noah gives 2 thumbs up and likes homemade pretzel dogs even better than AAs

now. The time spent together rolling dough snakes was a bonus. ;-)

We couldn't detect any taste difference using the agave either.

Not counting the energy to cook the dogs, we spent about $3.00 for 8 pretzel

dogs(we used the expensive Nathan's dogs-you could spend less with other

brands). Beats spending $2.50 Each($20 for 8!) at the mall, right?lol

Next time we make them, we'll try subbing some whole wheat flour instead of

just plain ol' all-purpose or bread flour in the recipe.

And don't hate me cuz I let my kid eat evil nitrate loaded hot dogs......

It's a treat for him, not an everyday thing.

Sluggy

January 4, 2007

I don't really bake, but I do like to make bread, and I'd love to find a good sweetener to add to it when its called for. I just want something low on the glycemic index.

What is a pretzel dog? A hotdog wrapped in a pretzel? Sounds horrifyingly good, lol! With mustard, yum.....ok, ok, back into the "healhy' zone.........OMMMMMMMMMM.......... ;-)

And ANYTHING you make for Noah at home is bound to be healthier, not only cheaper! Good for you for making it for the poor kid. ;-)

Cyndi

In a message dated 1/4/2007 4:42:29 A.M. Pacific Standard Time, arcure writes:

We haven't gotten to the 'baking with it' part yet, really. I've used it in hot and iced tea so far. It's not really a diet aid for those needing to reduce calorie intake as it has the same caloric count as table sugar. And the price of agave is higher than refined sugars(white, brown, molasses, etc.)so I think baking with it might be prohibitive to those watching the pocketbook. But we'll be doing some baking with it soon.I did substitute agave for brown sugar in the pretzel dough recipe last night. My youngest son, Noah, dearly loves those pretzel dogs you get at that Auntie Anne's place in the mall......his father takes him to the mall b/c I don't do malls, so this addiction is all HIS fault....lololAnyway, I figured it would be better to make them at home for him....that way we can control what goes into them, how much/what kind of oil is added in the cooking process, etc. So I found one of those copycat recipes for famous fast/processed foods online-for the pretzel dough part, and tried it. Noah gives 2 thumbs up and likes homemade pretzel dogs even better than AAs now. The time spent together rolling dough snakes was a bonus. ;-)We couldn't detect any taste difference using the agave either.Not counting the energy to cook the dogs, we spent about $3.00 for 8 pretzel dogs(we used the expensive Nathan's dogs-you could spend less with other brands). Beats spending $2.50 Each($20 for 8!) at the mall, right?lolNext time we make them, we'll try subbing some whole wheat flour instead of just plain ol' all-purpose or bread flour in the recipe.And don't hate me cuz I let my kid eat evil nitrate loaded hot dogs...... It's a treat for him, not an everyday thing.Sluggy