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I've never used artificial sweeteners before, and I don't use or cook with much sugar at home. Never been a big desert lover nor do I bake.
But now I'm on a fierce campaign to lose some weight (18 pounds gone in nine weeks!) and I'm finding a few things requiring a little sugar - salad dressing, BBQ sauce, smoothies, etc. Not a lot of sugar or honey but they need something.
I have that stuff in the little pink package for guests. I think it tastes awful, even a little pinch of it. Which is weird given that I prefer diet soda and Snapple light to the full sugar drinks.
Any better tasting subs? I've heard of Stevia?
(please don't turn this into warnings about how unhealthy/dangerous/carcenogenic this stuff is. I really don't give a hoot.)
The healthiest is Stevia (not a refined stevia combination) but it does have an aftertaste. If you get something like Truvia, which is a combination of refined stevia and erythritol, to me.. it tastes pretty good. Erythritol by itself tastes good but it has the effect of the sensation of cooling the tongue which doesn't work well in some foods.
The one with some debate over it's healthiness is sucralose, which is what Splenda is. I don't use it much but IMO, Splenda (or sucralose) is the one that tastes the best.
The healthiest is Stevia (not a refined stevia combination) but it does have an aftertaste. If you get something like Truvia, which is a combination of refined stevia and erythritol, to me.. it tastes pretty good. Erythritol by itself tastes good but it has the effect of the sensation of cooling the tongue which doesn't work well in some foods.
The one with some debate over it's healthiness is sucralose, which is what Splenda is. I don't use it much but IMO, Splenda (or sucralose) is the one that tastes the best.
Forgetting about the "healthiest" WHICH TASTES THE BEST when used in small amounts in things like salad dressing, bbq sauce, etc.
Forgetting about the "healthiest" WHICH TASTES THE BEST when used in small amounts in things like salad dressing, bbq sauce, etc.
She said that she thinks Truvia is pretty good and Splenda tastes the best.
I guess I would agree with that, but I've never used these fake sweeteners for cooking. I mean, 1 tsp of sugar has 16 calories and you don't need much more than a spoonful in a whole recipe of salad dressing.
Stevia is a natural sweetener (I've grown the plant before) that tastes unnatural. It's so sickly sweet (with a bit of an anise-y aftertaste) that it tastes like something from the lab to me. Oh the irony.
Forgetting about the "healthiest" WHICH TASTES THE BEST when used in small amounts in things like salad dressing, bbq sauce, etc.
Well, d'uh, Sugar? Cane sugar to be specific.
Losing weight does *NOT* mean eliminating things like sugar. I've managed to not only keep my weight off from my all-time high, but lose a few more pounds, all while consuming roughly 3 teaspoons of sugar a day in my tea alone.
Sugar (and honey if you like that) have no replacement that doesn't come with some baggage... be that taste or the dubious chemicals and medical issues. For the little you're claiming to use, there is absolutely no reason for trying to find an alternative.
If you are only looking for something to use in small amounts as you stated, then just use sugar. It is not like you plan to consume caramel rolls by the truckload or lots of sugar-laden pastries, cakes, etc where it would make a huge difference. A little sugar is not going to make that much of a difference calorie-wise in your case.
Otherwise, I use Stevia, xylitol and monk fruit (all natural sweeteners however, xylitol does contain a small amount of carbs and some people can be sensitive to it) and I like them all but I am also very accustomed to using them most of my life and not eating a lot of sugar-laden foods.
Everyone is different and it just depends on each person's taste buds and sometimes what you are accustomed to. So, if you are a huge sweets eater and have always used sugar then it is more than likely going to take some adjustment no matter what other sweeteners you try. If you are not a big sweets eater and never have been then you will probably adjust a bit easier because you don't have much to compare it to plus you are using them in very small quantities anyway.
IMHO anyway.
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