Sweeteners | Kitchen Stewardship | A Baby Steps Approach to Balanced Nutrition

Entries Tagged as 'sweeteners'

How to Use Stevia (Liquid or Powder)

September 29th, 2011 · 24 Comments · Recipes

How do you practically use an herb that’s 30-300 times sweeter than sugar to substitute for sugar in recipes? Stevia is a great option as an alternative sweetener, but it isn’t easy to use in all situations. I’ve explained that I prefer the liquid version of stevia extract and shared an interview with Jim May, [...]

Falling from a Sweet, Sweet Summer: An Interview with Jim May, "Father of Stevia"

September 23rd, 2011 · 43 Comments · Food for Thought

Yesterday we discussed stevia: is it safe? benefits and dangers and ended up with some good discussion in the comments. I’m definitely a fan of stevia, but with the caveat that it’s properly processed. I had the opportunity this summer (before a Sweet, Sweet Summer fell into fall – thank you to a reader for [...]

A Sweet, Sweet Summer: What are the Facts on Stevia?

September 22nd, 2011 · 58 Comments · Food for Thought, Science of Nutrition

A safe, natural sweetener with zero calories and zero aftertaste that doesn’t cause cancer in lab rats? Is that a dream too good to be true? I’m hoping not. Stevia is fast becoming my favorite formerly-unknown sweetener, if only for the mystery surrounding it, the foodie vs. government controversy, and the fact that I feel [...]

A Sweet, Sweet Summer: Why is White Sugar Bad For You?

July 22nd, 2011 · 62 Comments · Food for Thought, Science of Nutrition

We put it in coffee, get tempted by it in desserts, and hardly even know how often it’s added into savory processed foods. Sugar certainly makes life sweeter, but is it also the underlying villain in nutrition? There are plenty of reasons white, refined sugar will hurt you when you eat it. Some describe it [...]

A Sweet, Sweet Summer: Maple Syrup and Maple Sugar Facts

July 14th, 2011 · 34 Comments · Food for Thought, Science of Nutrition

I put my pure Michigan maple syrup right next to my in-laws’ sugar-free (taste-free?) maple “syrup” in the fridge the other day and reflected on how people try so very, very hard to find a “healthy” alternative to sweets. In the mainstream, this usually means something “low-calorie” with little nutrition in it or something with [...]

A Sweet, Sweet Summer: Does Raw Honey Have Nutritional Health Benefits?

June 28th, 2011 · 30 Comments · Food for Thought

Honey is one of the oldest sweeteners humans have been consuming, takes the least processing in my opinion, since the bees do almost all the work, and was also responsible for the first alcoholic mead (your fun, unrelated fact for the day). Honey, especially raw honey, also has some genuine nutritional health benefits. (photo source) [...]

Monday Mission: A No Sugar Day

June 27th, 2011 · 49 Comments · Monday Missions

Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to go one day without eating any refined sugar or artificial sweeteners. Impact Ratings: Level of Commitment: Making Strides You’ll have to be a voracious label reader, as almost anything that comes in a box or bottle includes sugar, sometimes found as high fructose corn syrup, dextrose, [...]