When I first read that I needed to give up sugar, I really thought my life was over!  A self-proclaimed chocoholic with one GIANT sweet tooth, the news hit me hard.  There’s NO way someone can survive without sugar!!  Or can they?  Well, I survived, and have been without sugar for over seven years.  My sweet tooth?  It’s still alive and kicking!  In fact, although I have tons of recipes for amazing desserts, I rarely make them because I will eat them ALL!!

There are lots of sugar substitutes out there, but I’m not allowed to have a lot of them, so I’ll just chat about the ones I know.

The first one I ever used, and use mostly, is HONEY.  Truly, if I could buy 5 gallon drums of honey, I’d be a happy camper.  Most people I talk to hardly ever use honey or know much about it.  I must admit, before I had to switch to honey, I knew next to nothing about it.  Oh sure, it is great for sore throats, but do you know why that is?  What else is it good for? 

Honey offers incredible antiseptic, antioxidant and cleansing properties for our body and health, valuable beauty and skin care tips, and amazing healing properties as head-to-toe home remedies for eye infections, athlete’s foot and the like.  Here’s a list of benefits for you:

Weight Loss: Though honey has more calories than sugar, when honey is consumed with warm water, it helps in digesting the fat stored in your body. Similarly, honey and lemon juice as well as honey and cinnamon help in reducing weight.

Source of Vitamins and Minerals: Honey contains a variety of vitamins and minerals. The type of vitamins and minerals and their quantity depends on the type of flowers used to make it. Commonly, honey contains Vitamin C, Calcium and Iron. If you check the vitamin and mineral content in regular sugar from any other source, you will find it to be completely absent or insignificant.

Energy Source: According to the USDA, honey contains about 64 calories per tablespoon. Therefore, honey is used by many people as a source of energy. On the other hand, one tablespoon of sugar will give you about 15 calories. Furthermore, the carbohydrates in honey can be easily converted into glucose by even the most sensitive stomachs, since it is very easy for the body to digest this pure, natural substance.

Improving Athletic Performance: Recent research has shown that honey is an excellent ergogenic aid and helps in boosting the performance of athletes. Honey is a great way to maintain blood sugar levels, muscle recuperation and glycogen restoration after a workout, as well as regulating the amount of insulin in the body, as well as energy expenditure.

Antioxidants: Honey contains nutraceuticals, which are very effective for the removal of free radicals from the body. As a result, our body immunity is improved against many conditions, even potentially fatal ones like cancer or heart disease.

Skin Care with Milk and Honey: Milk and honey are often served together, since both of these ingredients help in creating smooth, beautiful skin. Consuming milk and honey every morning is a common practice in many countries for this very reason.

Honey in Wound Management:  Significant research is being carried out to study the benefits of honey in the treatment of wounds. The Nursing Standard explains some of these benefits of honey in wound management in the document. These have been listed below:

• Honey possesses antimicrobial properties.
• It helps in promoting autolytic debridement.
• It deodorizes malodorous wounds.
• It speeds up the healing process by stimulating wound tissues.
• It helps in initiating the healing process in dormant wounds.
• Honey also helps in promoting moist wound healing.

Here’s a link to 80 reasons to use honey as a DIY home remedies, even including curing hangovers with honey!  http://www.naturalnews.com/036649_honey_home_remedies_medicine.html

When I suffer seasonal allergies, I’ll buy honey sticks to carry in my purse.  That is MY form of a cough suppressant and a quick boost of energy.  They have many different flavors of honey sticks.  Each type of honey has a unique flavor, so the cooking possibilities are endless.  Honey sticks are a quick way to try each type.  For example, although I’m not a big fan of the taste of mesquite honey on its own, it’s perfect for making Curried Honey Mustard Chicken http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Curried-Honey-Mustard-Chicken/

When substituting honey for sugar in baking, remember that the honey adds liquid to your batter, so you can either add more dry ingredients or use one less egg.  Honey makes things brown faster as well, so you might want to drop your oven temp down a few degrees.  Had enough honey facts yet??  😉  Let’s move on.

Coconut sugar

It’s also called Coconut Palm Sugar and it’s made from the sap of the Coconut Palm.  It’s becoming more popular as of late, so it’s easier to find.  If you are looking for a replacement for refined sugar, try this!  You can use it in the same way you use regular sugar, but it’s better for you.  🙂

Coconut sugar contains many nutrients such as Iron, Zinc, Calcium and Potassium, along with some short chain fatty acids, polyphenols and antioxidants that may also provide some health benefits. It also contains fiber called Inulin, which may slow glucose absorption and explain why coconut sugar has a lower glycemic index than regular table sugar. That means that it doesn’t increase your blood sugar as dramatically as table sugar.

The cost for coconut sugar is more expensive than buying “regular” sugar in stores.  Here’s a place where you can get a pound for $4.79, which is about the best price I’ve seen.  http://www.luckyvitamin.com/p-435057-nutiva-organic-coconut-sugar-1-lb?utm_medium=PLA&utm_source=bing_pla&utm_campaign=Bing%20PLAs&scpid=31&scid=scsho4149113

Wow, what a long link!  This one is shorter, and it’ll give you a site with coconut sugar recipes.  http://www.coconutsugarrecipes.com/  But as I said, you can use it teaspoon for teaspoon as you would white sugar, so converting your favorite recipes is super simple.

Hope this helps give you more options and hope that living without cane sugar is not only possible, it’s TASTY! 🙂