Is honey better than stevia?
Why Honey is a Better Option. Natural honey is often considered a better option than processed stevia. Not only is honey good for blood-sugar levels, it has many other potential benefits. These benefits include soothing coughs, and it could even reduce the effects of seasonal allergies, although these claims require more research.
How much stevia equals a tablespoon of honey?
What the above two guidelines boil down to making sure that your recipe contains enough honey to balance out the stevia content. We’ve found that you shouldn’t use more than 15 drops of stevia for every tablespoon of honey. If you go above that ratio, you’re much more likely to experience an unpleasant stevia aftertaste.
Which brand of Stevia is healthiest?
The Five Best-Tasting No-Cal Stevia Sweeteners
- NuNaturals NuStevia White Stevia Powder. The closest to real sugar of any product we tried. ...
- SweetLeaf Natural Stevia Sweetener. This isn't quite as sweet as our winning brand—the first ingredient here is inulin fiber, a tasteless volumizing agent—so it's a good choice if you ...
- NOW Foods Organic Better Stevia Extract Powder. ...
- Truvia. ...
What is the best substitute for honey?
What Can I Replace Honey With?
- Maple Syrup. This syrup comes from the sap of the maple tree and it has a distinct sweet and nutty flavor. ...
- Molasses. This option is the byproduct of the refinement process of sugar. ...
- Coconut Nectar. This sweetener is the product of the sap from the flowers of the coconut tree. ...
- Applesauce. ...
- Brown Sugar. ...
- Agave Nectar. ...
- Brown Rice Syrup. ...
Can I use honey in place of stevia?
Natural honey is often considered a better option than processed stevia. Not only is honey good for blood-sugar levels, it has many other potential benefits. These benefits include soothing coughs, and it could even reduce the effects of seasonal allergies, although these claims require more research.
Which is healthier stevia or honey?
There are many varieties of stevia available in the market. Make sure you choose the right one based on your health concerns. If you're just considering the weight loss benefits, stevia is definitely a healthier option than refined sugar, honey or jaggery.Mar 4, 2021
What can I use if I don't have stevia?
5 of the Best Natural Sweeteners to Use in Place of White SugarStevia. Stevia is a sweet-tasting natural herb that is used in tea, coffee, and desserts. ... Blackstrap molasses. ... Raw honey. ... Pure maple syrup. ... Sugar alcohols.Jan 12, 2015
Why you should replace sugar with honey?
Honey has a lower GI value than sugar, meaning that it doesn't raise blood sugar levels as quickly. It's also sweeter than sugar, so you may need less of it, but it does have slightly more calories per teaspoon, so I always keep a close eye on portion sizes.Jan 9, 2022
Which is better for diabetics honey or stevia?
Eating foods with a lower glycemic index can help prevent or treat diabetes, so if you are concerned about blood glucose levels, stevia is the best sweetener and honey may be slightly better than sugar.
Is honey a healthy sweetener?
Is Honey a Healthy Sweetener? To put it simply, yes, honey is a healthier way to sweeten your beverages. Both honey and sugar contain glucose and fructose, but honey is also rich in other minerals and vitamins such as magnesium and potassium.Aug 31, 2020
Can I use sugar instead of stevia?
Conversions are simple when substituting sugar for SweetLeaf® Liquid Stevia Sweet Drops®. For example, a recipe using 1 tablespoon of sugar would use 15 drops of Sweet Drops®. In addition, our Sweet Drops® come in 16 delicious flavors, so you can customize your recipes any way you want.
Step 1
Substitute 1 teaspoon of Stevia Liquid Concentrate for 1/4 cup of honey in the recipe.
Step 2
Substitute 1/3 teaspoon SteviaClear Liquid for every 1/4 cup of honey in your recipe. A little liquid stevia goes a long way, so experiment with this ratio until you find a sweetness level you're happy with.
Step 3
Subtract the volume of liquid stevia you added from the amount of honey called for in the recipe to determine the missing liquid volume. For example, if you subtract 2 tablespoons of added Stevia Liquid Concentrate from the 1/2 cup of honey, or 8 tablespoons, the recipe calls for, you're left with 6 tablespoons of missing moistening agent.
Step 4
Add an alternative moistening agent to your recipe to account for the missing honey. Water will add moisture without altering the flavor or nutrition profile of the cake. Add nutrition and moisture by adding milk or silken tofu, or make the finished product fluffier by substituting egg or egg white.
Calories
One way to evaluate different sweeteners is to check their caloric contents. One of the biggest problems with consuming sweet foods is that they can be high in calories due to added carbohydrates. Stevia, a South American herb that has been used as a sweetener for centuries, is a non-nutritive sweetener that provides no calories to the diet.
Glycemic Index
The glycemic index of a food is a measurement of the food's effects on blood glucose levels. Foods with a high glycemic index cause your blood glucose levels to rapidly rise. Because stevia cannot be absorbed by the intestines and has no calories, it has a glycemic index of zero.
Nutrients
Honey and table sugar are similar in carbohydrate content. Honey also contains vitamins and minerals, including zinc, magnesium, vitamin B-6, folate, niacin, riboflavin and panthothenic acid, which makes it more nutritious than table sugar. Stevia does not contain any vitamins or minerals.
Safety
Aside from the calories that it adds to the diet, there are few health concerns regarding the use of table sugar. Honey should not be given to infants because it can lead to a dangerous type of food poisoning known as botulism.
Your best bet: White granulated sugar
Because stevia’s main function is as a sugar alternative, the best substitute for it is often white sugar. What makes it the best is the fact that sugar provides sweetness without the bitter aftertaste that can make stevia unpleasant for some people. Sugar is also much easier to find and less expensive than stevia.
A decent second choice: Agave nectar
Agave nectar comes from the agave plant, which is the same plant used to make tequila. Like stevia, agave nectar is an alternative to sugar and is often marketed as the healthier option of the two. While agave nectar is considerably less sweet than stevia, it is still sweeter than sugar.
In a pinch: Erythritol
Erythritol is a sugar alcohol that provides the same sweet taste as sugar. Like stevia, it provides its sweetening effects without any additional calories. You can get it in a granulated form that is similar in appearance to stevia powder.
Other alternatives
Sucralose is a modified sugar. It is an artificial sweetener that differs from other artificial sweeteners in that it is made from sugar. Like stevia, it is versatile and you can use it in any application that requires stevia. It is similar to stevia in another important way: it has no calories.
Sugar
Sugar is the best option for replacing liquid stevia because it is the least expensive and most widely available sugar alternative on the market. It will also be easier to find recipes that call for sugar since it has a longer history of use. However, sugar has drawbacks that make it an inferior substitute for stevia.
Erythritol
Erythritol is a sugar alcohol that has a very low glycemic index. It is also odorless and tasteless and can be used as a sugar alternative in any recipe that calls for sugar. Because it is a sugar alcohol, it will not raise your blood sugar level like regular sugar does.
Sucralose
Sucralose is a sugar substitute made from the sugar alcohols found in sugar cane. It is much less sweet than sugar and has been marketed as a healthier alternative to sugar. Its name comes from the compound sucrose and the word “chloride.”
Splenda
Splenda is a granulated white sugar substitute that has been chemically modified to be about 150 times sweeter than sugar. It does not have any calories and it is safe for diabetics and people with other health issues related to sugar.
Maple Syrup
Maple syrup is another natural sweetener that is made from maple trees. It has a slightly sweeter taste than agave nectar but is not nearly as sweet as stevia. Like agave nectar, maple syrup is also high in calories, so it is not an option if you want a low-calorie sweetener.
Xylitol
Xylitol is a sugar alcohol that is also used as a sugar alternative. It has a slightly sweet taste that is similar to sugar. Since it is a sugar alcohol, it is a natural sweetener and can be used in place of sugar. That means that it is a good alternative to stevia.
Aspartame
Aspartame is a form of artificial sweetener that is used as a substitute for sugar and other sweeteners. It has a very long history of use and is safe for most people. It is marketed as an alternative to sugar and is often considered a healthier alternative.
The Difference Between Baking With Honey And Sugar
The last thing you want is to bite into the perfect cookie…only to have it be WAY to sweet to enjoy. Honey also has more flavor than sugar, which is great….but it can overwhelm all the other flavors in your baked good. So, you need to use less of it when you substitute honey for sugar.
Honey to sugar conversion chart
To make life easier, print out this article and keep these honey substitute conversions handy.
Ready to make something sugar-free & ultra yummy with honey?
My friends, Alix & Hugo at A Hedgehog in the Kitchen created this incredible sugar-free popsicle featuring honey! Perfect for summertime! Click here to get the recipe!
More Real Food Resources
Want to be a homesteading rockstar? Check out my tutorial on how to make your own apple cider vinegar.
Substituting Sweeteners: What? Why would I want to get rid of sugar?
I don’t think any of us really want to get rid of sugar. I certainly didn’t. But if you’re reading this post, you (like me) have probably found that sugar doesn’t do nice things to your body.
Guide to Substituting Sweeteners
You ready to get cooking? All the sweeteners I’ll be referring to in this guide are heat-stable. That means you can cook with them.
Substituting Sweeteners: Sugar Alcohols (Xylitol and Erythritol)
One of my personal favorite classes of sweeteners are sugar alcohols: xylitol and erythritol. While these sweeteners sound like something created in the lab, they’re actually derived from corn husks and/or the bark of birch trees.
Substituting Sweeteners: Stevia
While I enjoy using a little stevia in my tea for a bit of sweet or adding a little to sauces, I’ve found that baking with stevia only can be a little tricky.
Substituting Sweeteners: Splenda
I used to think Splenda was all-that-and-a-bag-of-chips. For real? A sweetener you could cook with? Zero calories and no sugar? Awesome.
Other Sweeteners (that will still raise your blood sugar)
Up until this point in the article we’ve discussed substituting sweeteners that have a minimal to nil impact on your blood sugar. This is one of the big reasons people tend to want to substitute sugar for sweeteners—they want to get off the blood sugar roller coaster.
More sweet articles?
If you’re looking to dig into the attributes of some of these sweeteners, check out some of these posts for more info!
