New Year. new ways to be sweet
So you have a sweet tooth and every time you try to diet the candy isle screams at you when you walk bye? Well I have some good news, even on Keto you can indulge your sweet tooth. This post will focus mainly one the raw substitutes for the sweet stuff and I’ll put up some links to sweet recipes in the upcoming days.
Keto Friendly Natural Sweeteners
| Sweetener Name | Details | Sweetness to Sugar | Glycemic Index |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stevia | Comes in powder and liquid forms. Avoid brands that using bulking agents like maltodextrin. Can leave a bitter taste in some peoples mouth (I'm one of them). | Powder = 300% Liquid - 250% | 0 |
| Stevia Glycerite | Thick liquid form of Stevia. Has little to no bitter after taste. Good for cooking because it maintains it's flavor but when used in baking it is best to combine with another sweetener since Steiva Glycerite does not create bulk or caramelize. | 200% | 0 |
| Erythritol | This is a sugar alcohol or polyol. Found naturally in some fruits and fermented foods. It is almost completely abosrbed before it reaches the colon, therefore it doesn't cause stomache upset like other sugars can. Best to grind in into a fine powder since it does not dissolve well in its granulated form. | 70% | 0 |
| Monk Fruit | Monk fruit is cultivated in the mountains of southern China. Many brands add other sweetners to monk fruit so it it will measure 1 to 1 for sugar, but watch out for the additives that are used. | Liquid = 300% Powder Blends = 100% | 0 |
| Swerve | This is my go to sweetner and I have a link below to purchase it. Contains two natural sweeteners, erythritol and oligosaccharides. Get the one that is labeled confectioners. It is basically like powered sugar and is good to use for backing and putting in cold items like yogurt. There are other blended sweeteners that you can find that are also good for baking. | 100% | 0 |
| Yacon Syrup | Pressed from the yacon root and has a molasses like flavor. Use in small amounts in sauces and such. | 50% | 1 |
| Xylitol | Naturally occurring in fruits, vegetables, and certain hardwoods. It does have some response to blood sugar so limit use especially if it is impacting your ability to be in ketosis. However, in some recipes you need this sugar since erythriol for example does not melt down properly for things such as hard candies. Xylitol has been shown to keep teeth healthy and there has been research showing that kids who chewed xylitol gum can 40% fewer ear infections. Wish I would have known that as a kid. | 100% | 7 |
