My wife wants to reduce the intake of refined white sugar in our diet and is being met with resistance from the family {including me :)} Does anyone know some good dessert recipes, especially cookies, that don't use sugar and taste good. We are sugar addicts and she needs some help reassuring everyone that we don't have to give up sweets to give up sugar. If you know of any recipes or books that can help we would ALL appreciate it.

She has recently become acquainted with STEVIA (herb) but hasn't tried using it yet. Anyone out there tried it?

-- Vaughn (vdcjm5@juno.com), November 19, 2000

Answers

I don't know about stevia, but if you use honey, use half the amount that you would sugar. Some recipes say to reduce the liquid if you use honey, but I've rarely done that. I've got a ton of healthy recipes. Here's a really good cookie recipe, my kids and Brownie troop and almost everyone loved(s) these.

Bunny Munchies: 1/2c. honey...1/2. butter...2 beaten eggs...1t. vanilla...1c whole wheat flour...1/4c soy flour...2t. baking powder...1/4t. salt...1/2t. cinnamon...1/2 c. oats...1/2 wheat germ...1c shredded carrots...1/2c raisins(or more)...1/2c. chopped nuts.

Cream butter & honey...add eggs and vanilla...mix well....combine dry stuff...stir into egg mixture...Add carrots, raisins and nuts... stir...Drop by spoonfuls onto oiled/sprayed cookie sheet. Bake at 375* for 10 -12 min.

I'll try t post some more recipes later.

-- Cindy (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), November 19, 2000.

Stevia is a bit difficult to work with because it is super-sweet and in an unusual form, but fun to experiment with. My understanding is it can be used by diabetics and candida sufferers because it doesnt metabolize negatively the way most sweeteners do. My favorite sugar substitute for baked goods is date sugar. Its dried and ground whole dates, very nutritious and you can almost replace it volume-wise for sugar in your favorite recipes. For regular sugar use, we use sucanant, which is dried cane sugar juice. Its the only sugar necessary; dissolves like sugar, contains lots of minerals. Of course there is also good old honey (especially if its raw), molasses, maple syrup,which are all better than white sugar; all sweeteners should be used in moderation of course; they upset blood sugar and intestinal bacterial balance, exhaust the adrenals, put on weight, and probably contribute to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and arthritis when they are too frequently injested. Also, as highly addictive as any drug!!

-- Earthmama (earthmama48@yahoo.com), November 19, 2000.

Vaughn, if you check out the web-sites for low-carb recipes (do a search under 'low-carb') you will find a lot of recipes using artificial sweeteners or stevia. I suggest avoiding aspartame as much as possible, and agree with Earthmama above on the other sweeteners, and the dangers of using too much of any sweetener. We are a culture that is killing itself with self-indulgence.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), November 20, 2000.

I use stevia for just about everything. Pure white extract has the equivalency (sp?) of about 1 tsp= 1 cup sugar....I say ABOUT, because the sweetness of the steviosides fluctuate slightly, altho the extract is pretty basic. Stevianow.com has great prices and a good priduct. When I need a "bulk" sugar, where the volume counts as much as the sweetness, I use Splenda (mutilated sugar!!) They stretch it out with maltodextrin, and if you can find a stevia product with maltodextrin filler you may be better off (Splenda contains dioxins) Maltodextrin has been shown to have a lower affect on insulin/sugar response than many other sweetners, and stevia has none. Good luck! Sue

-- Sue (sulandherb@aol.com), November 20, 2000.

There is a typ of sugar out now called sugar in the raw[ most grocerys carry it] It Is not bleached and tastes much better then refined bleached suger. Might be worth a try in small amounts.

-- kathy h (ckhart@msn.com), November 20, 2000.

I want to share this everyone!! Do any of you really know how harmful artificial sweetners really are?! Mexico started putting warning labels on all products containing A.S. about 3 yrs.ago. Warning...in particular Pregnant and Nursing Mothers..also Children under the age of 7.

I also know that continuous use of it inhibits the production of certain chemicals in your brain...the ones that might be keeping you from getting depressed. Do you think that might have anything to do with the increased needd for Prozac and other meds on the market today? It seems like everyone has a form of depression. Imagine what it's doing to children under the age of 7...not to mention the unborn child!!

Anyway...thank you for thius site...we all need to try very hard to do away with A.S. COMPLETELY and seriously reduce our intake of sugar. Natural subs are the answer..and they are out there...they just have to be. \ Feel free to e-mail me..I aman independant Distributer of Shaklee products and am always ready to share ideas about how we can better our health...naturally.

Donna gorsuch

-- Donna Gorsuch (binkydonna@home.com), September 04, 2001.

Hey Donna--can you give me a lead on where I can find copies of the studies re: brain chemicals and artificial sweeteners? Thanks.

-- Anne (HealthyTouch101@wildmail.com), September 04, 2001.