Healthier with lesser sugar
HELLO dear readers! My very best to you, especially after the long, disastrous weeks of intense rain and awful landslides. Our bout with typhoons and bad weather comes every year, and still we find it difficult to get over the season.
Imagine almost 40 days of rain!
With the rain came coughs and colds, asthma and wheezing.
Those who have health problems almost always suffer from coughs and colds during the season and what we can do about it, once the weather improves, is to build up resistance. One of the ways to do so is to take lots of vitamin C, the natural way, if possible, not the juice from the bag.
While the rains were non-stop, one of its benefits is the abundance of citrus after heavy rains. So now, we have an abundance of calamansi, the Philippines' own little lemoncito, and a daily glass of juice made with about four pieces of calamansi makes a very effective deterrent against colds and coughs.
While drinking this calamansi juice, the temptation is to put lots of sugar. But resist the temptation and use a sugar alternative...
We all know sugar does nothing much for your health, but breaking the habit of sugar is truly difficult. Health organizations recommend sugar substitutes, especially when you just want something sweet in your mouth. So, when you take your calamansi juice, take the juice with hopefully a good sugar substitute.
I'll give you the healthiest available on the shelves, so that you won't be jumping from the frying pan into the fire, just because you want to skip white refined sugar. So take your calamansi juice with some of the following:
Stevia: This is a zero calorie sweetener, yes zero, no calories, and is totally plant based, the stevia rebaudiana plant. This sweetener is 250 times sweeter than sugar so, for your calamansi juice, take a tiniest pinch and drink your juice with a clear conscience, it doesn't have calories.
One cup of sugar, white refined, equates to one half teaspoon of stevia. Keep that in mind when you sweeten juice for your family. You should use stevia for fruit salads and other compotes, but baking with Stevia is kinda difficult, so use other substitutes for baking. Stevia is recommended for things like juice and jams, coffees and teas, added aftrer being cooked, as stevia does not carry heat well. It is best for cold drinks, well, at least that's what I do.
If you use very little, as you should use just a pinch, there will be not be a bitter after taste. Most commercial little packets of stevia can be used for a pitcherful of juice. Just remember that this sugar substitute is being used as sweeteners for juices, Especially for calamansi juice to strengthen your system against colds and coughs, during this wet season..
if the taste of stevia is just too bitter for your palate, consider mixing it with other tabletop sweeteners like honey, coconut sugar or maple syrup to improve taste and texture.
Honey: Given its thick, liquid form, honey works well for both sweetening and binding raw granola bars and energy bites, and blends easily into dressings, beverages and sauces. Raw honey, which has not been pasteurized or processed, is the best choice, because it contains antioxidants and phytonutrients and is naturally anti-inflammatory and antibacterial.
In general, it’s best to use honey for sweeteneing uncooked items, since it loses its potency when temperature is brought up to 145 degrees. Remember, The darker the honey, the stronger its flavor.
Muscovado: is a much healthier option than normal sugar, it is preferred on a wider scale in the baking industry. Also known as Barbados Sugar or Moist Sugar, Muscovado is extremely popular in the US and Great Britain and is easily available in supermarkets. The largest producer and consumer of muscovado is India.
We come to erythritol: is a calorie-free sweetener and sugar alternative. It's found naturally in some fermented foods and fruits. However most erythritol is man-made from cornstarch.
Therefore, erythritol is a natural sweetener. It’s important to understand this sweetener and how it can be used in your diet. Let’s start with understanding what erythritol is and how it is made. Erythritol is made from taking plant sugars from natural sources such as grapes, melons, pears, and other starches and plants. The plant sugars are then mixed with water and this mixture goes through the fermentation process with natural cultures. Once it is fermented, the erythritol is formed. The erythritol is then filtered and then it crystallizes and is dried into granules. This natural sweetener is only 70% as sweet as table sugar without the calories. Unlike stevia, which is also made from plants, but is 250 times sweeter than white refined sugar, erythritol is also one of the safest, and is also available on the shelves of the supermarts. It is not as sweet as Stevia, but it also has no calories. Erythritol is used throught the world, being so safe and so calorie free. What differenciates it from stevia is its subtle bitter aftertaste, and it's less sweeter.
It was discovered in 1848 by Scottish chemist John Stenhouse. It occurs naturally in some fruit and fermented foods. At the industrial level, it is produced from glucose by fermentation with a yeast, Moniliella pollinis. Erythritol is 60–70% as sweet as sucrose (table sugar) yet it is almost noncaloric, does not affect blood sugar,does not cause tooth decay, and is partially absorbed by the body, excreted in urine and feces and one of the brands under which it is sole is called XLYA and is sold by the pound, (half a kilo).
Erythritol is safe for diabetics, has 0:2 calories per gram and zero carbs, and is made from GMO- free corn
Finally, we come to a Philippine fave - panocha (panotsa, panutsa) - this sold in the markets and is called, panocha, which is also a sugar substitute, but is not calorie free and just only about half as sweet as white refined sugar.
These words are now used to refer to different things in various regions of the country, but the Philippine government now translates panocha as a class of muscovado sugar. In the Philippines, four types of muscovado are produced: Class A (golden brown), B (brown), C (wood brown), and panocha.
Panocha is traditionally made by crystallizing brown sugar with limewater, then pouring the mixture into a coconut shell until it hardens. That is why the shape of panocha is like that of a bowl. It is broken up into small pieces to sweeten tea.
Personally, I love using muscovado with brewed kape, and evap, I think that it's 'da bes'. I also use Erythritol when it is available at the supermart.
Plant a calamansi tree, which so easy to grow and seedlings are available at the Bureau of Plant Industry at Bokawkan Road for only P20.00 a seedling.
Bon appetit avec sucre!