By Courtney Wright
Psst…hey you over there. Yes, you with the face! I have a secret for you and it’ll blow. Your. Mind. Are you ready? Sugar is bad for you. Very, very bad for you. You already knew that? Then why do you (we) continue to eat so much of it?
That friends, is the million dollar question. It is time to train your mind, body and soul that you do not need sugar to live a happy, satisfying life. Sugar is an addictive substance that we have all eaten too much of and crave far too often. Why do we crave it? Most food cravings are caused by the regions of the brain that are responsible for memory, pleasure, and reward. Some come from depression, or a place of self loathing and punishment.
As we all do, I have a ton of my own demons to fight. Luckily for me, sugar has never really been one of mine, so my transition was a little easier.
Feeding the sugar demon
There is very little to no wiggle room for processed and added sugars in the keto lifestyle. Especially at the start. Even natural sugars are only allowed in small, reasonable amounts. I won’t even try to sugarcoat it (ha!), removing sugar will likely be the hardest step towards your new keto life. Luckily, there are plenty of worthwhile sugar substitutes out there to explore.
For example:
- Stevia: is procured from the leaves of the plant species Stevia rebaudiana (native to Brazil and Paraguay). It can be up to 150 times the sweetness of sugar and it is available in powder and liquid form. I despise stevia. It has a terrible taste and aftertaste, in my opinion. Sugar substitutes have come a long way and are almost indistinguishable from the real deal when used in coffee and baking.
- Erythritol: is a sugar alcohol and technically a carb. However, because sugar alcohols like erythritol aren’t absorbed by the body, they don’t count towards your daily carb allowance (don’t panic when you see them on nutrition labels!). It is about 80 percent as sweet as sugar. It has a cooling sensation that you will undoubtedly stop noticing as you get used to eating it. I use it as a powdered sugar substitute in icings, and I do not find it has any sort of offensive aftertaste.
- Swerve: is made from erythritol, oligosaccharides and “natural flavors”. I have never used Swerve but it seems to be the most readily available and more reasonably priced of the sugar substitutes. It claims to be equally as sweet as sugar, but I have heard you need a fair bit more than suggested.
- Monk fruit: in its natural state, is a green gourd that looks like a small melon. It’s grown in Southeast Asia and is dried and made into my personal favourite sugar sub. It is very comparable to the sweetness of sugar and I measure it cup for cup when I bake. As long as I can purchase monk fruit, I will never go with anything else. There are also erythritol/monk fruit blends available.
There are more options that you can explore out there. These are just my recommendations to get you started. You may need to experiment a little to find what works for your palate. Most are not generally readily available at the average store (stevia and Swerve may be easier to come by). However, they are all available at health food stores and online to order.
Unfortunately, the best sugar subs are by far pricier than sugar but I promise they are worth the extra trip/order time and how amazing you will start to feel, when all the refined and processed sugar junk has completely left your system. Keto can absolutely be done on a budget, but allow yourself the luxury of a good sugar substitute and a regular supply of almond flour.
See! There is no reason to be sad and to think that your sweet tooth will be forgotten or ignored. I actually bake more than I ever did because now, I don’t feel so guilty when I have that 3rd or 4th cookie. 😉
Below is a recipe for you to try your hand at making. Let me know how they turn out! Until next time, be safe & be kind. Xo
Keto Delicious Peanut Butter Cookies
½ cup all natural sugar free peanut butter (softened)
1 large egg
1/3 cup powdered monk fruit or erythritol
1.5 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1.5 tsp vanilla
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Mix all ingredients by hand in a medium bowl
- Refrigerate until mixture is firm
- Using a half teaspoon, portion out 12 pieces and roll into balls
- Place balls on a parchment lined baking sheet
- Flatten with a cold fork
- Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden
- Cookies are extremely soft right from the oven
- Let cool for 10-15 minutes then transfer them to a baking rack to finish cooling, or eat!
Nutrition Info: each (1) cookie: 36.5 cal, 2.75g fat, 0.72g carb, 0.33g fiber, 0.40g sugar, 1.8g protein & ONLY 0.39g NET carb
Courtney Wright is a life-long Burlington resident who dabbles in writing, photography and runs Keto Delicious (ketodelicious.ca). She is just a simple girl making keto comfort food and trying to change the world one keto convert at a time. She is not a healthcare professional.
It is recommended that you talk to your doctor before starting the keto, or any other diet.
