Calorie free sugar substitute for baking?

Amarante

Fri, Oct 19 2018, 10:54 am

In general it's not a simple one to one swap for baking because baking is really a chemical process and sugar has very specific attributes that do more than just make something sweet.

Frankly once you factor in the calories for the fat and flour that are used, the calorie savings is minimal. Unless someone is diabetic and needs to avoid sugar, one is much better off eating something delicious in a smaller quantity.

That said, there are baked goods that do lower the entire calorie count of the product by substituting other sweet things for the sugar. People use apple sauce or prune butter for example in some cakes and the end product is delicious. However, these still have significant calories.

The issue with "treats" on a weight loss program is that even "lower calorie" treats don't provide much bang for the calories in terms of satiation. So you would want to maximize your food intake with satiating food. If one wants dessert, fruit desserts with a small baked item work well. In other words, eating treats cooked with fake sugar is not a panacea for weight loss.

As I stated above, this is completely different than if one is diabetic and therefore has to actively limit sugar and simple carbs in one's entire diet and therefore one would generally want desserts (and other foods) without added sugar.

ra_mom

Fri, Oct 19 2018, 11:41 am

Xylitol is far from calorie free. It has about 1/3 less calories than sugar. So if a cup of sugar might have around 720 calories, a cup of xylitol might have 480 calories (not exact numbers).

Use Splenda along with their conversion chart so you know how much to use. Expect it to taste different.