Splenda/Sugar question

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lilnatn2
lilnatn2 Posts: 55 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I love Hungry-girl and love the new cookbook, but I noticed that a lot of recipes call for Splenda. I really don't eat this stuff, or any other artificial sweetener for that matter...I just think its gross and weird to be honest.
So I don't really mind upping the calories and using real sugar instead, but are the measurements the same if you use sugar?
To me, Splenda tastes a lot sweeter than regular sugar...so do you decrease the amount of sugar? Or is say, a tablespoon of Splenda equal to a tablespoon of sugar....

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  • lilnatn2
    lilnatn2 Posts: 55 Member
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    I love Hungry-girl and love the new cookbook, but I noticed that a lot of recipes call for Splenda. I really don't eat this stuff, or any other artificial sweetener for that matter...I just think its gross and weird to be honest.
    So I don't really mind upping the calories and using real sugar instead, but are the measurements the same if you use sugar?
    To me, Splenda tastes a lot sweeter than regular sugar...so do you decrease the amount of sugar? Or is say, a tablespoon of Splenda equal to a tablespoon of sugar....
  • beep
    beep Posts: 1,242 Member
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    I'm not familiar with the cookbook, but I do know cooking with artificial sweeteners drastically changes the make up of the recipes; since sugar is really a liquid which is cooled and ground, there is a lot more volumn in it than the artificial sweeteners.

    You might be able to substitute stevia in the recipes. Google stevia, if you haven't heard of it. It is a natural sweetener made from the leaves of a Peruvian plant.
  • ranibauer
    ranibauer Posts: 73
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    I think splenda is the only sugar sub that measures out cup for cup with sugar. Splenda is actually the only one made from sugar so that would make sense. I use it sometimes and the box I have in my cupboard says it measures out cup for cup. Good luck!
  • annielouise
    annielouise Posts: 29
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    splenda will measure cup for cup with suger per volume but it is sweeter. When suger is called for in a recipe I cut back the splenda by 1/4 to 1/3. To get equal sweetness you'd probably need to up the suger... or not!
  • amandadanda
    amandadanda Posts: 15
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    Studies show that sugar is many times sweeter than actual sugar. I don't remember when the article came out but I saw on MSN so you may check there. So I understand your sub. sugar problem. And using to much substitute may cause cancer(what doesn't now and days though?) So just don't over use. Sometimes it is just better to go organic then eat few calories I guess. And yes the texture and the cooking abilities of each substance differ.
  • mkeithley
    mkeithley Posts: 399
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    Studies show that sugar is many times sweeter than actual sugar. I don't remember when the article came out but I saw on MSN so you may check there. So I understand your sub. sugar problem. And using to much substitute may cause cancer(what doesn't now and days though?) So just don't over use. Sometimes it is just better to go organic then eat few calories I guess. And yes the texture and the cooking abilities of each substance differ.
    The debate over using Splenda is due to the fact that it is made in a lab and much controversy over it's claim that it is made from sugar. It was discovered by accident by a company doing tests regarding pesticide. Splenda/Sucralose replaces some(I think 3) of the molecules w/chlorine atoms. The other problem wih Splenda is it hasn't been around long enough to have a large amount of studies done on it, so the jury is still out. When Splenda first hit the market there were over 1,000 studies on saccharin and hundreds on aspartame journaled but only 19 on Splenda. Stevia is a good alternative, however the FDA does not have enough information to qualify it as a food additive, however it does recognize it as a food supplement(Ithink I'm saying this right, a whole lot of gov't. mumbo jumbo:wink: )

    Personally with my own life I would like to get myself to a point where I am controlling the sugar I use and it's not contolling me, meaning sugar is in so much food that is processed that is hard to get away from it(sometimes it is hidden in the forms of sorbitol, xylitol, malitol, and mannitol BTW). I still need may chocolate every day though. I try to get it from fruits, whole wheats etc. I read somewhere that our food should resemble its source as close as possible(chicken, not chicken nuggets). When I saw that I was like "Wow, that's pretty simple", which reminded me of the K.I.S.S.-"Keep It Simple Silly"
    Sorry for the long post....:blushing: :smile:
  • beep
    beep Posts: 1,242 Member
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    Great write-up, MK.

    It's also true that Stevia has not been approved by the FDA as a sugar substitute (some people claim this is because it would take revenue from Monsanto -- have no idea if that is true), but it has been used for years by Peruvians as a sweetener, but also to help regulate unhealthy glucose levels. What's interesting is that if your blood glucose levels are normal, it doesn't affect them, but if they are high it will help to bring them down.

    Stevia is best used in combination with other sweeteners, as well, and can have a slightly bitter taste along with the sweet. It is a totally natural sweetener without any chemical enhancements or alteration.
  • FitJoani
    FitJoani Posts: 2,173 Member
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    The splenda is my choice for sweetners if I can't get my hands on stevia its plant based and is incredibly low cal which I read is better cause your body actually will burn them cause they are trivial plus the stevia is fibourous

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