Maple syrup vs simple syrup in cooking - watching my sugar i

Izumimon
Izumimon Posts: 24 Member
edited October 2 in Food and Nutrition
Hi all,

I've been doing decently at cutting sugar out of my diet lately and I've just started tracking meals again after falling off the wagon for a long time. I've started making my own homemade granola using rolled oats, nuts and seeds. The original recipe called for maple syrup as both the sweetener and to keep the granola sticking together, but I've been worried about the sugar content - one cup of granola is giving me about 15 on my breakfast sugar report. I tried cutting down the amount, but that batch of granola was pretty tasteless! Honey was also ineffective. I notice, though, that 1 cup of simple syrup (made with 2 parts organic cane sugar to 1 part water) has, it seems, less sugar content than 1 cup of maple syrup.

Would it be better to switch to simple syrup, or a combination of the two, to cut down on the sugar numbers? Maple syrup has no additives and has minerals in it, unlike white sugar, but I don't think it could be considered "natural" like a fruit sugar, could it? Or maybe it can, because I've seen a lot of people on MFP saying things like "if it comes from nature, it's OK."

What do you guys think?

Replies

  • ProTFitness
    ProTFitness Posts: 1,379 Member
    Honey is good and if it is real Maple syrup. I would say its ok in Moderation. Better then artifical sweenters and processed sugars
  • Timeforme714
    Timeforme714 Posts: 189 Member
    Have you tried Agave nectar? It's 1.4 times the sweetness of sugar.
  • alohabrie
    alohabrie Posts: 204
    It is all still sugar - even in a natural form. I do tend to like to stay with the natural forms too. I use honey i my granola and add cinnamon, vanilla or coconut extract and a litlte allspice. Good luck!
  • Grokette
    Grokette Posts: 3,330 Member
    Have you tried Agave nectar? It's 1.4 times the sweetness of sugar.

    Agave nectar is not good for us unless bought from a health food store.

    Like honey sold in "regular grocery stores" , aka Wal-Mart, Albertsons, etc a lot of it has HFCS added to it so it is cheaper for them to manufacturer and can sell it for cheaper.

    We, as consumers, have to really read the labels to ensure that we are getting the product that we are paying for without all the unnecessary additives.


    To the OP: Organic Maple Syrup and raw local honey are going to be your best bets.
  • BrewerGeorge
    BrewerGeorge Posts: 397 Member
    Both simple syrup and maple syrup are sugar dissolved in solution. Maple syrup just has more sugar per volume of solution. It has a specific gravity of around 1.038 while simple syrup is only 1.033. The lower calories per volume of simple syrup are a direct result of this difference. You can achieve the same calorie density with maple syrup by adding a little bit of water. That would be 5/6th cup of maple syrup plus 1/6th cup water for a cup of "maple lite" that had the lower sugar density, but all the maple flavor.

    ETA: To be perfectly clear, the 5/6th 1/6th ratio is rounded a bit for kitchen measurement, but close enough for our purposes.
  • digitalsteel
    digitalsteel Posts: 374 Member
    In my personal opinion, i'd skip the granola for meat or veggies.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,453 Member
    Most maple syrups have HFCS in them. Simple syrup is just white sugar and water.

    Neither is good, nor is it evil.

    Just watch your calories.
  • Izumimon
    Izumimon Posts: 24 Member
    You eat meat and veggies for breakfast!? ;)


    Thanks a bunch for the opinions, all. Seems to make more sense now!
  • digitalsteel
    digitalsteel Posts: 374 Member
    Actually research I've read indicates cutting carbs 100% from breakfast helps the body to burn calories better throughout the day. Raising insulin as your first meal tends to cause your body to put more into storage.
  • Izumimon
    Izumimon Posts: 24 Member
    Most maple syrups have HFCS in them.

    Really? I never heard of that before. I checked both bottles in the fridge and neither offer an ingredient list at all. Tried to look into it more and found:

    "it is against federal regulations to add anything to maple syrup at any point in its collection, concentration or bottling, making it truly 100% all natural."

    Not sure how true this is, though.
  • Izumimon
    Izumimon Posts: 24 Member
    digitalsteel - Makes sense I think. Honestly though I have to push myself very hard just to eat breakfast in the first place as I have lifelong morning nausea. There's not much I can actually make myself eat that early in the day.
  • digitalsteel
    digitalsteel Posts: 374 Member
    I have the same problem, I usually go for a stick or 2 of string cheese for breakfast unless I get the craving for bacon and eggs.
  • Izumimon
    Izumimon Posts: 24 Member
    That's not a bad idea. :)
  • BrewerGeorge
    BrewerGeorge Posts: 397 Member
    There are all kinds of maple flavored sticky things on the breakfast aisle, from things that are all corn syrup (not usually HFCS though) and some immitation maple flavoring, all the way up to pure 100% maple syrup. If it says pure, though, it's going to be just boiled tree sap with just maybe a small addition of sulphite to prevent yeast growth - though that's becoming less common.

    I have trouble eating only carbs in the morning or I get nauseous. Adding a boiled egg or a piece of sausage, solves that problem every time.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    If it is labeled "pure maple syrup" then it is natural. But it is still natural sugar. You could try molasses, if you like that (I don't), which has even more minerals and lots of flavor. Otherwise, you'd probably be better off wth the simple syrup because it's less overall sugar.
  • janetb21
    janetb21 Posts: 182 Member
    Pure maple syrup does not have HFCS. Maple pancake syrup often does.

    I like the idea of adding a little water to the maple syrup. I'd try it and see if it works.
  • scraver2003
    scraver2003 Posts: 526 Member
    Like honey sold in "regular grocery stores" , aka Wal-Mart, Albertsons, etc a lot of it has HFCS added to it so it is cheaper for them to manufacturer and can sell it for cheaper.

    ~GASP!~ **runs home to check honey bear label**
  • kyle4jem
    kyle4jem Posts: 1,400 Member
    Like honey sold in "regular grocery stores" , aka Wal-Mart, Albertsons, etc a lot of it has HFCS added to it so it is cheaper for them to manufacturer and can sell it for cheaper.
    So glad I live somewhere where HFCS is BANNED:laugh:

    Maple Syrup here is usually Canadian and pure. Ditto our honey which is mostly all British.

    Not a great lover of granola ... I like my protein at brekfast :tongue:
  • Izumimon
    Izumimon Posts: 24 Member
    I ate breakfast so seldomly until recently; I can't even remember the last time I WENT down the breakfast aisle at the grocery store! Haha.

    I'd quite forgotten about the Aunt Jemima pancake syrups and stuff actually; my family always bought the real deal and have been out to a few maple syrup harvests. Quebec is just a hop, skip and a jump away. :) I'll bet the honey is not so pure, though.
  • darklord48
    darklord48 Posts: 114 Member
    Like honey sold in "regular grocery stores" , aka Wal-Mart, Albertsons, etc a lot of it has HFCS added to it so it is cheaper for them to manufacturer and can sell it for cheaper.

    ~GASP!~ **runs home to check honey bear label**

    Every jar of honey I've ever read the label on in Minnesota has had 1 ingredient, Honey.
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