For Diabetics: How to Reduce Sugar in Any Recipe

People are looking to reduce sugar in their diets for many reasons these days, including the increase in diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, although diabetics were told in the past that they had to eliminate sugar from their diets, that is no longer true. As long as diabetics plan ahead, they can have small amounts of their favorite sugary desserts. That green light to leave some sugar in dishes allows for a better taste and consistency in many foods and also makes it easier to change a high-sugar recipe into a reduced-sugar treat appropriate for diabetics.

One method is to replace the sugar along with the butter or margarine with unsweetened applesauce. Replacing the cane or beet sugar with fruit sugar makes it less likely to have the strong effect on blood sugar levels. Eliminating the butter also creates a dish with less fat.

Replacing half the sugar with a sweetener is also an effective method. Although aspartame works very well in milk-based desserts such as pudding, even used without regular sugar, it doesn't tend to bake well. Saccharine, on the other hand, is an excellent sweetener to cook with. For example, if a recipe were to call for 1 cup sugar, you could use ½ cup sugar and 4 tsp. saccharine to achieve the same sweetness level with half the actual sugar.

You can also cut down on sugar in a recipe simply by cutting down on the sugar. Professional bakers agree that typically 1/3 of the allotted sugar can be left out of a recipe without substantially changing the taste or texture. If the texture is too dramatic, you can replace the missing sugar with nonfat dry milk. If the sweetness is what you are missing, you can add extracts, particularly vanilla or almond, and end up with a sweeter result. For instance, I might use 2/3 cup sugar instead of the 1 cup listed on the recipe and add 1/3 cup dry milk for the texture and a teaspoon of vanilla for sweetness.

Since my husband was diagnosed with diabetes two years ago, I have also been making gradual changes with even these modified recipes. About every third time I make the treat, I take out more of the sugar and sweetener. (I take out both to try to keep the balance the same. If you take out all sugar and leave sweetener, you are more likely to get that bitter aftertaste.) Because I take out so little at a time (and don't tell him I'm doing it), he doesn't seem to notice the difference.

Living with diabetes can certainly be difficult, especially for people who have a sweet tooth. Giving up favorite baked goods and other sweet treats doesn't have to be an option for diabetics; replacing some of the sugar with alternatives can create a dish that is tasty and satisfying.