I am CRAZY for Coconut! Are you? Coconut products are now mainstream- I see them at Walmart, Target, my local grocery, and Trader Joe’s. If you visit my site often you may see these ingredients in most of my recipes. I tend to use coconut oil to replace vegetable oil and coconut sugar to replace brown or white sugar. I wanted to share with you all WHY I choose to use these, and WHY you should too!
Coconut Sugar:
In general, we should reduce the amount of sugar in our diets. The best source of sugar comes in its natural form- fruits for example, but we can’t always bake and cook with fruit! Your average white sugar (and brown sugar, ect) is heavily processed and stripped down from its original source (the sugarcane plant). So any vitamins and minerals that were present in the plant are also stripped out, leaving you with just simple carbs/calories. Processed sugars also have the highest impact on your blood glucose level because they are converted into energy extremely quickly by our bodies.
Enter – coconut sugar! Although coconut sugar, is well, sugar, it has some positive attributes, since it is less processed, that makes it a better choice! It contains minerals that table sugar lacks including iron, zinc, and potassium. It also contains some short chain fatty acids, polyphenols and antioxidants- which are nowhere to be found in white sugar! In addition, coconut sugar contains a substance called inulin, which has been shown to slow glucose absorption, making it have a lesser impact on your blood sugar level as compared to table sugar. (GI (glycemic index) of coconut sugar is 35 as compared to 60 for table sugar- lower the better!)
In addition to coconut sugar, some better choice for sweeteners include maple syrup and honey (the darker the better–less processed!)
Click HERE to see the brand of coconut sugar I use in my recipes, and you can purchase if you’d like! I only use brands with the highest quality standards, and the best prices too!
(Sources: http://authoritynutrition.com/coconut-sugar/, http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA401323/Is-Coconut-Sugar-a-Healthier-Sweetener.html)
Click HERE for my post on the benefits of COCONUT OIL!
Click HERE to see the brand of coconut oil I prefer, and option to purchase if you’d like!
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