Question of the Week: Baking with Stevia or Splenda

 The following question was submitted for discussion on this week's blog post, "I have type 2 diabetes and love to bake.  When cooking or baking, if I substitute Splenda or Stevia for regular sugar does this make the recipe sugar free?"


Replacing sugar with Splenda or Stevia will make the recipe sugar free, however, not calorie or carbohydrate free.  There will still be other ingredients such as flour, dried fruit, oats that contain carbohydrate and will affect your blood sugar levels.  It still be will be important to watch your portion sizes despite using these sugar substitutes.


Here are some tips for reducing the fat content and increasing fiber and nutrients in baked goods:

• Applesauce and plain yogurt work well as a substitute for  fat in most recipes. For maximum texture and flavor, replace no more than 1/2 the amount of the fat listed in the recipe.
• Mashed ripe bananas also as fat substitutes in many muffin recipes.
• Fruit purees, such as prune, work especially well in chocolate, spice and carrot cakes. Or you can use half the butter or oil called for and replace the amount of fat eliminated with prune puree.
• Replace 1 whole egg in a recipe with ¼ cup fat-free, cholesterol-free egg product substitutes (i.e. Egg Beaters) or 2 egg whites.
• Choose whole wheat flour instead of white flour when possible.