John 1:14
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This is one of my favorite Christmas scriptures. It is this time of year when we all like to do a little Holiday Baking. Why not clean it up and make it healthy! Saturday is our annual Christmas cooking day for our family, we all the people who like to bake in our family get together and cook our Christmas treats. We make sure we have lots of healthy options!
Coconut sugar pictured above. I have been baking with this sugar since before Christmas and it is now one of my favorites! This is wonderful in baking and it has lots of vitamins and minerals and is low on the glycemic index. It does not in any way have the taste of a coconut just FYI. Dr. Oz just did a little segment on this and I posted that below....
What Is Coconut Sugar?
Coconut sugar is
made from the sugar blossoms of fresh coconuts found in the tropics. It is
harvested by slicing the bud of the coconut tree flower to release the sap or
coconut nectar. This nectar is then boiled into a thick caramel and dried into
crystals. Nothing is removed during this process. It is often then it is ground
up into very fine crystals that are known as being the coconut sap
sugar, coconut palm sugar, or just organic coconut sugar are all names
for this sugar. It comes in crystal form, solid form, and a liquid form. I
personally like the crystals that look like sugar. There is dark and
blonde..both work well with baking..it is amazing. Coconut sugar is similar in
texture and taste to brown sugar but far outweighs its nutritional profile
Health Benefits of Coconut Sugar
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Coconut Sugar is safe for diabetics and great for dieters...it has a glycemic index of 35 as compared to table sugar which is about 50-65. So what does that even mean?? The glycemic index ranks foods and beverages based on how they affect your blood sugar level. Foods are scored on a scale of 0 to 100. Only foods and beverages that contain carbs are ranked, since they have the biggest effect on blood sugar. This tells how fast the sugar hits the bloodstream and is absorbed. So the higher the number the quicker it goes in and the faster it goes out causing that quick rise and fall of your blood sugar. This fast spike and low is what causes the problems with blood sugar levels which lead to irritability, craving more sugar, weight gain, inflammation in the body and much more. Coconut sugar has a low glycemic index which does not cause the rise and fall of blood sugar.
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It is full of vitamins and minerals our body needs. Coconut sugar contains the minerals calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, iron, copper, manganese, phosphorus and boron. Coconut sugar also contains 12 of the B vitamins, including thiamine, riboflavin, pyridoxine, nicotinic acid, biotin, pyridoxal and inositol. It is especially high in the vitamin inositol, which is necessary for nerve transmission, metabolism of cholesterol and the redistribution of fat within the body. In addition, inositol has been used to treat diabetes, depression and panic attacks.
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It is an all natural whole foods sweetener that has not been processed or refined.
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Coconut sap sugar is made coconut sap, which has 16 of the 20 amino acids.
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Glutamine amino acid is heavily found in the coconut sap, and is known as being one of the most powerful brain food there is. In addition, ironically enough, Glutamine is very helpful in decreasing people’s cravings for sugar.
Let me just say one
little thing here, though..while it is a better choice for sugar...it still has
the same number of calories as table sugar..BUT the glycemic index is lower and
so the calories are not processed the same. Not all calories are equal...an
apple with 150 calories is not processed in the body the same of a 150 calorie
pack of M&M's. So while it is a better alternative than table sugar..it
does still contain calories and should be used in moderation. We all like to
bake and have special treats from time to time...using this is a much better
alternative to table sugar! The have light and dark..dark is used like brown sugar.
Locally, the place I
get this is Earthfare and someone told me it is at Food City now..but it is available online everywhere.
Here is a good little recipe for Christmas!!
Cracker
Candy
Whole Wheat Saltine
Crackers
1 cup organic coconut
sugar
1 cup organic
butter
1 bag semi-sweet or
dark chocolate chips
Bring to boil butter
and sugar..boiling for about 2 min. or until forms a soft ball in water. Line a
baking pan with foil and spray with eat
clean cooking spray. Line the pan with saltine crackers. Pour the butter
and sugar over the crackers. Bake at 350 for 10-15 min being careful not to
burn. Pour bag of chocolate chips over the hot crackers. Spread out evenly as
they melt. Wait to harden or put in the freezer to harden. Break in to
pieces.
They have a good
variety of brands of organic whole wheat saltines at Ingles.
|
boil sugar and butter until soft
ball forms about 2 min     |
