Now we all know that sugar is bad for us, and even if we cut it out of our food it still manages to end up in our drinks. Now I don’t know about you but I cannot deal with anything or anyone without a cup of coffee in the morning. So the dilemma for most people who are trying to lead healthier lives is cutting out sugar completely especially in their morning coffee. Some people prefer their coffee with sugar, some people don’t. There are a few options out there available to you if you feel like trying.
1. Vanilla Extract
This is one of nature’s most purest and most pleasant sweeteners. Now I’m not talking about that artificial stuff that’s called vanilla essence; vanilla extract is pure and straight from the source. Instead of adding sugar into your coffee every morning, add in a few drops of vanilla extract to taste. If you want to go a step further, instead of buying vanilla extract you can even make it at home. Find an easy recipe online.
2. Stevia
Stevia is said to be about 200 times sweeter than sugar so you only need to use a little of Stevia great sugar substitute. It has become pretty popular and you can now find Stevia in all different forms, so you can replace sugar in baking, drinking, and anything else you can think of. You can put either a teaspoon of granulated Stevia into your coffee just like sugar, or you can buy it in a liquid form and add a couple drops. The most popular way to add it into coffee seems to be in a capsule form. Natural and calorie free it’s no wonder why Stevia great sugar substitute.
3. Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
Adding a bit of cocoa powder into your coffee will not only give you a sweet chocolaty taste but unrefined, unsweetened cocoa powder will give your body a boost of antioxidants in the morning, or whenever you need one during the day. Cocoa powder has been found to prevent cell damage and help with bad cholesterol.
4. Honey
Honey is one of nature’s natural sweeteners, it may contain more calories than sugar, but the benefits outweigh sugar in the long run. It gives you a boost of antioxidants and energy, it can also relieve you of a sore throat, or help soothe seasonal allergies with its antihistamine properties. You can also mix it into a warm glass of milk or tea to help you relax and sleep at night.
5. Cinnamon
With virtually no calories, this spice will definitely liven up your morning coffee with its exotic flavour. As well as being really delicious, did you know that there are many healing properties associated with cinnamon? It is loaded with antioxidants and has been linked to reducing the risk of heart disease. It can lower blood sugar levels and may stop the early onset of Alzheimer’s disease as well as fight off bacterial and viral infections.
6. Almond Milk
Mixing up milk is one way of seeing if you might like something better to regular milk. Almond milk is lower in calories than normal milk and contains more calcium than regular milk. You can always mix up your milk options with so many varieties available such as soy milk, cashew milk and coconut milk. They are sure to give you a different taste every time.
7. Agave
Agave has been used for centuries by many Aztec tribes not only as a natural sweetener but for its medicinal healing properties too. It is however, high in fructose and has more calories than sugar, but you will use less as it is sweeter than sugar. It is also low on the glycemic index, but I would still not recommend this for anyone who is a suffering diabetic.
As you can see there are many alternatives to white sugar that you can use to naturally sweeten and shave calories off your morning or afternoon cup of coffee. Some promote better health and some just taste better, but you won’t know what you like until you try it for yourself. A lot of these are available in your local supermarket or health food store, if you cannot find them there you can always look online for stores that ship directly to you.
