Guest Post: It's a Sweet Life

I'm excited to share with you today a wonderful guest post written by Felicia Johnson at All Things Granola and Talking Fingers: Resources for Educating your Deaf Child. Enjoy!

 If you would like to be considered a guest poster on Reviving Homemaking, click the tab at the top of the page labeled "Guest Post" for more information. 

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It's a Sweet Life

 It's a Sweet Place

Many years ago, realizing that I had hypoglycemia, I had to cut out sugar. What a sad day . . . or so I thought. Being an all natural girl, I didn't want to use the artificial sweeteners that are pushed. What I soon discovered was a world full of sweet flavors! 

I'm not diabetic and didn't have to kick all high glycemic foods, but I chose sweeteners that had something else to offer me and were slower to break down. Here is what I found:

Honey

This wonderful, natural product offers more than just a sweet taste. But beware, cooked honey isn't much better for you than high fructose corn syrup. You need a raw, unfiltered choice to offer you minerals and vitamins such as calcium and potassium. It is sweeter than sugar, so I always use a bit less.

Sucanant

There are a lot of "raw sugars" out there today, but most of them are deceiving. Even an organic white sugar is still refined. Sucanant isn't perfect, but it is the closest thing we can get to the natural sugar cane. It hasn't had the molasses removed, so it still retains that dark color and taste. It can be substituted 1:1, but I tend to use 1/2 the amount and add a little honey to my baking. 

Molasses

Again, don't be fooled! There are so many brands available, but read your labels. A good molasses is going to offer you loads of vitamins and minerals. A highly processed version won't have much left to give. Our favorite use for this is to give our homemade granola a deep flavor.

Stevia

I couldn't write this blog and not include stevia. Even Wal-Mart is carrying it these days. Stevia is an herb and does not affect your blood sugar at all. It is very sweet, but depending on the kind you use will adjust how much you should use. It is offered as a liquid, dried leaves and a powder. Liquid is my preferred choice. It has a strong after taste so there are only a few things we use this for. Mainly making homemade yogurt or smoothies. My kids love it in their tea too.

White Grape Juice

This juice doesn't have a strong definable taste so it can be used in baking as a sweetener. It works great, I just don't always have it readily available. We also will sweeten our tea with pineapple orange juice in the summer. 

Coconut Sugar

I'm fairly new to this sweetener, but its taste is wonderful! It is derived from the flower buds of the coconut tree. It undergoes minimal processing. It has a high mineral content including potassium, magnesium, zinc and iron. It also provides several B vitamins. I use it at a 1:1 ratio with regular sugar.

As you can see there are many choices available to avoid white sugar. This was just a simple over view and there is so much more information out there if you want to dig. Why would you miss white sugar when there are so many more flavors out there that offer you health benefits too?

Felicia Johnson

All Things Granola - www.allthingsgranola.com
Talking Fingers: Resources for Educating your Deaf Child: www.talkingfingers.weebly.com

I am a daughter of the King, wife to my combat medic, and mother to six blessings. I am a stay-at-home homeschooling mother that loves learning new things and doing things the natural way. I write about our crunchy lifestyle atGranola Farms and I also manage a website on homeschooling special children at Talking Fingers.

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Five Question Friday

1. Have you set any goals/resolutions for 2013?

    Oh yes, I'm a goal setting kind of gal. You can find out all about my 2013 goals in this post. 

2. Have you made any travel/vacation plans for 2013?

    We have yet to do an annual vacation. Instead, we'll take a week to travel to visit with family. Although, I'm sure it would be nice to also have a trip just to ourselves, we place family as a high priority in our life and so feel that a vacation spent with family is time off well spent. We've also determined to make the most of all of our time together throughout the year, and so don't feel as though we are missing out on some solitary relationship building time by not taking a vacation just to ourselves. So far, it's just what has worked well for us.

3. What room is never cleaned in your house?

   I feel like the kitchen is never cleaned! With the kitchen being used to prepare three full meals plus snacks each day it is a constant effort to keep it clean. That's what happens when ya cook, so it's not a bad deal when I consider the joy of serving my family with yummy foods.

4. What food must be in your house at all times?

    Fruit. I love fruit! Breakfast just doesn't seem complete without a bit of fruit. It also makes a great snack option, especially when I'm wanting something sweet. 

5. Are you a hugger or more of a hands off person?

     If I'm really familiar or close in relationship with someone, then I'm a total hugger. If not, then I'm a strict hands off person. I'm generally also a non-hugger or at least a side-hugger when it comes to men other than my husband. That's just my personal preference.

How would you answer today's Five Question Friday? Share in the comment section below!

                                                           Have a great weekend! :)

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