A Spoonful of Sugar Education!

Despite it being winter in BC, I somehow managed to have an abundance of zucchini in my fridge. Random, I know. To solve this problem my natural inclination was, and always is, to make some form of zucchini bread. Today, my choice was zucchini bread muffins!

I actually really love muffins and am always trying to tinker away to make them healthy. Done right, they can be a great healthy snack to throw in your knapsack or purse to curb your hunger later. I enjoy a range of spreads with my muffins including nut butter, fresh goat cheese and coconut oil.

I searched one of my favourite food blogs, Oh She Glows, to find this wheat free, dairy free and egg free muffin recipe. The results were absolutely delicious, which is surprisingly awesome considering how hockey puck like these could have turned out. They were light, moist and full of great flavour.

The original recipe calls for organic cane sugar as the main sweetener, with a touch of maple syrup. When I tinker with my baking I always start with the sugar. I either change the source, significantly reduce the amount or eliminate it all together. This is because most recipes use refined white sugar which is in no way good for us. Not only does it offer us absolutely no nutritional value but it actually harms our health. Intake of refined white sugar is linked to diabetes, increased risk of obesity, heart disease and some forms of cancer to name a few. Organic cane sugar is slightly better because it is less refined, but when you boil it down it is still just white sugar which, if eaten in high enough quantities, will cause harm to our health.

With these muffins I reduced the amount of sugar to 1/4 cup instead of the 1/2 cup called for and chose to use a mixture of coconut sugar, date syrup and blackstrap molasses as my sweet sources. Let me tell you a little bit more about these sugar substitutes.

Coconut sugar is the boiled and dehydrated product of coconut sap. It has been gaining popularity as a healthy sugar alternative because it has been shown to have a low glycemic index, meaning that it does not cause the same spike in blood sugar as refined white sugar does. It also is relatively high in minerals, including potassium, magnesium, zinc and iron, as well as containing vitamins B1, B2, B3 and B6.

Molasses is simply what is left over from the production of refined white sugar. Everything taken out during the refining process makes up molasses. One of the main reasons I like molasses is that it is an excellent source of iron. I don’t eat a lot of red meat and ensuring that I eat iron rich foods is very important for the health of my blood and for the sake of my energy levels. Molasses is also an excellent source of vitamins B6 and B5, calcium, magnesium, copper, potassium, manganese and selenium.

Date Syrup, also known as Date Molasses, is the product of dates pureed with water. That’s it! We bought our jar of syrup before realizing how easy this is to make. All you need is a blender or food processor and equal parts dates and water. You can create your own rich, thick and creamy sauce reminiscent of caramel sauce that you can pour on yoghurt, waffles, into smoothies or mix into baking. Dates are sweeter than sugar so you automatically can use 1/3 less sweetener when using date syrup, and dates are chock full of vitamins and minerals. They are high in the vitamins B1, B2, B3, B5, B6 and B9 as well as the minerals magnesium, copper, potassium, manganese, phosphorous, zinc, selenium and iron. Dates are also high in soluble fiber, which means they increase feelings of satiety, help maintain stable blood sugar and help lower absorption of cholesterol.

There you have it, three excellent sugar substitutes that will add nutritional value to your baking!

Thanks so much everyone and happy February 27th!

Dr. Field

Zucchini Walnut Raisin Muffins (Recipe adapted from Angela Liddon of Oh She Glows)

• 2 cups whole grain spelt or kamut flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 cup sugar (I used coconut sugar)
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water, mixed and set aside for 5 minutes)
• 1 & 1/4 cup shredded zucchini (leave skin on), packed
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 2 tsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 Tbs Blackstrap Molasses
• 1 Tbs Date Syrup
• 1 & 1/4 cups non-dairy milk (I used rice milk, but I think any non-dairy milk would be delicious)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F, prepare muffin tins and mix flax with water and set aside.

2. Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl (flour, powders, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, raisins, and walnuts).

3. Mix all wet ingredients in another large bowl (flax egg, shredded zucchini, lemon zest & juice, maple syrup, milk) then add wet ingredients to dry and mix until just mixed. Be careful not to overmix as this will create dense muffins.

4. Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake for 15-17 minutes, or until a toothepick comes out clean.

5. Enjoy hot from the oven with your favourite muffin topping or just as is.