by Bhavya Dabas

Created on: December 17, 2009

A sweet tooth is one thing that really gets in the way of weight loss. We crave sugary foods, and we get a kick out of them. Which is the reason why we continue to eat them. Of course, there are low calorie sweeteners available to substitute, but many of these are based on chemicals which may otherwise be harming your body.

An option better than artificial sweeteners is natural alternatives to sugar, like cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and honey. Substituting these for sugar is a natural, healthy way to cut your calorie consumption.

For example, most of us start our days off with a cup of coffee. And a lot of us add sugar to it. I’ve found that adding a little bit of cinnamon to it reduces the need to add sugar. And maybe a dash of vanilla to go with it. I then need less than a quarter of the amount of sugar that I would normally use, and I get a nice flavor as well. Depending on how much coffee you drink and how much sugar you add to it, this is something that can cut down your calories quickly without making you feel deprived.

Then there’s toast. Instead of jams, jellies, marmalades and butter, if you eat your toast with honey, your breakfast is much healthier and a lot less loaded with calories. Even cereal, for that matter, can be sweetened with cinnamon or honey instead of sugar. Other breakfast items, like French toast, can also be adapted according to your taste to use less sugar and more cinnamon.

While baking and preparing dessert, it is always a good idea to add some cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg or honey to sweeten the preparation while using smaller quantities of sugar. Substitute honey for caramel whenever possible. Quick and easy desserts can be put together in a jiffy by drizzling some honey over cut fresh fruit.

Honey goes well with pies, while cinnamon does well while baking muffins. It takes a little bit of experimenting to find out what works best for you and your taste buds, but these are easy and healthy swaps that you can make to reduce your calorie intake and make your food healthier, while keeping your sweet tooth happy all along. That actually goes a long way towards helping you stick to your weight loss regime, since your sweet tooth can cause temptations which can lead to unhealthy binges and impromptu snacking.

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