RE: Wellness SNiPs - A Soft Drink's Guide to Healthy Living [#002]

Ok @tamala... I have already taken steps to lessen my intake of this sugary deliciousness. I drink a lot of coffee and tea and now a ton of water.

What is erythritol?? I've never of this.. I know I could google it but I would rather just ask you. (It's Labor Day and I'm being lazy) lol

And let me get your opinion on this... as a southerner I am always making sweet tea. To a gallon of tea, I add 1 1/2 cups of sugar.... My husband will never quit his tea and 1 1/2 cups to a gallon doesn't seem too bad to me. He doesn't like the taste of Stevia... he says it tastes like the artificial sweeteners... is this erythritol an option? Or are there other options that don't add its own flavour or aftertaste??

@monchhichi23 Thanks for a great question!

First, erythritol is a sugar alcohol like Xylitol - therefore it is not absorbed by us humans, doesn't cause an insulin spike and has zero calories. While sugar alcohols can cause GI effects (mainly diarrhea) when used to excess erythritol is the best tolerated of these sugar alcohols.

Always make sure you use non-GMO erythritol - I use Anthony's Premium Erythritol or Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener which is a blend of erythritol and Monkfruit.

Now, let's break down this iced tea issue. 1 1/2 cups of sugar is 1,209 calories with 303 grams of carbohydrates in 1 gallon of tea (16 cups) = 75 calories per cup with 19 grams of carbs.

Down here in the South 1 cup of iced tea would be .... confusing. Iced tea is served Super Big Gulp-style, but to be conservative, let's say 1 glass of tea is 2 cups or 16oz. That's 150 calories and 38 grams of carbs. Next question will of course be, how many glasses per day? Let's go with 3 (Like the post example) and now we are at an extra 450 calories per day. Pretty much the same as having 3 cans of soft drinks.

So let's re-work the recipe in stages using erythritol. First, let's cut back the sugar to 1 cup per gallon. Personally, I use 2/3 cups per gallon but that's personal preference. We are going to step the sugar down and the erythritol up for two reasons.

If you are not accustomed to erythritol it can cause GI upset - this rarely happens with erythritol but it's important to know. This particular effect goes away with use once your body becomes accustomed.
To accustom the palate to the slight difference in taste from sugar to erythritol.

Let's cut the amount of sweetness and sugar in stages.

Week 1: Make tea using 1/4 cup erythritol and 1 cups sugar (this eliminates 1/4 cup sugars in total and 1/2 cup actual sugar)
Week 2: Use 1/2 cup erythritol and 1/2 cup sugar (now you've eliminated 1/2 cup of sugars in total and 1 cup actual sugar)
Week 3: 3/4 cups erythritol and 1/4 cup sugar (total recipe is now 1/2 cup fewer sugars in total and 1 1/4 cup actual sugar)
Week 4: 1 cup erythritol - bye bye sugar and voila! guilt free tea.

Obviously, at any point, you can stop the step-down process and use a mix of erythritol and sugar which will still be better than where you began.

Give it a try and let me know!
XXXOOO
~T