Autumn’s Keto Journey and HBaking with SugarLike

Resting Keto Face Vanilla Cake with SugarLike

RKF Keto Product Score
Taste: 10/10

“Flavour wise this is honestly one of the best ones that I’ve ever had…this is the best keto sweetener for baking”

Resting Keto Face super-versatile vanilla keto cake Youtube recipe

Please note that Autumn only provides HONEST product reviews and ratings

JUMP TO HER RECIPE BELOW

What are NET CARBS

RKF Review on SugarLike Keto Sweetener

Autumn from Resting Keto Face started her keto journey in April 2018. Since then, she has lost 40 LBS. For Autum, her “why” is more than just weight loss.

For anyone who’s looking to start keto or is new to keto, she has shared some tips which has helped her reach her weight goals and happily stay on course. She provides HONEST reviews – her own opinions about the low carb, keto products that she receives as samples and recommends them to her reading.

If you are struggling to find keto food products or are getting bored of the same food, you can visit her site to view her recommended shopping list and give them a try. 

HER ‘WHY’ FOR KETO

For Autumn, her “why” for keto lifestyle is improved physical health and well-being. Keto has solved some issues for me that extend beyond the 40lb I needed to lose. Keto has proven to improve her health issues and changed her relationship with food, focusing on better ingredients.

Here are what she has been able to correct by following keto:

  • Inflammation
  • Nausea
  • Stomach pain & digestion issues
  • Brain fog, low energy
  • EVERLASTING HUNGER (even after eating)
  • STUBBORN EXTRA WEIGHT (40 LBS gone)

When Autumn started her keto journey, she did an extensive research and these are some of the questions that many of you might share the same interests:

  • What are net carbs?
  • How much carbs should I have a day?
  • Why are some sugar alcohols different than others?
  • What are the best sweeteners on keto?
  • Keto-friendly recipes

One mistake that she guarantees you will make is that you will find that, maybe once in a while, your carbohydrates intake is higher than planned. So what do you do? Don’t stress it out or as she puts it “KCKO” Keep Calm and Carry On.

If you’re already seeing results from the good choices you’ve been making, just continue making those good choices.

MACROS

Understanding macros, how to calculate them based on your caloric intake is key to Keto diet. One of the pillars of keto is a larger percentage of caloric fat intake than protein and carbs combined.

Autumn describes marcos as “the nutritional breakdown of your foods, generally divided into carbs, fats, and proteins. While 20g net carbs is a universal amount that will likely keep everyone in ketosis, fat and protein amounts will vary from person to person due to body size and activity levels”.

WHAT ARE NET CARBS?

Net Carbs are the total effective carbs absorbed by your body.

Important CARBS to remember for keto:

  • TOTAL CARBS
  • DIETARY FIBER
  • SUGAR ALCOHOL
  • NET CARBS

NET CARBS

Since dietary fiber and most sugar alcohols are not absorbed by the body, that is why subtract those to get the final net carb count. On the nutrition facts, you should be able to see the first three clearly labeled, and probably sugars count as well. To calculate net carbs:

TOTAL CARBS – (DIETARY FIBER + SUGAR ALCOHOL + TOTAL SUGARS) = NET CARBS

The following is The Keto Golden Ratio that Autumn recommends keto beginners to follow:

The keto golden ratio. 70% fat, 25% protein, 5% carbohydrates

LESS THAN 20G NET CARBS, OR 5%

With this 20G net carbs to stay in ketosis, you may wonder “How will I be able to enjoy those amazing sweet treats”. That is exactly where natural, sugar-free sweeteners come in. Natural sweeteners offers a NATURAL alternative solution to sweetening all your sweet treats. SugarLike monk fruit sweetener, derived from real monk fruit extract, does not spike your blood sugar levels because it has ZERO NET CARBS, ZERO SUGARS, and ZERO GLYCEMIC INDEX. Even if you are not on a keto diet, you should still avoid refined, processed sugars that lead to the vicious cycle of blood spikes, diabetes, and damage your health.

With keto, Autumn never finds herself feeling hungry (AND HANGRY) all the time and is finally able to ‘treat’ herself and have a healthy relationship with food.

GREAT TASTING & SAFE KETO SWEETENERS?

SugarLike sweetener used to sweeten coffee

This is a very popular question. Her respond to this? “ Yes, of course they’re safe. But you’ve got to use the right kinds”

Yes, there are many sugar substitutes available in the market today. But no, NOT ALL SUGAR  SUBSTITURES are created EQUAL. There have been extensive research on artificial sweeteners and their harmful effects on our bodies.

“Maltitol and isomalt, for example, will cause laxative effects if used in moderate-to-high doses. Those sweeteners also have glycemic impacts almost as high as sugar. In fact, if you check the label on something that’s sweetened with these, it likely warns of the laxative effect that may occur from more than a single serving of that item.”

“The sweeteners that I recommend for keto are erythritol, xylitol (but keep it away from pets!), monk fruit, and stevia.” 

These sweeteners have low to none glycemic impact on blood sugar levels and have great taste. However, most sweeteners cannot be substituted directly for sugar. For example, monk fruit is up to 200x sweeter than sugar while erythritol is only 0.7x as sweet. They normally cannot provide the functions that sugar provides in baking – for example, the quality of rise, the texture, moisture retention ability. This can really complicate things, and requires many changes to the recipe you are using.

Luckily, you’ve found SugarLike! We understand these problems and created SugarLike Encapsulated Sweetener for you to enjoy without any compromises to  health, taste and texture! You can simply use 1 cup SugarLike for 1 cup sugar in your recipes and enjoy the same great taste of sugar. As our sweetener is encapsulated and is not only just a regular ‘blend’ that you may commonly find in the market, we are able to offer a truly premium natural sweetener that closely imitates the functionality of sugar in food and beverages. Give SugarLike a try!


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RKF REVIEW: SugarLike Zero Calorie Keto Sweetener

The facts of SugarLike. SugarLike is keto friendly, diabetic friendly, gluten free, vegan, non-GMO, sugar free, zero calories, zero sugar, zero net carbs
SugarLike sweetener. A picture showing SugarLike and its beautiful granular crystals

SugarLike is a non-GMO, sugar-Free, zero net carbs. It is made with ONLY two ingredients: Erythritol and Monk Fruit Extract. As we have discussed before, Erythritol and Monk Fruit are indigestible by your body which leaves you with 0 NET carbs. Another important note is that Erythritol and Monk Fruit Extract have low-to-zero glycemic impact which is why the perfect choices for Keto. Both have been used for centuries to sweetener food and beverages, especially for people who have diabetes. 

Many sweeteners with erythritol have an overpowering “cooling” effect which you will not find with SugarLike, “The product also didn’t hurt my mouth, like some other granulated Monk Fruit sweeteners have done in the past.”

She also finds that the other sweetener
“isn’t really sweet and doesn’t really do what [she] wanted it to do”  but when it comes to SugarLike, here’s what
she has to say:

“Flavour wise this is honestly one of the best ones that I’ve ever had”

“The cake was really delicate and it just has a really nice texture…I really think that a lot has to do with the [SugarLike] sweetener that we use, so I think that it did a great job at making sure that it was the right texture”

“Since it held up so well in the oven, I’m going to go ahead and say it: this is the best keto sweetener for baking.” She adds.

POSSIBLE USES & RESULTS

a keto vanilla cake sweetened with sugarlike

“I’ve used this sweetener in my personal vanilla cake recipe, smoothies, tea, and coffee. I think that it did a great job of dissolving and found that it didn’t recrystallize when the recipe was refrigerated for later.”

When a sweetener crystallizes, many crystal grains appear on the surface and may affect the tastes and definitely affects the texture and moisture content – harden and dry out a few minutes out of the oven.

Not sure which recipe to try with SugarLike? Check Autumn’s  YouTube page for her vanilla cake recipe with SugarLike.

Other ideas: sweet sauces, like BBQ and teriyaki, sweetened keto breads, muffins, cookies, and cheesecakes.

“Also, since it did a pretty good job of caramelizing in my cake recipe, I think it would be great in an actual caramel sauce, or in a keto creme brulee.”

Even more interested in trying SugarLike sweetener now?


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OR interested in seeing more great results, see our ULTIMATE SWEETENER GUIDE.

RKF Keto Product Score
Taste: 10/10

“WOO we have a winner here! This tasted very very close to sugar. If I had never had a sugar substitute before, I would not have known that this is different. I had my wife try it and she thought it was sugar. No cooling effect.”

this image shows a keto vanilla cake baked with SugarLike

KETO VANILLA CAKE – Butter Cake – Sour Cream Cake – Pound Cake – RECIPE WITH SUGARLIKE SWEETENER

Ingredient list:

  • Egg
  • Butter
  • Sour cream
  • Salt
  • Baking Powder
  • Vanilla extract
  • Almond Flour
  • Coconut Flour
  • SugarLike Zero Calorie Sweetener

“It definitely acts one to one LIKE sugar and I totally recommend this”


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Is Erythritol Keto-Friendly? The facts about Erythritol and sugar alcohols

Is Erythritol Keto-friendly? YES IT IS!

Fast facts about erythritol:

  • It contains far fewer calories than sugar and has 0 glycemic index
  • It has 60-80% of the sweet taste of table sugar
  • Seems to cause fewer digestive problems than other sugar alcohols
  • Tastes better than other sugar alcohols
  • Preferred sugar substitute for people with diabetes
  • Promotes oral health and doesn’t lead to tooth decay
  • It is proven to be safe for pets. Unlike xylitol which is toxic to dogs

Now let’s get into more details:

1. What is Erythritol?

It is a type of sugar alcohol occurring naturally in fruits and fermented foods. Also existing in small quantities in the human body as a natural byproduct of the fermentation of bacteria in our digestive system. It occurs naturally in wine, beer, mushrooms, pears, grapes, and soy sauce – to name a few.

Erythritol is produced from glucose or sugar. The first step is mixing glucose or sugar with yeast. This yeast ferments glucose to form erythritol. The fermented mixture is then heated and then dried by boiling off water. The crystals are then formed. These crystals are washed and purified to remove impurities, to make it safe for human consumption.

Although the name ‘sugar alcohol’ can be a bit misleading, it is NOT a sugar nor alcohol! Sugar alcohols don’t contain ethanol, so no they will not get you drunk. They also don’t spike your blood sugar like regular sugar. The molecules are like hybrids of a carbohydrate and an alcohol. The molecules are structured in the way that stimulates the sweet taste receptors on our tongues.

Erythritol is around 60-80% as sweet as sugar, according to the International Food Information Council. The mild cooling effect when you consume it is caused by a harmless chemical reaction similar to evaporation.

Fun Facts:

  • Another name for sugar alcohols is polyols.
  • Erythritol was first discovered over 150 years ago, but wasn’t produced commercially until the 1990s.

2. Does it get absorbed into our body?

Erythritol gets absorbed in the small intestine and most of it comes right out in your urine. A recent study concluded that erythritol does “not affect plasma glucose or insulin concentrations or gut microbiota.” Taking into consideration all the fermentation variables such as gas production, pH, and hydrogen accumulation, they found erythritol to be non-fermentable by human microbiota (bacteria, archaea, protists, fungi and viruses). This is why it does not cause the same gassy, cramping or bloating effects that other sugar alcohols do. The diagram below shows the structures of common sugar alcohols and their effects on different types of bacteria.

a infographic showing the structures of common sugar alcohols and their effects on different types of bacteria
Arrows show the effects on an increase or decrease in the number of microorganisms.

3. Why is it keto-friendly?

Erythritol has only 0.24 calories per gram. It contains the least calories among the sugar alcohols.

But isn’t it a carbohydrate?

Technically, yes. However, here is where it gets interesting. The carbohydrates in erythritol will NOT impact your overall carb intake. This is because it does not get metabolized in the body. It is excreted unchanged in the urine.

When you are on a keto diet, the rule of thumb is to limit your carbs to 30 grams a day (net carb). Sweets and dessert seems to be pretty much out of the question.

So even though there are roughly 4 grams of carbs per teaspoon of erythritol, its net carb count is zero.

an image showing sugarlike sweetener made with monk fruit and erythritol nutrition facts
SugarLike Nutrition Fact
an image showing sugarlike sweetener made with monk fruit and erythritol, showing it's nutrition facts and it's unique selling points
Monk fruit blend nutrition panel
an image showing sugarlike sweetener made with monk fruit and erythritol and it's unique selling points
Suitable for all

Past experiments show that there is no change in blood sugar or insulin levels when people were given erythritol. There is also no effect on cholesterol, triglycerides or other biomarkers.

For this reason, erythritol appears to be an excellent alternative to sugar for people who are overweight, with diabetes or other metabolic issues.

4. Comparing with other sugar alcohols

Common sugar alcohols include erythritol, xylitol, sorbitol, maltitol, to name a few.

Of all the sugar alcohols, erythritol contains the least amount of calories per gram. See the graph below for a comparison.

  • Table sugar: 4 calories per gram.
  • Fructose: 4 calories per gram.
  • Maltitol Syrup: 3 calories per gram.
  • Sorbitol: 2.6 calories per gram
  • Xylitol: 2.4 calories per gram.
  • Maltitol: 2.1 calories per gram.
  • Lactitol: 2 calories per gram.
  • Erythritol: 0.24 calories per gram.
a comparison chart showing the calories of erythritol and other sugar alcohols

Even better, erythritol has zero glycemic index! If you refer to the graph below, you will see that it is the only sugar alcohol which does not affect blood glucose levels at all.

What is Glycemic Index?

The Glycemic Index (GI) is a scale from 1-100 that ranks carbohydrate foods by how much they raise blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates with a low GI value (55 or less) are more slowly digested, absorbed and metabolized and cause a lower and slower increase in blood glucose. Find out why a spike in blood glucose is bad for you here.

a comparison chart showing the glycemic index of erythritol and other sugar alcohols

5. Benefits of Erythritol

Erythritol may help reduce calories and added sugar in your diet. It doesn’t raise your blood sugar — no blood sugar spike means no cravings that can lead to weight gain.

A study from the Food and Chemical Toxicology found that it did not produce evidence of toxicity in humans. Even at high doses, they are mostly passed through the urine. There’s also no link between it and carcinogenic or cardiovascular risks reported. The FDA has not set a daily limit or recommended daily amount, and it is generally safe to eat in large amounts.

The Center for the Science in the Public Interest’s Chemical Cuisine recommends to limit xylitol, while it classifies erythritol as safe health line research.

What about the gassy effects or stomach upset?

When it comes to erythritol, you have to be eating of a LOT of it to experience these effects. We are talking about more than 30 grams a day. If you still concerned, you can stick to the recommended amount of roughly 10 to 15 grams per day as suggested by the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

We recommend that you use any food, sugar alcohol or non-nutritive sweetener (like monk fruit or stevia) in moderation as part of a healthy, balanced diet.

Did you know:

Manufacturers are not required to list a sugar alcohol count on the nutrition label. So you might not see it on every food that has erythritol listed as its ingredient. If it is included, you will find it listed under the total carbohydrate count, where is says “sugar alcohol”.

To substitute erythritol for sugar:

1 cup sugar =  1 + 1/3 cup erythritol

If this is too confusing to you, you can always use our 1:1 sugar substitute that is a blend of monk fruit and erythritol:

an image showing sugarlike sweetener encapsulated with monk fruit
Kitchen size – great for baking and cooking
an image showing our encapsulated monk fruit sugarlike sweetener
Nutrition panel
an image showing sugarlike sweetener sticks
Individual serving size – easy to carry around
an image showing sugarlike sweetener sticks being used to sweeten tea
Individual serving

SugarLike monk fruit blend is a great alternative to sugar. No bad aftertaste, zero calories and zero glycemic index! Learn more about monk fruit here.

Now you know why everyone on the keto diet is so obsessed with Erythritol!

Sources

  • (2018, March 1). 7 Things to Know about Sweeteners on Keto: Paleo Leap. Retrieved from https://paleoleap.com/7-things-know-sweeteners-keto/
  • Anderson, P. (2013, July 17). How Sugar Substitutes Stack Up. Retrieved from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/7/130717-sugar-substitutes-nutrasweet-splenda-stevia-baking/
  • Cloe, A. (2019, January 10). What Is Erythritol Made From? Retrieved from https://healthfully.com/22548-erythritol-made.html
  • Miller, M. (2019, March 9). Everyone On The Keto Diet Is Obsessed With This Sugar Replacement. Retrieved from https://www.womenshealthmag.com/food/a19055328/erythritol-side-effects/
  • Nitsu, D. (2019, April 24). Erythritol On Keto: Benefits And Side Effects. Retrieved from https://ketoconcern.com/erythritol-keto/
  • Oberst, L. (2017, October 11). Xylitol vs. Erythritol: What’s Healthier? Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/xylitol-vs-erythritol#1
  • (n.d.). Recent advances in biological production of erythritol. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07388551.2017.1380598
  • Roxy. (2018, October 3). XYLITOL VS. ERYTHRITOL. Retrieved from https://foodloversmarket.co.za/xylitol-vs-erythritol/

Contact Us

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