A couple months ago, Amie Valpone made me aware of the natural sweetener, lucuma.
Known as the “Gold of the Incas”, lucuma powder comes from the lucuma fruit. It’s dried at low temperatures and then turned into a powder. It has a maple like taste. Although if you mix it in your favorite nut butter, it tastes more caramely.
It can be used to replace sugar in certain baked goods, smoothies or add an extra punch to your nut butter (the easiest way to use lucuma so therefore, my favorite). Amie likes to sprinkle it on fruit to add some extra flavor.
Aside from my fear that the local lucuma economies will experience the same complications that have arisen out of coffee and quinoa markets, I see it as a healthy choice.
However, healthy is always a relative term.
Natural sweeteners require context like every other nutrition, weight loss and health statement.
And because nutrition has become so complicated, I see people equating “made with natural sweeteners” as “not as bad”. Often they are better than “the real thing” (not always, again, context!). But “not as bad” doesn’t mean they are supporting you in your health and weight loss goals. And lucuma is expensive!
We’ll discuss when these natural sweeteners make sense in my free 7-day Carb Craving Reboot. Have you joined?
If not, don’t hesitate. The response has been incredible and we are capping enrollment.
Be well,
Ali
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