With so many of us dieting, you'd think that sugar substitutes would have taken a big bite out of the sugar market -- but that's not so. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Americans eat 28% more sugar than we did 15 years ago.

Maybe that has something to do with the data that shows more Americans are overweight and frankly obese . . . .

It's easy to cut calories by using one of the sugar substitutes that the FDA has approved: aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, and acesulfame potassium. Besides the obvious uses in coffee or sprinkled on cereal, here are ways you can still make your favorite recipes -- but without all that sugar. These are for Sweet'N Low®, where 1 packet equals 2 teaspoons of sugar:

If your recipe		Substitute:
calls for:		Packets		Bulk		Liquid
1/4 cup		6		2 tsp		1 1/2 tsp
1/3 cup		8		2 1/2 tsp		2 tsp
1/2 cup		12		4 tsp		1 Tblspn
1 cup		24		8 tsp		2 Tblspn

You can also just reduce the sugar in recipes for cookies, quick breads and cakes by 1/4 to 1/3. Substitute flour for the omitted sugar. (Don't decrease sugar in yeast breads; it feeds the yeast.) Add cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, or vanilla to enhance the impression of sweetness.

Sources:

• W. Flasher. Preparing Healthy Food: How To Modify a Recipe. Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet.
• Sweet'N Low. 'How to Substitute Sweet'N Low for Sugar.'
• 'Sugar Substitutes' in Johns Hopkins Medical Letter, Health After 50, Feb. 2001.