The best place to start in cooking and baking more healthfully is to find substitutions for the sweeteners you commonly use. Using a sweetener that you enjoy (and that works well in the type of recipe you are making) is key to changing from sugar (or other high-glycemic sweeteners) to a low-sugar/no-sugar lifestyle.
True confession: I do not like Olive Garden’s salad dressing. But that is probably only because I do not like salad dressing at all.
Period. Not.one.single.dressing. Nada. Nope. None.
However, I have some kids who are crazy about this dressing, so I make it with my homemade Italian Dressing Mix for them.
Wowsie, sometimes I really miss BBQ—you know the sweet, yet spicy/tangy, taste of BBQ ribs from Outback or pulled pork from a street vendor at the fair? And when I start feeling that way, I know that it is time to pull out my Sugar-Free Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce and make something yummy!
And in grilling season, this is just the perfect dish—without any of the guilt or sluggishness associated with sugar-laden BBQ sauces (okay, and that sweet bread AND bloomin’ onion AND homemade croutons AND…you get the idea!).
![[Sugar-Free] Monterey Marinade](https://farm1.staticflickr.com/715/33423824356_b3a2f6aa6f_z.jpg "[Sugar-Free] Monterey Marinade")
I like to marinate meats in a bbq type/Tex Mex marinade when using them in fajitas, bbq, etc. (Even if I am adding bbq sauce at cooking time, I still love that flavor-infusion from marinading in this mixture!)
One of the primary uses for my BBQ Sauce Base is definitely to make BBQ sauce! I love sweet BBQ—but I also love foods with a little zip. This sauce give me both!
I like the sweetness just as it is, but you might like a little more or a little less bulk sweetener. Also, I like the spice as is, but you might want to adjust your base (i.e. omit the chili powder) or lessen the liquid smoke if you feel it is too spicy for your family.
