Dates (foreground), raw honey (spoon) and agave nectar (right) offer different flavor profiles and nutritional value than white sugar.

Clockwise from top: Sucanat, turbinado sugar, agave nectar, dates, molasses. Center: honey, with raw honey on the spoon.

White sugar might as well be the Casanova of the culinary world. So sweet and seductive that it’s hard to get enough, but so sly and bad-to-the-bone that, at its heart, it’s only a few steps removed from its villainous modern cousin, high-fructose corn syrup.

Luckily for those of us not totally in love with the peaks and valleys a ride on the sugar train can provide us, there are some healthier options. Options that can satisfy your sweet tooth while being better for you in the long run, says Staci Hendrickson, a registered dietitian with Healthy Balance, 535 Gateway Drive. In fact, she gives her clients a litany of alternatives to plain, old sugar.

“I do encourage honey quite a bit, because it does possibly have some other health benefits, immunity, and our body processes it differently than regular sugar,” Hendrickson says. “I also suggest maple syrup, molasses, cane (turbinado) sugar, sorghum … for the same reason — they actually do have some nutritional value.”

Nutritional value is the name of the game for Hilary Brown, owner of Local Burger, 714 Vt., who uses honey and stevia, a natural herb, to sweeten her restaurant’s smoothies and dressings. She says that she knows it’s hard sometimes to compete in both price and taste with cheap. white sugar, but it’s something she values for herself and her customers.

“We use local honey, Anthony’s honey, we use that in our salad dressings, a very small amount, we use it in our peanut butter balls,” she says. “We used to use maple syrup until the price just absolutely went through the roof.”

Avoiding refined sugar can be pricey. Brown says an original draft of her restaurant’s menu contained a brownie sweetened with maple syrup, dates and sweet potatoes that didn’t make the cut once she ran the numbers.

“I costed them out and I was like, ‘I don’t think anybody will buy a $10 brownie,'” she says.

Good thing there are options in all price ranges for alternative sweeteners. We’ve put together an extensive what’s-what in the world of alternative sweeteners. And, for the record, we chose the most natural of natural sweeteners to discuss — there’s no artificial, chemical sweeteners on this list. Therefore, we did not include sucralose (Splenda), aspartame (NutraSweet), acesulfame-k (Sunette) or saccharin. Also, we picked items that were available for sale in Lawrence and not too expensive to be practical, though you will find that all of these are pricier than everyday white or brown granulated sugar.

Here’s hoping you find a sweetheart of a match for your culinary needs.

Granulated sweeteners

Sucanat: Sounds strange, but Sucanat is actually an abbreviated way of saying “sugar cane natural” — su-ca-nat, get it? To create sucanat, producers dehydrate freshly squeezed sugar cane juice. The flavor is molasses-heavy, making it a good substitute for brown sugar in recipes. It is also free-flowing, so you don’t have to worry about it clumping or getting hard, like you do with brown sugar.

Turbinado sugar: One step closer to everyday brown sugar than sucanat, turbinado sugar is often marketed as “raw cane sugar.” It is made from evaporated cane juice that has been spun in a centrifuge to produce large crystals. Turbinado sugar is much closer to white sugar than anything else on this list.

Stevia: Pourable stevia, marketed under various names like Truvia and PureVia, is made from the stevia plant, an herb that has been used for more than 400 years in South America. In addition to the powdered and natural herb forms, stevia is also sold in liquid drops. It is considered to be 300 times sweeter than sugar.

Liquids

Maple syrup: An all-natural sweetener made from the sap of the sugar maple tree. It is often labeled by “grade” which denotes its characteristics. There’s Grade A Light Amber, Grade A Medium Amber, Grade A Dark Amber and Grade B (which is super dark and normally used only in baked goods).

Honey and raw honey: Probably one of the longest-used unrefined sweeteners in the world, honey comes in different grades, types and colors, and the taste can vary depending on region and the bees’ nectar source (aka flowers). In addition to the traditional, pourable honey, there’s also a version called “raw honey” that is not heated or strained and is, therefore, so thick its texture is reminiscent of half-melted caramel.

Agave nectar: Relatively new to the sweetener scene, this liquid tastes a bit lighter than honey, and is extracted from the heart of the agave plant, which also is used to make tequila. Agave is about 25 percent sweeter than sugar, but is considered to be a low glycemic index sweetener, meaning it’s absorbed slowly by the body, unlike refined sugar, which causes spikes in blood sugar.

Molasses: The byproduct of the process that turns sugar cane or beets into refined sugar, it contains vitamins and minerals including calcium, potassium and iron, making it a truly healthy option. Two teaspoons provide about 13 percent of your daily iron and 12 percent of your daily calcium.

Other choices

• Dates
• Brown rice syrup
• Sorghum
• Barley malt syrup
• Date sugar
• Yacon syrup
• Maple sugar

RECIPES

Maple-Oat Cookies

2 cups rolled oats

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons spelt flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup canola or high-heat sunflower oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place oats in a medium saucepan and toast over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until oats are slightly golden and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together maple syrup, oil and vanilla until combined. Add maple mixture to oat mixture and stir to combine completely. The dough will be warm. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gently flatten dough with wet fingers and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack, then store them in an airtight container.

— Recipe from www.wholefoodsmarket.com.

No-Bake Thumbprint Cookies

3/4 cup pitted dates

3 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups smooth almond butter

1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

Zest and juice of 1 orange

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

3/4 cup 100-percent all-fruit preserves, such as cherry or apricot

Put dates into a medium bowl, cover with hot water and set aside to let soak for 10 to 15 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid, and then drain dates well.

In a food processor, pulse oats until coarsely ground; transfer to a large bowl and set aside. Transfer dates and reserved 1/2 cup soaking liquid to food processor and purée until smooth. Add date mixture, almond butter, coconut, orange zest and juice, cinnamon and salt to bowl with oats and knead together to make a dough.

Roll dough into 24 balls, transferring them to a parchment paper-lined sheet tray as done. Make an indentation in the middle of each cookie by pressing down with your thumb. Spoon a bit of fruit preserves into each indentation and chill for at least 1 hour before serving.

— Recipe from www.wholefoodsmarket.com.

Honey Sesame Dip

3/4 cup low-fat mayonnaise

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup honey

3 tablespoons grated fresh ginger root

1 small garlic clove, minced

3/4 teaspoon sesame oil

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Salt to taste

Whisk together mayo, vinegar, and honey in small bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Dip may be stored in refrigerator for up to one week.

— Recipe from Staci Hendrickson.

Honey Grog

4 cups apple cider

1/4 cup honey

2 tablespoons butter

1 cinnamon stick (3-inches long)

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Juice of one orange

3/4 cup light rum, optional

Combine all ingredients but rum in saucepan and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in rum just before serving. Makes 8 cups.

— Recipe from Staci Hendrickson.

Gingerbread Cake

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup packed brown sugar (or sucanat)

1 egg

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 9-inch round pan. Sift together dry ingredients and set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and molasses. Add the flour mixture and water and beat until smooth. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Remove and let cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan and serve warm.

— Recipe from Staci Hendrickson.