Turbinado in our all natural fruit smoothies! Turbinado is what we are focusing this time around. Label Logic by Joann DiFabio-Klinkner is all about awareness of what is in the food you eat. How does this tie in to the Identity mission? Joann educates us in everyday language on ingredients so we can easily remember what is harmful to our bodies and what is good for our bodies. What we eat can, in the short term, affect our mood and our energy, and in the longer term can have a major affect on our health. That’s why it’s an important part of helping you to Feel Beautiful Everyday!TM
If you’ve ever gotten a real fruit smoothie or a shake from a health club, odds are you’ve seen turbinado listed in the ingredients for some of them. I’m sure your natural instinct is to think that it’s something totally healthy because, after all, you’re about to enjoy a health shake from a health club! But have you ever looked it up to see what it actually is? Look no further because I’m about to tell you.
Turbinado is Just a Fancy Name For…
Turbinado is just a fancy name for sugar. That’s right…sugar. But don’t mistake turbinado for that unhealthy processed grainy white stuff we’re so familiar with. Turbinado is a much healthier alternative to white sugar because it’s in a purer form than white sugar.
Turbinado is often mistaken for brown sugar simply because of its color. But turbinado actually has a much larger grain than brown sugar, and is more crystal-like. Turbinado is made by slowly heating the juice from the first pressing of sugar cane until the water evaporates out of it and it crystallizes. Those crystals are then spun in turbines (or centrifuges) to get out any remaining moisture.
Despite the moisture-removing process that turbinado goes through, it actually has higher moisture content than white sugar, making it naturally lower in calories than white sugar (11 calories per teaspoon as compared to 16 calories per teaspoon). Turbinado is also far less processed than white sugar, so it naturally retains more of the nutrients found in pure cane juice.
Turbinado = “Sugar In The Raw”
Turbinado also goes by the alias “Sugar In The Raw.” You may have seen those packets at your local coffee shop or mixed in next to the Splenda ® packets at your favorite restaurant. When given the option, go for those brown packets of turbinado. It’s a healthier alternative to heavily processed white sugar. However, if you see turbinado on the ingredients list of your favorite fruit smoothie, you might want to have them leave it out. After all…fruit is sweet enough, isn’t it? Even though turbinado is completely healthy, save yourself the calories and just enjoy the natural sweetness of the fruit in your smoothie.
