I love baking, simple as that. Throughout my years as an amateur Julia Child, I found that it is way more fun not to completely stick to the recipe and find substitutes, especially for things you might dislike. A lot of people do not like sugar, or too much sugar in their dishes, so here are some sugar substitutes that you can use in your cooking.
Honey is my usual go to sugar substitute, especially when making sweet things. However, the ratio between sugar and honey is tricky to find out, but I say, use your taste. I do half a cup of honey for one cup of sugar, but some prefer one to one ratio. If you use honey, you also need to reduce the liquids, so it does not work for every recipe, sad to say. One more advantage to using honey instead of sugar is that your dish browns quicker and is more moist.
When making pancakes, I sometimes use maple syrup instead of sugar. Since maple syrup already contains a lot of sugar, you need to be careful to use a very small amount of it. It is also quite good in non-dairy milk.
Stevia is also growing in popularity, but it tastes quite a bit different to sugar and not many like it. It is a plant-based sweetener, contains zero calories and is around 350 times sweeter than sugar, so you use a very small amount of it. It is quite popular with those trying to lose weight as it is linked to several health benefits.
For refreshing drinks, such as iced tea, or just tea in general, I use agave nectar. It tastes very similar to honey, however, it needs to be used in moderation due to its high fructose content.
I am keeping perhaps the most unusual for last. Believe it or not, applesauce is not only delicious on its own, but it can be used instead of sugar, causing you to eat less calories and more fibre. I usually make my own unsweetened applesauce, but you can also look for any unsweetened store brand. It is also great to use instead of eggs!