Every diet seems to falter when a lady encounters that melting chocolate fudge drenched in some more chocolate syrup, hiding thousands of calories beneath its sweet façade. Add to that a Bengali 'dawat' and you find yourself spiralling down the diet ladder and climbing up to sweet heaven all at the same time -- the sweet creamy 'paayesh', the globes of 'roshogolla' drenched in sweet syrup, and the cups laden with 'Bogra boi'.

Well all is not sweet in this sweet galore and Star lifestyle has put together a list of alternative sweeteners that will allow you guilt-free indulgence when your heart desires.

Brown sugar

When in diet or doubt -- go brown. Brown rice, brown wheat and brown sugar -- all have won accolades due to their benefits to health. An alternate to its white variant, brown sugar is packed with minerals such as calcium, potassium and iron due to the presence of molasses in it.

Adding to the positives is the fact that it packs a lower calorie count than its white cousin.

Honey

Probably the oldest and best known sources of sweeteners and flavourings, honey is the sweet goodness made by bees from the nectar of flowers. So potent and well established are the benefits of honey that it has also fared well in ancient times with offerings of honey being made to the god of fertility in Egypt.  

Honey is known to have anti-fungal, anti-bacterial effects, along with reducing gastro-intestinal ailments, reduces cough and throat infections and is a low calorie and healthy substitute to plain sugar, adding in a punch of antioxidants.

Date sugar

Date sugar is simply dried dates pulverised into a powder so it is no surprise that it fares as one of the best sweeteners, also being one of the top as far as antioxidants are concerned. It is intensely sweet and can be added to all recipes where you previously opted for white sugar. You can make your own date sugar at home by baking some dates at 250-275 degrees in the oven for 2 hours and then leaving it overnight to dry. The next day, pound it in a mortar and pestle or whiz up in a food processor and you have your very own date sugar.

Blackstrap molasses

This is the by-product of refining sugar-cane to produce sugar and is a healthier variant of the original product, aka sugar. It is rich in antioxidants and also has high amounts of calcium and magnesium in it. Not only is this a better option than your regular sweeteners, blackstrap molasses is known to do wonders for your hair, improves bowel movement, improves bone health, is packed with potassium and iron and is also a safe alternate for diabetics. Blackstrap molasses makes desserts the healthy option on the table.

Maple syrup

One of the most well-known in the alternative sweetener block is maple syrup. Made from the xylem sap of the maple tree, this amber delight is uniquely sweet with tones of toffee and caramel, folding through the syrup as you take a bite of the pancake that you drenched in the sweet sugary maple syrup. It is undoubtedly a healthier variant to the age-old sugar and can be used as a substitute in cakes, pies and even your daily dose of coffee.

With all those sugary options minus the calories, you can now get your sugar fix guilt free.