Most stevia extracts taste horrible. They have a real bitter after taste and are hard to swallow. I have tried many brands and it is nearly impossible to find one that tastes great. If you are on a low carb diet or an anti-candida diet then NOW Stevia Extract needs to be your sugar substitute because it tastes great! Artificial Sweeteners are really horrible and you definately do not want to use them. Read all about the dangers of using Splenda and Aspartame.

Liquid Stevia extract blends so much better than any stevia powders. It tastes great in coffee and tea. I can even put some on my finger and eat it straight without grimacing! I have not used it in baking yet, but am excited to try.

The price is high for this product but the bottle is very big and even if you used this stuff daily, I am pretty sure that you will only have to buy it once a year. There are 1823 servings in the 8oz bottle! The cost is also pretty reasonable compared to natural sweeteners like honey and maple syrup.

I can’t say that this Stevia product tastes like sugar, because it does not, but it is the best tasting stevia I have tried.

Benefits of Stevia:

• It is a very concentrated sweetness so you don’t need to use a lot. A drop or two will work to sweeten a cup of coffee.
• Stevia does not raise  blood glucose.
• Stevia does not feed candida yeast.
• Stevia is a natural herb.
• It is non toxic and has no adverse health reactions.
• There are no adverse stomach issues (gas and diarrhea) like there are with using sugar alcohols.

I know that there are a lot of bad tasting stevia products on the market but do not let that stop you from trying this one!

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I have been on a low carb sugar free diet for about 9 months now and only just recently have I discovered Erythritol. I don’t have a sweet tooth anymore and am content with the stevia sugar. Maybe it is the after taste of stevia that killed my sweet tooth. The stevia sugar is good when you are craving sweets but it still needs spices, lemon juice, or vanilla to cover up the ‘stevia taste’.

I have been eyeing the sweeteners at my health food store. There is Agave Nectar which I have used and totally rejected after finding out some scandalous marketing that has been used to make it appear as a health food.  More on Agave Nectar in a future post.  There is vegetable glycerine that I don’t know much about. Then there is xylitol and erythritol.

Xylitol and erythritol are sugar alcohols. They have horrible chemical sounding names and so I stayed away from them.  Sugar alcohols are also known to cause bloating and gas which in my opinion are very undesirable side effects.

Today xylitol can be extracted from birch trees and corn cobs, but it is also found in berries, oats and mushrooms. Xylitol does not encourage candida growth and can prevent tooth decay. My kids do use a xylitol toothpaste and so far no cavities. But the fact that most xylitol sweeteners on the market come from China and made from corn cobs makes me uneasy. Corn is one of the most genetically modified foods and China has very poor food safety standards. So it is hard to trust xylitol products. There are internet sources of US made xylitol products – you just need to do a search for them.

The health food store I shop at did start carrying erythritol. I was hesitant about trying it. It was very expensive for the quantity (twice as expensive as xylitol). The product said that it was organic and that it was fermented though.  Struggling with candida, I know that fermented foods are beneficial and that the bacteria and yeast digest sugars and starches. Erythritol is fermented sugar cane. Just like cheese and wine are fermented products.  It has almost no calories (0.2 cals/gram), it does not spike blood sugar has a glycemic index of zero. It also does not feed candida yeast. It is also a natural antioxidant fighting off free radicals that cause aging and disease. Erythritol is also good for baking and is heat stable.

I did end up buying it on sale and found that erythritol also tastes great! When eating something made with erythritol it feels cool to taste (kind of like mint but without the mint flavour). It is not as sweet as sugar (70% as sweet as sucrose) but it blends well with stevia. You don’t need a lot of stevia so there is no aftertaste. It also does not cause bloating or have a laxative effect like other sugar alcohols.

I really like erythritol. It makes for a great natural sugar replacement in recipes. I just have to get over the feeling that I am cheating even though I am not.  You can find organic erythritol made from organic sugar cane and product of USA here…

Wholesome Sweeteners Organic Zero, 12-Ounce Bag (Pack of 2)

On their website they state that there are no chemicals used to make their product.

Enjoy!

To your health and wellness,

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Thanksgiving is just around the corner and I was looking for a good pumpkin pie recipe to use up the last pumpkin from our CSA share. I came up with this wonderful treat using Stevia Sugar. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Top it up with some whipped cream and it will melt in your mouth.

Low Carb Pumpkin Pie Recipe

8 Servings

Almond Crust

1 cup Almond Flour
2 tablespoons Butter
1/4 teaspoon Stevia Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

extra butter for greasing pie dish

Butter pie dish and set aside. Combine almond flour, butter, Stevia and vanilla. Pat down into pie dish.

Almond Crust: Calories 95.6, Total Fat 8.9 g, Total Carbohydrate 2.4 g, Dietary Fiber 1.4 g, Protein 2.6 g

Pumpkin Pie Filling

2 cups pumpkin puree
2 eggs
0.5 can coconut milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 inch fresh ginger (peeled)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cardomon pod
1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
1.5 tablespoon Stevia Sugar
1 Cup of Pecan halves

Preheat oven to 350F. Put all ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth and spices are all mixed. Pour into pie shell. Add pecans on top of pie filling. Bake for 60-70min. To check the pie if it is ready to come out, insert a knife into and if it comes out clean then it is ready.
Let pie cool completely before cutting it.

Pumpkin Pie Filling: Calories 185.2, Total Fat 17 g, Total Carbohydrate 6.6 g, Dietary Fiber 2.2 g, Protein 3.6 g

To your health and wellness,

Catherine Osthaus

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