Looking for a great way to sweeten food without calories?
Stevia, the sweet herb, has many benefits.
It has zero calories (yes, you read that right), so it can be used to sweeten many kinds of foods. It is a better choice than commercially made sweeteners such as aspartame.
If someone is looking to lose weight, stevia is the herb to use in cooking, baking and beverages. It can be used to sweeten coffee and tea, mixed with fruits and vegetables in smoothies, and in desserts.
Try it in a chocolate pudding or in pudding made with tapioca seeds.
Add it to syrups or in muffin or pancake mixes.
You know something must be good when your kids say, “hey, can I have some of that?” This to the chocolate pudding and chocolate pancakes.
Stevia comes from Peru, where it grows in the mountains. The plant’s leaf is 200 times sweetener than table sugar so you don’t need much. It has a mild, almost licorice like flavour that is slightly bitter.
Stevia, the sweet herb, is now getting used more extensively commercially. You can find it in drinks as a sweetener instead of aspartame and sucralose.
If you want to use stevia, you can get is as a powder or liquid. Just remember, that less is more. Start with a very small amount, less than 1/8th teaspoon.
With liquid Stevia often 4-8 drops is sufficient, depending on what you are using it for.
I used about 6 drops for my chocolate pancakes ( less cocoa powder) and I use about 3-4 drops for my tea and or coffee/cappucino I make at home.
So experiment a bit. Use a little bit – if you don’t like the taste you can always add more. Start with a little, taste and add more drops ( or powder) to get the flavour you want.
If you are going to bake with stevia, add it to your applesauce or liquid blend, taste and adjust with more if too bitter. Try using the powdered type first, or liquid if there is a liquid/sauce blend which is done before adding the liquid to the flour blend.
I think you will begin to enjoy using stevia once you get used to it.
Remember – no calories!
