great cookbook
 

Attention stevia users!

I just discovered a very interesting cookbook:

LOW CARB COOKING WITH STEVIA by JAMES KIRKLAND

There are a lot of great recipes - from icecream to beverages to pies, main dishes and cookies. I made the pumpkin cream pie and it was SSSSSSSSOOOOOOOOOOO good! I modified the crust recipe a bit and added extra butter and coconut. I tried the brownie recipe and it did not turn out as well, but the almond butter cookies were really good. I am still learning how to actually cook with stevia - it takes practice, but I am determined because I have decided to avoid chemicals like splenda but I still want to be ale to make sweet treats for myself and my family. Low carb cooking with stevia is the solution for me.

PS The book contains all the conversion tables for recipes that use sugar and that use splenda, etc.

Stevia
 

anybody know where i can buy the sweetner stevia from??????

My question is this...does Stevia bake better than Splenda? We have a whole foods here, but I don't want to wast the money on something that is just going to end up baking like a "low cal" item.... then I will just keep using my splenda. Thanks!!

Miss Jinx,


Can I have that recipe for the Splenda Brownies???

I'm planning on buying some Stevia with my next netrition order so I can combine with my splenda. They have NOW products and Sweetleaf products. I was leaning toward the sweetleaf liquid stevia but any recommendations would be appreciated. Like I don't understand the NOW stevia glycerite (stevia and glycerine?) Does the stevia extract powder have carbs like splenda powder does? I use the sweeteners mostly for baking. I have splenda (liquid and powder) and sugar twin now.

you can get pure stevia extract in the powder form. It is very potant and just a few grains can sweeten a cup of coffee. Sweetleaf has packets of stevia mixed with FOS, a fiber that is said to aid digestion. You can also get pure liquid stevia.

I found the liquid harder to work with, while others prefer the liquid to a powder. Just your preference I supose.

Liquid Stevia
 

I love Stevia, after I cut sugar out of my diet I lost 1o lbs. I use Stevia in all my cooking, baking, smoothies, tea, I even put drops of stevia in my ice-cube trays and make lil popcicles out of it. My favorite is the new liquid stevia flavors from SweetLeaf, the English Toffee flavor is heavenly. I cut up an apple, sprinkle a little cinnamon, add the English Tofee and sautee everything in a pan, it tastes like hot apple pie with out the fatty crust!

Here are two of my favorite recipes is:

#1 BerryBerry Couscous Cake
This cake is so easy to make and can be adapted to any fruit of the season.

Couscous Cake
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup couscous
juice of 1/2 lemon
3 to 6 drops Liquid Stevia (any flavor)or a dusting of Stevia Extract
pinch of sea salt

Berry Topping
1 1/2 cups blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup water
4 to 5 tsp. agar agar flakes (kanten) used to thicken the berries
12-13 drops Liquid Stevia (any flavor, or mix flavors...I like Vanilla creme & Lemon drop) or dusting of Stevia Extract
pinch of sea salt

Cake
Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Stir in couscous, lemon, and stevia. Turn heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes. Rinse a 9" springform pan or shallow non-aluminum baking dish and spread the couscous firmly into it. Allow to set about 1 hour.

Berry Kanten Topping
Bring all ingredients to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Set aside at room temperature until the kanten sauce begins to set, about 20 minutes. Then spread it over the cake. Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.
Serves 6 to 8

Cooking Tips Instead of water, you can cook the couscous with coconut milk, or vanilla soy or rice milk.

#2 Mango Creamsickle

This recipe reminds me of the creamsickles we used to eat when I was a child, no real ice-cream in this recipe....enjoy!

This is a two step process....you must first freeze the puree then continue.
Recipe:
2 cups fresh mango pulp
2 TB or more coconut milk
2-3 drops Liquid SweetLeaf Stevia: Valencia Orange

First: Puree mango pulp and coconut milk in a blender or food processor

Second: Place mixture in ice cube trays and freeze

Third: Remove frozen mango cubes and place in a blender or food processor. Add enough coconut milk to blend the mixture and pulse until creamy. If you like very sweet add more Liquid SweetLeaf Stevia to taste.

Cooking tips: If mangoes aren't available use packaged frozen mango slices. Defrost before using.

Wait, so I'm not sure I still understand. How much stevia would be equal to 1 TABLESPOON of Splenda?? Tell me quik- I wanna make a mock danish!! :)

Each manufacturer of stevia calls for a different measure since the strength seems to vary. Usually you can find the equivilents on the packaging.

thanks you guys...allthe thinfs I have been wondering about have been answered!

I can't stand artificial sweetners. So if a recipe calls for 1 cup of splenda, I use 2 packets of splenda. Same with Stevia which I use. I switch back and forth between splenda and Stevia.

I think you have to sweeten to taste and experiment unless you drink diet sodas or other similiar products. In that case, you should go with the listed coversions, as you are probably used to the over sweetness.

Thank You for posting that!- I've had the sweetleaf stevia shaker for a while now-(90% ss) and I just couldn't figure out how much to put in a pitcher of tea (I use about 1/2 cup of gran. splenda) but I couldn't get the shakes of stevia right...

My advice is always start with less
 

I find if there is too much stevia in a recipe, it tastes very bitter. So I prefer to err on the side of too little.

So a general rule of thumb I use is 1 tsp. stevia extract = 1 cup sugar.

I use this equivalency to replace the sugar listed in a regular recipe. That way it doesn't come out too bitter.

If I want it sweeter, then the next time I make it, I add a tiny bit more stevia to see how it comes out, or--and this is what I have been doing recently--I add erythritol.

To Godspeed, to answer your question about 1 TBSP of Splenda: with the above formula. that means I'd add 1/16 tsp. of stevia (16 tablespoons in a cup). With that small a recipe, if I wanted it sweeter next time I'd add erythritol.

So far this has worked for me!