Stevia instead of Splenda?
 

HI all

just wondering if any of you have used Stevia as your sweetner in decaf coffee , desserts , recipies?? I tried it yesterday and I found it to be great. Its all natural , from a plant source and it works in coffee.

it has no calories . Is incredibly potent and its not aspartame!! i may just switch from splenda to stevia. It seems like its the more natural choice

Piera

yes, i use both the liquid and the packets, i use the liquid in my coffee and when i whip cream. the stevia packets are handy for travelling. the packet does have 1 carb because of the filler.

Hi Mac. :)

I switched over too. I noticed that the splenda was putting me in a stall, not sure why it was, but it was.

My friend who Manages a GNC told me he has a lot of complaints (mainly from women) that the Splenda stalls them. So he suggested the Stevia. I use it faithfully now and have been back on the losing track!! :thup:

YA I opted for Stevia over Splenda because its more natural. I want to do atkins not jsut to lose some weight but also to get myself off of processed foods in general. And not just processed carbs. Iwant to try to eat foods that are in their most natural state. So I"M completely avoiding most cheeses, deli meats, hotdogs, and other processed meats. They really are full of alot of garbage our systems could do without. I bet that I'll feel better once I do this. I'll let you know how I feel and do with this approach!

Piera

Great info! I'm currently using splenda, but I am definitely going to switch to stevia! I've heard of them before but never really thought to use them. Liquid with no fillers and no carbs? That sounds wonderful! I must try them!

Where do you find Stevia? I think I will switch from the Splenda.

thanks

:wave:

Thanks!!
 

I am switching too! Is Stevia easy to find? :q:

You probably won't find it in the grocery store. The FDA won't approve it as a sweetener, only as a "supplement". I found it at my local health food store. If you don't have any of those (or GNC centers) near you, try doing a search online, there are plenty of places that sell it.

Hi Everyone! MAC, I am in Toronto. Where do you get your Stevia? WHat is the brand? How much does it cost? Also how much do you use? Do you have to dilute it?

red

What filler does yours have? The carb count depends on the filler used. I use the stevia/chicory root and it has 0 carbs (CDN label) per 1/2 tsp. I love it.

I posted some info about stevia not too long ago. http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...6922#post766922

Most don't like stevia b/c it's been misused. Too much and it ruins the recipe. I definately like the stevia with filler best for this reason. It's much easier to manage.

Another way to make your own stevia with filler is to purchase a bottle of Chicolin and mix it with regular stevia powder. Here are the directions. Chicolin can be purchased in most HFS. http://www.greenalive.com/chicolin.html

I have a LC cooking with Stevia cookbook. Anyone else have this? I'd sure love to share stevia recipes on this forum.

Wanda

I tried stevia and couldnt stand the taste! :thdown:

MAC Artist --

Since you said this,



I wonder, have you read any of the paleo-diet books or looked at the Paleo boards here? Eating only foods in their most natural state - what you could theoretically hunt or gather and digest raw, if you had to - is what those diets are about. They're a little different from your basic LC, in that you can't have dairy (cave people weren't herders), or coffee (the beans need processing), or artificial sweeteners (obvious reasons there) -- but you can have a certain amount of fruit in season. I certainly don't want to mess you up if you're happy where you are, but in view of what you want to do with your diet, you might want to check them out. There might be some interesting information.

--Ruth

PS - I don't think I could do it. Way too much of a happy coffee addict!

PPS - The Paleo-diets don't require you to eat all of your food raw - cooking is fine. But you'd have to be able to eat it raw, in theory, if you had to. (So eggs and meat work, but potatoes don't because they'd make you sick if you ate them raw in any quantity.)

i buy stevia at the Real Canadian Superstore in the area where they sell equal, sweet-n-low etc. the liquid comes in a 60ml bottle for about $9, its brand name is Herbal Select and i only us a few drops at a time so a bottle lasts me a long time. the packets are also $9 and i can't recall the brand name as i threw away the box. the packet just has stevia extract on it.

wanda--the packet lists the ingredients as: rice maltodextrin, stevia rebaudiana(stevioside) extract, and silica-total carb 1 gram per pkt.

Stevia is not approved by UK authorities and not available.

I did find some rogue stevia and was not impressed. Strange aftertaste.

Splenda is a close to sugar as you will get but that is its main disadvantage. it has maltodextrin as a filler which can produce an insulin reaction and taking Splenda does little to wean one off the "sugar fix" sensation.

But I cannot drink Tea/coffee without some sweetner and have settled on Splenda now that it is available in the UK

I buy stevia at NOahs health food store. There are a few of them in Toronto. (BAthurst andsteeles, Spadina and bloor, yonge and eglinton) You can buy it in liquid form or in packets. I prefer the packets. Its a little more expensive than splenda, but u really use it sparingly.

As for its safety.. even though its not approved in the UK, there are alot of things that are on the market that we don't know are safe in the long run ie: aspartame, margarine, fat burners. So Stevia being a natural plant derived product shouldn't be such a threat when soo many really proven things that do harm already exist in the food that is sold nation wide.

The problem with Splenda is that is made from SUGAR. I wantt o stay far away from anyhting even remotely close to sugar.

As for the PAleo diet, I've heard of it but I"m not to sure if I have enough patience for it. It sounds too restricted and I am happy with atkins so far:)) I'll have to see how I do on atkins in the next few months. Be casue I am determined to give atkins at least 2 months time to see how I fare.

Piera

I live very near Yonge & Eglinton so I will check out Noah's this weekend. Thanks Mac.

I also want to stay away from sugar and splenda.

Hey jesdorka... Wanda said



so you should probably try stevia w/o

red

In Canada, you can buy Liquid Sugar Twin at most grocery stores. It is cheapest at Wal-Mart, currently $2.76 while it's about $3.79 in the groceries.

It uses cyclamates (legal in Canada for years) and has NO CARBS because there is no filler needed as for the powders or tablets.

I must admit that I prefer the taste to Stevia - and I have tried several forms of it.

:wave:

Hi MAC Artist:

It's not really an issue as to it's safety b/c it's been used for centuries without ill effects. It's having difficulty getting approved b/c of politics, plain and simple. The artificial sweetener business is very powerful and so far has been able to block stevia (as a sugar substitute) as GRAS. For cryin' out loud, GMOs have been deemed "Generally Recognized As Safe" by the FDA and we have NO CLUE what the ramifications of that will be. There's more going on than meets the eye. Okay, I'll step off the soapbox now. :daze: :blush:

Like you, I follow a natural, organic, unprocessed food diet and I'm very happy with that. For me, this WOL is a necessity for health reasons. I thought about Paleo but decided I really didn't want to give up cheese. It's my one indulgence. ;)

Schwarzbein is very big on an unprocessed food diet to balance all the hormones in the body. It's a very interesting read even if you don't follow the diet.

For me, a very occasional treat would be to have a mix of sweeteners (except Aspartame) rather than straight Splenda (it tastes funny). But it's only when I have to share a LC dessert and I know that stevia just won't cut it.

Rustpot :
When I first started getting stevia here, liquid form was the only way I could find it. Gross. I tried a few types before I hit pay dirt. I think once it becomes more widely available you will find some much better alternatives. Ideally, the best way is with filler b/c it's easier to control. BUT, as we've seen, it's definately not for everyone. ;) I remember when aspartame came out on the market. I thought it was terrible, but I adjusted to the taste. It really comes down to whether someone wants something natural vs. artificial, IMHO.

Have a great weekend everyone,
Wanda

I just wanted to thank everyone for their comments on Stevia. It is something I wondered about. I for one really appreciate any product reviews that are offered-even if they are conflicting it really helps to hear from others who have tried these products
Jan P :thup:

stevia plus
 

My health food store gave me some free samples of Stevia Plus to try. The plus is Fiber F.O.S. It's not bad, about as much aftertaste as splenda, and I like the fact I can get my fiber too.