Which Stevia Is Best? Brands? Liquid v Powder? | #AskWardee 107

Which Stevia Is Best? Brands? Liquid v Powder? | #AskWardee 107 | Transcript: http://tradcookschool.com/aw107 | Free 1-wk THM+Trad Food Menu: http://tradcookschool.com/freemenu *Jenny O. asked: "I'm confused about all the different stevias out there. I look at the ingredient labels and get more confused. I'm not sure which brand is best and which form is best? Can you help?" *Why Stevia? First, stevia is my sweetener of choice for nearly all sweetened foods. Stevia is a super sweet tasting herb that's not actually sugar (zero calories and no glycemic impact). It's super concentrated — 30 to 200 times sweeter than sugar depending on its form. A lot of Trim Healthy Mama recipes call for a blend of erythritol and stevia together. We do use that blend in moderation on occasion for special treats. But, for daily use, it's all stevia in our household! *Why NOT Stevia? Some people have an allergy to plants in stevia's ragweed family, taking it out of contention entirely. *How To Choose A Brand Of Stevia? This question has to be asked before discussing the forms of stevia and which is best to use… The absolute best “brand” is not actually a brand but rather “homemade”. You grow the stevia yourself or source it from someone doing it well and make your own stevia extract or, you can dry and powder the herb. If you can't do that, then take into account three criteria when choosing your preferred brand: 1 minimal processing 2 no other ingredients 3 the taste For instance, you can buy whole leaf ground stevia leaf powder which is just the dried stevia leaves ground up, nothing more. In my opinion it has that bitter aftertaste. That bitterness comes from the natural taste of stevioside, one of the two major compounds in the plant. (The other is rebaudioside, also called Rebiana A, which is not bitter.) *So, Which Brand Of Stevia Is Best? Aside from using the whole herb, you're left to evaluate brands that do some processing of their stevia so it actually tastes good. The processing is to isolate the Rebiana A, the non-bitter part of the herb. For years, we have been using the Sweet Leaf brand: the tablets, liquid, and powder. These are 100% pure products with no aftertaste and processed gently with water. Some of their products do have other ingredients. Any of their products that use the word “Sweetener” in the label contain other things beyond pure stevia extract. I also love the Trim Healthy Mama 100% pure stevia powder. Because I love the sisters behind Trim Healthy Mama and want to support what they're doing, I'm going to be using their 100% pure stevia powder instead of Sweet Leaf going forward. *Liquid v. Powder? Which is better — stevia liquid or stevia powder? My understanding is that the liquid extracts are less processed than the powders. So, I prefer to use the liquid extract whenever possible. When I'm baking, I reach for the liquid extract first. Remember: 1 cup of sugar is the equivalent of 2 teaspoons of liquid stevia? Because that's such a small amount, 99% of times, it's not an issue to introduce this liquid sweetener in place of a dry sweetener. I only reach for stevia powder occasionally — like when I'm mixing it with erythritol to create a sugar-free blend. And the tablets I keep in my purse and use these for sweetening beverages when I'm out. *What's This About Trim Healthy Mama? I followed Trim Healthy Mama, combined with Traditional Foods to lose more than 30 pounds in a year (and I'm keeping it off to this day). Helpful Links: Transcript http://tradcookschool.com/aw107 Free 1-wk THM+Trad Food Menu: http://tradcookschool.com/freemenu How I Lost More Than 30 Pounds In 1 Year http://traditionalcookingschool.com/2... 17 Stevia-Sweetened Desserts http://traditionalcookingschool.com/2... A Baker's Dozen Of Tips For Doing Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods http://traditionalcookingschool.com/2... If I Were Starting Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods All Over Again http://traditionalcookingschool.com/2... 19 Foods You Need To Start Trim Healthy Mama http://traditionalcookingschool.com/2... 17 Stevia-Sweetened Desserts http://traditionalcookingschool.com/2... DIY Whole Herb Stevia Extract https://traditionalcookingschool.com/... Sweet Without Sugar eCookbook - currently 40% off & I'll throw in my sugar-free real food ice cream recipe when you forward me your receipt! http://tradcookschool.com/sweetwithou... Join the fun live each Wed @ 10am P / 1pm E: http://tradcookschool.com/fblive