How To Sweeten Desserts Using Only Stevia | #AskWardee 106

How To Sweeten Desserts Using Only Stevia | #AskWardee 106 | Transcript: http://TradCookSchool.com/aw106 | FREE THM + Traditional Foods Menu Plan: http://tradcookschool.com/freemenu **Question: How Do I Sweeten Desserts Using Stevia Only? Christy S. asked: “My main question about THM [Trim Healthy Mama] is regarding baking. What do I need for sweeteners? Can I do almost everything with just stevia? Or do I need something else?” **Why Stevia? First, stevia is my sweetener of choice for nearly all sweetened foods. Stevia is an herb that tastes sweet without being sugar. It's super concentrated, and a little goes a long way! Many Trim Healthy Mama recipes call for a blend of erythritol and stevia together. We do use that blend on occasion for special treats. However, for daily use, it's all stevia in our household! Here's #AskWardee 080 where I answer: Are Erythritol & Xylitol Healthy? http://www.tradcookschool.com/aw080 My favorite brand of stevia is Sweet Leaf. I have the tabs, liquid, and powder on hand. I also have a tutorial for making your own stevia extract using the whole herb:https://traditionalcookingschool.com/... Baking with stevia is not simply a matter of subbing it. First, it's way too concentrated for that. And second, because you're using way less of it than any other sugar, it can't provide bulk in your recipes like sugar can. So... follow these 4 tips to be successful in sweetening desserts with only stevia! #1 — DON'T Use Stevia Exclusively In Recipes That Need Whole Sweetener For Bulk Certain recipes require the bulk of whole sweeteners to create the right texture or end result. Think of boiling sugar-water for a candy or caramel. #2 — DO Use Stevia In Recipes Where All That's Needed Is A Sweet Taste Beverages, smoothies, sauces, cheesecakes, pies, cookies, no-bakes... swap the stevia for sugar and you're good more often than not. Because in these kinds of recipes, the sweetener is only about taste so you can use stevia instead. (Keep in mind the substitution ratio I'll share below.) #3 — Start With Less, Then Add More Stevia is a very concentrated herb. A little goes a long way, and if you use too much, you can end up with a super sweet or even bitter aftertaste. Don't believe me? Listen to this: the equivalent of 1 cup of sugar is a rounded 1/4 teaspoon of stevia powder. That's how concentrated the sweet taste is. Even a drop of liquid stevia can tip a beverage over the edge to too sweet. So follow these general guidelines when subbing stevia for sugar*. • 1 cup sugar = rounded 1/4 teaspoon stevia powder or 2 teaspoons liquid stevia • 1/2 cup sugar = rounded 1/8 teaspoon stevia powder or 1 teaspoon liquid stevia • 1 tablespoon sugar = 15 drops liquid stevia • 1 teaspoon sugar = 5 drops liquid stevia *What about other sweeteners? Sugar here could mean evaporated cane juice, Rapadura, coconut sugar, maple syrup, etc. Honey, however, is an exception. It's sweeter than sugar; 3/4 cup honey is about the same as 1 cup sugar. If you're subbing stevia for a liquid sweetener, also keep in mind that you have to replace the missing liquid. In some recipes, this won't matter. In others, you'll need to add some water or juice to get the right consistency. **#4 — Use Tried & True Recipes If you're just getting the hang of baking with stevia, start with tried and true recipes like my 17 Stevia-Sweetened Desserts.http://traditionalcookingschool.com/2... I'm suggesting this for two reasons. First, you're more likely to be successful since stevia is such a different ingredient from all the other sugars. And second, because you'll learn a lot about how it works and how things turn out just from trying out a few recipes! Helpful Links Transcript http://TradCookSchool.com/aw106 FREE THM + Traditional Foods Menu Plan http://tradcookschool.com/freemenu 17 Stevia-Sweetened Desserts http://traditionalcookingschool.com/2... How I Lost More Than 30 Pounds In 1 Year 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 {the Traditional Food Way} http://traditionalcookingschool.com/2... DIY Whole Herb Stevia Extract https://traditionalcookingschool.com/... Join the fun live each Wed @ 10am P / 1pm E: http://tradcookschool.com/fblive