Stevia

[BRCoats]

Has anyone had any experience with Stevia? Do you cook with it? I just discovered it a few days ago...I knew about it, but had never tried it. When I looked it up on the net, I discovered it nourishes the pancreas and actually helps stabilize blood sugar. WOW!! What a find!! :-)

If you've cooked with it, how did the recipes turn out??

Brenda

[celiac3270]

All I know is that it's gluten-free.......never used it, either, but a few on the board have mentioned that it's gluten-free.

[Canadian Karen]

Hi!

I use Stevia for my tea. It is definitely gluten free and tastes quite good too.

I have never cooked with it though.....

Karen

[Guest ~wAvE WeT sAnD~]

Hi everyone!

Pardon my ignorance, but what is Stevia?

[BRCoats]

Stevia is an herb that is used as a sweetener. But it doesn't have the negative side effects that artificial sweeteners have. It's ten times sweeter than sugar, but does not raise blood sugar levels at all. A great find for those of us that really need to watch our sugar levels. :-)

Brenda

[taneil]

I use Stevia all the time. There is a book out called "Cooking with Stevia" It talks about Stevia and proportions to use. It also has recipes. I use there recipes to know how to modify my recipes using Stevia.

Here is a recipe for Poor Man's Cake I took our of Country Magazine and Modified it to be gluten-free and used Stevia instead of Sugar. Normally it calls for 1 cup sugar and no coconut. I use the coconut to substitute for the bulk of the sugar in the recipe since 1 teaspoon is Stevia is nothing compared to a cup of sugar. You can also use cocoa powder instead of carob powder. One thing the the book "cooking with Stevia" says that I didn't know and it helps to know when expiramenting with recipes is that you should add the Stevia to the liquid ingredeints no matter if you use powder or liquid.

Poor Man's Cake

1 cup brown rice flour

1/2 cup white rice flour

1 Cup Unsweetened Shredded coconut

3 tablespoons carob powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup cold water

1 teaspoon stevia liquid concentrate

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 Preheat oven to 350

[BRCoats]

taneil,

Thanks for the recipe!! It sounds delicious. I had wondered about the lack of bulk in recipes that call for stevia. Adapting sounds kind of hard....but worth a try. That's a great idea to substitute coconut for sugar. I love coconut!

I have seen that book for sale online. I will most likely purchase it at some point....after I try a few recipes to see if I like the way stevia tastes in baking.

Thanks again.

Brenda