Stevia and Agave Syrup

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carolrayes
carolrayes Posts: 30 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Have just been reading a very enlightening article on sugar replacements. Has anyone heard of Stevia?? It's apparently a natural product derived from leaf extract which is up to 250 times sweeter than sugar and get this - has NO calories. Can be used in coffee, tea, baking ,cooking etc. I just looked it up on the local health food shop online store and they say 1/4 of a teaspoon is equiv to 1 cup of sugar! Has anyone used this? Does it have digestive side effects or others? Funny aftertaste? Make you howl at the moon or other weird things?

Also in the same article, agave syrup, much the same deal but does have calories....you use 25% less than the equivalent of sugar in recipes and has a GI of 30 compared to normal sugar at a GI of 65. Ditto - has anybody used/is currently using this?

Has anyone had experience of either of these and any anecdotal findings on taste etc? Love to hear your views.

Replies

  • rokikio
    rokikio Posts: 92
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    I use them both and really enjoy them. I had the blue agave nectar (amber which is medium flavor) with my oatmeal this morning and it was great. And use Stevia in my tea. I have also used Truvia as well. No problems so far with any of them and no weird after taste.
  • TheNewJessieMae
    TheNewJessieMae Posts: 767
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    I am a splenda girl but tried Stevia Packets. ugh---I didn't care for it. I am trying to stomack the rest of the box and then I'm going to try the syrup instead of the powder.
  • funnygirl0940
    funnygirl0940 Posts: 260
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    Has anyone used this? yes, both


    Does it have digestive side effects or others? no

    Funny aftertaste? no

    Make you howl at the moon or other weird things? nothing extra

    Also in the same article, agave syrup, much the same deal but does have calories....you use 25% less than the equivalent of sugar in recipes and has a GI of 30 compared to normal sugar at a GI of 65. Ditto - has anybody used/is currently using this? I tried agave powdered version in my cream cheese frosting...it came out lumpy. my mom suggested I purify it in the food processor...it's an idea.

    Has anyone had experience of either of these and any anecdotal findings on taste etc? I like stevia better than agave but don't really use either. I opted for local raw honey ;o) I don't like processed food anymore.
  • npryor100
    npryor100 Posts: 99 Member
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    Truvia, a new splenda-like product, is made from stevia extract and I use it to sweeten my tea. I've also used a liquid stevia extract from the health food store in the past. Like all sugar substitutes, it has a sweet taste that isn't exactly like sugar but you can get used to it. It is certainly less chemical-tasting than the other sugar substitutes in those pink and blue packets.

    I have also tried agave...but my husband was using the same amount of the agave as he had sugar and honey to sweeten his beverages/cereal etc, so I'm not sure if the everyday user actually uses less to reap the benefits you mentioned. I've found that I prefer the taste and benefits of local honey instead.

    I think my daily cup of green tea with local honey has lessened my allergies and overall made me less prone to getting sick!
  • skinnyack
    skinnyack Posts: 683
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    love agave- I put it in my oatmeal
  • givprayz
    givprayz Posts: 328
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    I've used stevia. It is a little different than sugar, but much better than Equal. I like Splenda, but it doesn't work in every recipe, so I'm going to start trying the Stevia mix (it's fluffed up so it measures like sugar.) I'll put any recipes that work into the database MFP is starting.

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