Stevia?

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jazzie_red
jazzie_red Posts: 180 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I hate artificial sweetness in general.. (aftertaste is the issue.)

I have been reading about dried ground stevia leaves. Has anyone tired it?

Do you use stevia, what kind, and aftertaste? I want it for coffee.
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Replies

  • maineapple
    maineapple Posts: 133 Member
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    I have the liquid Stevia drops and I use them in my non-fat yogurt. About 5 drops sweetens the yogurt up so it doesn't have that bitter aftertaste.

    I do like the drops a lot. You just have to be careful not to use too much or it will give a bitter taste. Just try adding a drop or two at a time until you get to the sweetness you want. Good luck.
  • mathandcats
    mathandcats Posts: 786 Member
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    I like Stevia in tea or oatmeal with fruit. If you use too much, there can be a sort of bitter licorice aftertaste. I like Now Better Stevia - it has the least aftertaste of any Stevia I've tried. I think it could be kind of gross in coffee, though.
  • snowflake930
    snowflake930 Posts: 2,188 Member
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    I use Truvia, granulated form.
    It seems to be a lot sweeter than the same amount of sugar (at least to me).
    I don't get an after taste from it, but I have been using it for almost 2 years now so I am used to it.
    I never have liked really sweet coffee, so I only use 1/4 tsp in mine. Right now I have pumpkin spice flavored ground coffee so I don't really need any in my coffee.
  • sarajenivieve
    sarajenivieve Posts: 303 Member
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    Stevia is natural so its better for you the artifical sweetners but i personally dont like it. I perfer either xyitol (sugar made from corn) half the calories of sugar but same taste or raw sugar which is obviously still sugar but without the processing and chemicals its easier on your body :)
  • angieleighbyrd
    angieleighbyrd Posts: 989 Member
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    I use stevia in my coffee. I've tried baking with it and I got an aftertaste and haven't tried since. I may try to bake with it again. A few people told me that using too much gives the after taste.
  • 21million
    21million Posts: 113 Member
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    You gotta use like this tiny cocaine spoon. Too much is gross, 1 tiny spoon is perfect. You gotta know what you are doing. I've been using it for many years - its more affordable than artificial sweeteners.
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
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    stevia in the raw is all natural. truvia is processed. I am very sensitive to artificial sweetners and stevia in the raw does not give me a headache.

    as with anything new it takes some getting used to, but it is no worse than sweet and low
  • ThisCanadian
    ThisCanadian Posts: 1,086 Member
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    A word of caution: if you have ragweed allergies you may be allergic to stevia. I learned this the hard way.
  • potluck965
    potluck965 Posts: 529 Member
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    I use two packets of stevia in the raw in one cup of coffee. I like it and don't notice any bad taste.
  • Momjogger
    Momjogger Posts: 750 Member
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    I LOVE Stevia in the Raw, but not in coffee. I use it in smoothies and with fruit.
  • shartran
    shartran Posts: 304 Member
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    I love 'my' Stevia - been using it for several years. Perhaps I'm 'use to' any bitter taste -though, I don't detect it. Just make sure, as previously posted, that you use a very small amount.

    Also, I do not like any Stevia that has been 'cut' with additives like rebiana, dextrose and maltodextrin. These aren't so 'good' for you plus, they really affect the taste.

    Currently, I really am liking 'Herbal Select' - powder and liquid. I put it into all my beverages (coffee; tea, etc.); desserts, etc., It's about $10 a container.

    I've tried the natural ground up stevia leaf and found it to be too 'earthy' for my palate.

    It's so subject though, so you might as well give it a go.
  • Lesa_Sass
    Lesa_Sass Posts: 2,213 Member
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    I have an inflammatory disease and "diet" chemicals give me a great deal of inflammation and pain. I can use stevia and it does not effect me one bit as far as pain goes. I think that speaks volumes as far whether or not the others are bad for me.

    It is not sugar so it does not taste exactly like sugar, but the aftertaste is not really unpleasant.
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
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    I use Stevia in tea, coffee, and oatmeal. The aftertaste doesn't bother me.
  • jazzie_red
    jazzie_red Posts: 180 Member
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    I don't know if Stevia is for me. I may go buy a bottle of the drops from a health food store and see if I like it in my oatmeal. My oatmeal is one of my highest calorie meals. If I can take 40 calories out of it by using Stevia that would help.

    I guess if I don't like it, I can toss it.
  • pander101
    pander101 Posts: 677 Member
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    I love stevia! I use the liquid drops for tea and coffee. Switched from the granulated when I was more concerned about watching macros.
  • FredDoyle
    FredDoyle Posts: 2,273 Member
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    Stevia is natural so its better for you the artifical sweetners but i personally dont like it. I perfer either xyitol (sugar made from corn) half the calories of sugar but same taste or raw sugar which is obviously still sugar but without the processing and chemicals its easier on your body :)
    I don't know even where to start with this...
    No, it's not better for you because it's natural. That's a logical fallacy. Is arsenic better for you because it's natural?
    Secondly, xylitol is a sugar alcohol. From wiki:
    Xylitol is produced by hydrogenation of xylose, which converts the sugar (an aldehyde) into a primary alcohol. It can also be extracted from natural sources, and is often harvested by tapping birch trees to produce birch sap. Another method of producing xylitol is through microbial processes, including fermentative and biocatalytic processes in bacteria, fungi, and yeast cells, that take advantage of the xylose-intermediate fermentations to produce high yield of xylitol.[13] Common yeast cells used in effectly fermenting and producing xylitol are Candida tropicalis and Candida guilliermondii

    Lastly, everything is made of chemicals so you will die if you don't "put chemicals in your body".
  • MaryLiz2015
    MaryLiz2015 Posts: 5 Member
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    I switched over to stevia about a year ago and it took a bit of getting used to but now I love it. I use in my coffee every morning also make lemonade from scratch using only 1/4 cup sugar and about 2 T stevia for a 2 quarts.

    Having a terrible time getting "started" and today is my 3rd attempt to get with the program but at least I signed in and logged a healthy breakfast. Have fallen to the family gene pool and showing definite signs of diabetes in the past month in addition to multiple other health issues...not fun.
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Xylitol makes me nauseous. I don't like the taste of Stevia. I just use Splenda. And yeah, I agree that just because something is "natural" doesn't mean it's automatically healthy and/or chemical free. Water is a chemical.
  • MaryLiz2015
    MaryLiz2015 Posts: 5 Member
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    Has anyone else discovered how simple it is to make homemade Greek yogurt and/or prepping your romaine for salads and storing in mason jars? Seriously good tips! I bought a yogurt maker second hand which sent me to the internet for recipes and I was amazed. We have eaten more salads in the past few weeks than the whole last year...because it was simple and ready to go. Seriously good tip and a big money saver on the yogurt!
  • thejessicanicole
    thejessicanicole Posts: 2
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    A word of caution: if you have ragweed allergies you may be allergic to stevia. I learned this the hard way.

    I have to chime in here on this. I switched to Stevia from Splenda about 5 days ago - for the past 5 days I have been getting asthma symptoms and using my rescue inhaler more often. This morning I was actually wheezing. It was a bit scary considering my asthma has been well controlled for a couple of years.

    I have allergies to many things (including dander, grass, shellfish, list goes on...) so, it struck me that the only thing I have changed in my diet was not eating bread/bad carbs AND switching to stevia!

    I need to find an alternative now :) no more splenda or scary stevia.

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