Most helpful customer reviews
36 of 37 people found the following review helpful.
Good Alternative to Sugar
By Henry Patel
As someone who has lived with diabetes for the past 11 years, I've done quite a bit of research to find a healthy (and cost-effective) alternative to sugar to satisfy my cravings for something sweet when the occasion arises, and it arises more often than not! I discovered Stevia 3 years ago and after trying every brand imaginable I settled on this one as a viable option for the foreseeable future. One thing I hadn't planned on was my new sugar substitute to start causing me gastrointestinal problems. Nothing serious but definitely not what I wanted.
I learned that most stevia products contain something called Xylitol, a very inexpensive sweetener that is commonly added to stevia and the main culprit was causing my gastrointestinal problems. I found a product online (amazon also) that did not include this ingredient in their stevia powder; 30 Grams Stevia 95% Steviosides Bulk Powder. If I wouldn't of needed this particular brand for it's level of purity, the low cost itself would have been enough for me to switch over in a heartbeat. Stevia is a fantastic alternative to sugar, and a sure way to lower one's risk of health problems down the road. I highly suggest everyone try it, diabetes or not!
15 of 17 people found the following review helpful.
Goes a long, long way
By cjs view
It took me some time to get used to stevia and learn how to use it both for drinks and baking but now that I have both the taste and know how it is truly a great way to reduce sugar intake. I am not diabetic and have no health concerns that require me to avoid sugar, I just have a huge sweet tooth and use stevia to reduce the amount of sugar I consume for overall long term health. I have found that with this product 1/2 a teaspoon equals a full cup of sugar. I have gotten the best results in baked goods by mixing one or two types of other sweetners with the stevia to equal the amount of sugar called for in the recipe. So, for example, in a recipe that requires 1 cup of sugar, I would use 1/4 tsp stevia (which is like a half cup of sugar) with 1/2 cup of honey or rapadura. Sometimes, if I want to really cut the sugar and calories, I even use a mixture of stevia and organic erythritol. This comes out very good but the organic erythritol is so expensive I don't do it often and the non-organic kind is made from corn, most of which I believe is GMO and heavily sprayed.
One of my favorite uses of this product is in coffee and tea. I use one tiny scoop of stevia, using the handy, long handled scooper included with this product, and one teaspoon of organic erythritol in my very large mug of coffee every morning. Perfect!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful.
Great value!
By Carl Johnston
I love using this Stevia Extract in my tea, I use it lots of the time up to 3 times a day! It tastes great with my Licorice Peppermint Tea (Yogi), however I am sure it would taste great with most teas. It also tastes pretty good when added to oatmeal of any sort and mixed with some fruit. I would be weary of using this Stevia with any form of protein shake/meal replacement, it just doesn't go well. I wanted to try it with Garden of Life's RAW Meal, but the taste did not improve (tasted rather odd with the Stevia). I would however recommend to a small amount to a smoothie with more flavors. I also tried it with water as one of the reviewers stated would be a good idea, and I did not find it pleasant at all.
PROS
+Value (2000+ servings, quite a bit less than a cent per serving) [NOTE: I paid 21.99 for the 3.5oz version, I have seen it for as low at 19.00 with Prime]
+Natural (knowing your not putting aspartame or Spenlda in your body is a major plus)
-Multiple uses (tea, cooking, oatmeal, etc)
-Small serving size provides a lot of flavor.
CONS
+Although KAL does improve upon the bitterness compared to most brands I have tried, there is a still a bitterness factor present, just toned down.
+Needs something to go along with it (did not taste good in water or protein shakes alone).
+Not organic? I can't find anything on the description page about it. I'm still in search of a great tasting organic Stevia extract. I will update this review if I do come across anything.
BOTTOM LINE
Stevia provides a healthy alternative to some of the questionable sweeteners on the market, and with a bit of research and creativity you can find many uses for it. I would much rather put the extract of a natural leaf in my body than some chemically engineered artificial sweetener. Stevia has it's own unique taste, so don't expect it to taste exactly like sugar, but to me it tastes pretty darn good. I could not go back to drinking my tea without it!
See all 141 customer reviews...
...
