Indulge in a Sweeter World with Stevita Naturals

Disclosure- I received the mentioned product courtesy of the sponsor for the the purpose of this review. All opinions are genuine, based on my experience with the product, and have not been influenced by promotional items.


Some of you may know that I cut refined sugar from my diet earlier this year. I came out of a 3 year remission from my autoimmune disorder, and since refined sugars are a big culprit in causing inflammation in the body, I needed to make some drastic dietary changes in an effort to get myself healthy again. Additionally, around the time I fell out of remission, my 14 year old nephew was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, so I have been doing a lot of research and experimenting with foods that won't cause blood sugar levels to spike or cause my body to attack itself. We're kind of a hot mess in this family right now, but with a few dietary changes, I'm certain we'll have better control of our health in no time.

I have dabbled off and on with using stevia in the kitchen for the past few years, and while I haven't fully mastered using it as a sugar substitute in my baking, I have come up with a few recipes that I have been really pleased with the end result by incorporating a little stevia into the mix. I recently heard about Stevita Naturals and after browsing through their website, was really impressed with the large assortment of products they offer that are sweetened with stevia and not refined sugars.

Here's the thing that I love about stevia: it's up to 300 times sweeter than sucrose, which makes it an excellent sugar substitute, it contains 0 calories, and has natural anti-inflammatory properties. Also, since it does not cause blood sugar levels to spike, it's great for my diabetic nephew to use so he can still indulge in sweet treats without having to worry about his health. 

There was a question on what kinds of treats could be placed in my nephew's stocking this year, since his favorite chocolate candy is now out of the question. The solution is actually a very simple one: Stevita Naturals Sugar Free Hard Candy. 

Stevita Naturals Hard Candy is the first sugar free candy that I've tried and actually really enjoyed. Available in 4 classic flavors: strawberry, cherry, grape and orange, all delicious, but it's the orange flavored candies that I can't seem to get enough of lately. I think I'm going to need MY stocking filled with it this Christmas! Here's an interesting tidbit: Stevita Naturals Hard Candies were the first stevia-sweetened candy on the market. Since it's sweetened with 100% certified organic fair trade Brazilian stevia extract and non-GMO isomalt from cane sugar, it's ideal for people with dietary restrictions, allergies, food sensitivities, and those who are into clean eating. Here are some more great things about Stevita Naturals Hard Candy:

• Gluten Free
• Low Calorie
• 0 Net Carbs
• Paleo Friendly
• Contains 0 Artificial Ingredients
• Non-GMO
• No Artificial Preservatives

I've been playing around in the kitchen with Stevita Naturals products, and thought I'd share a few really easy recipes that I concocted that are perfect for the fall season. This is the time of year that guests like to pop over without much notice, but no worries. You can whip up tea and rice pudding in a jiffy with the quick recipes below so you have something fresh on hand to serve your guests:

 

Yield: Serves 4 Author: Theresa M

Cranberry Splash Tea

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups water
• 2 black tea bags
• 1 cup diet cranberry juice
• 6 drops Organic Stevita Liquid Drops

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place teabags into a pitcher. Bring the water to a boil, then pour into pitcher with the teabags and allow to steep 3-5 minutes. 
2. Remove teabags from pitcher. Stir in the cranberry juice and Stevita Liquid Drops. 
3. Serve warm or over ice.

Yield: Serves 4Author: Theresa M

Minute Rice Pudding

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup instant brown rice
• 3/4 cup dried fruit (I used dried cranberries and raisins)
• (1) 3.5 ounce box vanilla sugar free instant pudding mix
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tsp Stevita Organic Spoonable Stevia
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Bring the water to a boil. Once boiling, stir in the instant rice, return to a boil, cover, then reduce heat and let rice simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand covered for an additional 5 minutes.
2. While rice is cooking, pour milk into a medium sized bowl. Using a wire whisk, beat the pudding into the milk for 2 minutes. Stir in the Stevita Organic Stevia and ground cinnamon, then place the bowl in the refrigerator, allowing pudding to set for 5 minutes.
3. Once set, remove pudding from fridge. Stir in the cooked rice and dried fruit. 
4. Spoon pudding into individual cups. Top with a sprinkle of more cinnamon if desired. Serve.

Stevita Naturals offers quite a few products that can really sweeten up your world, from liquid and spoonable stevia, to candies, cocoa powders and creamers. I'm still familiarizing myself with all of their products, but I have a few more recipe ideas in the works that I'll be experimenting with over the next few weeks and plan to share with you here on the blog once I've got them perfected. In the meantime, be sure to head over to the Stevita Naturals website to learn more about their products and why making the switch from refined sugar to stevia is a great choice for all.

Have you tried stevia? What's your favorite recipe to incorporate it into?