Tag Archives: stevia extract powder

Sweeteners (Addendum A: Stevia)

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I’ve been using stevia products for several years, so I’ve tried many.

My favorite go-to stevia product is KAL brand 100% Stevia Extract Powder. It has to be KAL brand. This is the most economical while being the best tasting that I have found. Look at the label and see how many servings there are in the bottle!! In the bottle is a tiny scoop, hence my recipes refer to as “one tiny scoop of KAL…”

I also love to put flavored drops into sparkling water for a soda drink. My favorites are found at Vitacost (vitacost.com coupon):

  • Root Beer
  • Grape

Other available flavors:

  • Plain
  • Apricot Nectar
  • Berry (This one is a good one for kids)
  • Cola (I was not impressed. Not robust enough flavor for me. I would rather have the Root Beer.)
  • Peppermint
  • Lemon Drop
  • Cinnamon
  • Valencia Orange
  • Chocolate
  • Chocolate Raspberry
  • Vanilla Creme (Most people like this one)
  • English Toffee (I’d like to try this one)
  • Hazelnut (I didn’t like ths one)

Another sweetener that I like is erythritol— 5 pound bag from iHerb.

Banana Muffins

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I used to enjoy this Baby Bear’s Whole Wheat Banana Bread recipe to make muffins or small loaves. It’s a great recipe and uses whole wheat flour. Nourishing Traditions cooks would probably adapt it to soaking the flour.

These days, I use my adapted version of Elana Amsterdam’s recipe from The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook. Always at the ready for when the bananas go brown!

Banana Muffins

3 cups blanched almond flour

1 and ½ tsp baking soda

¼ tsp sea salt (if you use coconut oil. Do not add salt if you substitute salted butter)

2 Tbsp. oil (I use melted coconut oil. You could use melted butter.)

3 large eggs

4 to 5 very ripe bananas

1 tsp. cinnamon (my addition)

4 tiny scoops KAL brand stevia extract powder (this is almost like adding 4 tsp sugar) Optional

Up to 1 cup chocolate chips Optional
  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
  2. I use a blender for this recipe. Food processor would work too. I puree ripe bananas until the blender measure shows 1 and 1/2 cups. Reserve a banana until later if you like chunks of banana in the muffins. If you do not want chunks of banana, puree enough banana to measure 2 cups.
  3. Add the salt, oil, eggs, cinnamon and stevia and mix in the blender with pureed bananas.
  4. Measure in the almond flour and then the baking soda on top of that. Blend in. Quickly thereafter, add the remaining chunk of banana and pulse briefly, leaving chunks of banana.
  5. Scoop 1/4 cup into each muffin cup. I use a cookie scoop which is ¼ cup measure.
  6. Bake 35 to 40 minutes (I set the timer at 30 minutes and check) until set and slightly browned. Let muffins cool in the pan for 30 minutes, as this will allow them to set up. Of course, I always eat some warm.
   About the paper muffin liners:I recommend If You Care Brand in a plain brown box. A) These work really well to release from all baked goods, just like parchment paper (I always use parchment paper to line my cookie sheets.) B) they are eco-friendly. I have purchased at Meijer and at co-op and natural food stores.

About the scoop: OXO brand calls it a “trigger ice cream scoop.” This makes muffin-making so easy! See the cookie scoops.

Erik’s Reboot

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Here’s a quick update for those of you wondering about how Erik is doing on his weight loss program, which is working for him! He’s slimming down!

Reboot Juicing Breakfast: Blended Spinach with juice, Amazing Grass and some supplemental capsules

Breakfast: Amazing Grass, supplemental capsules, and Blended Spinach with juice.

Erik and I concur: When beginning a fast, days 2 and 3 are the hardest. Day 4 the cravings are dying down and it gets much easier after that.

The juice fast routines are basically:

  • A.M. blended spinach-juice, cod liver oil, Vit D, Amazing Grass (probiotic, antioxidant), Maca, Milk Thistle Seed. And, he enjoys his coffee.
  • Lunch: soup, trying for the lower calorie or vegetarian types. Or cauliflower with a dip like hummous. Sometimes a chai (see below) or Dandy Blend instant beverage.
  • Dinner: blended spinach-juice again if at home. Salad if at a restaurant?
  • Evening: homemade chai sweetened with stevia and erythritol, unsweetened almond milk OR a cocoa (see below)
  • Shot of magnesium with coconut water
  • Basically, relearning to eat small portions at all times. Over the past couple of years, I have really seen Erik eat far smaller portions. These first two “fasts” have really helped him get to know his own body better.
  • Ideally, I try to get a zinc supplement into him on an empty stomach and/or towards evening.

In order to get "over the hump" of the difficult first three days of a juice fast, I recommend drinking as much as you want of all of the "approved" drinks (like all those mentioned on Erik's Reboot program) and up to three servings of green food powder such as Amazing Grass.

Erik will be morphing his “diet” into an Intermittent Fasting model using the low-calorie “juice fast” routines I am detailing here along with some days when he eats a regular Primal Blueprint diet. This will allow for low-calorie fat burning days on his juice fast, but not for long enough for his metabolism to go into starvation/fat-storage mode. Primal Blueprint guidelines call for a moderate protein, higher fat, high vegetables and low carbs.

I have also been developing a supplements chart for our family-of-four, to help us stay on track with supplements. Mainly, we have moved to taking our fat soluble vitamins in the morning, giving us the calories from fat to use through the day. Another tip I’ve just started using is to mix our evening magnesium with some coconut water for a balance with potassium. A tasty way to do this is with Coco Cocoa!

Recipe: Super Nut Butter (on celery)

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I’m rediscovering nut butter on celery as a super fast snack! This blend works in several superfoods that my family would not normally eat as stand-alones.

In a clean jar with lid, stir up a batch using these ingredients:

  • In order to mix coconut oil in smoothly, bring all nut butters to room temp. Melt coconut oil. (Next time, I’ll try mixing the oil with the pumpkin seed flour first.)
  • Peanut butter for flavor, if necessary (avoid due to mycotoxins)
  • Almond butter or any other nut butter (freshness really affects flavor!)
  • Ground walnuts for crunch and an EFA brain boost
  • Tahini for a mineral boost (sesame seed butter. Brands vary in taste due to freshness and roasted or not. My friend prefers EastWind. I like it freshly ground at my co-op.)
  • Ground pumpkin seeds for zinc boost (highly recommended for older boys and men or those with low stomach acid)
  • KAL stevia extract powder for sweetness
  • Extra sea salt if needed (I use Redmond RealSalt)
  • Children might enjoy better with raw honey mixed in. (I’ll try this with my son who doesn’t like the stickiness of nut butters)
Spread on celery or whatever!
I haven’t worked out the proportions yet, for the coconut oil and ground pumpkin seeds to a consistency I like. Honestly, I’ll probably just stir it up without measuring and adjust later–I can always add more of any ingredient.