Which Stevia Is Best — Brand? Liquid v. Powder? #AskWardee 107

So you want to cut back on sugar and you think stevia, the sweet-tasting herb with zero calories and no sugar, might be an option.

Then you go to the store and…

Overwhelm sets in.

Look at all those different brands!

To make matters worse… which form do you buy — liquid, powder, packets???

Yes, it can be super confusing. Yet, it’s really important to get it right because MOST of the stevia out there is not worth ingesting.

A lot of them have fillers and unhealthy ingredients that are bad for you and can even cause stomach upset.

So, today on #AskWardee I’m helping you figure out which stevia is best — brands and forms!

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Q: Which Stevia Is Best — Brand? Liquid Or Powder?

Jenny O. asked:

I’m confused about all the different stevias out there. I look at the ingredient labels and get more confused. I’m not sure which brand is best and which form is best, liquid or powder? Can you help? Thank you, Wardee!

Why Stevia?

First, stevia is my sweetener of choice for nearly all sweetened foods — cold drinks, hot drinks, smoothies, desserts, sauces, and more. Stevia is a super sweet tasting herb that’s not actually sugar (zero calories and no glycemic impact). It’s super concentrated — 30 to 200 times sweeter than sugar depending on its form — and a little goes a long way!

A lot of Trim Healthy Mama recipes call for a blend of erythritol — a sugar alcohol that’s considered a sugar-free alternative — and stevia together. We do use that blend in moderation on occasion for special treats. However, for daily use, it’s all stevia in our household! Here’s #AskWardee 080 where I answer: Are Erythritol & Xylitol Healthy?

Why NOT Stevia?

Some people have an allergy to plants in stevia’s ragweed family, taking it out of contention entirely. I’m sorry. 🙁

Like with many foods, those individual intolerances mean we have to tailor what we eat to what works for our particular situation.

How To Choose A Brand Of Stevia?

This question has to be asked before discussing the forms of stevia and which is best to use…

Of course, the absolute best “brand” is not actually a brand other than “homemade”. 😉 You grow the stevia yourself or source it from someone doing it well and then make your own stevia extract using the whole herb. Or, you can dry and powder the herb.

If you can’t do that, then you have to take into account three criteria when choosing your preferred brand:

1. minimal processing — so it’s healthy
2. no other ingredients — who wants highly processed, unnecessary ingredients, like maltodextrin, in their stevia?
3. the taste — if you hate the way it tastes (some can have a bitter aftertaste) it’s not a workable option, is it?

For instance, you can buy whole leaf ground stevia leaf powder which is just the dried stevia leaves ground up, nothing more. As you would imagine, it’s green! In my opinion, though, it has that bitter aftertaste.

I used to have some of this powder; I stopped using it after a few times because no one would eat what we made with it.

That bitterness comes from the natural taste of stevioside, one of the two major compounds in the plant. (The other is rebaudioside, also called Rebiana A, which is not bitter.)

So, Which Brand Of Stevia Is Best?

Aside from using the whole herb, you’re left to evaluate brands that do some processing of their stevia so it actually tastes good. The processing is to isolate the Rebiana A, the non-bitter part of the herb.

For years, we have been using the Sweet Leaf* brand: the tablets, liquid, and powder. These are 100% pure products with no aftertaste and processed gently with water.

*The tablets have some cellulose (plant fiber). And some of their products do have other ingredients so be sure to check the labels. We recommend these: for powder, the Organic Stevia Leaf Extract and for liquid, the Sweet Drops. Any of their products that use the word “Sweetener” in the label contain other things beyond pure stevia extract. Like inulin, which for me, causes stomach upset.

I also love the Trim Healthy Mama 100% pure stevia powder. According to Trim Healthy Mama:

There are two ways our stevia stands apart. Most stevia extracts on the market use lower concentrations of Rebiana A (the sweetest part of the leaf) which results in that bitter taste we all want to avoid. Of course, this is cheaper for the company but if you despise a bitter sweet flavor in treats — us too! Blech! Our extract has the highest potency of Rebiana A available — 99%.

Our stevia is also so minimally processed, it has not even been granulated which means it remains as a fine white powder. Like a dust. In the world of stevia products this is rather non-conventional, but we wanted to bring you the most natural and minimally processed product possible.

Because I love the sisters (Serene and Pearl who are behind Trim Healthy Mama) and want to support what they’re doing, I’m going to be using their 100% pure stevia powder instead of Sweet Leaf going forward.

By the way, I haven’t tried every brand out there so if you have something to add, please share in the comments!

Now… let’s talk about which forms to use and when…

Liquid v. Powder?

Which is better — stevia liquid or stevia powder? Let’s omit whole leaf green stevia powder from this discussion since, in my opinion, it doesn’t taste good enough.

My understanding is that the liquid extracts are less processed than the powders. So, I prefer to use the liquid extract whenever possible.

That means that when I’m baking, I reach for the liquid extract first.

Remember from last week, 1 cup of sugar is the equivalent of 2 teaspoons of liquid stevia? Because that’s such a small amount, 99% of times, it’s not an issue to introduce this liquid sweetener in place of a dry sweetener. The extra liquid in the recipe is insignificant when all’s said and done.

Psst… As we discussed in last week’s #AskWardee, not all recipes are candidates for subbing — get the scoop here.

I only reach for stevia powder occasionally — like when I’m mixing it with erythritol to create a sugar-free blend — so I can make a recipe in Lindsey’s Sweet Without Sugar eCookbook. Which, by the way, is currently 40% off and I’ll throw in my sugar-free real food ice cream recipe when you forward me your receipt!

Here’s #AskWardee 080 where I answer: Are Erythritol & Xylitol Healthy?

And the tablets? I keep a container in my purse and use these for sweetening beverages when I’m out. Which is not very often, actually — like maybe 4 to 6 times a year. Yes, I’m a homebody. 😉

By the way, if you’re just getting the hang of baking with stevia, start with tried and true recipes like these 17 Stevia-Sweetened Desserts.

What’s This About Trim Healthy Mama?

I followed Trim Healthy Mama, combined with Traditional Foods to lose more than 30 pounds in a year (and I’m keeping it off to this day).

If you’d like a free 1-week menu plan that I put together that’s a lot like the foods I ate (and still eat), click here to sign up.

If you’d like to know more about Trim Healthy Mama with Traditional Foods (how I do it), check out these posts:

• How I Lost More Than 30 Pounds In 1 Year
• A Baker’s Dozen Of Tips For Doing Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods
• If I Were Starting Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods All Over Again…
• 19 Foods You Need To Start Trim Healthy Mama {the Traditional Food Way}

Helpful Links

• FREE 1-Week Trim Healthy Mama “Purist” Traditional Food Menu Plan
• How I Lost More Than 30 Pounds In 1 Year
• A Baker’s Dozen Of Tips For Doing Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods
• If I Were Starting Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods All Over Again…
• 19 Foods You Need To Start Trim Healthy Mama {the Traditional Food Way}
• Trim Healthy Mama books — original cookbook/planbook, 2nd cookbook + 2nd plan book, 3rd cookbook/planbook (I recommend all 4 but if you can only get one, get the 3rd cookbook/planbook called Trim Healthy Table!)
• How To Sweeten Desserts Using *Only* Stevia #AskWardee 106
•  Sweet Without Sugar eCookbook — 40% off + get a FREE sugar-free ice cream recipe from me!
• 17 Stevia-Sweetened Desserts
• DIY Whole Herb Stevia Extract
• Where to buy stevia — Sweet Leaf pure stevia: tablets, liquid, and powder; or Trim Healthy Mama’s 100% Pure Stevia Extract Powder

 

What’s your favorite form of stevia — liquid extract or powder? How do you use it and why?