Saturday, August 29, 2009

Is Stevia Frugal?

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Stevia is a plant extract that is 15-200 times sweeter than sugar. It has no calories and does not effect your blood sugar levels. Unlike other no calorie sweeteners, it is not a man made chemical, but a naturally occurring plant.
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The stevia I buy costs almost $32.00 per pound. By the pound, it is more expensive than every other sweetener. And I get a deal on my stevia. I have priced stevia at every area market that sells it, and this is by far the cheapest stevia. The next cheapest is $40.00 per pound.
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If you look at most recipes with stevia, they call for something like 1/4 teaspoon of stevia, or maybe 1 1/2 teaspoons stevia. It doesn't get much higher than that. Still, for each of those recipes, the equivalent in white sugar is cheaper. Stevia is actually cheaper, per recipe than honey or agave nectar, the other natural sweeteners.
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What makes stevia a bargain is that I don't want sweet things often anymore. My husband and I used to go through almost a box of ice cream per week, each. Yeah, we were a little chubby. I still make my husband a shake at night, but it is more because he likes habits and rituals than that he is actually craving something sweet. I make myself one of these shakes maybe once per month because I am a little more honest about what my body wants.
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I still enjoy sweets when we go to social functions. But I don't need them, and if they weren't offered, I would very rarely take the initiative to make them. Not making cookies, cakes, and brownies as often does save us money, because those foods get eaten up quick and leave us wanting more, so we eat more.
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Stevia was more of a health choice than a financial one for us, but the economic benefits have been a pleasant surprise.

17 comments:

Mrs Swan said...

I'd be very curious to any stevia recipes you would have. Thank you!!

Emily said...

Swan, Now that I know there is interest, I will start posting them!

Mrs Swan said...

TY! My brother lived with us for a few months (HAH make that 3 years) and he brought a container of stevia. I know I still have it and I'd love to look into sugar subs for food.

Anonymous said...

I still don't trust Stevia. Not enough research and the FDA does not wnat to say anything about it. They wont approve it as well as the fact that they are only saying that "its not deemed harmful"

Anonymous said...

Stevia is easy to grow. We have a nice bushy plant that I've been picking leaves off all summer to sweeten my tea. Just found this page of tips about it http://www.stevia.net/growingstevia.htm

Emily said...

6p, I tried growing stevia over the summer, but I think I started it too late, I'm going to try again next year, though, as with all my failed gardening.

Misty said...

How do you get past the TASTE of Stevia though? I bought those little packs that you use in your coffee or tea when I was first diagnosed with Diabetes... I cant seem to get used to using them because of the off taste.. Any advice? Oh & BTW I LOVE your blog Lol. Just found it today & I am going on my second hour of reading lol.

Emily said...

Misty, My stevia doesn't have a bitter aftertaste. I know it's different with different brands. I get mine at Whole Foods, they have more selection than the grocery store, and are cheaper than the packets. If you look for the words "Non bitter," or something similar, the bitterness has been removed.

SoMo said...

How do you figure out the conversion from sugar to Stevia?

Emily said...

SoMo, I do it with trial and error and guess work, but I found a conversion chart. It all depends on what type of stevia you have as well.

http://www.cookingwithstevia.com/stevia_conversion_chart.html

Anonymous said...

I'm confused about something. You have said multiple times that if it is from God, it is good. So why so anti-sugar?

Emily said...

Anon, I am not anti-sugar. We have sugar all the time from apples and strawberries. But white refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup are not how God made sugar.

Anonymous said...

Whole wheat white flour is processed, and is not the way God created wheat. Ground, seasoned, and cooked meat is not how God made cows and pigs. Stevia goes through processing to get to your table. Very little of what you eat is in God's original form. I guess I just find the lines you draw (no white sugar, but processed cheese food is okay) interesting.

As a side note, there is always raw sugar as an alternative to white sugar.

Emily said...

Anon, whole wheat flour, ground meat and stevia are all ground. I can take the whole ingredients and grind them in my own kitchen. That is a reasonable amount of processing to me.

Unknown said...

Hi, emily! Is the stevia you use , the one that is pictured on your post? If it is, it's on sale for$13.87 for 12 ounce can at Swanson ~www.swansonvitamins.com . Can you let me know if same kind you use , cause if so I'd like to order some from this company , as others I've tried are awful. Thanks, Lisa Also can you post your ketcup recipe?~~

Emily said...

Lisa, that is the kind I use, and it is excellent. Thanks for the heads up on that sale, too.

I had to wait until we finished the last batch of ketchup, but we finally did, so I think the ketchup recipe will be this week.

Tammy said...

You can get Nunatural stevia at iherb.com right now for $44.99 FOR FIVE LBS!!! That's an unbelievable price!!

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