how sweet it is.

i've been in what you might call a "sweetener battle" for the past couple of years.
i had fallen in love with splenda. i baked with it. i carried around little packets in my purse for those unexpected coffee encounters. but then i started to get suspicious about the affects of this chemically-enhanced sweetener. (my knows-a-lot-about-organic-and-natural-foods-friend christine compares it to chlorine...yikes!). so i gradually moved onto sugar in the raw. it took a little bit of getting used to (definitely not as sweet), but i was learning to enjoy it, and eventually started carrying around little packets in my purse. but the thing with the raw sugar is...well...it's still sugar. you know...sweet on your lips, forever on your hips kinda sugar. so i began the search for another alternative.

enter: stevia. stevia is a natural sweet leaf from the sunflower family that is a zero-calorie sweetener! done and done.

so over the last few months i've been trying it in some different forms... you may have seen the commercials for truvia, coca-cola's brand of stevia. it comes in easy single-use packets.

i also bought some stevia extract (trader joe's brand), but haven't really perfected the quantity yet.

i think my favorite is liquid form (specifically the vanilla creme flavor) ...just a few drops in your coffee is perfect.

who knows, in 10 years they may discover that stevia causes us to grow a 3rd arm and go blind, but for now -- i'm trusting it as my all-natural-guilt-free sweetener!

side note: another amazing natural sweetener is agave nectar -- use as a substitute for honey in smoothies, on toast, or in your tea!