5 Simple Ways To Use Stevia

Today is the last day to enter my NuNaturals NuStevia giveaway, so I thought I would share some more ideas with you on how to use stevia.  I wanted to write up proper recipes for some of these, but the truth is, they're so simple there's really no point in writing down amounts. With stevia, it's really a matter of figuring out how sweet you like your food, and playing around with recipes accordingly. I've only been using stevia for a month or so now, but I really can't say enough good things about it. I don't get the same cravings as I would with sugar-sweetened food, I don't get headaches or that awful tired feeling I used to get when I ate something with sugar, and it tastes great with pretty much everything. Of course, this is coming from me, and I am not picky when it comes to food. I know a lot of people don't like the flavor of stevia, so that's something you'll have to decide for yourself. But if you've been toying around with the idea of cutting down on (or completely cutting out) sugar, stevia has been practically a miracle for this sugar-sensitive foodie. Of course, being the cautious person I am, I'm half waiting for something horrible to come out in the news about stevia. But so far, I've only heard good things, and in general I just stick with what my body tells me anyway. Right now, my body's happy.

1. Stevia-sweetened sauteed chicken

•  For this dish, I heat a pan over medium heat with olive oil, then add a chicken breast. On the side that's facing up, I sprinkle sea salt, pepper, and powdered stevia. I sprinkle the stevia in much the same way I would salt. Just a light dusting over the top. After 2-3 minutes, I turn the chicken breast over and add salt and pepper to the other side (and more stevia if I want it really sweet). If it's a thick chicken breast, I'll put a top on the pan and allow it to cook through. Once it's done, it's a perfect complement to a salad or steamed veggies and a sweet potato.

2.  Sweeten your tea with liquid stevia.

• I use about 5-10 drops for this, and I actually think it tastes much better than honey ever did to me in tea. I can see why you might not want to sweeten your coffee with it, but for tea, it's the perfect flavor.

3.  Add stevia to your plain yogurt.

• This is one of those dishes that feels like cheating to me. I stopped buying sweetened yogurt, and eventually plain yogurt started tasting almost sweet to me. But then I discovered how good it tastes with a sprinkling of powdered stevia or 5-10 drops of liquid stevia. Some chopped fruit and nuts would go wonderfully with this, or if you're like me and you mix strange things together, stir in a bunch of salad greens and make this your new way to get your raw veggies in.

 4. Stevia-sweetened sauteed fish.

• This is not very different from the chicken idea, but I like to use liquid stevia for fish and powdered stevia for chicken. I'm not really sure why, but it tastes great so I'm sticking with it. For this meal, I added about 5 drops of liquid stevia to the pan before adding the fish, then added another 5 drops on top of the fish, along with salt and pepper. Then I just cooked it until it began to flake, and I have to tell you, this was the best meal I've had in ages. 

5. Finally, it's simple (and perhaps a bit obvious), but stevia is great for sweetening your oatmeal or hot cereal. Liquid and powder both work great...just start out with a small amount, stir and taste, then add more if needed.

So that's it. 5 simple ways to incorporate stevia into your diet. Of course, if you don't have a sweet tooth, just go without! But if you're like me, and you can't live without your sweets, it takes the place of sugar marvelously. I'm playing around with making stevia-sweetened baked goods, but it might be a while before I come up with something I like enough to share here. In the meantime, come back tomorrow to see who won the stevia giveaway, and come back later in the week for...whatever I come up with?

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