At the beginning of last year, one of my goals was to get off of sugar entirely. Both my parents had diabetes, and I have insulin resistance. I do not like the drugged feeling that sugar gives me, either. But that prospect is a tall order. Sugar in one form or another is in just about everything. So getting off of it requires research, and a lot of experimenting.
Then my mother passed away, and after settling her estate, came work on Story of the Ancient World practically 24/7. The sugar- free research went on the way back burner. But now, I am dusting off my sugar- free notes I started, and trying again.
Stevia is my sugar substitute of choice. It, along with Splenda, is the only sugar substitute that holds its sweetness upon heating. But unlike Splenda, it is 100% natural from food that God made, and does not contain toxic substances like chlorine.
The main thing to remember, is that one packet of stevia plus is equal in sweetness to 2 teaspoons of sugar. This information used to be on the stevia box; I noticed that new boxes do not contain it. I suppose the food police made them remove it. Luckily I had noted it on one of my recipes that I had converted.
Using too much stevia can leave a bitter taste in the mouth. Most dessert recipes are too sweet for me anyway; I start by cutting down the sugar called for by 1/3 or 1/2, then convert to that amount of stevia. If that turns out to be not enough, then experiment by adding a bit more stevia each time until you get the amount that suits you.
