Monday, September 8, 2008

Homemaker Mondays: More Fun With Stevia, Natural Sweetener!

Welcome to...


Thank you for joining us! If you're new to this carnival and would like to enter your post, please check HERE for the rules and regs.

YOURS: This week's "YOURS" post chosen from last week's "Homemaker Monday" was written by Kathleen over at Katydid and Kid. Kathleen loves to save money when it comes to preparing meals for her family and one of her best skills as a cook is to come up with fantastic meals out of a seemingly empty pantry. She posts a list of must-haves for a well-stocked pantry and tops her post off by teaching us how to make veggie burgers!


They sound delicious and are probably a much better food option. Thanks for your recipe, Kathleen! I plan on trying this soon and I know our readers will love it! To read Kathleen's entire post, click HERE.

MINE: This week I have included another recipe made with my newly-discovered natural sugar substitute. It's called Stevia, and I was introduced to it by Carla at "Homemaker Monday" a couple of weeks ago.

Stevia is a sweetener derived from an herb native to Paraguay. It can be purchased in several different forms, including powder and liquid drops...



...and depending on which type you purchase, it can be anywhere from 10 to 300 times sweeter than refined sugar. Our family has used it over the past week and my son, who is pre-diabetic, enjoys it just as much as sugar!

I tried it yesterday in another one of my favorite snack recipes, and have posted it here for your enjoyment.

Ingredients:

1 cup milk, cream or half and half
Stevia (to taste)
1 cup frozen strawberries
1/2 cup granola

Step 1: Pour the milk into a bowl and stir in the desired amount of Stevia...



You will have to experiment with this depending on which form of Stevia you are using and how sweet you like your food. Be careful, though, because too much can cause a bitter taste.

Step 2: Pour the frozen strawberries into the milk...


They don't necessarily have to be frozen, but to me, this is the best part. If you use the frozen strawberries, in about five minutes your strawberries will develop a delicious coating of frozen cream (or milk), like so...


Step 3: Add the granola...


...stir it in if you want to, and enjoy!




OURS: Now it's your turn. Enter your post using the permalinks (the URL address of the post itself, not your home page)and please remember to leave a comment as it is easier for me to keep track of your entry into the Mexican necklace contest that way. Thank you for participating and make sure to leave lots of considerate comments for everyone you visit! Have a great "Homemaker Monday"!



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12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I forgot last week, but remembered today! I may even get to putting it on my other blog as well!

Anonymous said...

My post is all about school lunches this week. I hope someone finds it useful! Looking forward to reading all the posts.

Amanda said...

I am going out to get some stevia today. Can't wait to try it.

High Heels and a Sippy Cup said...

That strawberry-granola-milk goodness looks delicious! I might have to try it. :-)

Carla said...

Thank you for this post. I'm enjoying information on ACTUAL use of stevia. My hubby is type 2, and 17 yo is pre-diabetic, both are addicted to sweets. I think I'm going to try some stevia in some cookie recipes this week. Thanks again, Jen!

laurice. said...

Yummy! I really do need to get some for Meredith!

Anonymous said...

Looks yummy and so easy! Thanks for sharing.

Christine said...

I'm enjoying all the homemaking tips. Good job ladies!

My Year Without said...

Stevia is great! You can also sometimes find the plant at nurseries and keep it in your kitchen window.
I've been experimenting with all kinds of sugar substitutes because I'm going without sugar all this year. Another big favorite of mine is agave nectar. Usually found at health food stores. It is wonderful to bake with in place of that cup of sugar. It makes baked goods nice and moist.

Kathleen W. said...

Thanks so much for featuring me! You're too kind. And I'm still intending to try stevia from your post last week. I just need to take a walk to the health food store for some.

A happy heart at home said...

Hi! I just found your meme. I've posted a post with your button in it, and I've put your button on my sidebar. Here's my comment. Thanks for entering me into your contest.

~Susan

Barbara said...

I love this idea, can't wait to go through all the entries, and back entries eventually :)