Best Tasting Stevia

 The Best Tasting Stevia~A Review of Kal Stevia

Stevia is an ancient herb that is very sweet and has zero calories, so it's come to the forefront in the diet industry since it seems we're always searching for sugar substitutes . Because I have trouble metabolizing sugar, (and many people do and don't know it) I ditched sugar a long time ago. 

But that doesn't mean I ditched my sweet tooth at all. No I still love sweet stuff, even though supposedly if you stop eating sugar your cravings will subside. Not in my case! For years I have been searching for a sugar substitute that is healthy for me and has no calories or carbohydrates.

So when I first heard of Stevia I got all excited. It's from a plant and is all natural and tastes sweet with no bitter aftertaste like so many artificial sweeteners have. But my excitement soon turned to disappointment because when I decided to embark on a quest to find the best Stevia, I found that most Stevia is not that sweet tasting unless you use gobs of it, and it's expensive. 

But that all changed when I found Kal Stevia. Kal Stevia is the best tasting brand of Stevia hands down. I've tried them all so I can tell you that without a doubt Kal is the best brand of Stevia. Read on for my review of it, and to get your hands on it!

Stevia, How Do You Pronounce It?

I actually get a little irked about this sometimes. If I go into a Health food or Vitamin store and can't find the Stevia by myself, I will ask someone for it. Since Stevia is actually from the leaves of a South American plant, it makes sense that the original cultivators of it get to name it. They pronounce it Steh(with a soft e like eh-vee-ah with the emphasis on the second syllable. So Steh-vee-ah. (because i is pronounced ee in Spanish)

Our Anglicized version of these types of Spanish words would render it Steh-vee-ah, same letter pronunciation, but the emphasis switches to the first syllable. (Don't ask me why we do this, I don' t know, it's just a curiosity of translation, I guess.) So it would be Steh-vee-ah.

But somehow someone decided to really change it up and pronounce it Stee-vee-ah with the emphasis on the first syllable..Now they even say it wrong on the TV commercials too. 

So even though I'm a Certified Herbalist and know exactly the origin and pronunciation of it, they will shoot back at me :"It's Stee-vee-ah."  And I never ask how to pronounce it, they just feel compelled to correct me. 

So if that happens to you, feel free to give them an etymology lesson, that's what I sometimes do. Hey, they asked for it when they corrected me without my asking. It's really Steh-vee-ah, not Stee-vee-ah.

*From here on out, all the products can be purchased from Amazon by simple clicking on any photo.

Best Stevia Products
Best Tasting Stevia Sweetener

The incredible Kal Stevia powder makes all food taste sweeter and not bitter. You only need a tiny amount. In fact, if you are used to other sweeteners and having to use way more than the box tells you is necessary to get that sweet taste we crave, you are in for a sweet surprise because Kal Stevia actually tells the truth on its bottle. You don't need very much at all! 

I use it on everything and a bottle lasts me 2 to 3 months. I even use it in my No-Cookies, which are no bake cookies (and now they are diet cookies!). I just use 1/4th of the sugar called for, and use the equivalent amount of Stevia for the other 3/4ths. I find you do need a little sugar in baked goods to get the right texture.

Kal Pure Stevia Extract Powder -- 3.5 oz

 This is the brand and bottle of Stevia that I use. Delicious, and you only need a tiny amount, so it lasts a long time!

 Kal Pure Stevia Extract Powder, 3.5 oz

Kal Stevia Extract Powder, 1.3 oz powder

If you're not sure, you can buy it in the smaller size and give it a try. I buy the larger one because I already know I love it and it's cheaper that way. But this one is great for traveling.

 Kal Pure Stevia Organic Extract -- 1.3 oz

Kal Stevia Extract Powder

If you like extra fiber in your diet, this one has added fiber in the form of FOS. 

 KAL - Pure Stevia &  Fiber, 4 oz powder

Best Stevia Liquid Sweetener

Kal also makes incredible liquid Stevia products. For coffee and hot cocoa lovers, they have now added flavored Stevia to make it easy to get your "Starbuck like" coffee drinks and it's way less expensive that way too. I love the Vanilla one! But now that they have Chocolate Cardamom, that's next on my list!!!

These liquid sweeteners are great for cold drinks, but would also work great in recipes. My hint about that is to put the Stevia in last, no matter what the recipe says. And if you are baking a dessert using Stevia, it seems to take a little less than you would think. But if you make a mistake and your recipe is not as sweet as you would like, quickly make a glaze to put over it. 

A simple syrup made from Stevia poured over your dessert will make it more elegant and solve the sweetener problem. Just boil a cup of water and a half teaspoon of sugar, turn off the heat and add a teaspoon of real butter, and Stevia to taste. Stir for a simple syrup. Poured on a dessert it's delicious! Or add some Kal Stevia Syrup on top. Even easier! (purchase below)

Pure Stevia Liquid Extracts 

 I carry one of these around in my purse because it takes up less room, and being liquid, it dissolves faster in iced tea. Click on a bottle to see more flavors. 

 Kal - Pure Stevia Liquid Extract - 8 oz. Pure Stevia Extract Vanilla Kal 1.8 oz Liquid Stevia Extract, Pure (Chocolate Cardamom) Kal 1.8 oz Liquid Stevia Extract, Pure Caramel Cream Kal 1.8 fl oz Liquid

Kal~Best Brand of Stevia

Another natural sweetener is Luo Han which is extracted from a fruit tree in China and made into tea or a paste from which the sweetener is manufactured. Some people think that bringing Stevia and Luo Han together makes the best tasting Stevia products. I like Luo Han, and the Kal version of this marriage of sweeteners is also the best one in my opinion. 

 Pure Stevia Extract Plus Luo Han Powder - 100 Packets

I still prefer pure Stevia, but my sister-in-law uses the combination here and says it's much better for baking. I don't bake that much any more. But her diet cookies are really delicious, so if you bake and want to make diet versions of your favorite baked goods, try the Stevia plus Luo Han. (pronounced low hawn)

Now you can have sweets without guilt any time you want! 

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Instructions for Easy Stenciled Cupcakes for Halloween

Decorate Halloween Cupcakes with Stencils Reviewed

Stenciling cupcakes is a fun way to decorate cupcakes. Using stencils is a pretty easy way to decorate beautiful Halloween cupcakes that are certain to be a frightening fantastic addition to your party table.

By simply using stencils, confectioners sugar or sanding sugar, you too will be able to create tasty treats that double as great Halloween decorations.

If you can't find the cupcake stencil you want, why not use a small cookie cutter?

Let me show you exactly what I am talking about and what your guests will be talking about at your Halloween party when you make these creepy cupcakes!

Choose the Right Cupcake Recipe

For convenience, I used boxed cake mixes to make my cupcakes. I baked 12 large Triple Chocolate Fudge with a Betty Crocker Super Moist cake mix and 12 large Lemon Supreme cupcakes with Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe cake mix. 

I selected these flavors because I knew I would not be icing all of them and I wanted cupcakes that would taste good without icing.

Delicious filled cupcakes would be ideal for these stenciled cupcakes for Halloween since they will not be frosted.

Here are a few recipes you might like for your frost-less cupcakes.

Recipes for Cupcakes that are Delicious Without Icing

• Devil's Food Cupcakes
  Cupcake Filling Recipe included
• Lemon Cupcakes
  Made with Pudding

Supplies You Will Need to Get Started Stenciling

• Baked Cupcakes ~ I baked Triple Chocolate Fudge and Lemon cupcakes
• Stencils or Cookie Cutters
• Confectioners Sugar
• Sanding Sugar ~ your choice of colors

Decorators note:  An essential tool for decorating with Confectioner's sugar is a cup with a mesh top.

Recommended Powdered Sugar Shaker

With Stainless Steel Mesh Dome Lid 

This cup will allow you to literally sprinkle confectioners sugar onto your cupcake once the stencil is in place. It will cut down on the mess often associated with decorating with confectioner's sugar.

Flour/Sugar ShakerCheck Price

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Directions for Stenciling Cupcakes

1. Using Cupcake Stencils - Place the stencil on the cupcake
2. Sprinkle Cupcake with Confectioners Sugar then Slowly
3. Gently Lift Stencil Off of Cupcake

  

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Easy Stenciled Cupcakes for Halloween

    

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Use A Cookie Cutter to Stencil

If you don't have stencils on hand, you could also use a small cookie cutter.  Owls and ghosts were not included in my stencil pack, but I wanted cupcakes decorated with them.  Since I love owls and ghosts at Halloween, I used my cookie cutters.  It is the same process, you simply have to make sure you have a good hold on the cookie cutter and have it firmly pressed against the cupcake top so the powdered sugar doesn't escape the sides. 

  

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Stenciling Iced Cupcakes

Stenciling cupcakes that have icing is a little messier and a bit more tricky, but can certainly be done!  

To stencil an image on icing or frosting, you would want to use sanding sugar instead of powdered sugar.  The sanding sugar does have an added "sparkle" benefit.

You do need to be extremely careful when you lift the stencil or cookie cutter off the icing to keep from dropping excess sugar outside of the image lines.  The icing tends to try to hold on to your stencil.  I recommend lifting it straight up and off the cupcake  without tilting the stencil.

Directions for Stenciling Cupcakes with Sanding Sugar

1. Using Cupcake Stencils - Place the stencil or cookie cutter on the frosted cupcake
2. Sprinkle Sanding Sugar on the Cupcake,  then Slowly
3. Gently Lift the Stencil Straight Up & Off of Cupcake 

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Cupcakes for Halloween Stenciled with Sanding Sugar

 These Cupcakes were Decorated with
Lemon Frosting and Brown Sanding Sugar

   

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Using Cookie Cutters & Stencils to Decorate Cupcakes

Black Cat Cupcake
Lemon Cupcake & Black Sanding Sugar

When you decorate your Halloween cupcakes with stencils or cookie cutters, your variety is limited only by your cookie cutters, stencils and supplies.   I have dozens of cookie cutters and several packs of Halloween stencils.  I enjoy playing around with them and seeing what unique cupcakes I can create.  Now, everybody knows you can't celebrate Halloween without the black cat.  Isn't he spectacular on his golden moon cupcake!

They are also great for cakes! 


You can see my directions on how to stencil a Halloween cake by clicking this link to Cooking for the Holidays. 

Supplies Used in This Article

Confectioners Sugar is available in most grocery stores.  A variety of sanding sugar colors is not as easily obtained.  I purchase mine online.  

I also purchase my cookie cutters and stencils online. 

 Halloween Cookie Cutters, Owl, Bat, Pumpkin, Cat, Broom, Witch, 6-Piece SetCheck Price CK Products 4 Ounce Sanding Sugar Bottle, WhiteCheck Price

The Stencils

The stencils used in this article are an older pack of Martha Stewart Halloween stencils - M230600 (UPC #015586743364). The pack includes the bat, 2 jack o' lantern faces, the witch, the spider, the web, the skull & crossbones and the raven. (Neither the raven nor the web are shown on the front of the package.)  The only place I could find them at the time of writing this article was on eBay.

Since eBay inventory changes constantly, I recommend checking here again soon if you don't see exactly what you want right now.

You may wish to check Ebay by Clicking Here for these hard to find items.

See More Recipes On ReviewThisRecipes.com

More Recipes by Sylvestermouse

Quick and Easy Peach Cobbler Recipe
My mother's peach cobbler is one of my favorite desserts.  Actually, it is my favorite breakfast too. I have even been known to eat it for lunch.

Peanut Butter Fudge Recipe
This is my mother's recipe for Peanut Butter Fudge.  I have never seen it published anywhere else, but it is the best I have ever tasted.

"This Tutorial for Easy Stenciled Cupcakes for Halloween" Written by:

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Soft Foods: Potatoes Reviewed

Potatoes Are A Perfect Soft Food For Dentures Or Tender Gums From Oral Surgery

I'll be reviewing ideas for serving potatoes to yourself or the family member who has tender gums from prepping for dentures or oral surgery of any kind, today.

There is the obvious idea of mashed potatoes but they do not have to be the traditional serving. Trust me, you begin to want some kind of variety with your soft foods as it takes months for your gums to heal after having your teeth pulled and while you are adjusting to your new dentures.

So, for some variety in those mashed potatoes add different items to the dish. Personally, I love to add some minced garlic from time to time. They are also good with some shredded cheese. Sour cream and chives is another way to spice up those good old mashed potatoes. One evening I cooked some baby spinach leaves until tender and added those with a touch of sour cream and it was absolutely delicious!

One of my favorite potato dishes is creamed peas with red potatoes. This dish is a great source when soft foods are called for.

Creamed Peas With Red Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds of red potatoes 

1 1/2 cups of frozen baby peas

3 tbsp sliced green onions

4 tsp butter

4 tsp all purpose flour

1 cup milk

Directions:

Scrub potatoes and cut into fourths (smaller if you like). Cook potatoes in boiled salted water for about 15 to 20 minutes or until soft. Drain and set aside.

Cook peas and onions in a small amount of boiling salted water for about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. 

Make a thin white sauce by melting the butter, slowly adding the flour while stirring. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Slowly add milk while stirring the sauce. 

Combine the peas and potatoes, add the white sauce and mix together well. 

This is a wonderful addition to any meal whether you need soft foods or not! 

Another choice for potatoes is the traditional baked potato. Just make sure that it is cooked soft enough that you can mash it with your fork and you will be able to eat it without hurting those tender gums. Your choice of toppings are up to you, making sure that the toppings are not going to take too much chewing.

Cheesy Potatoes With Olives

Another potato dish that I fix often and even more while my gums have been tender is a cheesy twist on hash browns. 

Ingredients:
1 pkg frozen hash browns
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (sharp is really good in this recipe)
10 to 12 Green Olives stuffed with pimento diced
Salt
Black Pepper

Directions: 
Allow hash browns to partially thaw enough that you can break them apart easily.

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the sour cream, cheese and diced olives in a bowl. Add a dash of salt and black pepper.

Lightly oil a casserole dish. (I actually use butter to coat the sides and bottom). Mix the hash browns with the sour cream and cheese mixture and place into the casserole dish. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.

I am not sure that I would have ever made this recipe if I had not been served it one evening at a friend's house many years ago. Those olives really add a nice variation to cheesy potatoes! Kind of salty and tangy, it is really scrumptious!

These are just a few ideas for preparing potatoes as a soft food option for tender gums. The wonderful thing is that every single one of these potato ideas are delicious at any time! What is your favorite way to eat potatoes?

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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Soft Foods: Sweet Potatoes Reviewed

When Cooked Sweet Potatoes Are A Great Option For Soft Foods

Image by Llez

Continuing in my series of soft foods for those who are going through the process of getting dentures, today we review the options of the wonderfully nutritious sweet potato. 

I have a couple of ways that I serve the tuber root that is naturally sweet in my home. I will share both ways with you in this article. One is extremely simple while the other takes a little preparation; both are really good!

Before we get to a couple of ways to enjoy the sweet potato, I thought you might be interested in the nutritional values of the sweet potato. It is a good source of simple starches, complex carbohydrates, fiber, protein, vitamin A, several of the B vitamins, vitamin C and vitamin E. It contains the minerals of calcium, iron, potassium and a few others. Did you know that a sweet potato has more potassium than a banana? 

OK, so one of the simplest ways to serve sweet potatoes to your family is to use a can of the item shown below. 

Bruce's Candied Yams

I know the can says "yams" but they actually use sweet potatoes. Many people interchange the words yams and sweet potato incorrectly. They are not really the same thing but that is another topic for another day.

I will tell you these canned sweet potatoes are seasoned so deliciously that all I do is just heat them up. The syrup has cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar...no need for anything else! They are really tasty just as they are.

The darker the color of the pulp of the sweet potato ... the more beta-carotene (vitamin A) it has.

The Sweet Potato Recipe That My Daughters Love The Most

I've been fixing this Sweet Potato Casserole for about 36 years and my daughters just absolutely love it. I didn't make it for Thanksgiving one year and I was just about disowned by my oldest daughter. She now makes it for her family, too.

Ingredients:

2 (15 oz) cans of sweet potatoes

1 (14 oz) can pineapple tidbits, (undrained)

4 Tbsp butter

4 Tbsp firmly packed dark brown sugar

1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows

Butter

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Drain the sweet potatoes and discard the liquid. Drain the pineapple tidbits, saving the juice from the can. 

Melt the 4 tbsp of butter.

In a medium sized bowl mash the potatoes with a potato masher. Add the melted butter and brown sugar. Stir until it is combined well.

Stir in the pineapple juice until you have the desired consistency. Fold in the pineapple tidbits and the marshmallows.

Butter a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish and spoon in the potato mixture. 

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. 

You might not think that pineapple would be good with sweet potatoes but you would be incorrect. This is really a delicious addition to the typical sweet potatoes that have the melted marshmallows we are accustomed to. The pineapple adds a bit of tartness that works well with the sweetness from the brown sugar and marshmallows.

Whether you need soft foods in your diet or not, sweet potatoes are an excellent choice to include with your meals. In fact, the CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) rated the sweet potato the most nutritious vegetable of all to eat.  

Note: The author may receive a commission from purchases made using links found in this article. “As an Amazon Associate, Ebay (EPN) and/or Esty (Awin) Affiliate, I (we) earn from qualifying purchases.”

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