Keep Your Sweets With Truvia

The holidays were brutal to my figure. There were so many goodies, and I couldn't exactly say no when Cordy asked to bake cookies. I've already committed myself to cutting calories and exercising, but the lure of sweets has always been my downfall.

I've tried sugar-substitutes in the past, with little luck. Most had an aftertaste or couldn't be used for baking. One of my favorite drinks when I cut out soda is iced tea, but I've never found a substitute for sugar with my tea.

I was recently send a box of Truvia to review, and at first I wasn't sure what to think of it. It's an all-natural sugar substitute with zero calories. Unlike genetically modified sugar substitutes, it's made from the leaves of a plant that already exists in nature: the stevia plant. It's safe to bake with, and is actually sweeter than sugar, requiring less wherever you'd use sugar.

Let me reiterate that last statement: you don't need as much. To try out Truvia, I brewed a pitcher of iced tea, choosing to use Truvia instead of sugar. The sample I was sent contained 40 packets, and I wasn't sure how many to add. I decided to keep adding until it came close to equally the amount of sugar I put into the 3 qt. pitcher. After about 15 packets, I realized I wouldn't have enough to equal the amount of sugar I put in, so I stopped at 30 packets, expecting the tea to be not quite as sweet as normal.

Instead, on first sip I gasped at how sweet it was! It was probably 1/3 less than the sugar I normally use, and it tasted over twice as sweet. The taste was just like sugar, with no aftertaste. As I've had glass after glass the past few days, I felt guilty each time, having to remind myself that I wasn't drinking a day's worth of calories in each glass.

I'm completely a Truvia convert now. It sweetens just like sugar, it tastes like sugar, it has no artifical taste, it's from an all-natural source, you can bake with it, and it has zero calories. I keep waiting to find out what the catch is, but I can't find one. It's even safe for diabetics to use. I recently bought another box and keep packets stashed in my purse.

My only complaint is that Truvia is only available in packets at the moment. I can only hope that they'll soon produce bulk bags or boxes of Truvia, like you find with sugar.

I'm thrilled that I was introduced to this product, because I can now watch my calories without feeling like I'm missing out on my sweets. If you're trying to cut back on your sugar or calories as well, Truvia would be perfect for you, too.