Looking for an all natural and economical sugar-free sweetener that actually tastes good? You need to try my natural sweetener blend! I’ve found that by using a combination of xylitol, erythritol, and stevia I can save money while enjoying a low carb sweetener that tastes just like sugar.
Joy Filled Eats Natural Sweetener Blend – Xylitol, Erythritol, & Stevia – Low Carb, Keto, Trim Healthy Mama, Diabetic Friendly, Sugar Free
When I started the Trim Healthy Mama diet I was leery about all the recipes using stevia because I have never liked it. All of the grocery store varieties and even the flavored liquid drops have a bitter aftertaste to me. In the past when I stopped using sugar on the South Beach Diet I used artificial sweeteners to replace it. Over the years I’ve read more about the negative effects of artificial sweeteners and I knew I needed to give stevia another try.
I heard that the Trim Healthy Mama Gentle Sweet natural sweetener, which is a blend of xylitol, erythritol, and stevia, was a game changer so I thought I would give it a try. It really changed my perception of stevia. It had no aftertaste or bitterness.
Because we have a strict food budget I became determined to come up with my own blend of erythritol, xylitol, and stevia. I try to save as many pennies as I can when I shop. Making my own sweeteners, baking mixes, seasonings, and cooking from scratch saves the most.
These Tagalong Cupcakes are one use for my sweetener. Don’t they look yummy? They are sugar-free! But you would never know. Even my husband who isn’t a dessert guy loved them.
You can now mix up your own sweetener that measures just like Gentle Sweet. If you are on a tight budget this helps with this way of eating immensely. I use this sweetener in all my dessert recipes and I’ve subbed in it recipes from the Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook like the Trimtastic Cake.
You can make everything from Sweetened Condensed Milk to Caramel with this recipe and more.
If you grind this in a food processor it works great as a low carb powdered sugar. It is the best out of the low carb and keto sweeteners!
Here is a little background on the ingredients in this natural low carb sweeteners blend:
Xylitol is a natural sweetener. It is a sugar alcohol made from birch trees or corncobs. It has 40% fewer calories than sugar and is a 7 on the glycemic index (white sugar is a 64). Please note that xylitol can be fatal to dogs so don’t share treats containing xylitol with your furry friends.
Erythritol is a sugar alcohol like xylitol. It occurs naturally in some fruits and vegetables It has zero calories and no impact on blood sugar. It is it is produced from glucose by fermentation with yeast.
Stevia is a plant discovered in South America. To make stevia powder a water extraction method is typically used. Stevia is 100 to 200 times sweeter than sugar so a little goes a long way.
My natural sweetener recipe is easy and economical. There are many choices on where to order the ingredients from. And I’ve used several brands of these products successfully.
I personally order the ingredients for this natural sweetener from amazon, thrive market, and iherb.
Thrive Market: My Thrive Market Coupon link works on everything from sweeteners and baking supplies to vitamins and beauty products! Thrive has great prices on coconut products, spices, organic health items, baby food, and more. Head over to this post to see the latest deals at Thrive. My favorite deal is always getting Lily’s Chocolate Chips for $3.95 a bag!
iherb: If you are ordering from iherb for the first time you can get the ingredients to make 5 pounds of sweetener for under $40. Free shipping is on orders over $20.
I ordered the ingredients from iherb.com with free shipping. They have a lot of products that work for THM. Other products they have that are compatible with THM are oat fiber, psyllium husks, whey protein powder, coconut flour, almond flour, etc. etc. This link takes you right to the necessary ingredients to start making your own sugar free sweetener! It’s cheaper to buy the 2.5 pounds but they also have 1 pound bags if you’d like to go small before you commit to a huge bag. It is very very easy.
Click here for a longer list of THM friendly products sold on iherb.
And here are a few more! They have so many I needed two links.
Amazon:
With free one day and two day, Prime shipping Amazon is where I order from most often. I can consistently get xylitol and erythritol for about $5 a lb when buying 5 lb bags. I buy the largest size stevia and it lasts me about 2 years. And I bake A LOT.
I have tried all of these brands and just buy whichever is the cheapest on the day I order! No big deal.
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Ingredients
Weight measurements:
- 12 oz erythritol
- 16 oz xylitol
- 2 tsp Better Stevia
Cup measurements:
- 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons erythritol
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons xylitol
- 2 tsp Better Stevia
Instructions
- Process in the food processor for a few minutes if you are planning on using it in skinny chocolate, beverages, or icing.
- For baking, you can just mix it together by hand.
Notes
Nutrition
Mimi says
Can I use sweet leaf stevia sweetener in stead of the better stevia?
Taryn says
That one also contains fiber for bulk. So you can use it but I’m not sure how much you will need.
Cheryl Cantanio says
I have tried a few experiments with this sweetener. The baked goods seemed dry. Do you add anything else to accommodate for the decreased liquid from the decreased melted sweetener?
Taryn says
Are you trying to convert regular recipes or other low carb recipes? I haven’t noticed baked goods being drier with this sweetener vs others. You could add a little extra liquid (butter, cream, etc) but without seeing an exact recipe it’s hard to nake recommendations.
Godsgirl says
Hi Tartyn, I remember seeing an old post where you Mommy used Pyre and something to make the same sweeter combo. I really don’t care for the Pyre, so what can I add to it to get it close to yours, so I can use it? ( I don’t waste anything), lol
Taryn says
I’m sorry, I don’t recall that. But I’d try adding 1 part xylitol or erythritol to 1 part pyure. You could test it in a small batch recipe like a mug cake and then tweak it.
Emily says
How sweet is this compared to swerve? If my recipe calls for 1 cup of swerve, how much of this should I use? Thanks!!
Taryn says
Twice as sweet. So you would need 1/2 cup. The only time it doesn’t work well is in certain icings that need the bulk of a 1:1 powdered sweetener.
Haleigh says
I thought Gentle Sweet was measured cup for cup like sugar? Maybe I’m wrong, But I thought that was why it’s called gentle sweet.
Taryn says
No, it is almost twice as sweet. You can see their chart here: https://trimhealthymama.com/#usefulinfo
Shannon says
Does your sweetner give off that “cooling effect” that is sometimes present with Keto desserts?? I don’t bake a lot of keto treats because of that and if this eliminates that, I am all in!! 🙂
Taryn says
That comes from erythritol. It is very slight in this since it also has xylitol and the stevia means you only use half the amount in place of sugar.
Joanie says
I’m confused about why u blend erythritol and xylitol? Why not just use them on their own?
Taryn says
This combination tastes more like sugar.
Cyndi says
Is your sweetner equal to THM’s gentle sweet or super sweet blend?
Taryn says
Gentle Sweet
Alice Hurley says
Can I use Swerve for the sweetener instead?
Taryn says
That really depends on the recipe.
Mary says
Please help. I have dogs in the house that help keep the floors clean so I’d like to know if I can use the 2 sweeteners I have in your cupcake recipe. I have powder erythritol and lakanto monkfruit sweetener (classic). If so how much of both? Or should I get a different sweetener since the monkfruit has erythritol in it? Thanks for your help.
Taryn says
You can use the lakanto monkfruit. You may need more than the amount listed. I don’t test my recipes with that so it really is trial and error.
Jennie Knoll says
If I’m using a Keto recipe & it calls for 1/2 cup sweetener do I use 1/2 cup of your sweetener recipe?
Taryn says
You would probably only need 1/4 cup. Most sweeteners are 1:1 for sugar so that is probably what they want you to use. Mine is 1:2.
Jennie says
Thank you. I’m going to give it a try
Jan Rowe says
I am so happy you provided a THM copycat recipe! Living in Canadian rural nowhere it is so convenient to be able to create the same brand items in the recipe books that we have to special order if we want to make them! Game changer!
Linda Roberts says
Hey thanks for the sweetener blend I’ve just started baking/cooking keto and had some failures and successful bakes..I think this will be a game changer as a long time baker home and professional I had already started dinking around with a formula..
Lisa says
I’d love some recipe ideas if you’re willing to share any.
Karen L. says
How much is a serving? Do I use this in equal amounts to sugar? If a recipe calls for 1/2 cup sugar is 1/2 cup of this the same? Just not quite understanding how to use this.
Thank you!
Taryn says
No, if a recipe calls for 1/2 cup sugar you only need 1/4 cup of this sweetener.
Vicke says
Can I use this your blend for ice cream. I don’t like the gritty effect. Or could I use the powdered version. I love ice cream!
Taryn says
I don’t find it gritty in ice cream but you can grind it first to be sure.
Kim says
I’m excited to try your recipes. They look delicious. I have a question, for the sweeter baked recipes, I’d like to substitute the monk fruit blend I have. It’s blended with erythritol. Would this be a 1:1 conversion with the amount required for a given recipe? If not, would I need more or less than your sweetener? Thank you so much!
Taryn says
That is not as sweet as my sweetener. I recommend trying 1.5 times the amount and tasting.