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 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, walmart, thrive market, and iherb.
Thrive Market: My Thrive Market Coupon 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 especially since they often will email codes for an additional 25-30% off your entire order. Head over to this post to see more of the latest deals at Thrive. My favorite deal is always getting Lily's Chocolate Chips for $4 a bag!
iherb:
If you are ordering from iherb you save 5% with my link. Generally, you can get the ingredients to make for under $8 a pound. Free shipping is on orders over $20.
I ordered the ingredients from iherb with free shipping. They have a lot of products that work for Keto, Low Carb, and Trim Healthy Mama eating plans. 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 iherb so you can start making your own sugar free sweetener! Just put each ingredient into the search bar and add to your cart. 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.
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 inexpensively. 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.
Walmart:
Over the last year or so I've been buying more and more groceries from Walmart. They offer free shipping over $35 and have many low carb products in addition to having more choices in the store.
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Ingredients
Weight measurements:
- 12 oz erythritol
- 16 oz xylitol
- 2 tsp Better Stevia or any pure stevia extract
Cup measurements:
- 1 ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons erythritol
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons xylitol
- 2 tsp Better Stevia or any pure stevia extract
Instructions
Powdered Sweetener
- Process the ingredients in the food processor for a few minutes if you are planning on using it in chocolate, beverages, or icing.
Granular Sweetener
- For baking and candy making, you can just mix the ingredients together by hand.
Notes
Nutrition
rebecca haegele says
You are the greatest. I am concerned about the cost of starting THM and this is so helpful! I am already a devoted follower of you!
Leslie Phillips says
What is the recipe if i use stevia and monkfruit sweeteners?
Taryn says
A monk fruit blend like lakanto is sweeter than erythritol. I would just add 1/2 tsp of stevia for 14oz of the monkfruit/erythritol combo.
Leslie says
Thank you
Anthony says
What would happen if I use only 1tsp pure stevia extract? Would it taste as sweet as normal sugar but won't mask the cooling effect?
Taryn says
Using 1 tsp of stevia would make it a little sweeter than normal sugar.
Anthony says
Hi Taryn,
Thank you for your help. I just found out recently about this THM lifestyle and the recipe from several YouTubers recommending your homemade blend. My online order of erythritol, xylitol and stevia is on the way!
Anthony says
I never tasted THM Sweet Blend before. Is this recipe has comparable sweetness level as the Sweet Blend? Because I thought Sweet Blend is 1:1 sugar substitutability so this should be as sweet as normal sugar, instead of times 2...
Taryn says
No, both of the THM blends are sweeter than sugar. You can see their sweetener chart here: https://trimhealthymama.com/#usefulinfo
Laura says
Hi there. I love your recipes! I was really looking forward to making this sugar but then realized that my large quantity of sugar is Lakanto Monk Fruit. Is there a way that I can use that to make yours? It doesn't say the amount of Monk Fruit is in the Lakanto, so I'm just not sure how to make it work. Thank you for sharing so many wonderful recipes.
Taryn says
You can use it in place of the erythritol portion but cut back on the stevia by 1/2 tsp.
sheila wright says
I LOVE YOUR SWEETNER, KEEP IT MADE UP IN A 1/2 JAR...
THANK YOU
I HAVE BEEN USING IT FOR SEVERAL YEARS NOW..
Taryn says
I'm glad to hear that, Sheila!
Karen says
Question about sweeteners. How does swerve compare to gentle sweet. I found a recipe I want to try and swerve is the suggested sweetener. I am a THM and would like to stick with gentle sweet. Could I have your advice?
Taryn says
If it calls for powdered swerve I would grind the gentle sweet first. And then you only need half of the amount listed.
Vanessa B Maddox says
I've been using your sweetener recipe for some time now. BTW, t's great ! Just always wondered why you use both erythrinol and xylitol? Does using both enhance the sweetness? I have no objection to using both but am curious why. Thanks for so many great recipes! You're one of my top 3 bloggers.
Taryn says
Using both helps eliminate the aftertaste each has on its own. Erythritol does have more of an aftertaste than xylitol. If I had to choose just one I would use all xylitol.
Lauren says
Do you have any idea how much your sweetner costs incomparison to Gentle Sweet?
Taryn says
Yes. About $5 a pound if you buy the bigger bags of xylitol and erythritol and a big container of stevia. Xylitol is under $5 a lb when buying 5lb bags and erythritol is under $4 a lb with big bags. Stevia is $4-5 an ounce but you use so little each time. I have a huge stevia that has lasted me 2 years.
Tina S says
My husband can not have erythritol can what can i use instead to still give me the same flavor
Taryn says
You can use all xylitol. So 28oz xylitol to 2 tsp of stevia.
Brinda Friday says
I want to try your blackberry cheesecake recipe, so do I simply mix the erythritol, xylitol and stevia or should I put all of it in the food processor?
Taryn says
You can just mix. I generally only blend for icing or beverages. If you prefer a powdered sweetener you can blend it. Up to you. I don't find it gritty in cheesecakes but some people are more sensitive to that.
Sally Bradway says
I want to make the lava cakes but just purchase the sweetner instead of making it. What can I use and what would the measurements be? I've never made a keto dessert before and I want to start slow.
Taryn says
My top choices for a packaged sweetener are Trim Healthy Mama Gentle Sweet or Lakanto Monkfruit.
For Gentle Sweet you would use the amount listed. For Lakanto you would use a little more.
Susan M. Bachmayer says
Do you still reccommend Better Stevia? Thanks, Susan
Taryn says
Yes, I bought a huge one and it's lasting me years.
Ava says
Thank you for this recipe. I have all the ingredients now at hand. (All granular/powder) Can you clarify the mixing i.e. is it better not to combine until wanting to use them?
It would be much easier to have it all ready mixed. Is there a reason for not premixing the sweeteners and storing ready to use?
Thanks
Taryn says
Nope, I pre-mix big batches at once. It lasts for months.
Robin A. Lee says
How much of your blend = 1 tsp/TBSP/cup of sugar?
Taryn says
Half the amount.
1 tsp sugar = 1/2 tsp sweetener blend
1 tbsp sugar = 1/2 tbsp sweetener blend
1 cup sugar = 1/2 cup sweetener blend
Rebekah says
Hi,
How do the amounts of erithrytol & stevia change when leaving out the xylitol? Just replace xylitol amounts with erithrytol? I'm new to trying to use natural sweeteners, thank you!!
Taryn says
Yes, just replace the xylitol amount with more erythritol.
Elizabeth says
If using a recipe that calls for Swerve, how much of your sweetener should I use?
Taryn says
Half the amount listed.
Rosemary Snody says
Hi... how do you equal raw sugar or honey for your homemade sweetener?
Taryn says
You will need 1.5 to 2 times the amount listed.
Tammy says
Hi there! I love this idea and was wondering what are your thoughts on substituting allulose for the xylitol? I don’t allow it in the house because I have fur babies.
Taryn says
I actually purchased allulose recently to give this a try. I think it will work.
Sue says
I actually purchased allulose recently to give this a try. I think it will work....Hi Taryn, just wondering if you tried this and how it turned out.
Taryn says
I have had readers use it since my last comment. I haven't tried it myself yet. I completely forgot and need to add this to my recipe testing list.
Kneely says
Can use Pyure for your erythritol and stevia and just add xylitol???
Taryn says
I think so BUT I have not tested the ratios. You will have to play around with it. I would suggest making a small batch and trying it in a mug cake to see if the sweetness level is to your liking.
Kelly Ligon says
I have a quick question. I’ve been using lakanto monk fruit sweetener which tastes like sugar to me. Except for that cooling feeling when eating baked items. Does your sweetener mixture do the same thing?
Taryn says
Not as much. Because I add stevia it is twice as sweet as lakanto. Using half the amount helps reduce the cooling.
KELLY OLAUGHLIN says
Hello,
If I am making a recipe that calls for 1 cup of any sweetener (not regular sugar), would I use 1 cup of this?
Thank you so much!
Taryn says
I would assume that are talking about a 1:1 sweetener. I would only use 1/2 cup of my blend. You can taste test and adjust as you are cooking.