Joy Filled Eats Natural Sweetener
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.
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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!
Ingredients in Joy Filled Eats Sweetener
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.
Where Do I Buy Sweetener Ingredients?
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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Joy Filled Eats Natural Sweetener - Low Carb, THM, Sugar Free
Ingredients
Weight measurements:
- 16 oz xylitol *** (or allulose)
- 12 oz erythritol (or allulose)
- 2 tsp Better Stevia or any pure stevia extract
Cup measurements:
- 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons xylitol (or allulose)
- 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons erythritol (or allulose)
- 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
Please note that xylitol is fatal to dogs so don’t share treats containing xylitol with your furry friends. You may prefer to not have it in your pet-friendly house at all.
Can I use THM Stevia in the recipe instead of Better Stevia? I have some I need to use up. Thank you!
Yes
How does this compare to Swerve? Swerve is only erythritol and xylitol, no stevia. Is it the stevia that makes it *twice* as sweet as sugar?
I keep running into Swerve Sweetener in recipes and I cannot buy it here in the Netherlands and shipping it from the US makes it more than twice as expensive :O. So now I’m trying to find an alternative.
Yes, the stevia is what makes it sweeter than sugar or swerve. I prefer the taste of this blend and since you use less it lasts longer and is cheaper.
I already have all the ingredients at home score!!! Is this a good cup for cup sub for things that need sugar to come out correct like cookies and ice cream?
No, this is twice as sweet as sugar. You only need half the amount called for.
Do you have any idea what the shelf life would be once you open the packages and if you know you’re going to take a long time to use it all what is the best place to store it? Would grunding it affect the shelf life? Also, for use in coffee, would a Ninja blender grind it fine enough or would a coffee grinder be better?
Does this measure the same as the THM gentle sweet? I’m excited to try it!
Yes, it does 🙂
Thank you!!!! Btw I have been price comparing and I found vitacost has all the ingredients for cheaper because the xylitol and erthyinol are in 3 lb bags!!! So enough to make 6ish lbs for $33. 🙂
How does it measure compared to regular sugar in recipies?
It is twice as sweet. So use half the amount of sugar called for.
I’m not understanding your recipe between the weight measurements and cup measurements. Can you explain? Thanks.
You can use either set of measurements. I prefer using the weights. If you have a kitchen scale just set a large mason jar on top, tare the weight, and then pour in the sweeteners.
Would that be the Better Stevia packets or the extract powder?
Nevermind, it would help if I did a search first lol. It looks like you use the extract powder.
I don’t like using Xylitol since we have dogs here (it’s deadly for them). Wondering if I could just use the Erythritol & Stevia to make a suitable blend?
You can. I don’t prefer just erythritol because it can have a weird cooling sensation. But I don’t have any pets to worry about either.
I believe the erythritol and stevia blend make it the super sweet. Reading from the trim healthy mama plan, omitting the xylitol (especially in the case of having dogs around) will make the blend the super sweet. That is what I have been using. ?
I am allergic to stevia. Do you think this recipe would work if I subbed it with monkfruit?
I’m not sure what the ratio would be on converting monkfruit to stevia. If you just use erythritol and xylitol you would just use twice as much as any recipe that calls for gentle sweet.
Does this measure cup for cup with sugar, or is it sweeter?
It is twice as sweet.
Does this taste good in coffee? I tried Truvia in my coffee and it was just way too bitter and the aftertaste was horrific.
Yes! I use a spoonful every morning.
Hi, I just started THM and am loving it so far, however I only bought the Pure Stevia. I am not a huge fan of the taste and have heard it doesnt work well in baking (I am really wanting to try some sweet treats) so I’d like to try making your recipe. Can I use the THM Stevia instead of the Better Stevia you have in the recipe, and would the quantity be the same?
I have heard the THM stevia is slightly sweeter than Better Stevia. You could use a tiny bit less.
Currently all I have on hand is liquid stevia. Can I use that instead of the powdered formula?
I’m not sure how that would work combining it with the dry ingredients. Sorry.
I have never used THM gentle sweet before. Does it have erythritol in it? I am not a fan of the cooling affect it has.
Yes, it has erythritol. I don’t really notice the cooling effect since it also has xylitol and stevia. I don’t really like plain erythritol either.
How do you sub it?? Say if a recipe calls for honey or maple syrup.
That’s a bit trickier. For 1/2 cup maple syrup I would sub 1/4 cup sweetener plus 1/4 cup liquid. You may need more liquid but it’s easier to add more then to add more of the dry ingredients.
Do you use this in the same amount of sugar when converting ‘sugar filled’ recipes? What is the ratio, if not
I use half the amount called for. My sweetener blend is sweeter than sugar.
Do you make any other adjustments to the dry or liquid amounts to get the same consistency/turnout?
You shouldn’t need to but it would depend on the recipe.
Bahahaha! Wish I’d read this before Saturday! Haha! I tried to make buttercream and about fell over! Rofl! Half. Next time, half. Hehe
I just used this to make an impossible crust chocolate pie with carbquick (I will be trying your baking mix next!) and it was perfect. I would never have guessed it was sugar free. There was no aftertaste at all and I blended it fine before making and there was no grit at all either. Thanks!
I have allergies to all nuts including coconut and peanuts. What flours should I use. Also I shop at Fruitful Yield. Is “Now Foods” comparable with the iherb.com products for erythritol, xylitol, and stevia. They also carry ‘Certified Organic Better Stevia Extract Powder’.
I would suggest using almond flour combined with ground golden flax and/or oat fiber. The iherb products I use are Now brand. I use the Better Stevia as well.
Almond flour is a nut.
I misread the first comment. I guess I shouldn’t answer questions at 6am before I have coffee 😉 in that case I would suggest oat fibre and ground golden flax. There is one low carb group I am in that uses lupin flour but I am not familiar with it. I do not think it’s nut based but may be worth looking into.
Some people are allergic to lupin, just be careful
How does Better Stevia compare to THM Pure Stevia? I love Pure Stevia for iced tea and hot drinks.
I have heard the thm stevia is a little sweeter than better stevia.
Would swerve work just as well?
That’s what I’m wondering, too. I guess I don’t understand the purpose of making up a mix vs just using erythritol? Although, maybe by adding the stevia you’re using a smaller amount? So you save $ and perhaps since its a smaller amount, you also are saving on calories/carbs. Hmmmm, I think I just answered my own question.
Yes, adding the stevia means you only use half the amount of sweetener. It makes the blend twice sweet as sugar instead of equal to. It saves quite a bit of money.
Using swerve would be considerably more expensive but it will work. For my dessert recipes you will need up to twice the amount I list. Swerve is not as sweet as my sweetener.
Could you give the link to the sweetener products you use on Jet.com please?
Sure 🙂
Xylitol: https://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=tOrJmd/XsMc&subid=&offerid=437821.1&type=10&tmpid=20265&RD_PARM1=https%3A%2F%2Fjet.com%2Fproduct%2FNOW-Foods-Xylitol-Now-Foods-25-Pound%2F3f5dac305ba0447d8866333b491f338f
Stevia: https://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=tOrJmd/XsMc&subid=&offerid=437821.1&type=10&tmpid=20265&RD_PARM1=https%3A%2F%2Fjet.com%2Fproduct%2FNOW-Foods-Better-Stevia-Organic-Zero-Calorie-Powdered-Sweetener-1-oz%2Fa1833b3da5374508b070ac34853d1278
Erythritol: https://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=tOrJmd/XsMc&subid=&offerid=437821.1&type=10&tmpid=20263&RD_PARM1=https%3A%2F%2Fjet.com%2Fproduct%2Fdetail%2Fb16da0567e2f4b80bbd4b83c61111616%3Fjcmp%3Dpla%3Aggl%3Aa_jd_cons_gen_food_beverages_tobacco_a3_b1%3Afood_items_cooking_baking_ingredients_a3_top%3Ana%3APLA_648191734_39624906544_pla-212812920544%3Ana%3Ana%3Ana%3A2%2526code%3DPLA15
Have you done the math on how much you save, by any chance?
It depends. Going to the THM site now I can order 5 pounds of gentle sweet for $50 plus $10 shipping. From any of the sites I recommend five pounds of sweetener is about $35 with free shipping. And you will have enough stevia left for 3 or 4 more batches. So, when you reorder you won’t need stevia.