Today's Tip: Sweet Alternatives to Sugar

I get asked a lot about what sweeteners to use whether it's in tea, on oatmeal or for cooking.  Well, if you know me at all you know I always recommend "natural" so I'm not a real Splenda fan. But now there are MANY no-calorie sweetener packets that are completely natural, & the most commonly found ones are made from stevia. Stevia, if you don't know, is a plant-based sweetener that's used in everything from low-cal drinks (like Vitainwater Zero & Trop50) to yogurt snacks (like YoCrunch 100 Calorie Packs). Lots of brands make packets with stevia, but my favorite is Truvia, followed by Pure Via & Stevia in the Raw.  Truvia comes in packets (which Costco now sells!), small spoonable tubs and in a baking blend.  Also start looking for a new up-and-coming natural sweetener called monk fruit.  It's used by one of my favorite brands, Kashi, which brings down the sugar count in their products. Nectresse is a sweetener product made with monk fruit, & although it's from the makers of Splenda, it does NOT contain Splenda or any artificial sweetener. Lastly, the makers of Stevia In The Raw recently launched Monk Fruit in the Raw. Look for all of these natural no-calorie products in the supermarket with the other sweetener packets -- they're typically in green or orange packaging.
If you have kids who like to make Kool-Aid periodically, I recommend using half real sugar and half Truvia baking blend. The baking blend does not measure cup for cup of sugar, so check the package for the proper amount to use.  They'll never know the difference, and my kids love pouring it out of the cool Truvia baking blend package spout!