Best tasting THM Pure Stevia and Sweet Blend GIVEAWAY!

NOTE: I am not an affiliate with Trim Healthy Mama, and this is not a paid endorsement. Your purchase of the new THM Stevia products will not benefit me personally.

    Like many of you who are following the Trim Healthy Mama eating plan or a low-glycemic or low-carb diet, the sweetener aspect of eating this way has been a bit tricky for me.  And I do love sweet treats.  ♥

    When Trim Healthy Mama was originally written, the authors recommended NuNaturals Pure Stevia Extract as one of the best stevia products to use with their plan because of its purity and taste.

    Unfortunately, in April 2013, NuNaturals changed the formulation of their Pure Stevia product.  My family couldn't get used to the change in taste and level of bitterness...and we're not very fussy.

    People can grow their own stevia plants, and dehydrate and grind up the leaves, but it will still have an unusual aftertaste that takes some time to get used to.

    When the NuNaturals version of stevia was no longer an option my family could use, we chose to use several other stevia/erythritol options...but didn't really love any of them.  If our bodies could have tolerated xylitol, we would have used that, too.  We weren't too happy about using Truvia, because it's most likely made with GMO corn products, and it is highly processed.  :(

    Over the last year, we have anxiously been awaiting the new Trim Healthy Mama Stevia products.  I'm very excited to let you know that these products are now available!

    Pearl and Serene sent me some of their new sweeteners so I could give them a try.


   THM Stevia sweeteners are available in three different varieties, for various uses:

THM Pure Stevia Extract

    The THM Pure Stevia Extract IS NOT an artificial or chemical sweetener; it is made from the non-bitter, naturally occurring, sweet component of the herb stevia - a glycoside called Rebaudioside A. This naturally sweet component is isolated from the stevia leaf using a gentle water extraction process.  No bleaching is involved in this process.  The THM Pure Stevia Extract is also so minimally processed, it has not even been granulated, which means it remains as a fine white powder – like a dust, which is unusual for stevia products, because most stevia is overprocessed. 

    The THM Pure Stevia Extract comes in two sizes:  1 oz. and 4 oz.  The 1 oz. bag will actually last quite a long time (2-3 months of daily use for my own family), because such a tiny amount (a "doonk") is used at one time.

    How is THM Pure Stevia best used?

    It contains a tiny "doonk" (spoon) to sprinkle very small amounts of stevia in your foods and beverages.

    Based on my 15 months of experience in using stevia products, the THM Pure Stevia would best be used by adding it to beverages and anything needing sweetened but not needing the bulking action of sugar.

    For example, I wouldn't use this as the only sweetener in most baked goods (cakes, cookies, etc.), but it could be used in combination with the other THM sweeteners (THM Erythritol or THM Sweet Blend) in baked goods.

• sweeten a cup of coffee or tea
• sweeten a cup of yogurt
• add to fruit syrups
• 1/2 tsp. = the sweetness of 1 cup sugar
• sweeten protein shakes
• and more!

    When opening the bag of THM Pure Stevia, tap it on your counter a few times. Then, zip the seal before opening the bag, because the powder likes to "plume" a little when first opened. You’ll find a tiny spoon (1/32 of a tsp.) inside the pouch. This is your “doonk” spoon. When adding the powder to your drink or recipe with your doonk, turn spoon downward and gently tap it on the side of your glass or bowl as you empty it out. This will allow the stevia to flow out of the spoon.

    Don’t put the doonk back in the pouch, as you’ll have to dig around in the white powder to find it. Find your doonk its own special home somewhere else in your kitchen. ☺

   


    My next blog post in a couple of days will be about how I've chosen to store my THM Pure Stevia extract.  Since it is so pure - and isn't granulated - I'll be sharing with you two new options I've discovered have worked well for me. 

    So hold on, and this info. will be available for you, soon!

---

THM Erythritol

    THM Erythritol is a delightful tasting sweetener that has zero impact on blood sugar levels.  Even "purists" will love the fact that THM Erythritol does not contain any Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO), nor is GMO material used in its production.

    Erythritol is the only sugar alcohol which has a zero glycemic index reading and zero calories per serving. Other sugar alcohols, like maltitol, sorbitol, and xylitol are often used as sugar substitutes because they provide a sweet taste yet do not raise blood sugar to the same extent as sugar does. However, many people have trouble with gas, bloating, and diarrhea when eating these sugar alcohols. Erythritol is much easier to digest, and its high antioxidant levels help to fight free radicals in the body which are responsible for the aging process.

    THM Erythritol can be used alone or combined with THM Pure Stevia in recipes.  It provides the "bulking" action in recipes that need 1 cup of sweetener, for example, so the THM Erythritol is great for baking!

    You can also combine THM Erythritol with THM Pure Stevia to make your own homemade "Truvia"; see directions on the chart below for the "Homemade Sweet Blend Recipe".

---

    THM Sweet Blend is the perfect combination of two natural sweeteners:  THM non-GMO erythritol and the organic THM Pure Stevia. Both are diabetic friendly, certified Kosher, offer numerous health benefits, and have no impact upon blood sugar.

    The THM Sweet Blend looks and acts similar to regular sugar (although it is a little sweeter) without the negative health and weight consequences. It is heat stable and offers bulk to your baked goods, so you’ll love it for baking, along with all your other sweetening needs.

    It's also a great product to use with recipes using baking cocoa, which can often be difficult to sweeten with alternative sweeteners and still taste good.

---

    There are many stevia blends on the market, but unfortunately, the majority of them use fillers that won’t do your health or waistline any favors. Stevia that is blended with sugar, dextrose, fructose, or maltodextrin can raise your blood sugar and slow weight loss.

    Stevia takes a while to get used to using, for most people.  Keep in mind that if you have never used stevia extract or stevia products, there will be a period of adjustment to the taste...although the THM Stevia is far better tasting than anything else I've used so far!

    For my own family, it took us 6-8 weeks to adjust to the taste of foods made with NuNaturals stevia so that we couldn't taste the "aftertaste" anymore.  Even though the THM Stevia products taste wonderfully, you may possibly have an adjustment period where your body is adjusting away from using sugar as its sweetener source, and switching to using stevia and erythritol exclusively.  This is normal.

    Also, the THM (Trim Healthy Mama) Stevia sweeteners are definitely sweeter than other stevia products on the market, which is nice!  You'll use less of it each time, saving you money in the long run.

    I thought it would be helpful to provide you with a THM Sweetener Conversion Chart.  This is being shared with the permission of the Trim Healthy Mama authors, Pearl and Serene.  Just click on the graphic, below, to download and save/print your own THM Sweetener Conversion Chart:

It's time for a giveaway of THM Stevia products!

   To enter this giveaway, please use the Rafflecopter widget below.  (Email subscribers may need to click back to the original post to enter this giveaway via the Rafflecopter form.)

    Two winners will be selected in this giveaway:  one will win a 1 oz. bag of THM Pure Stevia Extract, and the second winner will win a 1 lb. bag of THM Sweet Blend!

    The giveaway ends on Friday, April 11th, 2014 at midnight (Pacific time)...

    ...and please read the requirements, below, for entering this giveaway.  ☺   I will be validating the winning entries to make certain they are legitimate entries.    U.S. entries only, please.  Thanks!

Entrants must be 18 years or older; only U.S. residents are eligible to enter this giveaway.

I will select the winner of this prize using Random.org (via this Rafflecopter entry form, below).

I will be verifying the winning entrant's giveaway entry options to make sure they are valid.  In the past several months, multiple potential winners were excluded from winning even though their names had been selected randomly as winners, because they said that they had signed up for email subscriptions but had not completed the process, which includes clicking on an email you will receive to confirm your subscription.  An email subscription to Joy In Our Journey.com is not a requirement to enter our giveaways, but if you do use an email subscription option to enter to win, please make sure that you click on the confirmation email that you will receive.  That will validate your entry.  Thank you!   :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

    I received two bags of THM stevia for review, but was not compensated financially in any way. The opinions expressed are those of Joy In Our Journey.com and are based solely on experiences while using these sweeteners.

     In the interest of full disclosure, some of the links in my posts are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I receive an affiliate commission...without it costing you a penny more.   I only recommend products I use personally. Your purchases through these links help support Joy In Our Journey. I humbly thank you for your support!

---