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One of the hardest things about low carb baking is the finding sugar substitutes – and paying for them.
There are tons of options on the market and most of them are, well – expensive.
Today I am going to share with you a way to make Homemade Truvia and do low carb baking without the high ticket price.
Why Use Alternative Sweeteners?
The truth is, I would much rather be writing about using honey and maple syrup, and the like for sweetening.
I love natural sweeteners, but they just don’t love me. And honestly, there are so many folks with candida that this is something we all should be careful about – eating too many sweeteners, that is. I will be posting more about this later.
For me, and for any of you out there who have sugar metabolism issues, or candida, you know what I am talking about.
Anything that affects your glycemic index or that feeds candida is off limits.
So since going sugar free I have had to find other ways to sweeten drinks or baked goods.
I use pure stevia extract for beverages like Sugar Free Lemonade and Rich and Delicious Coffee Substitute, and for many treats that aren’t baked, or for dishes calling for just a small amount of sweetener.
But when you are making a recipe that requires the bulk of a granulated or liquid sweetener for its makeup, stevia extract just won’t cut it.
You could go out and purchase Truvia, or other stevia baking blends, but then you would be paying about $10-$16 per pound! Yikes! And there are other issues involved too.
Now there is a way to make your own sugar replacement that won’t raise your glycemic index or feed candida.
And it costs a whole lot less.
Reasons to Make Your Own Sugar Substitute
1. Control over ingredients – Have you noticed that those pre-made sugar substitute baking blends often have Natural Flavors listed on the label? That term, “natural flavors” is a catch all that can include things that basically are MSG. Not something I wish to be ingesting or feeding to my family on a regular basis.
The packaged baking blends often have tons of added fiber too. I have read of folks having tons of — well, not so great after effects from eating them. I know erythritol isn’t as natural as honey, but it is:
- zero calorie
- zero glycemic index
- little to no digestive issues
UPDATE: A reader asked in the comments about erythritol. I confirmed that my source uses all non GMO sources.
You can use clean stevia extracts. A lot of stevia extracts on the market are produced using chemicals. Not so with NuNaturals or Wisdom Naturals. Those extracts are extracted with only water. That’s why I use them (and they also taste better!)
2. Better taste. When using alternative sweeteners, you get a much better taste by blending sweeteners. You will find that your resulting sweet treats taste much better when using more than one kind.
3. Save money (see the details on how much you can save below).
4. Save Storage Space - As with all DIY food items, the more you can use basic ingredients to make your own pantry staples, the fewer things you need to buy because you have all the raw ingredients you need – right there!
Sugar Substitute (DIY Stevia Baking Blend, like Truvia)
Makes 1 cup
Ingredients
1 cup erythritol
1/2 tsp stevia extract powder
Directions
1. Combine ingredients in a bowl.
2. Store in a container with a tight-fitting lid. Use as a 1:1 replacement for sugar in baking and otherwise.
NOTE: Of course, if you are going to be using this for baking, you will want to make more of this and keep it in a container.
How much can you save?
Just after a quick look on Amazon, erythritol & stevia baking blends sell for between $9.99 and $15.74 per pound.
You can buy erythritol on Amazon for $5.76 per pound. (I actually purchase it in bulk –yes, I buy EVERYTHING in bulk — and get it for about $5 per pound, delivered to my door.) UPDATE 12/17/12. Looks like that price is no longer good. At Lucky Vitamin it is $5.34 per pound 
if you buy the 2.5 pound bag. This is one of my favorite retailers.
And I purchase stevia extract powder on Iherb in a money saving 1 lb container (and get $5 off your first order with my referral code: RUR466)
So – if you make your own sugar substitute / stevia baking blend, you can save up to 67%! Good deal, eh?
Interested in other Processed Food Replacements? How about –
- Powdered Sugar Substitute
- Powdered Egg Replacer – like Ener-G
- Easiest Coconut Milk
- Easiest Almond Milk
- Homemade Rice Milk
- Homemade Marshmallows (sugar free option)
- Easiest Dairy-Free Condensed Milk
- DIY Vanilla Liquid Stevia
What sweeteners are you currently using?
This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclaimer.
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I try to avoid the Stevia powder because I have heard they use chemicals to make it into powder. I use the liquid regularly, though.
NuNaturals and Wisdom Naturals do not use chemicals. They just use water.
. The link to NuNaturals in the post will show you what I typically buy.
That is great news! Thanks for telling me.
I so enjoy your site and appreciate you, so when I ask this question, I hope you will take in a positive light. Do you feel confident sugar alcohol (erythritol, xylitol) isn’t going to cause other long term issues? It’s a refined substance, after all, taken from fruits (if I recall correctly) and I wonder if using in large doses for things like baking, and apart from it’s counterparts in the fruit, if it’s just like anything else refined and harmful effects just haven’t been figured out yet. We regularly consume xylitol in our mints, so I’m not standing to the side judging. I have a genuine concern for you, for me, for all of us. I also know you have more serious health reasons than I for avoiding regular sweeteners which makes it all very difficult. I just don’t know if turning to another processed substance is the right choice. What do you think?
I completely understand. This is something that I really want to post on. I think that personally, the issues w/ the sugars are more numerous than those w/ xylitol and erythritol. I think it’s best to limit sweet foods in general. But that being said, it is really hard to not eat any. I think that it’s a good idea to vary foods, and alternative sweeteners too so that if there is a problem with one, you have limited your exposure. I think these two are good options for me and erythritol has little to no digestive effects. The others, like sorbitol, etc., are horrid in that respect. And I don’t eat Nutrasweet, or its cousin, Neotame. So, I hope that helps you know where I am at with it all. I recommend coconut sugar to those who can handle it but I can’t myself. I so appreciate your comment. These are questions I have had to deal w/ myself. Some days I feel I overdo the sweet thing and other days I have nothing. I tend to mainly use stevia extract.
Thanks for your thoughtful response. I’ll look forward to your post on all this at some point.
Erythritol is made by fermenting the natural sugar found in genetically modified corn. Much better option is lakanto. Lakanto is a delicious combination of non-GMO (not genetically modified) erythritol and the naturally sweet fruit, lo han guo (called the “longevity fruit” in China and has many of the same health benefits as erythritol).
I just double checked – the erythritol that I use is guaranteed non GMO. So I am very happy with what I am using. Thanks though!
I have purchased Lakanto. It is not as sweet and it does not bake as well. I gave it a good try and used it in many recipes. It just does not impart much sweetness at all. The family gave it a big “thumbs down”.
Oh that’s a great news! What brand of erythritol do you use?
Thanks so much!
Global Sweet.
You mention Truvia and then later “pure stevia”. The only pure stevia I know of is to grow your own (it’s easy to grow!), dry the leaves, and grind your own. Or, if you must purchase, purchase “Stevia IN THE RAW”. It is my understanding that both Truvia and Purvia are processed with ethanol.
I meant pure stevia is the pure stevia extract. It is extracted from the stevia plant using only water and has no additives. Does that help?
Thanks for such thoughtful post. Sugar really make some people in trouble.
My first visit here (came from Foodie Friday) — I eat low-carb and sugar-free and am thrilled to read this post. I do a lot of LC, SF baking. I’ll be back
Blessings!
Gail
Gail recently posted..Championing the Lowly TURNIP!!
Is there an after taste at all or do the baked goods taste different? I just found out the I have candida issues and am trying to figure out a sugar substitute that tastes good.
I find that when you combine the sweeteners (use several at one time) you get a really clean, sugar-like taste. I just made Dairy-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake bars with this sweetener combined with stevia (hope to share the recipe soon), and we all thought it was great. I do think xylitol works well too. Use just one of them and the results are OK but not as good. Xylitol is the one you can pretty much use alone, but it does cause some digestive upset in some folks. Let me know what you think!
I have issues with Xylitol. Does the above recipe taste good?
I don’t care for its taste plain, but it worked great in a dessert we made the other night. Hope it works for you!
Ok thanks. I was only considering it for baking. Thank you.
Where can you find Stevia extract?
There’s a link in my post
.
This sounds like a delicious frugal substitute for more expensive sweeteners. Thank you for sharing this post with us at Hearth and Soul!
I am hoping this post will get a little attention and someone may be able to help.
I am planning on baking quite a bit of desserts in the next week and around Christmas. Something in the way of pounds and pounds of treats so the cost is really starting to add up, into the hundreds of dollars.
Maybe someone can help me with the math if you know.
It seems comparing the cost of the following get the same sweetness of 1 cup of sugar, Xylitol, Stevia and Erythritol.
WOW Erythritol is for sure the most expensive then Xylitol is about half as much but still approx 10 times the cost of an equal amount of sweetening power of Stevia.
Anyone else ever do the math and figure it out? Maybe I figured it wrong. I was going by approx $8/lb Erythritol $4/lb Stevia and $80/lb for Stevia extract powder. All when purchasing in bulk.
Also I was figuring Xylitol 1:1 for replacing sugar. Erythritol 70% as sweet. Stevia 1 teaspoon = 1 cup of sugar.
Thanks for ANY help.
Mike, for the stevia extract I typically think of 1/32 or 1/64 of a tsp being = to 2 Tbsp sugar so I think that to get 1 cup of sugar it’s more like 1/4 tsp. I see all kinds of measurements out there so it really perplexes me but that is one that is out there. Does that help?
Thank you for the info.
Then that makes it doubly WOW how much less Stevia is for sweetening. I have always used 1 tsp Stevia to equal a cup of sugar.
That would make Xylitol approx 20 times as expensive as sweetening with Xylitol.
It is HARD to believe it is that much of a price difference. I have done the math 2 times but I could definitely be way off.
I am however VERY happy with your new link to Luck Vitamin for Erythritol now I don’t feel bad using your Stevia/Erythritol recipe.
Great! I use mainly xylitol and stevia but the gastrointestinal issues are less w/ the erythritol. That link is an affiliate link and I think you get $10 off for using it. Not sure. I am not always up on my affiliate stuff, but that’s good b/c I just recommend what I like – not what will make me the most $. I’ve been using them for years.
Sorry, meant to say $60/lb for Stevia. I used $8/lb for Erythritol. Adrienne I see you used a $5.76 figure and $5 to your door for bulk.
I followed the link to Amazon and maybe the price went up it looks to be around $8. If you have a link to a place for $5 including shipping I would love to have it.
Thank you!
I just put in a new link to Lucky Vitamin. I hope that helps!
YES for sure thank you Adrienne!