Showing posts with label natural sweeteners. Show all posts
Showing posts with label natural sweeteners. Show all posts

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Stevia Pumpkin Pie Pudding Recipe

Make this Stevia Pumpkin Pie Pudding


Pumpkins are everywhere during the autumn months along with pumpkin desserts, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin scones and pumpkin pies. Unfortunately, almost all of these fantastic and enticing pumpkin treats are loaded with sugar. Pumpkin on its own is a very healthy ingredient, low in fat and low in calories and loaded with nutritional benefits.  You can of course enjoy savory pumpkin soups and roasted pumpkin recipes to enjoy pumpkin. However, if like me, you have a sweet tooth and are craving sweets, pumpkin but want to avoid sugar – here is a good recipe to try.

The recipe is for Pumpkin pie pudding with stevia instead of sugar. There are lots of great recipes online that have pumpkin pie made with agave nectar, molasses, honey, and of course artificial sweeteners like Splenda and Aspartame. I choose to avoid Aspartame and Splenda because of the many studies showing incredibly negative long term health effects when consumed even in small amounts over time.

I think agave nectar, xylitol and other natural sweeteners are great. However, you can’t beat the no calorie, super sweet punch that even the smallest amount of stevia will give to your recipe. Stevia is healthy, natural and does not effect your sugar levels at all. This natural herb is great for smoothies, oatmeal, and can be used in baking with great success with a little bit of experimentation.

I found this recipe online at Nourishing Days, link below the recipe so you can try the original. The pumpkin pie with stevia is also dairy free in case you are avoiding sugar and dairy!

Stevia Pumpkin Pie Pudding Recipe
4 large eggs
1 15 oz can organic pumpkin
½ c cream or full fat coconut milk
½ tsp salt
¾- 1 tsp Stevia
2 tsp cinnamon
¾ tsp ginger
½ tsp cloves
¼ tsp allspice
½-3/4 tsp mace or nutmeg
1 tsp Mexican Vanilla or regular vanilla
Almond meal or ground cashews (optional)
First butter or spray with organic cooking spray a round 8” cake pan or similar. If desired, sprinkle ground cashews or ground almond meal lightly to serve as a bit of a crust.
Blend the eggs for about 1 minute. Add pumpkin, cream or coco milk, and all other ingredients and blend with a mixer for about 1 minute. Pour into pan. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes – check after 20 – you want a knife to come out clean but for it to be kind of a soft set.
Let rest  - eat at room temp or cold. Refrigerate leftovers. I recommend whipping up some heavy whipping cream with a touch of Mexican vanilla and either Zsweet, stevia or xylitol and put a spoonful on top of the pumpkin pie. Delicious.
Thanks again to Nourishing Days where I found the original recipe.
If you love pumpkin, make sure to check out my recipe for a pumpkin pie smoothie – it’s really delicious and satisfying and contains no sugar. I’d love to hear what fun fall recipes you make using stevia in the comments.
Enjoy the dairy free stevia pumpkin pie!

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Yacon Syrup

Yacon Syrup for Tracy Anderson Diet Shopping List




If you are starting the Tracy Anderson  30-Day Method, you have probably looked through the recipes and noticed the ingredient Yacon Syrup. I hadn’t heard of this ingredient before and wondered what it was and if I could substitute something else for it.
Turns out, it isn’t as hard to find Yacon syrup as I’d expected. A quick trip to my nearby health food store and they had a bottle of it. It isn’t cheap but isn’t insanely expensive.
Yacon syrup is a sweetener that has a low glycemic effect and is low in calories but high in flavor. It is extracted from tuberous roots of the yacon plant, which grows in South America and is indigenous to the Andes.

Yacon syrup could be compared to agave nectar and if you don’t have yacon syrup, I would use that in its place. It has a molasses flavor like carmelized sugar.

In the Tracy Anderson book, she uses yacon syrup in several of her recipes including one for Orange Glazed Salmon, Grilled Tofu, and Sweet Potato Silver Dollar Pancakes which make a delicious sweet treat!

Yacon syrup is a good sugar alternative for diabetics and is also processed in a vegan friendly way so it can be great for those who don’t take sugar or honey.

Use Yacon Syrup instead of maple syrup, agave nectar, honey, molasses or sugar for a sweetner in tea or coffee. It is also great in oatmeal or for use in recipes.

If you need to add yacon syrup to your shopping list for your Tracy Anderson 30-Day diet, try Whole Foods Market or your local health food store. If you can’t find it there, you can purchase online. What is your favorite way to use yacon syrup in your diet?