Review: Truvia Sweetener

When I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, I knew that I had to either drink my tea unsweetened, or choose an artificial sweetener. I never liked the taste of artificial sweeteners, but someone mentioned stevia to me. It is a natural sweetener derived from the stevia plant, and available at a local health store. I tried it, and liked the flavor much better than artificial sweeteners!

Truvia is a natural sweetener made from rebiana, the sweetest part of the stevia leaf. I was fortunate enough to receive a box of Truvia to try out thanks to Mom Central and Cargill (the company that has brought Truvia to the mass market.) The first thing I noticed is that the sweetener looks just like sugar granules. (The packets I had used before were more like a powder that had a hard time dissolving in iced tea.) I immediately poured some into my iced tea and the Truvia dissolved easily -- a little quicker than plain sugar.

When I sipped my tea, I was pleased with the sweetness. It seemed to me that the Truvia tasted a bit sweeter than what I had been using before, which may be true because they have distilled the sweetest part of the leaf to create this sweetener. When I tried the two in a taste test, I did find the Truvia was sweeter.

Cargill has done a number of studies and the FDA has recently approved their product to be sold as an artificial sweetener. Coca-Cola is already using it in a couple of their Odwalla juices, and you should be looking for it in more beverages and foods in the next few years.

You can read more information, as well as see some great recipes at their website.

Would you like to try some Truvia? I'll send a few packets to 3 of my readers that leave a comment below. Just be sure to leave an email address so I can reach you and get your address!