Re: Sweetener alternatives

[Guest guest]

The packet of Stevia I have in my hand says it is the equivalent of 2 tsp of sugar. That is about how much I put in a cup of coffee. If the grandkids didn't use it correctly it is too late because they now wouldn't try it again. Since I have it I'll try it again but I am pretty happy with Splenda. Tom From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Lea Ann SavageSent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6:51 PM Subject: Sweetener alternatives How much did you use? Did you read my page on Stevia? http://vitamixlady.com/sweeteners-smoothie-additives/ One whole packet will sweeten 3 cups of coffee and most people don't like Stevia because they use the same volume as regular sweeteners (one packet per drink). Some people never like Stevia, but for others, cutting way down on the amount they use helps a lot. This is why I recommend (and carry) liquid Stevia - very easy to measure and count the drops so as not to get too much. Also, if after cutting down the amount, they still don't like stevia, cutting any other " sweetener " in half and using a bit of Stevia seems to hid the taste people don't like, but really boosts the sweetness. Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))>< On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:36 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote: Yes we have tried that one too. They don't seem to like that one very much in fact I think I still have the remainder of the box of it in the closet. I didn't care for it either. Thanks,Tom From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Lea Ann SavageSent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6:28 PM Subject: Re: Vita Mix 103 Hello Tom, Have you tried Stevia with your granddaughters? It is more natural than most sugar substitutes and might not have the same effects. (I know that I have the same reaction to zylitol as your granddaughters but never to Stevia). Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))>< On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:20 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote: Lea Ann I have two granddaughters with type 1 diabetes, the oldest is 12 andshe has had it since she was one and the other is seven and has had diabetesfor about a year now. As you know it can be challenging for parents to havetheir children eat a balanced diet when healthy it is really difficult forchildren with diabetes. My daughter handles it this way she is concernedwith mainly carbs. That is not to say the kids eat a bunch of empty carbsbut if they have an extra slice of bread she just makes adjustments to theirpumps to give more insulin. As far as sugars go the kids will get diarrheaif they eat too much sugar substitutes and dried fruit like dates have afair amount of carbs. While the oldest granddaughter is getting pretty goodat identifying her carbs correctly they often choose meals they can look upeasily for the nutritional information like chain restaurants or packagedfoods that list carbs. One of my intentions for buying a Vitamix was to make eating a healthy blendof fruits and vegetables a fun thing for the kids when they came over whichis fairly often since they don't live very far away. I wanted them to pickout a recipe from the cookbook and have them make it. I even paid extra forthe Professional series so even the youngest one could add her ingredientsand push the button. That is way I was frustrated with the Create Cookbookwhen I discovered there were no nutritional values for the recipes because Ineed to know that information to make choices that won't cause sugar highs.Tom

[Guest guest]

Lea Ann, I find even a tiny part of a packet of stevia based

sweetener tastes bitter to me, so I avoid it. Even my husband, a

long time coffee drinker who likes sweet in his coffee does not like

stevia. As good as the idea is, if one does not like it, no reason

to use it .

The other point I wanted to make is, Tom's question is valid,

diabetics today esp who take insuilin base their medication

(insulin) on how many carbs they are eating and it is very helpful

to have that information at hand, without having to pull out a book

and measure and add up the carbs in each component of a recipe.

Obviously in some books which are a compilation of many recipes it

takes more time, but there are lots of recipe programs quite capable

of calculating nutritional data from the amount and items in a

recipe. VM could do that on any recipe, run a calculation on it,

without having a scientist make the recipe and run it through a

machine to calculate exact nutritional data. So, the way I am

reading it, Tom's question is not about sweeteners but about carb

counts. Which brings another point, Tom, have you checked online for

recipe programs you can type your favorite recipes into and click a

button to have them estimate all nutrients? I believe my Now You're

Cooking does it, but I have not put it on this new laptop yet, so

will have to check and will let you know when I do.

Velda

On 12/27/2011 3:51 PM, Lea Ann Savage wrote:

How much did you use?  Did you read my page on Stevia?  http://vitamixlady.com/sweeteners-smoothie-additives/

 One whole packet will sweeten 3 cups of coffee and most people

don't like Stevia because they use the same volume as regular

sweeteners (one packet per drink).

Some people never like Stevia, but for others, cutting way

down on the amount they use helps a lot.

This is why I recommend (and carry) liquid Stevia - very easy

to measure and count the drops so as not to get too much.

Also, if after cutting down the amount, they still don't like

stevia, cutting any other "sweetener" in half and using a bit of

Stevia seems to hid the taste people don't like, but really

boosts the sweetness.

Blessings,

Lea Ann Savage

Satellite Beach, FL

(321) 773-7088 (home)

(321-961-9219 (cell)

www.VitamixLady.com

www..com

<))><

On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:36 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote:

 

Yes we have

tried that one too.  They don't seem to like that

one very much in fact I think I still have the

remainder of the box of it in the closet.  I didn't

care for it either.

 

Thanks,

Tom

 

From:

[mailto:V!

itamixEnthusiasts ] On Behalf

Of Lea Ann Savage

Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6:28 PM

Subject: Re: Vita

Mix 103

 

 

Hello Tom,

 

Have you tried Stevia with

your granddaughters?  It is more natural than

most sugar substitutes and might not have the

same effects.  (I know that I have the same

reaction to zylitol as your granddaughters but

never to Stevia).

 

Blessings,

Lea

Ann Savage

Satellite

Beach, FL

(321)

773-7088 (home)

(321-961-9219

(cell)

www.VitamixLady.com

www..com

<))><

 

On Dec 27, 2011, at

6:20 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote:

 

 

Lea Ann I

have two granddaughters with type 1

diabetes, the oldest is 12 and

she has had it since she was one and the

other is seven and has had diabetes

for a!

bout a year now. As you know it can be

challenging for parents to have

their children eat a balanced diet when

healthy it is really difficult for

children with diabetes. My daughter

handles it this way she is concerned

with mainly carbs. That is not to say

the kids eat a bunch of empty carbs

but if they have an extra slice of bread

she just makes adjustments to their

pumps to give more insulin. As far as

sugars go the kids will get diarrhea

if they eat too much sugar substitutes

and dried fruit like dates have a

fair amount of carbs. While the oldest

granddaughter is getting pretty good

at identifying her carbs correctly they

often choose meals they can look up

easily for the nutritional information

like chain restaurants or packaged

foods that list carbs.

One of my intentions for buying a

Vitamix was to make eating a healthy

blend

of fruits and vegetables a fun thing for

the kids when they came over which

is fairly often since they !

don't live very far away. I wanted them

to pick

out a recipe from the cookbook and have

them make it. I even paid extra for

the Professional series so even the

youngest one could add her ingredients

and push the button. That is way I was

frustrated with the Create Cookbook

when I discovered there were no

nutritional values for the recipes

because I

need to know that information to make

choices that won't cause sugar highs.

Tom 

[Guest guest]

I just went to the Truvia (stevia) site and it says exactly that,

one packet equals two teaspoons of sugar.

Velda

On 12/27/2011 4:03 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote:

The

packet of Stevia I have in my hand says it is the equivalent

of 2 tsp of sugar. That is about how much I put in a cup

of coffee. If the grandkids didn't use it correctly it is

too late because they now wouldn't try it again. Since I

have it I'll try it again but I am pretty happy with

Splenda.

Tom

From:

[mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Lea Ann Savage

Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6:51 PM

Subject: Sweetener

alternatives

How much did you use? Did you read my page on Stevia?

http://vitamixlady.com/sweeteners-smoothie-additives/

One whole packet will sweeten 3 cups of coffee and most

people don't like Stevia because they use the same

volume as regular sweeteners (one packet per drink).

Some people never like Stevia,

but for others, cutting way down on the amount they

use helps a lot.

This is why I recommend (and carry)

liquid Stevia - very easy to measure and count the

drops so as not to get too much.

Also, if after cutting down the

amount, they still don't like stevia, cutting any

other "sweetener" in half and using a bit of Stevia

seems to hid the taste people don't like, but really

boosts the sweetness.

Blessings,

Lea Ann Savage

Satellite

Beach, FL

(321) 773-7088

(home)

(321-961-9219

(cell)

www.VitamixLady.com

www..com

<))><

On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:36 PM,

Tom Matuschak wrote:

Yes

we have tried that one too. They don't seem

!

to like that one very much in fact I think I

still have the remainder of the box of it in

the closet. I didn't care for it either.

Thanks,

Tom

From:

[mailto: ]

On Behalf Of Lea Ann Savage

Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011

6:28 PM

Subject: Re:

Vita Mix 103

Hello Tom,

Have

you tried Stevia with your

granddaughters? It is more natural

than most sugar substitutes and might

not have the same effects. (I know

that I have the same reaction to

zylitol as your granddaughters but

never to Stevia).

Blessings,

Lea

Ann Savage

Satellite

Beach, FL

(321)

773-7088 (home)

(321-961-9219

(cell)

www.VitamixLady.com

www..com

<))><

On

Dec 27, 2011, at 6:20 PM, Tom

Matuschak wrote:

Lea

Ann I have two granddaughters

with type 1 diabetes, the oldest

is 12 and

she has had it since she was one

and the other is seven and !

has had diabetes

for about a year now. As you

know it can be challenging for

parents to have

their children eat a balanced

diet when healthy it is really

difficult for

children with diabetes. My

daughter handles it this way she

is concerned

with mainly carbs. That is not

to say the kids eat a bunch of

empty carbs

but if they have an extra slice

of bread she just makes

adjustments to their

pumps to give more insulin. As

far as sugars go the kids will

get diarrhea

if they eat too much sugar

substitutes and dried fruit like

dates have a

fair amount of carbs. While the

oldest granddaughter is getting

pretty good

at identifying her carbs

correctly they often choose

meals they can look up

easily for the nutritional

information like chain

restaurants or packaged

foods that list carbs.

One of my intentions for buying

a Vitamix was to make eating a

healthy blend

of fruits and vegetables a fun

thing for the kids when they

came over which

is! fairly often since they

don't live very far away. I

wanted them to pick

out a recipe from the cookbook

and have them make it. I even

paid extra for

the Professional series so even

the youngest one could add her

ingredients

and push the button. That is way

I was frustrated with the Create

Cookbook

when I discovered there were no

nutritional values for the

recipes because I

need to know that information to

make choices that won't cause

sugar highs.

Tom

[Guest guest]

I have a great one called Living Cookbook http://www.livingcookbook.com/ . What I really like about it is I can copy and paste a recipe in it and it will give all the nutritional information. Now you may have to fiddle around with the ingredients to get the best match in its data base but it works well. My beef with Vitamix is they gave me a glorified version of the Whole Food Cookbook with the Create Recipes Cookbook but while the Whole Food cookbook has the nutritional information listed for each recipe the Create Recipes has none. I wrote in an earlier post I compared my Create Recipe book with the QVC Whole Food book posted on the Links page of our group /links and except for the last 2 chapters the Create is exactly the same but without nutritional information. The point is not that I can look this information up elsewhere my point is why I should have to. You're also right about the carb issues. While most fruits are very nutritious many for the most part they have a lot carbs so a diabetic has to take a close look at the sugars in their smoothies. For example one medium banana has 27 carbs and a cup of spinach has 1. Thanks,Tom From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Velda Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 7:14 PM Subject: Re: Sweetener alternatives Lea Ann, I find even a tiny part of a packet of stevia based sweetener tastes bitter to me, so I avoid it. Even my husband, a long time coffee drinker who likes sweet in his coffee does not like stevia. As good as the idea is, if one does not like it, no reason to use it .The other point I wanted to make is, Tom's question is valid, diabetics today esp who take insuilin base their medication (insulin) on how many carbs they are eating and it is very helpful to have that information at hand, without having to pull out a book and measure and add up the carbs in each component of a recipe. Obviously in some books which are a compilation of many recipes it takes more time, but there are lots of recipe programs quite capable of calculating nutritional data from the amount and items in a recipe. VM could do that on any recipe, run a calculation on it, without having a scientist make the recipe and run it through a machine to calculate exact nutritional data. So, the way I am reading it, Tom's question is not about sweeteners but about carb counts. Which brings another point, Tom, have you checked online for recipe programs you can type your favorite recipes into and click a button to have them estimate all nutrients? I believe my Now You're Cooking does it, but I have not put it on this new laptop yet, so will have to check and will let you know when I do. VeldaOn 12/27/2011 3:51 PM, Lea Ann Savage wrote: How much did you use? Did you read my page on Stevia? http://vitamixlady.com/sweeteners-smoothie-additives/ One whole packet will sweeten 3 cups of coffee and most people don't like Stevia because they use the same volume as regular sweeteners (one packet per drink). Some people never like Stevia, but for others, cutting way down on the amount they use helps a lot. This is why I recommend (and carry) liquid Stevia - very easy to measure and count the drops so as not to get too much. Also, if after cutting down the amount, they still don't like stevia, cutting any other " sweetener " in half and using a bit of Stevia seems to hid the taste people don't like, but really boosts the sweetness. Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))>< On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:36 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote: Yes we have tried that one too. They don't seem to like that one very much in fact I think I still have the remainder of the box of it in the closet. I didn't care for it either. Thanks,Tom From: [mailto:V! itamixEnthusiasts ] On Behalf Of Lea Ann SavageSent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6:28 PM Subject: Re: Vita Mix 103 Hello Tom, Have you tried Stevia with your granddaughters? It is more natural than most sugar substitutes and might not have the same effects. (I know that I have the same reaction to zylitol as your granddaughters but never to Stevia). Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))>< On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:20 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote: Lea Ann I have two granddaughters with type 1 diabetes, the oldest is 12 andshe has had it since she was one and the other is seven and has had diabetesfor a! bout a year now. As you know it can be challenging for parents to havetheir children eat a balanced diet when healthy it is really difficult forchildren with diabetes. My daughter handles it this way she is concernedwith mainly carbs. That is not to say the kids eat a bunch of empty carbsbut if they have an extra slice of bread she just makes adjustments to theirpumps to give more insulin. As far as sugars go the kids will get diarrheaif they eat too much sugar substitutes and dried fruit like dates have afair amount of carbs. While the oldest granddaughter is getting pretty goodat identifying her carbs correctly they often choose meals they can look upeasily for the nutritional information like chain restaurants or packagedfoods that list carbs. One of my intentions for buying a Vitamix was to make eating a healthy blendof fruits and vegetables a fun thing for the kids when they came over whichis fairly often since they ! don't live very far away. I wanted them to pickout a recipe from the cookbook and have them make it. I even paid extra forthe Professional series so even the youngest one could add her ingredientsand push the button. That is way I was frustrated with the Create Cookbookwhen I discovered there were no nutritional values for the recipes because Ineed to know that information to make choices that won't cause sugar highs.Tom

[Guest guest]

Not much stevia in Truvia; first ingredient listed is erythritol, which

I think tastes way worse than stevia alone....but its cheaper to produce.

Probably to know how stevia actually tastes, need to try some form that

is pure stevia, I'd guess.

SJ

[Guest guest]

I completely agree. A company who "sells nutrition" as VM does so

well, should include nutritional data in recipes. It's just not that

difficult to do that anymore and it would encourage people to look

at how they are eating.

Velda

On 12/27/2011 4:40 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote:

I

have a great one called Living Cookbook http://www.livingcookbook.com/

.. What I really like about it is I can copy and paste a

recipe in it and it will give all the nutritional

information. Now you may have to fiddle around with the

ingredients to get the best match in its data base but it

works well.

My

beef with Vitamix is they gave me a glorified version of the

Whole Food Cookbook with the Create Recipes Cookbook but

while the Whole Food cookbook has the nutritional

information listed for each recipe the Create Recipes has

none. I wrote in an earl!

ier post I compared my Create Recipe book with the QVC Whole

Food book posted on the Links page of our group /links

and except for the last 2 chapters the Create is exactly the

same but without nutritional information.

The

point is not that I can look this information up elsewhere

my point is why I should have to.

You're

also right about the carb issues. & nbs!

p; While most fruits are very nutritious many for the most

part they have a lot carbs so a diabetic has to take a close

look at the sugars in their smoothies. For example one

medium banana has 27 carbs and a cup of spinach has 1.

Thanks,

Tom

From:

[mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Velda

Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 7:14 PM

Subject: Re: Sweetener

alternatives

Lea Ann, I find even a tiny part of a packet of stevia

based sweetener tastes bitter to me, so I avoid it. Even

my husband, a long time coffee drinker who likes sweet

in his coffee does not like stevia. As good as the idea

is, if one does not like it, no reason to use it .

The other point I wanted to make is, Tom's question is

valid, diabetics today esp who take insuilin base their

medication (insulin) on how many carbs they are eating

and it is very helpful to have that information at hand,

without hav!

ing to pull out a book and measure and add up the carbs

in each component of a recipe. Obviously in some books

which are a compilation of many recipes it takes more

time, but there are lots of recipe programs quite

capable of calculating nutritional data from the amount

and items in a recipe. VM could do that on any recipe,

run a calculation on it, without having a scientist make

the recipe and run it through a machine to calculate

exact nutritional data. So, the way I am reading it,

Tom's question is not about sweeteners but about carb

counts. Which brings another point, Tom, have you

checked online for recipe programs you can type your

favorite recipes into and click a button to have them

estimate all nutrients? I believe my Now You're Cooking

does it, but I have not put it on this new laptop yet,

so will have to check and will let you know when I do.

Velda

On 12/27/2011 3:51 PM, Lea Ann Savage wrote:

How much did you use? Did you read

my page on Stevia? http://vitamixlady.com/sweeteners-smoothie-additives/

One whole packet will sweeten 3 cups of coffee and

most people don't like Stevia because they use the

same volume as regular sweeteners (one packet per

drink).

Some people never like Stevia,

but for others, cutting way down on the amount they

use helps a lot.

This is why I recommend (and

carry) liquid Stevia - very easy to measure and

count the drops so as not to get too much.

Also, if after cutting down the

amount, they still don't like stevia, cutting any

other "sweetener"! in half and using a bit of Stevia

seems to hid the taste people don't like, but really

boosts the sweetness.

Blessings,

Lea Ann Savage

Satellite Beach,

FL

(321) 773-7088

(home)

(321-961-9219

(cell)

www.VitamixLady.com

www..com

<))><

On Dec 27, 2011, at! 6:36 PM,

Tom Matuschak wrote:

Yes

we have tried that one too. They don't

seem to like that one very much in fact I

think I still have the remainder of the

box of it in the closet. I didn't care

for it either.

Thanks,

Tom

From:

[mailto:V! itamixEnthusiasts ]

On Behalf Of Lea Ann Savage

Sent: Tuesday, December 27,

2011 6:28 PM

Subject: Re: [Vitami!

xEnthusiasts] Vita Mix 103

Hello Tom,

Have

you tried Stevia with your

granddaughters? It is more natural

than most sugar substitutes and

might not have the same effects. (I

know that I have the same reaction

to zylitol as your granddaughters

but never to Stevia).

!

Blessings,

Lea Ann Savage

Satellite

Beach, FL

(321)

773-7088 (home)

(321-961-9219

(cell)

www.VitamixLady.com

www..com

<))><

On

Dec 27, 2011, at 6:20 PM, Tom

Matuschak wrote:

Lea

Ann I have two granddaughters

with type 1 diabetes, the

oldest is 12 and

she has had it since she was

one and the other is seven and

has had diabetes

for a! bout a year now. As you

know it can be challenging for

parents to have

their children eat a balanced

diet when healthy it is really

difficult for

children with diabetes. My

daughter handles it this way

she is concerned

with mainly carbs. That is not

to say the kids eat a bunch of

empty carbs

but if they have an extra

slice of bread she just makes

adjustments to their

pumps to give more insulin. As

far as sugars go the kids will

get diarrhea

if they eat too much sugar

substitutes and dried fruit

lik!

e dates have a

fair amount of carbs. While

the oldest granddaughter is

getting pretty good

at identifying her carbs

correctly they often choose

meals they can look up

easily for the nutritional

information like chain

restaurants or packaged

foods that list carbs.

One of my intentions for

buying a Vitamix was to make

eating a healthy blend

of fruits and vegetables a fun

thing for the kids when they

came over which

is fairly often since they !

don't live very far away. I

wanted them to pick

out a recipe from the cookbook

and have them make it. I even

paid extra for

the Professional series so

even the youngest one could

add her ingredients

and push the button. That is

way I was frustrated with the

Create Cookbook

when I discovered there were

no nutritional values for the

recipes because I

need to know that information

to make choices that won't

cause sugar highs.

Tom

[Guest guest]

Years ago I purchased a small bottle of stevia extract at the local

health food market (whose reputation I totally trust) and thought it was

nasty, so tried Truvia hoping it would be better.

Velda

On 12/27/2011 4:52 PM, sjc wrote:

> Not much stevia in Truvia; first ingredient listed is erythritol, which

> I think tastes way worse than stevia alone....but its cheaper to produce.

>

> Probably to know how stevia actually tastes, need to try some form that

> is pure stevia, I'd guess.

>

> SJ

>

>

> ------------------------------------

>

>

[Guest guest]

Yup - I agree that some people never like it. My husband and kids are in that category. For me it is Stevia or nothing, but lucky for me, I tolerate it very well.

Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))><

On Dec 27, 2011, at 7:14 PM, Velda wrote:

Lea Ann, I find even a tiny part of a packet of stevia based

sweetener tastes bitter to me, so I avoid it. Even my husband, a

long time coffee drinker who likes sweet in his coffee does not like

stevia. As good as the idea is, if one does not like it, no reason

to use it .

The other point I wanted to make is, Tom's question is valid,

diabetics today esp who take insuilin base their medication

(insulin) on how many carbs they are eating and it is very helpful

to have that information at hand, without having to pull out a book

and measure and add up the carbs in each component of a recipe.

Obviously in some books which are a compilation of many recipes it

takes more time, but there are lots of recipe programs quite capable

of calculating nutritional data from the amount and items in a

recipe. VM could do that on any recipe, run a calculation on it,

without having a scientist make the recipe and run it through a

machine to calculate exact nutritional data. So, the way I am

reading it, Tom's question is not about sweeteners but about carb

counts. Which brings another point, Tom, have you checked online for

recipe programs you can type your favorite recipes into and click a

button to have them estimate all nutrients? I believe my Now You're

Cooking does it, but I have not put it on this new laptop yet, so

will have to check and will let you know when I do.

Velda

On 12/27/2011 3:51 PM, Lea Ann Savage wrote:

How much did you use? Did you read my page on Stevia? http://vitamixlady.com/sweeteners-smoothie-additives/

One whole packet will sweeten 3 cups of coffee and most people

don't like Stevia because they use the same volume as regular

sweeteners (one packet per drink).

Some people never like Stevia, but for others, cutting way

down on the amount they use helps a lot.

This is why I recommend (and carry) liquid Stevia - very easy

to measure and count the drops so as not to get too much.

Also, if after cutting down the amount, they still don't like

stevia, cutting any other "sweetener" in half and using a bit of

Stevia seems to hid the taste people don't like, but really

boosts the sweetness.

Blessings,

Lea Ann Savage

Satellite Beach, FL

(321) 773-7088 (home)

(321-961-9219 (cell)

www.VitamixLady.com

www..com

<))><

On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:36 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote:

Yes we have

tried that one too. They don't seem to like that

one very much in fact I think I still have the

remainder of the box of it in the closet. I didn't

care for it either. Thanks,Tom

From:

[mailto:V!

itamixEnthusiasts ] On Behalf

Of Lea Ann Savage

Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6:28 PM

Subject: Re: Vita

Mix 103

Hello Tom,

Have you tried Stevia with

your granddaughters? It is more natural than

most sugar substitutes and might not have the

same effects. (I know that I have the same

reaction to zylitol as your granddaughters but

never to Stevia).

Blessings,

Lea

Ann Savage

Satellite

Beach, FL

(321)

773-7088 (home)

(321-961-9219

(cell)

www.VitamixLady.com

www..com

<))><

On Dec 27, 2011, at

6:20 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote:

Lea Ann I

have two granddaughters with type 1

diabetes, the oldest is 12 and

she has had it since she was one and the

other is seven and has had diabetes

for a!

bout a year now. As you know it can be

challenging for parents to have

their children eat a balanced diet when

healthy it is really difficult for

children with diabetes. My daughter

handles it this way she is concerned

with mainly carbs. That is not to say

the kids eat a bunch of empty carbs

but if they have an extra slice of bread

she just makes adjustments to their

pumps to give more insulin. As far as

sugars go the kids will get diarrhea

if they eat too much sugar substitutes

and dried fruit like dates have a

fair amount of carbs. While the oldest

granddaughter is getting pretty good

at identifying her carbs correctly they

often choose meals they can look up

easily for the nutritional information

like chain restaurants or packaged

foods that list carbs.

One of my intentions for buying a

Vitamix was to make eating a healthy

blend

of fruits and vegetables a fun thing for

the kids when they came over which

is fairly often since they !

don't live very far away. I wanted them

to pick

out a recipe from the cookbook and have

them make it. I even paid extra for

the Professional series so even the

youngest one could add her ingredients

and push the button. That is way I was

frustrated with the Create Cookbook

when I discovered there were no

nutritional values for the recipes

because I

need to know that information to make

choices that won't cause sugar highs.

Tom

[Guest guest]

I use Nu Naturals Nu Stevia and am very happy with it, but I know a lot of people don't care for Stevia. I wouldn't use anything if Splenda was my only option.

Fran

In a message dated 12/27/2011 8:19:20 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, solomon@... writes:

Years ago I purchased a small bottle of stevia extract at the local health food market (whose reputation I totally trust) and thought it was nasty, so tried Truvia hoping it would be better.VeldaOn 12/27/2011 4:52 PM, sjc wrote:> Not much stevia in Truvia; first ingredient listed is erythritol, which> I think tastes way worse than stevia alone....but its cheaper to produce.>> Probably to know how stevia actually tastes, need to try some form that> is pure stevia, I'd guess.>> SJ>>> ------------------------------------>>

[Guest guest]

They invented Truvia so they could patent it. (and make money) Natural stevia (which is what I use) cannot be patented because mother nature "holds the patent". I refuse to buy truvia and other products like it as it is altered too much. Who really knows what you are getting.Sent from my iPadOn Dec 27, 2011, at 7:52 PM, sjc <indexer@...> wrote:

Not much stevia in Truvia; first ingredient listed is erythritol, which

I think tastes way worse than stevia alone....but its cheaper to produce.

Probably to know how stevia actually tastes, need to try some form that

is pure stevia, I'd guess.

SJ

[Guest guest]

Truvia is not pure Stevia - it has a sugar alcohol (Erithritol) added and "Natural Flavors" (which usually is code for MSG). I try to eat "clean" (trying to eliminate chemicals, GMOs, preservatives, and foods containing added hormones and antibiotics) so Splenda is out for me.Stevia is the only refined food that I can think of that I eat. One day I'll find a way to get off of Stevia too :-)

Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))><

On Dec 27, 2011, at 7:16 PM, Velda wrote:

I just went to the Truvia (stevia) site and it says exactly that,

one packet equals two teaspoons of sugar.

Velda

On 12/27/2011 4:03 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote:

The

packet of Stevia I have in my hand says it is the equivalent

of 2 tsp of sugar. That is about how much I put in a cup

of coffee. If the grandkids didn't use it correctly it is

too late because they now wouldn't try it again. Since I

have it I'll try it again but I am pretty happy with

Splenda. Tom

From:

[mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Lea Ann Savage

Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6:51 PM

Subject: Sweetener

alternatives

How much did you use? Did you read my page on Stevia?

http://vitamixlady.com/sweeteners-smoothie-additives/

One whole packet will sweeten 3 cups of coffee and most

people don't like Stevia because they use the same

volume as regular sweeteners (one packet per drink).

Some people never like Stevia,

but for others, cutting way down on the amount they

use helps a lot.

This is why I recommend (and carry)

liquid Stevia - very easy to measure and count the

drops so as not to get too much.

Also, if after cutting down the

amount, they still don't like stevia, cutting any

other "sweetener" in half and using a bit of Stevia

seems to hid the taste people don't like, but really

boosts the sweetness.

Blessings,

Lea Ann Savage

Satellite

Beach, FL

(321) 773-7088

(home)

(321-961-9219

(cell)

www.VitamixLady.com

www..com

<))><

On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:36 PM,

Tom Matuschak wrote:

Yes

we have tried that one too. They don't seem

!

to like that one very much in fact I think I

still have the remainder of the box of it in

the closet. I didn't care for it either. Thanks,Tom

From:

[mailto: ]

On Behalf Of Lea Ann Savage

Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011

6:28 PM

Subject: Re:

Vita Mix 103

Hello Tom,

Have

you tried Stevia with your

granddaughters? It is more natural

than most sugar substitutes and might

not have the same effects. (I know

that I have the same reaction to

zylitol as your granddaughters but

never to Stevia).

Blessings,

Lea

Ann Savage

Satellite

Beach, FL

(321)

773-7088 (home)

(321-961-9219

(cell)

www.VitamixLady.com

www..com

<))><

On

Dec 27, 2011, at 6:20 PM, Tom

Matuschak wrote:

Lea

Ann I have two granddaughters

with type 1 diabetes, the oldest

is 12 and

she has had it since she was one

and the other is seven and !

has had diabetes

for about a year now. As you

know it can be challenging for

parents to have

their children eat a balanced

diet when healthy it is really

difficult for

children with diabetes. My

daughter handles it this way she

is concerned

with mainly carbs. That is not

to say the kids eat a bunch of

empty carbs

but if they have an extra slice

of bread she just makes

adjustments to their

pumps to give more insulin. As

far as sugars go the kids will

get diarrhea

if they eat too much sugar

substitutes and dried fruit like

dates have a

fair amount of carbs. While the

oldest granddaughter is getting

pretty good

at identifying her carbs

correctly they often choose

meals they can look up

easily for the nutritional

information like chain

restaurants or packaged

foods that list carbs.

One of my intentions for buying

a Vitamix was to make eating a

healthy blend

of fruits and vegetables a fun

thing for the kids when they

came over which

is! fairly often since they

don't live very far away. I

wanted them to pick

out a recipe from the cookbook

and have them make it. I even

paid extra for

the Professional series so even

the youngest one could add her

ingredients

and push the button. That is way

I was frustrated with the Create

Cookbook

when I discovered there were no

nutritional values for the

recipes because I

need to know that information to

make choices that won't cause

sugar highs.

Tom

[Guest guest]

I'll try to find an email for Vitamix Customer Service and I'll pass along your concerns to them.

Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))><

On Dec 27, 2011, at 7:40 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote:

I have a great one called Living Cookbook http://www.livingcookbook.com/ . What I really like about it is I can copy and paste a recipe in it and it will give all the nutritional information. Now you may have to fiddle around with the ingredients to get the best match in its data base but it works well. My beef with Vitamix is they gave me a glorified version of the Whole Food Cookbook with the Create Recipes Cookbook but while the Whole Food cookbook has the nutritional information listed for each recipe the Create Recipes has none. I wrote in an earlier post I compared my Create Recipe book with the QVC Whole Food book posted on the Links page of our group /links and except for the last 2 chapters the Create is exactly the same but without nutritional information. The point is not that I can look this information up elsewhere my point is why I should have to. You're also right about the carb issues. While most fruits are very nutritious many for the most part they have a lot carbs so a diabetic has to take a close look at the sugars in their smoothies. For example one medium banana has 27 carbs and a cup of spinach has 1. Thanks,Tom From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Velda Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 7:14 PM Subject: Re: Sweetener alternatives Lea Ann, I find even a tiny part of a packet of stevia based sweetener tastes bitter to me, so I avoid it. Even my husband, a long time coffee drinker who likes sweet in his coffee does not like stevia. As good as the idea is, if one does not like it, no reason to use it .The other point I wanted to make is, Tom's question is valid, diabetics today esp who take insuilin base their medication (insulin) on how many carbs they are eating and it is very helpful to have that information at hand, without having to pull out a book and measure and add up the carbs in each component of a recipe. Obviously in some books which are a compilation of many recipes it takes more time, but there are lots of recipe programs quite capable of calculating nutritional data from the amount and items in a recipe. VM could do that on any recipe, run a calculation on it, without having a scientist make the recipe and run it through a machine to calculate exact nutritional data. So, the way I am reading it, Tom's question is not about sweeteners but about carb counts. Which brings another point, Tom, have you checked online for recipe programs you can type your favorite recipes into and click a button to have them estimate all nutrients? I believe my Now You're Cooking does it, but I have not put it on this new laptop yet, so will have to check and will let you know when I do. VeldaOn 12/27/2011 3:51 PM, Lea Ann Savage wrote: How much did you use? Did you read my page on Stevia? http://vitamixlady.com/sweeteners-smoothie-additives/ One whole packet will sweeten 3 cups of coffee and most people don't like Stevia because they use the same volume as regular sweeteners (one packet per drink). Some people never like Stevia, but for others, cutting way down on the amount they use helps a lot. This is why I recommend (and carry) liquid Stevia - very easy to measure and count the drops so as not to get too much. Also, if after cutting down the amount, they still don't like stevia, cutting any other "sweetener" in half and using a bit of Stevia seems to hid the taste people don't like, but really boosts the sweetness. Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))>< On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:36 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote: Yes we have tried that one too. They don't seem to like that one very much in fact I think I still have the remainder of the box of it in the closet. I didn't care for it either. Thanks,Tom From: [mailto:V! itamixEnthusiasts ] On Behalf Of Lea Ann SavageSent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6:28 PM Subject: Re: Vita Mix 103 Hello Tom, Have you tried Stevia with your granddaughters? It is more natural than most sugar substitutes and might not have the same effects. (I know that I have the same reaction to zylitol as your granddaughters but never to Stevia). Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))>< On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:20 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote: Lea Ann I have two granddaughters with type 1 diabetes, the oldest is 12 andshe has had it since she was one and the other is seven and has had diabetesfor a! bout a year now. As you know it can be challenging for parents to havetheir children eat a balanced diet when healthy it is really difficult forchildren with diabetes. My daughter handles it this way she is concernedwith mainly carbs. That is not to say the kids eat a bunch of empty carbsbut if they have an extra slice of bread she just makes adjustments to theirpumps to give more insulin. As far as sugars go the kids will get diarrheaif they eat too much sugar substitutes and dried fruit like dates have afair amount of carbs. While the oldest granddaughter is getting pretty goodat identifying her carbs correctly they often choose meals they can look upeasily for the nutritional information like chain restaurants or packagedfoods that list carbs. One of my intentions for buying a Vitamix was to make eating a healthy blendof fruits and vegetables a fun thing for the kids when they came over whichis fairly often since they ! don't live very far away. I wanted them to pickout a recipe from the cookbook and have them make it. I even paid extra forthe Professional series so even the youngest one could add her ingredientsand push the button. That is way I was frustrated with the Create Cookbookwhen I discovered there were no nutritional values for the recipes because Ineed to know that information to make choices that won't cause sugar highs.Tom

[Guest guest]

Wish I did like it, I can't use Equal as it gives me migraines, so

it is pink packets or yellow or other natural sweeteners such as

honey in my tea. I don't drink even tea often so it really is not a

huge concern

Velda

On 12/27/2011 5:21 PM, Lea Ann Savage wrote:

Yup - I agree that some people never like it.  My husband and kids

are in that category.  For me it is Stevia or nothing, but lucky

for me, I tolerate it very well.

Blessings,

Lea Ann Savage

Satellite Beach, FL

(321) 773-7088 (home)

(321-961-9219 (cell)

www.VitamixLady.com

www..com

<))><

On Dec 27, 2011, at 7:14 PM, Velda wrote:

 

Lea Ann, I find even a tiny part of a packet of stevia

based sweetener tastes bitter to me, so I avoid it. Even

my husband, a long time coffee drinker who likes sweet

in his coffee does not like stevia. As good as the idea

is, if one does not like it, no reason to use it .

The other point I wanted to make is, Tom's question is

valid, diabetics today esp who take insuilin base their

medication (insulin) on how many carbs they are eating

and it is very helpful to have that information at hand,

without having to pull out a book and measure and add up

the carbs in each component of a recipe. Obviously in

some books which are a compilation of many recipes it

takes more time, but there are lots of recipe programs

quite capable of calculating nutritional data from the

amount and items in a recipe. VM could do that on any

recipe, run a calculation on it, without having a

scientist make the recipe and run it through a machine

to calculate exact nutritional data. So, the way I am

reading it, Tom's question is not about sweeteners but

about carb counts. Which brings another point, Tom, have

you checked online for recipe programs you can type your

favorite recipes into and click a button to have them

estimate all nutrients? I believe my Now You're Cooking

does it, but I have not put it on this new laptop yet,

so will have to check and will let you know when I do.

Velda

On 12/27/2011 3:51 PM, Lea Ann Savage wrote:

How much did you use?  Did you read my page

on Stevia?  http://vitamixlady.com/sweeteners-smoothie-additives/

 One whole packet will sweeten 3 cups of coffee and most

people don't like Stevia because they use the same

volume as regular sweeteners (one packet per drink).

Some people never like Stevia, but for others,

cutting way down on the amount they use helps a lot.

This is why I recommend (and carry) liquid Stevia -

very easy to measure and count the drops so as not to

get too much.

Also, if after cutting down the amount, they still

don't like stevia, cutting any other "sweetener" in

half and using a bit of Stevia seems to hid the taste

people don't like, but really boosts the sweetness.

Blessings,

Lea Ann Savage

Satellite Beach, FL

(321) 773-7088 (home)

(321-961-9219 (cell)

www.VitamixLady.com

www..com

<))><

On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:36 PM, Tom Matuschak

wrote:

 

Yes

we have tried that one too.  They don't

seem to like that one very much in fact I

think I still have the remainder of the

box of it in the closet.  I didn't care

for it either.

 

Thanks,

Tom

 

From:

[mailto:V! itamixEnthusiasts ]

On Behalf Of Lea Ann Savage

Sent: Tuesday, December 27,

2011 6:28 PM

Subject: Re:

Vita Mix 103

 

 

Hello Tom,

 

Have you tried

Stevia with your granddaughters?  It

is more natural than most sugar

substitutes and might not have the

same effects.  (I know that I have

the same reaction to zylitol as your

granddaughters but never to Stevia).

 

Blessings,

Lea

Ann Savage

Satellite

Beach, FL

(321)

773-7088 (home)

(321-961-9219

(cell)

www.VitamixLady.com

www..com

<))><

 

On Dec 27,

2011, at 6:20 PM, Tom Matuschak

wrote:

 

 

Lea

Ann I have two granddaughters

with type 1 diabetes, the

oldest is 12 and

she has had it since she was

one and the other is seven and

has had diabetes

for a! bout a year now. As you

know it can be challenging for

parents to have

their children eat a balanced

diet when healthy it is really

difficult for

children with diabetes. My

daughter handles it this way

she is concerned

with mainly carbs. That is not

to say the kids eat a bunch of

empty carbs

but if they have an extra

slice of bread she just makes

adjustments to their

pumps to give more insulin. As

far as sugars go the kids will

get diarrhea

if they eat too much sugar

substitutes and dried fruit

like dates have a

fair amount of carbs. While

the oldest granddaughter is

getting pretty good

at identifying her carbs

correctly they often choose

meals they can look up

easily for the nutritional

information like chain

restaurants or packaged

foods that list carbs.

One of my intentions for

buying a Vitamix was to make

eating a healthy blend

of fruits and vegetables a fun

thing for the kids when they

came over which

is fairly often since they !

don't live very far away. I

wanted them to pick

out a recipe from the cookbook

and have them make it. I even

paid extra for

the Professional series so

even the youngest one could

add her ingredients

and push the button. That is

way I was frustrated with the

Create Cookbook

when I discovered there were

no nutritional values for the

recipes because I

need to know that information

to make choices that won't

cause sugar highs.

Tom 

[Guest guest]

I agree and I do not use splenda or truvia as truvia has sugar and is highly processed and splenda has chlorine in it………eccckkk!I found that the best stevia, for me, is the “sweet leaf” brand. Happy hunting everyone! In His Grace….Robbie From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Lea Ann SavageSent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 7:33 PM Subject: Re: Sweetener alternatives Truvia is not pure Stevia - it has a sugar alcohol (Erithritol) added and " Natural Flavors " (which usually is code for MSG). I try to eat " clean " (trying to eliminate chemicals, GMOs, preservatives, and foods containing added hormones and antibiotics) so Splenda is out for me. Stevia is the only refined food that I can think of that I eat. One day I'll find a way to get off of Stevia too :-) Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))>< On Dec 27, 2011, at 7:16 PM, Velda wrote: I just went to the Truvia (stevia) site and it says exactly that, one packet equals two teaspoons of sugar. VeldaOn 12/27/2011 4:03 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote: The packet of Stevia I have in my hand says it is the equivalent of 2 tsp of sugar. That is about how much I put in a cup of coffee. If the grandkids didn't use it correctly it is too late because they now wouldn't try it again. Since I have it I'll try it again but I am pretty happy with Splenda. Tom From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Lea Ann SavageSent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6:51 PM Subject: Sweetener alternatives How much did you use? Did you read my page on Stevia? http://vitamixlady.com/sweeteners-smoothie-additives/ One whole packet will sweeten 3 cups of coffee and most people don't like Stevia because they use the same volume as regular sweeteners (one packet per drink). Some people never like Stevia, but for others, cutting way down on the amount they use helps a lot. This is why I recommend (and carry) liquid Stevia - very easy to measure and count the drops so as not to get too much. Also, if after cutting down the amount, they still don't like stevia, cutting any other " sweetener " in half and using a bit of Stevia seems to hid the taste people don't like, but really boosts the sweetness. Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))>< On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:36 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote: Yes we have tried that one too. They don't seem ! to like that one very much in fact I think I still have the remainder of the box of it in the closet. I didn't care for it either. Thanks,Tom From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Lea Ann SavageSent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6:28 PM Subject: Re: Vita Mix 103 Hello Tom, Have you tried Stevia with your granddaughters? It is more natural than most sugar substitutes and might not have the same effects. (I know that I have the same reaction to zylitol as your granddaughters but never to Stevia). Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))>< On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:20 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote: Lea Ann I have two granddaughters with type 1 diabetes, the oldest is 12 andshe has had it since she was one and the other is seven and ! has had diabetesfor about a year now. As you know it can be challenging for parents to havetheir children eat a balanced diet when healthy it is really difficult forchildren with diabetes. My daughter handles it this way she is concernedwith mainly carbs. That is not to say the kids eat a bunch of empty carbsbut if they have an extra slice of bread she just makes adjustments to theirpumps to give more insulin. As far as sugars go the kids will get diarrheaif they eat too much sugar substitutes and dried fruit like dates have afair amount of carbs. While the oldest granddaughter is getting pretty goodat identifying her carbs correctly they often choose meals they can look upeasily for the nutritional information like chain restaurants or packagedfoods that list carbs. One of my intentions for buying a Vitamix was to make eating a healthy blendof fruits and vegetables a fun thing for the kids when they came over whichis! fairly often since they don't live very far away. I wanted them to pickout a recipe from the cookbook and have them make it. I even paid extra forthe Professional series so even the youngest one could add her ingredientsand push the button. That is way I was frustrated with the Create Cookbookwhen I discovered there were no nutritional values for the recipes because Ineed to know that information to make choices that won't cause sugar highs.Tom

[Guest guest]

Grow your own, Lea Ann! It's so easy to grow as an herb!Sent from my iPadOn Dec 27, 2011, at 8:33 PM, Lea Ann Savage <lsavage@...> wrote:

Truvia is not pure Stevia - it has a sugar alcohol (Erithritol) added and "Natural Flavors" (which usually is code for MSG). I try to eat "clean" (trying to eliminate chemicals, GMOs, preservatives, and foods containing added hormones and antibiotics) so Splenda is out for me.Stevia is the only refined food that I can think of that I eat. One day I'll find a way to get off of Stevia too :-)

Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))><

On Dec 27, 2011, at 7:16 PM, Velda wrote:

I just went to the Truvia (stevia) site and it says exactly that,

one packet equals two teaspoons of sugar.

Velda

On 12/27/2011 4:03 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote:

The

packet of Stevia I have in my hand says it is the equivalent

of 2 tsp of sugar. That is about how much I put in a cup

of coffee. If the grandkids didn't use it correctly it is

too late because they now wouldn't try it again. Since I

have it I'll try it again but I am pretty happy with

Splenda. Tom

From:

[mailto: ] On

Behalf Of Lea Ann Savage

Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6:51 PM

Subject: Sweetener

alternatives

How much did you use? Did you read my page on Stevia?

http://vitamixlady.com/sweeteners-smoothie-additives/

One whole packet will sweeten 3 cups of coffee and most

people don't like Stevia because they use the same

volume as regular sweeteners (one packet per drink).

Some people never like Stevia,

but for others, cutting way down on the amount they

use helps a lot.

This is why I recommend (and carry)

liquid Stevia - very easy to measure and count the

drops so as not to get too much.

Also, if after cutting down the

amount, they still don't like stevia, cutting any

other "sweetener" in half and using a bit of Stevia

seems to hid the taste people don't like, but really

boosts the sweetness.

Blessings,

Lea Ann Savage

Satellite

Beach, FL

(321) 773-7088

(home)

(321-961-9219

(cell)

www.VitamixLady.com

www..com

<))><

On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:36 PM,

Tom Matuschak wrote:

Yes

we have tried that one too. They don't seem

!

to like that one very much in fact I think I

still have the remainder of the box of it in

the closet. I didn't care for it either. Thanks,Tom

From:

[mailto: ]

On Behalf Of Lea Ann Savage

Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011

6:28 PM

Subject: Re:

Vita Mix 103

Hello Tom,

Have

you tried Stevia with your

granddaughters? It is more natural

than most sugar substitutes and might

not have the same effects. (I know

that I have the same reaction to

zylitol as your granddaughters but

never to Stevia).

Blessings,

Lea

Ann Savage

Satellite

Beach, FL

(321)

773-7088 (home)

(321-961-9219

(cell)

www.VitamixLady.com

www..com

<))><

On

Dec 27, 2011, at 6:20 PM, Tom

Matuschak wrote:

Lea

Ann I have two granddaughters

with type 1 diabetes, the oldest

is 12 and

she has had it since she was one

and the other is seven and !

has had diabetes

for about a year now. As you

know it can be challenging for

parents to have

their children eat a balanced

diet when healthy it is really

difficult for

children with diabetes. My

daughter handles it this way she

is concerned

with mainly carbs. That is not

to say the kids eat a bunch of

empty carbs

but if they have an extra slice

of bread she just makes

adjustments to their

pumps to give more insulin. As

far as sugars go the kids will

get diarrhea

if they eat too much sugar

substitutes and dried fruit like

dates have a

fair amount of carbs. While the

oldest granddaughter is getting

pretty good

at identifying her carbs

correctly they often choose

meals they can look up

easily for the nutritional

information like chain

restaurants or packaged

foods that list carbs.

One of my intentions for buying

a Vitamix was to make eating a

healthy blend

of fruits and vegetables a fun

thing for the kids when they

came over which

is! fairly often since they

don't live very far away. I

wanted them to pick

out a recipe from the cookbook

and have them make it. I even

paid extra for

the Professional series so even

the youngest one could add her

ingredients

and push the button. That is way

I was frustrated with the Create

Cookbook

when I discovered there were no

nutritional values for the

recipes because I

need to know that information to

make choices that won't cause

sugar highs.

Tom

[Guest guest]

Home grown stevia herb has a much different taste to what is sold commercially-very mild, but sweet, with no bitterness. My ex hubby loves it, so I grow it for him and dehydrate and powder the leaves. It is a pale green, not the white bleached version like commercial, so I can only assume they use some unlabeled bleaching agent which may be what causes the bitterness.Sent from my iPadOn Dec 27, 2011, at 8:22 PM, fradal@... wrote:

I use Nu Naturals Nu Stevia and am very happy with it, but I know a lot of people don't care for Stevia. I wouldn't use anything if Splenda was my only option.

Fran

In a message dated 12/27/2011 8:19:20 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, solomon@... writes:

Years ago I purchased a small bottle of stevia extract at the local health food market (whose reputation I totally trust) and thought it was nasty, so tried Truvia hoping it would be better.VeldaOn 12/27/2011 4:52 PM, sjc wrote:> Not much stevia in Truvia; first ingredient listed is erythritol, which> I think tastes way worse than stevia alone....but its cheaper to produce.>> Probably to know how stevia actually tastes, need to try some form that> is pure stevia, I'd guess.>> SJ>>> ------------------------------------>>

[Guest guest]

I've GOT to get a stevia plant as I really want to be off of ALL forms of processed foods :-)

Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))><

On Dec 27, 2011, at 9:23 PM, Berry wrote:

Home grown stevia herb has a much different taste to what is sold commercially-very mild, but sweet, with no bitterness. My ex hubby loves it, so I grow it for him and dehydrate and powder the leaves. It is a pale green, not the white bleached version like commercial, so I can only assume they use some unlabeled bleaching agent which may be what causes the bitterness.Sent from my iPadOn Dec 27, 2011, at 8:22 PM, fradal@... wrote:

I use Nu Naturals Nu Stevia and am very happy with it, but I know a lot of people don't care for Stevia. I wouldn't use anything if Splenda was my only option.

Fran

In a message dated 12/27/2011 8:19:20 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, solomon@... writes:

Years ago I purchased a small bottle of stevia extract at the local health food market (whose reputation I totally trust) and thought it was nasty, so tried Truvia hoping it would be better.VeldaOn 12/27/2011 4:52 PM, sjc wrote:> Not much stevia in Truvia; first ingredient listed is erythritol, which> I think tastes way worse than stevia alone....but its cheaper to produce.>> Probably to know how stevia actually tastes, need to try some form that> is pure stevia, I'd guess.>> SJ>>> ------------------------------------>>

[Guest guest]

Best thing I ever did was give up ALL processed stuff. Thanks goodness for the Vitamix! Sent from my iPadOn Dec 27, 2011, at 9:45 PM, Lea Ann Savage <lsavage@...> wrote:

I've GOT to get a stevia plant as I really want to be off of ALL forms of processed foods :-)

Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))><

On Dec 27, 2011, at 9:23 PM, Berry wrote:

Home grown stevia herb has a much different taste to what is sold commercially-very mild, but sweet, with no bitterness. My ex hubby loves it, so I grow it for him and dehydrate and powder the leaves. It is a pale green, not the white bleached version like commercial, so I can only assume they use some unlabeled bleaching agent which may be what causes the bitterness.Sent from my iPadOn Dec 27, 2011, at 8:22 PM, fradal@... wrote:

I use Nu Naturals Nu Stevia and am very happy with it, but I know a lot of people don't care for Stevia. I wouldn't use anything if Splenda was my only option.

Fran

In a message dated 12/27/2011 8:19:20 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, solomon@... writes:

Years ago I purchased a small bottle of stevia extract at the local health food market (whose reputation I totally trust) and thought it was nasty, so tried Truvia hoping it would be better.VeldaOn 12/27/2011 4:52 PM, sjc wrote:> Not much stevia in Truvia; first ingredient listed is erythritol, which> I think tastes way worse than stevia alone....but its cheaper to produce.>> Probably to know how stevia actually tastes, need to try some form that> is pure stevia, I'd guess.>> SJ>>> ------------------------------------>>

[Guest guest]

Pls post when you locate where to purchase plant.

Thanks> Not much stevia in Truvia; first ingredient listed is erythritol, which> I think tastes way worse than stevia alone....but its cheaper to produce.>> Probably to know how stevia actually tastes, need to try some form that> is pure stevia, I'd guess.>> SJ>>> ------------------------------------>>

[Guest guest]

On 12/27/2011 9:23 PM, Berry wrote:

> dehydrate and powder the leaves

This is the way I use it too. I started because it's cheaper that way

but quickly found out that it's more palatable, too. Truth be told,

though, I'm not much of a sweets eater so that makes it easy to skip the

sweetener altogether.

Seeds are available many places now but I don't see many

seedlings/potted plants for sale. Look at your local organic growers,

or if they don't have it ask for it and likely they will start some. It

is a little testy to sprout but you only need one plant (actually, my

plant 'serves' 3 people) so if the whole package doesn't sprout you

still win as long as you get one. Seed is expensive or was when I got

mine, there were a dozen or so seeds in it, though, and I got 8 babies,

gave 6 away and after mine got going, gave one more away. Has to stay

indoors in winter; I'm in zone 4, though, so you southerners may get

away with leaving it outside.

SJ

[Guest guest]

Wow Lea Ann I think we opened up a can of worms with our Stevia debate. Actually I find the debate very interesting. I did find a couple of articles from the Mayo Clinic that you may find useful. One is on Stevia and the other is about artificial sweeteners in general. The article on Stevia points out that the FDA has not approved whole leaf or crude stevia extracts as food additives because of the possible health effects. If you look at the bottom of the articles you will also see whole bunch of informative articles on healthy eating. Thanks for relaying my concerns with Vitamix customer service. Let me know what they have to say. Tom http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/artificial-sweeteners/MY00073 http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stevia/AN01733 From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Lea Ann SavageSent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 8:40 PM Subject: Re: Sweetener alternatives I'll try to find an email for Vitamix Customer Service and I'll pass along your concerns to them. Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))>< On Dec 27, 2011, at 7:40 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote: I have a great one called Living Cookbook http://www.livingcookbook.com/ . What I really like about it is I can copy and paste a recipe in it and it will give all the nutritional information. Now you may have to fiddle around with the ingredients to get the best match in its data base but it works well. My beef with Vitamix is they gave me a glorified version of the Whole Food Cookbook with the Create Recipes Cookbook but while the Whole Food cookbook has the nutritional information listed for each recipe the Create Recipes has none. I wrote in an earlier post I compared my Create Recipe book with the QVC Whole Food book posted on the Links page of our group /links and except for the last 2 chapters the Create is exactly the same but without nutritional information. The point is not that I can look this information up elsewhere my point is why I should have to. You're also right about the carb issues. While most fruits are very nutritious many for the most part they have a lot carbs so a diabetic has to take a close look at the sugars in their smoothies. For example one medium banana has 27 carbs and a cup of spinach has 1. Thanks,Tom From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Velda Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 7:14 PM Subject: Re: Sweetener alternatives Lea Ann, I find even a tiny part of a packet of stevia based sweetener tastes bitter to me, so I avoid it. Even my husband, a long time coffee drinker who likes sweet in his coffee does not like stevia. As good as the idea is, if one does not like it, no reason to use it .The other point I wanted to make is, Tom's question is valid, diabetics today esp who take insuilin base their medication (insulin) on how many carbs they are eating and it is very helpful to have that information at hand, without having to pull out a book and measure and add up the carbs in each component of a recipe. Obviously in some books which are a compilation of many recipes it takes more time, but there are lots of recipe programs quite capable of calculating nutritional data from the amount and items in a recipe. VM could do that on any recipe, run a calculation on it, without having a scientist make the recipe and run it through a machine to calculate exact nutritional data. So, the way I am reading it, Tom's question is not about sweeteners but about carb counts. Which brings another point, Tom, have you checked online for recipe programs you can type your favorite recipes into and click a button to have them estimate all nutrients? I believe my Now You're Cooking does it, but I have not put it on this new laptop yet, so will have to check and will let you know when I do. VeldaOn 12/27/2011 3:51 PM, Lea Ann Savage wrote: How much did you use? Did you read my page on Stevia? http://vitamixlady.com/sweeteners-smoothie-additives/ One whole packet will sweeten 3 cups of coffee and most people don't like Stevia because they use the same volume as regular sweeteners (one packet per drink). Some people never like Stevia, but for others, cutting way down on the amount they use helps a lot. This is why I recommend (and carry) liquid Stevia - very easy to measure and count the drops so as not to get too much. Also, if after cutting down the amount, they still don't like stevia, cutting any other " sweetener " in half and using a bit of Stevia seems to hid the taste people don't like, but really boosts the sweetness. Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))>< On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:36 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote: Yes we have tried that one too. They don't seem to like that one very much in fact I think I still have the remainder of the box of it in the closet. I didn't care for it either. Thanks,Tom From: [mailto:V! itamixEnthusiasts ] On Behalf Of Lea Ann SavageSent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6:28 PM Subject: Re: Vita Mix 103 Hello Tom, Have you tried Stevia with your granddaughters? It is more natural than most sugar substitutes and might not have the same effects. (I know that I have the same reaction to zylitol as your granddaughters but never to Stevia). Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))>< On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:20 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote: Lea Ann I have two granddaughters with type 1 diabetes, the oldest is 12 andshe has had it since she was one and the other is seven and has had diabetesfor a! bout a year now. As you know it can be challenging for parents to havetheir children eat a balanced diet when healthy it is really difficult forchildren with diabetes. My daughter handles it this way she is concernedwith mainly carbs. That is not to say the kids eat a bunch of empty carbsbut if they have an extra slice of bread she just makes adjustments to theirpumps to give more insulin. As far as sugars go the kids will get diarrheaif they eat too much sugar substitutes and dried fruit like dates have afair amount of carbs. While the oldest granddaughter is getting pretty goodat identifying her carbs correctly they often choose meals they can look upeasily for the nutritional information like chain restaurants or packagedfoods that list carbs. One of my intentions for buying a Vitamix was to make eating a healthy blendof fruits and vegetables a fun thing for the kids when they came over whichis fairly often since they ! don't live very far away. I wanted them to pickout a recipe from the cookbook and have them make it. I even paid extra forthe Professional series so even the youngest one could add her ingredientsand push the button. That is way I was frustrated with the Create Cookbookwhen I discovered there were no nutritional values for the recipes because Ineed to know that information to make choices that won't cause sugar highs.Tom

[Guest guest]

SweetLeaf is also the brand I like....the individual packets in the box.

Publix carries it and most health food stores. They don't like the

drops...it is toooo bitter.. B...

Re: Vita Mix 103

>

>

>

>

>

> Hello Tom,

>

>

>

> Have you tried Stevia with your granddaughters? It is more natural than

> most sugar substitutes and might not have the same effects. (I know that

> I

> have the same reaction to zylitol as your granddaughters but never to

> Stevia).

>

>

>

> Blessings,

> Lea Ann Savage

> Satellite Beach, FL

> (321) 773-7088 (home)

> (321-961-9219 (cell)

> www.VitamixLady.com <http://www.VitamixLady.com/>

> www..com <http://www..com/>

> <))><

>

>

>

> On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:20 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote:

>

>

>

>

>

> Lea Ann I have two granddaughters with type 1 diabetes, the oldest is 12

> and

> she has had it since she was one and the other is seven and ! has had

> diabetes

> for about a year now. As you know it can be challenging for parents to

> have

> their children eat a balanced diet when healthy it is really difficult for

> children with diabetes. My daughter handles it this way she is concerned

> with mainly carbs. That is not to say the kids eat a bunch of empty carbs

> but if they have an extra slice of bread she just makes adjustments to

> their

> pumps to give more insulin. As far as sugars go the kids will get diarrhea

> if they eat too much sugar substitutes and dried fruit like dates have a

> fair amount of carbs. While the oldest granddaughter is getting pretty

> good

> at identifying her carbs correctly they often choose meals they can look

> up

> easily for the nutritional information like chain restaurants or packaged

> foods that list carbs.

>

> One of my intentions for buying a Vitamix was to make eating a healthy

> blend

> of fruits and vegetables a fun thing for the kids when they came over

> which

> is! fairly often since they don't live very far away. I wanted them to

> pick

> out a recipe from the cookbook and have them make it. I even paid extra

> for

> the Professional series so even the youngest one could add her ingredients

> and push the button. That is way I was frustrated with the Create Cookbook

> when I discovered there were no nutritional values for the recipes because

> I

> need to know that information to make choices that won't cause sugar

> highs.

>

> Tom

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

So does salt (sodium chloride). Tom From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of RobbieSent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 9:03 PM Subject: RE: Sweetener alternatives I agree and I do not use splenda or truvia as truvia has sugar and is highly processed and splenda has chlorine in it………eccckkk!I found that the best stevia, for me, is the “sweet leaf” brand. Happy hunting everyone! In His Grace….Robbie From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Lea Ann SavageSent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 7:33 PM Subject: Re: Sweetener alternatives Truvia is not pure Stevia - it has a sugar alcohol (Erithritol) added and " Natural Flavors " (which usually is code for MSG). I try to eat " clean " (trying to eliminate chemicals, GMOs, preservatives, and foods containing added hormones and antibiotics) so Splenda is out for me. Stevia is the only refined food that I can think of that I eat. One day I'll find a way to get off of Stevia too :-) Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))>< On Dec 27, 2011, at 7:16 PM, Velda wrote: I just went to the Truvia (stevia) site and it says exactly that, one packet equals two teaspoons of sugar. VeldaOn 12/27/2011 4:03 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote: The packet of Stevia I have in my hand says it is the equivalent of 2 tsp of sugar. That is about how much I put in a cup of coffee. If the grandkids didn't use it correctly it is too late because they now wouldn't try it again. Since I have it I'll try it again but I am pretty happy with Splenda. Tom From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Lea Ann SavageSent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6:51 PM Subject: Sweetener alternatives How much did you use? Did you read my page on Stevia? http://vitamixlady.com/sweeteners-smoothie-additives/ One whole packet will sweeten 3 cups of coffee and most people don't like Stevia because they use the same volume as regular sweeteners (one packet per drink). Some people never like Stevia, but for others, cutting way down on the amount they use helps a lot. This is why I recommend (and carry) liquid Stevia - very easy to measure and count the drops so as not to get too much. Also, if after cutting down the amount, they still don't like stevia, cutting any other " sweetener " in half and using a bit of Stevia seems to hid the taste people don't like, but really boosts the sweetness. Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))>< On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:36 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote: Yes we have tried that one too. They don't seem ! to like that one very much in fact I think I still have the remainder of the box of it in the closet. I didn't care for it either. Thanks,Tom From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Lea Ann SavageSent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6:28 PM Subject: Re: Vita Mix 103 Hello Tom, Have you tried Stevia with your granddaughters? It is more natural than most sugar substitutes and might not have the same effects. (I know that I have the same reaction to zylitol as your granddaughters but never to Stevia). Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))>< On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:20 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote: Lea Ann I have two granddaughters with type 1 diabetes, the oldest is 12 andshe has had it since she was one and the other is seven and ! has had diabetesfor about a year now. As you know it can be challenging for parents to havetheir children eat a balanced diet when healthy it is really difficult forchildren with diabetes. My daughter handles it this way she is concernedwith mainly carbs. That is not to say the kids eat a bunch of empty carbsbut if they have an extra slice of bread she just makes adjustments to theirpumps to give more insulin. As far as sugars go the kids will get diarrheaif they eat too much sugar substitutes and dried fruit like dates have afair amount of carbs. While the oldest granddaughter is getting pretty goodat identifying her carbs correctly they often choose meals they can look upeasily for the nutritional information like chain restaurants or packagedfoods that list carbs. One of my intentions for buying a Vitamix was to make eating a healthy blendof fruits and vegetables a fun thing for the kids when they came over whichis! fairly often since they don't live very far away. I wanted them to pickout a recipe from the cookbook and have them make it. I even paid extra forthe Professional series so even the youngest one could add her ingredientsand push the button. That is way I was frustrated with the Create Cookbookwhen I discovered there were no nutritional values for the recipes because Ineed to know that information to make choices that won't cause sugar highs.Tom

[Guest guest]

Not to disagree with many who do not want to ingest Splenda, but did you know

that chlorine is found naturally in many foods? Foods highest in chlorine are

said to be olives, butter and any kind of salt.

Google will supply tons of info about this.

http://www.vitaminsdiary.com/minerals/chlorine.html

http://healthyeatingclub.com/info/books-phds/books/foodfacts/html/data/data5h.ht\

ml

>

> I agree and I do not use splenda or truvia as truvia has sugar and >is highly

processed and splenda has chlorine in it...eccckkk!

>

> I found that the best stevia, for me, is the " sweet leaf " brand.

> Happy hunting everyone!

>

>

[Guest guest]

LOL Tom, I enjoy the exchange of information as well. I always learn something new! For example, because of this discussion, I'm very likely to start growing Stevia - something that had always been on my "to do list", but now it is finally pushed to the fore…Regarding the FDA and Stevia, check out my page on "Sweeteners and Smoothie Additives" http://vitamixlady.com/sweeteners-smoothie-additives/ and the section titled "Stevia and the FDA". Be forewarned that I consider the WHO, the CDC and the FDA to be on par with Monsanto on an ethics scale.I will cc you on my email to Vitamix Customer Service - I have to track down who the #1 honcho is and get his/her email address - do you mind if I forward clips of your statements without your identifying information?TIA

Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))><

On Dec 28, 2011, at 5:17 AM, Tom Matuschak wrote:

Wow Lea Ann I think we opened up a can of worms with our Stevia debate. Actually I find the debate very interesting. I did find a couple of articles from the Mayo Clinic that you may find useful. One is on Stevia and the other is about artificial sweeteners in general. The article on Stevia points out that the FDA has not approved whole leaf or crude stevia extracts as food additives because of the possible health effects. If you look at the bottom of the articles you will also see whole bunch of informative articles on healthy eating. Thanks for relaying my concerns with Vitamix customer service. Let me know what they have to say. Tom http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/artificial-sweeteners/MY00073 http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stevia/AN01733 From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Lea Ann SavageSent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 8:40 PM Subject: Re: Sweetener alternatives I'll try to find an email for Vitamix Customer Service and I'll pass along your concerns to them. Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))>< On Dec 27, 2011, at 7:40 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote: I have a great one called Living Cookbook http://www.livingcookbook.com/ . What I really like about it is I can copy and paste a recipe in it and it will give all the nutritional information. Now you may have to fiddle around with the ingredients to get the best match in its data base but it works well. My beef with Vitamix is they gave me a glorified version of the Whole Food Cookbook with the Create Recipes Cookbook but while the Whole Food cookbook has the nutritional information listed for each recipe the Create Recipes has none. I wrote in an earlier post I compared my Create Recipe book with the QVC Whole Food book posted on the Links page of our group /links and except for the last 2 chapters the Create is exactly the same but without nutritional information. The point is not that I can look this information up elsewhere my point is why I should have to. You're also right about the carb issues. While most fruits are very nutritious many for the most part they have a lot carbs so a diabetic has to take a close look at the sugars in their smoothies. For example one medium banana has 27 carbs and a cup of spinach has 1. Thanks,Tom From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of Velda Sent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 7:14 PM Subject: Re: Sweetener alternatives Lea Ann, I find even a tiny part of a packet of stevia based sweetener tastes bitter to me, so I avoid it. Even my husband, a long time coffee drinker who likes sweet in his coffee does not like stevia. As good as the idea is, if one does not like it, no reason to use it .The other point I wanted to make is, Tom's question is valid, diabetics today esp who take insuilin base their medication (insulin) on how many carbs they are eating and it is very helpful to have that information at hand, without having to pull out a book and measure and add up the carbs in each component of a recipe. Obviously in some books which are a compilation of many recipes it takes more time, but there are lots of recipe programs quite capable of calculating nutritional data from the amount and items in a recipe. VM could do that on any recipe, run a calculation on it, without having a scientist make the recipe and run it through a machine to calculate exact nutritional data. So, the way I am reading it, Tom's question is not about sweeteners but about carb counts. Which brings another point, Tom, have you checked online for recipe programs you can type your favorite recipes into and click a button to have them estimate all nutrients? I believe my Now You're Cooking does it, but I have not put it on this new laptop yet, so will have to check and will let you know when I do. VeldaOn 12/27/2011 3:51 PM, Lea Ann Savage wrote: How much did you use? Did you read my page on Stevia? http://vitamixlady.com/sweeteners-smoothie-additives/ One whole packet will sweeten 3 cups of coffee and most people don't like Stevia because they use the same volume as regular sweeteners (one packet per drink). Some people never like Stevia, but for others, cutting way down on the amount they use helps a lot. This is why I recommend (and carry) liquid Stevia - very easy to measure and count the drops so as not to get too much. Also, if after cutting down the amount, they still don't like stevia, cutting any other "sweetener" in half and using a bit of Stevia seems to hid the taste people don't like, but really boosts the sweetness. Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))>< On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:36 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote: Yes we have tried that one too. They don't seem to like that one very much in fact I think I still have the remainder of the box of it in the closet. I didn't care for it either. Thanks,Tom From: [mailto:V! itamixEnthusiasts ] On Behalf Of Lea Ann SavageSent: Tuesday, December 27, 2011 6:28 PM Subject: Re: Vita Mix 103 Hello Tom, Have you tried Stevia with your granddaughters? It is more natural than most sugar substitutes and might not have the same effects. (I know that I have the same reaction to zylitol as your granddaughters but never to Stevia). Blessings,Lea Ann SavageSatellite Beach, FL(321) 773-7088 (home)(321-961-9219 (cell)))><'>www.VitamixLady.comwww..com<))>< On Dec 27, 2011, at 6:20 PM, Tom Matuschak wrote: Lea Ann I have two granddaughters with type 1 diabetes, the oldest is 12 andshe has had it since she was one and the other is seven and has had diabetesfor a! bout a year now. As you know it can be challenging for parents to havetheir children eat a balanced diet when healthy it is really difficult forchildren with diabetes. My daughter handles it this way she is concernedwith mainly carbs. That is not to say the kids eat a bunch of empty carbsbut if they have an extra slice of bread she just makes adjustments to theirpumps to give more insulin. As far as sugars go the kids will get diarrheaif they eat too much sugar substitutes and dried fruit like dates have afair amount of carbs. While the oldest granddaughter is getting pretty goodat identifying her carbs correctly they often choose meals they can look upeasily for the nutritional information like chain restaurants or packagedfoods that list carbs. One of my intentions for buying a Vitamix was to make eating a healthy blendof fruits and vegetables a fun thing for the kids when they came over whichis fairly often since they ! don't live very far away. I wanted them to pickout a recipe from the cookbook and have them make it. I even paid extra forthe Professional series so even the youngest one could add her ingredientsand push the button. That is way I was frustrated with the Create Cookbookwhen I discovered there were no nutritional values for the recipes because Ineed to know that information to make choices that won't cause sugar highs.Tom