A lot of us would probably prefer to be out on our own little plot of land, raising our own non-GMO products for consumption and to share with others -- our own meat, veggies, eggs, etc. But for one reason or another, it's just not possible. And so we do the best we can, caught between two worlds, the desire to live "off-grid" and away from the consumer rat race, and living simply and doing what we can in the position we're in.
Even in pioneer days, certain things had to be bartered for a the general store. Things like coffee, tea, sugar, and often, flour, tobacco, etc. had to be purchased or bartered for. So I'm going to devote a few entries to those kinds of things, because off-grid or on, you likely still have to purchase those kinds of items.
I'm still a wimp, I guess, because I have to have things sweetened. Ever mindful of the pre-disposition to diabetes that runs in my family, I've tried them all. And there are only a couple that I feel comfortable with anymore.
Let's start with liquid Stevia. I'm so glad it is finally FDA approved, and doesn't have to be sold as a "beauty product" anymore. It seems the FDA regularly approves things that are dubious at best, yet it rarely ever takes cues from other 1st world nations. Canada banned aspartame (the ingredient you might know as Equal, Nutrasweet, etc.) long before it was ever available on the U.S. market. But when the FDA approved it, it went gangbusters into every cold drink , syrup, what-have-you. I'm not going to continue in this vein -- you can look up non-nutritive sweeteners and their dangers for yourself - (saccharine, aspartame, sucralose).
But I am going to talk about liquid Stevia. I mention the liquid because it is consistently the best tasting, easiest to gauge sweetener all around. It also comes in a granulated form with and without fiber, but I find it difficult to dissolve, so I prefer the liquid. It may seem expensive when you look at a 4 or 6 oz. bottle, but I use it daily, and a 4 oz. bottle lasts me a good six months. I've tried other brands and not found a whole lot of difference in them since the old days when it came as a brown liquid, but I always go back to Sweetleaf brand Stevia.
Any drink, no matter cold or hot, can use Stevia. Aspartame loses its flavor in hot drinks, and has been postulated to be toxic when left in sun exposure too long. (How do you know what docks your diet drink sat on, in what temperature. and for how long?)
A few commercial drinks are now available with Stevia, and I hope the market is growing. The liquid Stevia comes with a dropper. I use just 2 or 3 drops to sweeten something only slightly, and 3/4 of a dropper will sweeten an entire blender canister full of smoothie.
The BEST part of Stevia is that, unlike sugar or non-nutritive sweeteners that can damage your natural insulin processes or other cautions, Stevia actually nourishes the pancreas. That's really good news.
So if you want to get off of corn-syrup laden drinks but don't really like the flavor or worry about the safety of other sweeteners, give Stevia a try. There are several convenient sizes, 2oz., 4 oz. and .5 ounce bottles. The half ounce bottles are convenient to stick in your purse for when you eat out.
And there are also lots of yummy flavors available from Sweetleaf -- such delectables as chocolate raspberry, English toffee, cinnamon, orange cream, root beer, lemon, and many others. But despite any flavors I occasionally use, I always have a 4 oz. bottle or two on hand and use it every day!
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