Rita Depuydt - Stevia: Naturally Sweet Recipes for Desserts, Drinks and More

naturally sweet recipes
for desserts, drinks and more by Rita DePuydt 2002 Rita DePuydt Photographs 2002 Book Publishing Company Cover design: Warren Jefferson, Cynthia Holzapfel, Michael Cook
Interior design: Gwynelle Dismukes, Rita DePuydt
Photography: Warren Jefferson All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, except for brief quotations in reviews, without written permission from the publisher.

Published in the United States by Book Publishing Company P.O. Box 99 Summertown, TN 38483 1-888-260-8458 www.bookpubco.com

Recipes featured on the cover from upper left are: Blueberry Muffins, p. 42; Crepes, p. 158 and Berry Sauce, p 156; Raspberry Cream, p. 32; Orange Cooler, p. 31; Chocolate Cheesecake, p. 64.

Printed in the United States ISBN10 1-57067-133-8 ISBN13 978-1-57067-133-3 15 14 13 12 11 10 10 9 8 7 DePuydt, Rita.
Stevia: naturally sweet recipes for desserts, drinks, and more / by Rita DePuydt.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 1-57067-133-8
1. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 1-57067-133-8
1.

Cookery (Stevia) 2. Stevia rebaudiana. I. Title.
TX819.S75 D4728 2002
641.563-dc21 2002005270 Calculations for the nutritional analyses in this book are based on the average number of servings listed with the recipes and the average amount of an ingredient if a range is called for. Calculations are rounded up to the nearest gram. If two options for an ingredient are listed, the first one is used.

Not included are fat used for frying (unless the amount is specified in the recipe), optional ingredients, or serving suggestions. Book Publishing Co. is a member of Green Press Initiative. We chose to print this title on paper with postconsumer recycled content, processed without chlorine, which prevented the following waste of natural resources: For more information, visit < www.greenpressinitiative.org >. Savings calculations from the Environmental Defense Paper Calculator, < www.edf.org/papercalculator .>.

STEVIA RECIPESAPPENDICES Producing this cookbook has been a fun, exciting, and very challenging experience.

I would like to thank the following people who helped make this project a success. I really appreciate all their help. A special thanks to my family and especially my parents, George and Mary DePuydt, for their tremendous support. And again, thanks to my Mom for sharing recipes and baking tips. A very big thanks to my brother, Ray, for the many hours of computer advice. Thanks to my friends Lyn Duguid, Doug Davis, Heather Hewer, Lucy Colvin, Steven Hill, and Lisa Neulicht for their enduring and unwavering support.

Im also grateful to Evelyn Frament for her steady support, taste testing, recipe sharing, and advice. A special thank you to Connie Rutherford for her computer help and for proofreading the book. Im very grateful to Patt McDaniel for the generous use of her computer. Thanks to Tony and Daphne Hallas for their professional assistance, generosity, and friendship. Im especially grateful to designers Joe Papagni and Deb Spann for their expertise and great patience. I really appreciate the testing and editing work performed by Lisa Ashcroft from Wisdom Herbs.

A big thanks to everyone at Kinkos in Ventura, California, and the Ojai Printing and Publishing Company for years of good service. Thanks to Bob and Cynthia Holzapfel of the Book Publishing Company for taking an interest in my book and to the rest of the team for their creative efforts. I appreciate their integrity, fairness, and patience. Thank You

Stevia is the sweetener of the future! Now is the time to learn how to cook and bake with this health-promoting, incredibly sweet herb that contains no calories and has a glycemic index of 0. This revised edition incorporates the delicious recipes contained in the former Volumes I and II of Baking with Stevia and adds several new recipes. Rita routinely bakes with these recipes, which utilize stevia extract powder (a white crystalline powder extracted from the leaves of the stevia plant), whole- leaf stevia concentrate, and ground stevia leaf. Each of these forms of stevia has a different ratio of sweetness compared to sugar.

So follow the recipes carefully. Stevia, in any of its consumable forms, does not adversely affect blood sugar, and therefore may be used freely by people with diabetes or hypoglycemia. The whole-leaf stevia, besides being sweet, is remarkably nutritious, while the stevia extract is incredibly sweet (about 200 to 300 times sweeter than sugar). You will love these recipes. Best of all, when eating or drinking the foods and beverages, you can be assured that stevia has made them more nutritious and better for the health and well-being of every member of your family. Many experts believe that stevia is the safest sweetener known to man, and it is recommended by many nutritionists.

Stevia is an incredible plant. It is not only safe to use, it is good for you and adds no calories to your food. It does not make you crave more of it, as do some artificial sweeteners. In fact stevia tends to reduce ones cravings for sweets and at the same time improves oral health. The leaves of a good-quality plant are about 30 times sweeter than sugar. These recipes not only provide the wonderful natural sweetness of stevia but its marvelous healing benefits as well.

When cooking with whole-leaf stevia products, it is important to be aware that stevia leaves from China may not be as sweet and may not have quite the same delightful flavor of Paraguayan stevia, thereby requiring more ground leaf. When using the stevia extract powder (white stevioside) look for a brand that contains at least 90% steviosides. I was pleased when Rita asked me to write the foreword to this revised volume of her Baking with Stevia recipes. I have been using stevia daily since my introduction to it in 1982. I have worked continuously with both the Guaran Indian farmers and Paraguayan agricultural officials to improve both the quality and quantity of their stevia production. I have importuned many congressmen and other United States Government officials in order to increase the availability of this remarkable herb in America.

Stevia is one of the Paraguayan herbs that have become my passion. I love stevia. I love its taste and what it does within the human body. I have just completed a book entitled The Miracle of Stevia. As you learn to use this delightful herb, you too will come to love it and be grateful for stevia and its numerous health-restoring properties. Uses for high-quality ground stevia leaf are as varied as your imagination.

Try it as a sweet spice on cooking vegetables. Sprinkle it into soups, cereals, salads, barbecue and pasta sauces, stews, and chili. Blend it with ground cinnamon for a delicious cinnamon and stevia toast. Make your own sweet liquid from the stevia tea bags and use that in cooking or baking, or make ice cubes to sweeten other beverages. Children love a stevia popsicle. Stevia makes good food betterand more nutritious! In addition to all of the sweet compounds, Stevia leaves contain numerous vitamins and minerals, including beta-carotene, vitamin C, austroinulin (nourishes the good bacteria in our intestines), calcium, chromium, cobalt, iron, magnesium, manganese, niacin, phosphorus, potassium, protein, selenium, silicon, sodium, and zinc.