Monday, September 24, 2012

NECTRESSE Sweetener - no calorie sugar alternative (review)

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of NECTRESSE™Sweetener for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Does diabetes run in your family? It sure does in mine.  I know I have to be careful with my food choices to do what I can to avoid a diabetes diagnosis.  Unfortunately, I'm not generally a fan of no calorie sweeteners.  I don't like the aftertaste.  I was recently offered the chance to sample NECTRESSE™Sweetener.  I hadn't heard of it before and jumped at the chance to give this newest sweetener a try.  One of the aspects that drew me to wanting to sample the product was that it's a 100% natural sweetener made from fruit – monk fruit extract to be exact.  I prefer natural foods whenever possible and hoped that natural would also mean no "diet" aftertaste.

Take a moment and watch Lisa Ling's video to learn more about NECTRESSE Sweetener and monk fruit.


Taste it!  Try this recipe I adapted for gluten free oatmeal cookies or visit NECTRESSE.com for other recipe ideas.

Though I was provided with several recipes, I opted to go out on my own and substitute it for sugar in an oatmeal cookie recipe. Mainly  because I was in the mood for cookies!  I had only one egg, so I had to halve the recipe (shown below as halved).  Here's a picture of my cookies.  They were moist and yummy, though my husband thought they could have used just a little more sweetness.  I would add another packet or two if making these again specifically for him.  I thought they were fine as-is.

My recipe yielded 2 dozen cookies.  I didnt substitute out the brown sugar, though.  Just the regular sugar was swapped out for NECTRESSE Sweetener.
Oatmeal cookies (gluten free)
1/4 cup, plus 3 TBSP of butter
3/8 cup of brown sugar (slightly less than half a cup)
1/4 cup equivalent of sugar -- this was equal to 6 packets of Nectresse Sweetener
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (I added a dash more to my recipe)
3/4 cup of gluten free flour (what you'd use to make cake/biscuits, not anything "beany" - I used Hodgson Mill Multipurpose Baking Mix)
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/4 teaspoon of salt (optional*  I added because salt leavens and this recipe is gluten free)
1-1/2 cup of quick oats (gluten free)
1/2 teaspoon of Xantham gum (will help them hold together)

Cream the softened butter, brown sugar, and Nectresse Sweetener. Then the egg, mixing well. Next add dry ingredients, with oats last.  Mix well.  Drop them by spoonful on silicone mat covered baking sheet and bake them at 350 for 8-11 minutes (or until the tops just start to brown).  Remove from oven and let sit for about 5 minutes before removing them from the baking sheet.

You could also add raisins to make oatmeal raisin cookies, but my hubby is not a fan of them, so I made them just as plain oatmeal cookies.

Try it!
Nectresse product family.jpg

FREE sample of NECTRESSE™Sweetener

What do you think?  Will you give NECTRESSE Sweetener a try?  Please comment below if you take advantage of the free sample offer.  I'd love to hear how you use it in your cooking, baking, and daily life.  NECTRESSE Sweetener is available where you shop for approximately $3.99 for packets or $6.99 for a canister.


Visit Sponsor's Site

No comments: