SS&GF: Simply Sugar and Gluten Free

Give-Away closed.

I love a really good cup of coffee.  I usually drink my coffee black, but when it got cold a few months ago I started making spiced mocha as an afternoon treat.  It gives me an excuse to take a quick relaxation break and satisfies my sweet tooth.

I use stevia as the sweetener.  For those of you who’ve tried stevia and hated it – don’t close the page yet.  For years I reserved stevia only for drinks and desserts I was going to eat myself.  As a sugar alternative, I liked it well enough but hadn’t found a brand that didn’t have a bitter, licorice-like aftertaste.

Enter NuNaturals Stevia.

The V.P. of marketing contacted me a few months ago and asked if I’d give their product a try.  I was hesitant but agreed mostly because he was such a nice guy.  Was I ever in for a pleasant surprise!

The NuNaturals Difference

I’ve been thrilled to have a non-glycemic, non-caloric sugar alternative that I can serve without worrying about offending my guests.  I’ve used their stevia in many different recipes –

• Orange Quinoa Muffins with Currants
• Herbs de Provence Chicken Marinade
• Protein Packed Breakfast Pancakes

Non-bitter and completely smooth, NuNaturals stevia has fooled even my picky husband.  He even requested  that I pack the Orange Quinoa Muffins in his lunch.

If you don’t know much about stevia, it’s sweetness is much more concentrated than sugar – a little goes a long way.  It might seem expensive but it’s actually quite economical.  A 2 ounce bottle lasts several months.

Have fun with this simple mocha mix.  Add your favorite spices to make it your own.

Printer-friendly recipe

Spiced Mocha Mix
makes about 1 cup

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
½ cup espresso powder
¼ teaspoon good quality cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
liquid vanilla stevia to taste for each cup of mocha (I use 8 – 10 drops.)

Mix cocoa powder, espresso powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl.  Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

To make one cup of spiced mocha, place 8 – 10 ounces of nearly boiling water in a mug.  Add a heaping spoonful of spiced mocha mix.  Stir until dissolved.  Sweeten with vanilla stevia to taste.

Last Week’s iHerb.com Winner as determined by Random.org:

Congrats to Shirley at Gluten Free Easily!  Enjoy your shopping spree!

This Week’s Give-Away!

NuNaturals is going to give 4 readers:

• a 2 ounce bottle of Alcohol-Free Liquid Vanilla Stevia
• a 50 packet box of NuStevia powder

Here’s how to enter:

• Vist the NuNaturals website and leave a comment telling me what you’d like to try.
• Tweet about this give-away with a link and leave a comment telling me you did.
• Post about the give-away on your blog with a link back and leave a comment telling me you did.
• Subscribe to my feed either via RSS or e-mail – leave a comment so I know.
• Follow me on Twitter – again, leave a comment.
• Add me to your friends on Facebook with a comment.

This give-away is open only to residents in the continental United States (sorry!!) and will be open until Sunday, January 31st at 8:00 pm CST.

Boring Full Disclosure Statement:  I did receive free products from NuNaturals.  I am not being paid to share their products with my readers. Instead, I am sharing them because I like them and use them on a regular basis.