PickingUpToys

With sugar being in the media as a top bad guy most of the time it’s great to know there are choices and that you can have alternatives. Natvia is made from Stevia and Erythritol which makes it a healthy alternative to artificial sweeteners and sugar. We have been sent some Natvia products to try out and see what we thought. We were sent:

Natvia Sweetener 

Natvia Sweetener Tablets

Myself and the children decided we’d have a go at making some cakes as they love them and we wanted to see how they would compare. I’m always looking for different snacks I can give them – especially whilst they’ve been off school for the holidays and ask umpteen times a day. But am also aware of high sugar/salt content in most of them.

When I was young I was fascinated watching my Mum make cakes without a recipe and when I asked how she knew she told me always remember 8,8,8. As in, 8 oz of the dry goods that go into the cake. So that’s how I decided to go with this. As Natvia is spoon for spoon the same sweetness as sugar we used the same amount as we normally would but you could play around with the amounts to suit your own taste. You could also exchange the butter for a lighter version if you wanted to make these even less naughty for weight loss. For our fairy cakes we used:

Ingredients (makes 24 small cakes) 

225g (8 oz) butter
225g (8 oz) Natvia
225g (8 oz) self raising flour
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Preheat the oven to 180c and line a cake tins with cake cases 
Cream the butter and Natvia together and add the vanilla essence
Add the eggs one at a time
Fold in the flour
My daughter also added a few drops of red food colouring just because she likes to!
Bake for 10-12 mins (our oven is fan assisted) or until golden brown 

The mix looked exactly as you would expect it to and the cakes looked no different to a cake baked with sugar, so if you wanted to do these without telling the kids in my opinion they wouldn’t know the difference. Because there are no chemicals involved, only natural ingredients it doesn’t have that bitter aftertaste you come to expect from something that isn’t real sugar. My kids said they tasted exactly the same so that’s a win in my eyes!

Some other great facts about Natvia:

• 100% naturally sourced
• 0 calories
• Zero impact on blood sugar levels
• Great for cooking and baking
• Nothing artificial included
• Tooth friendly
• Fructose free
• Suitable for diabetics and vegetarians
• Can help slimming or weight control as part of a calorie controlled diet
• Available to buy from Tesco, Ocado and Wholefoods Market

Are you trying to go sugar free? What would you have a go at making?

*We were sent the items for the purpose of this review however all opinions remain honest and my own*