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Monday, November 16, 2009

Sugar Free Banana Bread (Giveaway)

A few months ago, I was very lucky to receive a package from NuNaturals, who make my favorite stevia. They sent me a very large variety of products, but I just wasn't ready to review them, as I had not gotten a chance to review what I found to be the most intriguing product, the baking blend.

Then this weekend, as I prepared to go visit my best friend and her new baby girl, I realized I was almost out of sugar. Wanting to bring her some banana bread, but also have some for myself, I was faced with a bit of a conundrum. I was already late, so I could go out and buy sugar and be even more late, or not make any for myself, or try and find a substitute for the sugar. At that point, the NuNaturals Baking Blend rose ceremoniously from the depths of the cabinet and shined its light down upon my kitchen.

Okay, yeah, that's a little dramatic, but I did use it. I completely substituted all the sugar in the recipe (which is the Lower Fat Banana Bread Recipe from V'con) with the baking blend. The loaf I made for my friend used the real sugar and also had chocolate chips.


Baked with stevia

Baked with sugar

The verdict? Well, the regular sugar did bake up to make a slightly prettier loaf. The batter for the stevia loaf was a tad stickier and probably could have used some more liquid. So, the top of it wasn't as smooth. But it tastes fantastic. I really couldn't tell that it wasn't made with sugar, it was very much delicious.
Once cool, it was sliced into perfectly, and was really really yummy. This substituted 1/2 cup of sugar very successfully. The only downside to the Baking Blend is that it is fairly expensive. So if you do a lot of baking and were to use it exclusively, your wallet might feel it. But if you are an occasional baker who likes to keep things as healthy as possible, you can't go wrong!

Now, the lovely people at NuNaturals sent me a lot of stevia, and while I don't have any of the baking blend to give away, I do have a 100-count box of their White Stevia Powder packets for one lucky reader!
To Enter:
1. Just leave a comment on here and you will be entered!
2. If you are really motivated and want another chance, give a mention to the giveaway on your blog.
OR
3. If you don't have a blog and want another chance, get someone else to comment, mentioning that you told them about the giveaway.
4. What the heck, if you want another entry, tweet at me about it!

Entries end this Friday, November 20! Have a great day everyone, hopefully your week is starting out with something yummy like banana bread for breakfast!

30 comments:

  1. I would like to enter, please and thank you!

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  2. I love doing stevia in my tea instead of sugar or some other processed chemical. Enter me, please!

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  3. id love to win the packets. sweetness that is good for you. what more can you ask for?
    emily
    leavesareyummy@ix.netcom.com

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  4. I like using stevia in my hot tea, but I don't know how I'd feel about baking with it...It has a different taste than sugar, I think. But I'd certainly eat a slice of your stevia banana bread!

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  5. I looove natural sugar substitutes!

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  6. Enter me please! I've baked with liquid stevia, but haven't tried powder yet.

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  7. Like Bianca says, isn't there a slight aftertaste to stevia? Did it really taste the same and the only difference was the bread's structure? If that's the case I definitely want to try it!

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  8. i haven't tried stevia yet... would love to try it!

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  9. Nora..I wouldn't lie. I think that it tastes almost identical to sugar. I don't know if there was a miscommunication, but the baking blend isn't pure stevia. Its a mix of stevia and some other carbohydrates. Its not the same as just pouring in 1/2 cups worth of stevia packets.

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  10. Please enter me...it's my favorite product in my pantry!!!

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  11. that's awesome to hear, i really wanna try it now! i was just checking if maybe you were the kind of person who didn't think stevia in general had an aftertaste, and maybe that was why you couldn't taste it in the bread, or if it really was tasteless, and i'm glad to hear it is! haha how confusing.

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  12. What a generous person you are. Thanks for the entry and the opportunity to win. :)

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  13. I'm a huge fan of stevia... here's hoping!!

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  14. i have never had nustevia but i've heard such great things! thanks for hosting the giveaway!

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  15. I love stevia! I've only tried their sample pack once but it's awesome and a great replacement for sugar once in a while since my sweet tooth is a little out of control :X

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  16. i didn't know that nunaturals made a baking blend! how awesome. of course, i'll settle for the regular stevia and go buy my baking blend. :)

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  17. I would love to enter! What a great contest!

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  18. i also told a friend about this contest!

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  19. This would be a good Christmas gift for my cousin. Please enter me!
    amanda
    catss99@yahoo.com

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  20. I love stevia... thanks!

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  21. I want some, I do, I do, I do!!!

    Thank you.

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  22. I've always debating trying Stevia, especially for baking. Nice to know there's a baking blend.

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  23. I don't want to enter, but just wanted to comment that your banana breads both look awesome! We had a stevia plant for a while and it went gangbusters and I tried drying it, making extract, and using it fresh... I wasn't a huge fan, and wasn't too sad when the plant died! Still, I think it's cool that there is something like stevia out there--goes to show how amazing the plant kingdom is.

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  24. Not entering the giveaway but woman how the heck do you find the time to bake 2 different loaves of banana bread?!

    YOU RULE!!!

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  25. Sign me up! I would love to enter! And congrats on the new kitty addition, so cute!

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  26. I've never tried stevia, but I'd love to do so!

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  27. I'm so happy to read this post, I always get so excited by your progress and experiences. You are just so real and smart about the whole process of change – whether internal or external. Keep posting!

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  28. I love doing stevia in my tea instead of sugar or some other processed chemical

    Work from home India

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  29. I know how important it is to stay away from sugary foods specially that I'm into yoga today.

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