Most of you already know that over the last ten months, I’ve been working to change my lifestyle. I’ve been eating better. Exercising more. Living life differently. And I have to say, I’ve felt pretty awesome about the changes that I’ve made in my life. I’m feeling better. I’m looking better. And in general, life is just better. But the further I travel down this path of changing my lifestyle, the more I’ve discovered that without knowing it, I can daily sabotage myself by not being aware of what’s in the items that I’m eating. I can think that I’m making smart choices when in truth, I’m adding hidden calories and sugars to my carefully planned out diet. So, as part of my experiment in healthy living, I’m embarking on the #GoodbyeSugar30 challenge from SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener and taking thirty days to become more aware of hidden sugars in my food! As part of this challenge, I’m developing new recipes featuring SPLENDA® Brand’s newest sweetener, SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener, like my can’t miss Raspberry Streusel Whole Wheat Muffins.
So, first, what is the #GoodbyeSugar30 challenge. Well, simply put it’s a challenge to become more aware of what’s in the food I’m eating. Just getting started I’ve learned that there are more than 60 names for sugar (OMG, right?) that may appear on ingredients list of food or that are added during the cooking or preparation of my food. So, it’s easy to understand why simple looking for the word “sugar” doesn’t always work when I make choices about what I’m eating. But, since I’m learning more about the sugar that is added to some of my favorite foods, I’m able to also find a way to replace them with SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener,
Simply making small changes to my daily routine, like adding SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener to my coffee in the mornings is already making a difference. And the best part is, SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener delivers the sweetness I love without the bitter aftertaste that I’ve been turned off to in the past. That means sweetness with no calories, added flavors or artificial ingredients. Pretty awesome, right? And while I’m using it to add my own sweetness to everyday items, I’ve also discovered that cooking with it can help eliminate the extra calories and sugar in some of my favorite recipes.
What You Will Need:
(for the muffins)
1 and 1/2 Cup of White Whole Wheat Flour
1 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
2 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon of Salt
1 Cup of SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener
1/2 Cup of Olive Oil
1 Egg
1 Cup of Light Sour Cream
1 and 1/2 Cup of Fresh Raspberries
(for the topping)
4 Tablespoons of Butter
1/2 Cup of White Whole Wheat Flour
1/3 Cup of SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener
How to Make It:
I have to say, at first I was skeptical of taking the sugar out of my streusel muffins…..after all, struesel and sugar seem to go hand in hand but encouraged by the unique sweetness that SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener gets from Rebaudioside D (Reb D), a better tasting stevia leaf extract, I had to give it a try. To start, I mixed my flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together. Then I measured out my SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener and added it to my dry ingredients.
After adding in my wet ingredients, I mixed everything together well and felt great knowing that I had almost eliminated sugar from my favorite muffin recipe. Once the batter was mixed (and I’ll mention looked no different than when I’ve used regular sugar in the past), I added in one cup of my raspberries and mixed everything together.
After filling my greased muffin pan with the raspberry streusel whole wheat muffin mixture, I added my reserved raspberries to the top, pushing them down into the muffins.
Next, I melted my butter and mixed in my whole wheat flour and SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener, mixing it all until it was sticky. With my streusel topping made, I added a generous amount to each of my raspberry streusel whole wheat muffins.
Into the oven they went on 400 degrees for twenty minutes, until they were golden brown on the top. As soon as they were ready, I removed them from the oven, allowed them to cool slightly and was ready to give them a try to see if the SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener could really deliver the sweetness I love without the bitter aftertaste.
As I bit into my raspberry streusel whole wheat muffin, I have to say, I was thrilled with the sweet taste. I could without a doubt taste the sweetness of the SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener that starts with a stevia extract that rich is Reb D, allowing it to truly unlock the sweet taste of stevia and compliment Reb A (what has in the past left a bigger aftertaste) to deliver optimal taste. In fact, by removing all the extra sugars that I have added to this recipe in the past, I was able to truly savor the sweetness paired with the tartness of raspberries for an explosion of flavors in my mouth that I just couldn’t get enough of.
I have to say, my experiment with replacing the sugar in my favorite muffin recipe with SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener proved to me that the #GoodbyeSugar30 challenge is not only going to be a tasty experiment but it’s going to allow me to enhance the flavors of my favorite foods in a new and delicious way that’s gloriously calorie free!
Over the next 30 days, I’ll be continuing to pay more attention to what’s in the items that I eat. And I’ll continue to replace sugar with SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener. I hope that by making this simple change, I’ll continue to look and feel better on this healthy living journey I’ve embarked on. Now, it’s your turn to join me and say #GoodbyeSugar30 and hello to food and drinks sweetened with SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener. For more information, visit SplendaNaturals.com. Then join in the #GoodbyeSugar30 challenge with me by picking up your box of SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener, available in 40 and 80 count boxes at retailers nationwide. I’ll be back in 30 days to tell you all about how it’s gone and all the tasty ways that I’ve discovered to say goodbye to sugar!
Until then, tell me what goals you hope to achieve by replacing sugar with SPLENDA® Naturals Stevia Sweetener this month!
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
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