I received a sample for facilitate this review; all opinions are my own.
I don’t give my kids sugar. I’m not kidding! Between GMOs and, well, it just being sugar, we are off it.
That said, we DO try alternatives. For a while, I was doing Xylitol until I found out the one I was using was corn-based so that was the end of that. Honey and agave nectar present their own issues for phenols and salicylates, but also can’t be used in many recipes due to consistency. Coconut palm is great as a brown sugar substitute but I haven’t found it for white. I’ve heard a bunch of things about Stevia (has oxalates, contains other ingredients, etc.)
So I was excited to try Swerve when a campaign came from Mamavation. Swerve sent a great sample over:
So what can I tell you about Swerve? It’s made from ingredients derived from fruits and vegetables containing Erythritol. For you sciencey types, here’s their blurb:
Erythritol is made by fermenting glucose with Moniliella pollinis (a natural microorganism found in honeycomb) which breaks down the glucose and yields erythritol. Erythritol also naturally occurs in many fruits and vegetables like melons, grapes, asparagus as well as fermented foods. It is classified by the FDA as a zero calorie, 4-carbon sugar alcohol that does not affect blood glucose.
It’s also:
- Non-GMO
- Non-Glycemic
- Has 0 calories
I assembled all these to make my coconut flour muffin recipes, which includes dairy-free chocolate chips, sunflower seed butter and bananas, lots of bananas! The recipe I have calls for Stevia, so I had to do some math to convert it back to sugar – Swerve is a one for one substitute. I did NOT take a good photo because the kids ate it too fast! My fussy husband also loved it and so I made a batch for church. Those were ALSO devoured even by one very sensitive eater who loved them and suffered no after effects. (This is a big deal for her!) Best of all, no one experienced a funny aftertaste (like some other sweeteners). I discussed the benefits to a friend who uses Truvia.
Chocolate Chip Banana Sunbutter Muffins, Sugar Free, Grain Free, Dairy Free, Gluten Free, GMO Free and Paleo! And in no way does this convey how awesome they smell 🙂
Swerve also made it’s way into our morning coffees and again, my husband was happy with it as was I. (He’s fussy too.) I have yet to break into the Confectioner’s Swerve, although I’m excited, frosting intimidates me. But that wills surely be where I use it!
Claudia Krusch says
Love Swerve! Received product as well! Loving it!
Gina B says
Yes, I was really happy with it!!
ProductJunkieCA says
It worked really well in my baking, I made mini fig sticky pudding cakes ! Post will be up when i get home tonight!
I tried the confectioners sugar in my super special icing, wish I had more to experiment with!!
Gina B says
Cool, can’t wait to read it.
Ellen Christian says
I love how easy this is to bake with and there is NO aftertaste!
Gina B says
Yes, right? And SO easy to substitute! Stevia is like crazy to sub in because it’s so strong.
Gina B says
LOl! Yea, I can actually TASTE sugar now! Like regular Halloween candy felt like my tongue was licking sugar crystals. You really do get un-used to it!
Heather says
thank you swerve is the perfect alternative to sugar.
Gina B says
I hope you try it and enjoy!
Heather says
Thanks for introducing me – I never heard of Swerve before.
Gina B says
Hope you like it! They have a sample kit on their site too.
Carrie says
So glad you reviewed this. I’ve been hearing about Swerve but unsure what it actually contains. If YOU use it, then I know it’s been well researched!
Gina B says
Well that is high praise! So far, I’ve seen nothing negative. Like anything, it’s possible it won’t sit well with some people, but I haven’t even seen that as of yet. I’ll update if I hear anything, but so far, so good.
Nichol says
I am really loving Swerve. Taste great with no aftertaste! It mixes up well and bakes perfectly. So glad I found them:)
Gina B says
Yea, super easy to cook with! I need that, with all the subs I have to work with!