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Where To Buy

You can purchase erythritol here and here, using my coupon code (built into the link). The lowest priced option for erythritol is the 5 lb bag of it.

What Is Erythritol?

Erythritol is a natural sweetener with an intimidating name.

Back in 2008, when I started making low carb recipes, Splenda (sucralose with maltodextrin) was an ubiquitous ingredient in low carb recipes. There were three reasons why my baking experiments with Splenda were short-lived.

  1. I didn’t care for the lingering aftertaste.
  2. Splenda contains 24 grams of carbohydrates per cup in the form of maltodextrin. Maltodextrin (corn sugar) is a bulking agent that gives Splenda the quality of measuring “cup for cup” like table sugar.
  3. I was hesitant to ingest, on a regular basis, a chemically engineered artificial sweetener. Sucralose is a chemically modified sugar molecule that does not occur in nature. I was not willing to experiment with a sweetener that had no track record in the bodies of living organisms!

At the time, stevia was another viable option. However, there were problems with its one-dimensional flavor. It had the potential to taste bitter when used by itself, and could lose sweetness upon heating. Another drawback of using stevia was that the sweetness and flavor varied so much between brands. 

Erythritol was sweetener that I read about on the Low Carb Friends forum. After reading that the molecule was naturally present in tomatoes, melons, and the human body, I decided to give it a try. To my tastebuds, erythritol had a very “clean” sweet taste. Upon finding out that erythritol did NOT cause unpleasant gastric side effects, I rejoiced! I had no tummy trouble with erythritol, and from then on it was present in my low carb baking arsenal.

Here are the three reasons why I love erythritol:

  1. Erythritol is naturally occurring
  2. Erythritol is the only sugar alcohols with negligible calories and carbohydrates per cup. Effectively, its carbohydrate count is zero. 
  3. Unlike the other sugar alcohols (xylitol, maltitol, sorbitol, isomalt, hydrolyzed starch hydrosylate), erythritol is not fermented in the intestines. For that reason, it is tolerated very well by most people. After five years of blogging, I can count on one hand the people who have contacted me stating that they cannot digest erythritol well.

Still, I recommend that you consume sugar-free treats with a meal, and stick to one or two servings. I always eat dessert this way because sweet-tasting foods tend to trigger my appetite whether they contain real sugar or not. When you eat dessert after a nourishing meal containing wholesome fats and protein, it will be much easier to control your portion sizes. Try it, and see for yourself!

To find out why I always combine erythritol with stevia in my recipes, check out my cookbook. For less than the cost of two lattes, you can support this website and find out everything you need to know about erythritol and stevia. Thank you for supporting the site!

Recipe: Soft Gingersnaps (aka Healthy Ginger Molasses Cookies) – Gluten-Free, Low Carb, Low Sugar


It’s almost Christmas!

If you, like us, are still scrambling to make treats for your holiday dessert tray, give these sweet and spicy cookies a try. No one will know they’re a healthier alternative to the white flour, white sugar-laden treats that abound this time of year. 

Made from high protein almond and cashew flour, these lightly sweetened soft ginger cookies will remind you of those classic crinkles you’ve been eating for years. And with only a few tablespoons of sugar in the entire batch, they won’t send your insulin levels soaring. Leave a tray out for Santa by the chimney, and he won’t be disappointed. 


These soft and chewy morsels also make great last minute gifts. Just dress them in a glamorous box and savor your budget-friendly decisions. I picked up the silver filigreed boxes and wrapping paper at Dollar Tree, believe it or not. They’re a one stop shop for gift wrap and holiday party supplies. As a newly minted medical student (!), it was especially important to find budget-friendly gifts this year. 

Much more will be said about medical school in another post. Let’s just say I was never so glad to have winter break! It’s been whirlwind since August, but the sleepless nights and countless cups of coffee will hopefully be worth it when I’m a physician who can help patients address their health conditions and live better lives. Feeling so blessed to have the opportunity to pursue my passions. It’s the best Christmas gift of all. 


Recipe Notes

I used a small amount of real sugar in combination with sugar-free sweeteners to decrease the amount of carbohydrates while preserving that familiar molasses cookie flavor. You can, however, adjust the recipe to leave out the sugar-free sweeteners if you prefer. Truvia, a blend of the natural sweeteners stevia and erythritol with a little added coconut sugar perfectly sweetens the cookies without leaving an aftertaste. In this recipe, I used the Target version of Truvia (look for the red and white container in the baking aisle) which is a bit cheaper than the brand name. You can also make your own Truvia-like sweetener at home following my recipe posted here.


To make these cookies paleo, leave out the Truvia and oat flour, and add in 2 Tablespoons arrowstarch + 1/3 cup coconut sugar. I adapted this recipe from an incredible paleo cookbook by the immensely talented Julie Hulet, so pick up My Paleo Patisserie if you’re looking for recipe inspiration. 

To make these cookies dairy-free, use non-hydrogenated organic palm shortening in place of the unsalted butter. 

Soft Ginger Molasses Cookies (Gluten-Free, Low Sugar, Low Carb)

Serves 15
These nutrient-dense cookies are packed with almond flour, oat flour, and coconut flour! This flour blend creates a soft and chewy gluten-free cookie that even your non g-free friends will enjoy.

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  1. 100 grams (1 cup) blanched almond flour
  2. 130 gram (1 cup) cashew flour** (I used Trader Joe’s brand)
  3. 12 grams (2 Tablespoons) coconut flour (I used Arrowhead Mills brand)
  4. 20 grams (1/4 cup) oat flour
  5. 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  6. 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  7. 2 teaspoons ginger
  8. 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  9. 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  10. 1/4 teaspoon cloves
  11. 3 Tablespoons Truvia*** OR stevia blend OR coconut sugar
  12. 1 Tablespoon coconut sugar
  13. 1/4 cup unsalted butter OR nonhydrogenated palm shortening
  14. 1 large egg
  15. 1 teaspoon vanilla
  16. 1/2 teaspoon vinegar
  17. 2 tablespoons molasses
  18. 2 tablespoons cane sugar, for rolling (optional)
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Add butter, coconut sugar and Truvia to a mixing bowl.
  3. Beat with an electric mixer 1-2 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
  4. Slowly add in dry ingredients, and beat in until a dough comes together.
  5. Chill dough for 1/2 hour.
  6. Remove dough from refrigerator, and shape into 1.5″ balls with your hands. Toss each dough ball around a small bowl filled with the 2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar.
  7. Place dough balls 2″ apart on a parchment lined cookie sheet.
  8. Flatten each dough ball with the bottom of a glass to 1/2″ thickness.
  9. Bake 13-14 minutes, and let cookies cool for a few minutes on cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack.
  10. Store in baggies or tupperware. Cookies should keep for a week unrefrigerated. Freeze cookies if you’d like them to be extra chewy!
  1. **You can replace the cashew flour with more blanched almond flour if you like. The cashew flour greatly enhances the taste, though. Get it at Trader Joe’s or online.
  2. ***Grind up Truvia into a fine powder using a clean coffee grinder or Magic Bullet if you would like to ensure that the cookies don’t taste gritty.
Nutrition Facts
  1. Per cookie (1/15 batch): 120 Calories; 8g Fat ; 4g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber
Healthy Indulgences










Recipe Notes












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And then 2013 happened. 


Scroll down for the results of the Ultimate Stevia Taste Test!

The Ultimate Stevia Taste Test 


The Ultimate Stevia Taste Test: First Round Elimination




KAL Natural Stevia Extract (too bitter)

KAL Pure Organic Stevia Extract (too bitter)

Mood & Mind Stevia Powder (too weak)

NOW BetterStevia Organic Stevia Extract Powder (too weak)

NuNaturals NuStevia Pure Extract, 2014 formula (too weak)

Stevita Simply-Stevia (too bitter)

SweetLeaf Organic Stevia Extract (too bitter)

The Ultimate Stevia Taste Test: The Final Four 



The stevia extracts pictured above made it to round 2. 

JAJA Stevioside Powder

Trader Joe’s Pure Organic Stevia Powder

Whole Foods 365 Stevia Powder (not available for purchase online)

Stevia Select Stevia Powder



1. Stevia Select Pure Stevia Powder (updated 6.30.16)


2. Trader Joe’s Pure Organic Stevia



Untried Stevias


BulkSupplements Pure Stevia Powder (14% unfavorable reviews) 

California Gold Nutrition, Certified Organic Stevia (not enough reviews)

Frontier Natural Products Organic Stevia Powder (51% unfavorable reviews)




Zenulife Health Global (not enough reviews)



Sugar-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake for a Sweet Thanksgiving!

There’s less than week until Thanksgiving!


This recipe might just be your sweet salvation.







^There’s an idea! 😀






3/4 cup xylitol = 1 cup erythritol

Here’s a pinnable banner for your personal stash of baking tips!


-Original work by Chasity H















*classic horror movie scream*






Sugar-Free Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Serves 16

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Prep Time
20 min

Cook Time
50 min

Prep Time
20 min

Cook Time
50 min

  2. 3/4 cup natural sweetener blend**
  3. 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) sea salt
  5. 3 large eggs, room temperature
  6. 1 teaspoon (5mL) vanilla extract
  9. 4 teaspoons (20 mL) cinnamon
  10. 1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 mL) nutmeg
  11. 1 teaspoon (5.0 mL) ground cloves
  12. 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) baking soda
  15. 1 teaspoon (5 mL) apple cider vinegar
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  8. Beat in pumpkin and vinegar until thoroughly incorporated.
Healthy Indulgences


Here are the answers to all of your burning questions about substitutions. I highly encourage you to experiment a bit with my recipes to make them compatible with your dietary needs. Get creative! 😀 It’s a great way to learn how to bake with these funky alternative ingredients. 

Tip: Use the search function (Control + F for Window systems) of your browser and type in a keyword (e.g. “stevia”) to quickly find an answer concerning a specific ingredient!

Is there a substitute for almond flour?

There is not a substitute that will yield the same results as blanched almond flour that is purchased commercially. However, you can come close by substituting with other nuts and seeds ground to a fine powder. I have found that grinding sunflower seeds and cashews that have been chilled first yields a nice blend that you can use as a 1:1 substitute for blanched almond flour. 

Is there a substitute for coconut flour?

There is no substitute for coconut flour that works in every recipe. However, I’ve had some success using 1/4 cup of arrowroot starch in place of coconut flour in some recipes.

Is there a substitute for stevia?

Yes. You can use honey, maple syrup, or another sweetener you prefer in place of stevia. There is no exact substitution amount since natural sweeteners vary in sweetness. I wouldn’t recommend replacing stevia with erythritol or xylitol, simply because those sweeteners can create a “icy” aftertaste if you use more than the amount listed in my recipes.

Is there a substitute for erythritol?

Yes! You can use xylitol in place of erythritol. I recommend using 1/2 cup of xylitol for every cup of erythritol a recipe calls for. Keep in mind that xylitol can cause some minor gastric upset, unlike erythritol! I would not substitute xylitol in a recipe unless you have tried it first to see how well you tolerate it. 

Is there a substitute for arrowroot starch?

Tapioca starch and cornstarch act similarly. However, they both have slightly different flavors, and yield textural differences. Tapioca tends to make bake goods more springy and bread-like, whereas arrowroot makes them more crumbly.

Is there a substitute for eggs?

Unfortunately, it’s nearly impossible to make egg-free baked goods without sugar OR grains! Sugar (table sugar or natural sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, etc.) and starchy grains both add structure to baked goods, so one or the other is usually necessary ingredients to make egg-free treats. If you’re feelin’ frisky, you can try to use flaxseed meal or chia seed gel in place of eggs. Here’s the general formula:

1/4 cup water + 1 Tablespoon flaxseed meal = 1 egg


1/4 cup water + 1 Tablespoon chia seed meal = 1 egg

Keep in mind that the substitution above tends to work best for cookies and other dense treats. I don’t recommend substituting for eggs in cakes, puddings, breads, or other treats that require the structure and puffiness that eggs lend to baked goods. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Here you will find answers to commonly asked questions about the recipes on this blog. If you have any other questions, please leave a comment down below, or over at the Facebook page. Happy baking!

Disclaimer: The answers to these questions are not intended to replace medical or other professional advice. The information presented here is solely meant to inform and entertain. Please consult your physician or another trusted health professional for advice regarding weight loss and diabetes management.


Healthy Sweeteners

What are the healthiest sweeteners to use in baking?

If you would like to avoid the adverse health effects of ingesting added sugars on the human body, I’d start with stevia and erythritol. They are sugar-free, plant based sweeteners that do not cause a rise in blood sugar, and have no known side effects when ingested in reasonable amounts. They contain a negligible amount of calories, so they’re ideal if you’re trying to lose weight. 

Raw honey is a nutritious sweetener because of the trace minerals and anti-allergenic properties. There are claims that eating local honey can relieve seasonal allergies, but these claims have not been supported by peer-reviewed studies. Honey does cause a rise in blood glucose levels, so people with diabetes should limit their consumption. 

I limit my honey consumption to a few teaspoons of honey a day (if I eat any) because it still triggers in me an urge to overeat sweet foods. Honey is a concentrated source of fructose, which can confuse the signals regulating your appetite. Honey can also trigger some gastrointestinal distress in sensitive individuals. If you’re experience some bloating and flatulence after consuming honey, you might want to see whether you have fructose intolerance

What are the best-tasting sweeteners to use?

Stevia and erythritol, when used in the proper amounts, have a very clean, sugar-like taste. I have served my black bean cupcakes to many people who had no idea that they were sugar-free!

Erythritol does have an interesting “cool” flavor when used in dry baked goods (cookies, brownies), or in treats with a lot of fat (e.g. chocolate bars, frosting). It also does not caramelize. When I make these types of treats, I use Swerve in place of pure erythritol. Swerve is a blend of erythritol and chicory root fiber. The chicory root fiber does caramelize, and does not have a “cool” aftertaste. You do have to follow recipes designed for these sweeteners because of how tricky it is to get the amount right.

Stay tuned for a forthcoming blog post about Swerve, and how to use it to make sugar-free cakes and caramel sauces (yum!). Please subscribe using the link on the sidebar to get updates about new posts.  —> 

What is stevia extract?

Stevia extract is a very sweet white powder (200-300x sweeter than sugar!) made from the leaves of a stevia plant. Stevia plants are commonly grown in South America and China, and the leaves and brewed to extract the sweet compounds. 

Is stevia extract safe? 

Yes. Studies show that it does not adversely impact blood sugar levels. 

Why does my stevia extract taste bitter?

Are you using a green stevia powder? If so, it is likely bitter. I don’t recommend using green or “in the raw” stevia extracts. I also don’t recommend making your own stevia extract at home. You will not be able to filter out the bitter tasting compounds with the equipment you have in your kitchen. 

The pure white powder is the best tasting. Please not that there is a massive difference between brands! After testing 20+ brands of stevia for the past two years, I’ve settled upon NOW stevia as the best tasting product.

Is stevia heat stable?

Unfortunately, the sweetness of stevia degrades when it is boiled (heated to around 212 degrees Fahrenheit/100 degrees Celsius). Baked goods usually hover around that temperature range, so your batters and dough will usually be a bit sweeter than your finish baked good. I recommend added stevia to hot drinks after you’ve heated them, so that you can taste and adjust the sweetness without it changing. If you add stevia to your coffee or tea before you heat it, you can easily boil away the sweetness! 

How do I bake with stevia?

The trick to baking with stevia is to combine it with another sweetener. By itself, stevia is not usually sweet enough to make delicious baked goods. If you use too much stevia in a effort to make something sweeter, you will definitely detect a bitter aftertaste! I like to combine stevia with another all natural sugar substitute called erythritol. For more information about how to use stevia in baked goods, check out the Healthy Indulgences Cookbook, where I answer all your baking questions about stevia. 

Do you use liquid or powder stevia?

I use powdered stevia in all of the recipes you see here, unless otherwise noted. However, I use liquid stevia in my coffee, tea, smoothie, and yogurt. Liquid stevia is so convenient when you’re on the run!

How do you convert between liquid and powder stevia extract?

Since brands vary in sweetness, there is no conversion that would work for all brands. I would recommend substituting an equivalent amount of liquid stevia for powdered stevia. Then, add more liquid stevia if you need more sweetness. 

Gluten-Free Flours

What is almond flour?

Almond flour is made by removing the skins of almonds and grinding the nuts into a fine powder. The texture of almond flour can vary by brand. Honeyville Farms makes the most finely ground almond flour, so I highly recommend using it in your almond flour baked goods. 

What is the difference between almond meal and almond flour?

Almond flour is made from almonds with the skins removed. Almond meal is made from whole almonds, so it is stronger in flavor and darker in color.

Can I make my own almond meal or almond flour?

You can make your own almond meal by grinding blanched (skins removed), sliced almonds into a fine powder. To get the texture as fine as a the Honeyville product, you would need to sift it. To make almond flour, you would ground whole or sliced almonds (skins on) into a meal. Again, the texture would be best after sifting. It’s a lot of work! The best tools for the job are the Magic Bullet or a standard food processor

How do you bake with almond flour? Can you substitute it for white (all-purpose) flour?

You cannot directly substitute almond flour for flour made from wheat. It also cannot be substituted for gluten-free flour blends, as it performs very differently from grain flours. You can find tips for creating your own baked goods from almond flour in the Healthy Indulgences Cookbook

What is coconut flour?

Coconut flour is a fibrous powder made from defatted, finely ground coconut meat. It is a byproduct of coconut oil production. You cannot make it at home because you would have to extract the oil from the coconut meat before grinding it. I recommend using Nutiva brand coconut flour because it is very finely ground and is the most reasonably priced (get the 3 lb bag!).


Which sweeteners are “paleo”? 

Stevia, honey, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and dates are paleo. Erythritol is not strictly paleo, but is recommended by several paleo gurus because it viewed as a harmless alternative to sugar. “Paleo” is so loosely defined these days that the term does not have a clear meaning. However, the central concept that we should be avoiding added sugar in our diet hasn’t changed! 

Aren’t stevia and erythritol highly processed since they’re white powders?

They are no more processed than maple syrup and coconut sugar. All concentrated sources of sweetness are processed in order to extract them from the plant. You don’t stumble upon piles of coconut sugar laying around the forest! The only sweetener that you can use without some form of processing is dates which are extremely high in carbohydrates. I’d recommend picking sweeteners based on how they impact your health, not on how unprocessed they are. 


Is there a substitute for x ingredient used in your recipe?

For all substitution questions, please see this page




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