Sugar substitute - Stevia

On my journey to become more self reliant I'm always looking to make and grow the items I need in my life.

I realize that there are many things that I need every day that I can not make myself. A few examples are coffee, tea, sugar, baking soda, oil, the list gets long. Through my research I found a herb called Stevia which can be replaced for sugar. It's much sweeter than sugar and has no calories. I put just a little bit on my finger to taste and it is very sweet but actually gets bitter if you eat too much, a little goes a long way. I purchased the dry ground stevia because when I grow it that's the only way I will be able to process it but it is available in a white crystallized powder that looks very much like sugar.

I baked a banana loaf but in a cake pan because I like squares of cake and it takes less time to bake. I took the recipe from here. The color is a little off, it's quite pale but I think that has to do with the lack of sugar and make sure you sift the Stevia with the dry ingredients. I didn't and it didn't spread all that well in the batter when it got wet.

All in all I like it and have placed an order with http://www.richters.com/. I'm also trying to find a Camellia sinensis, the tea plant. Richters has seeds but it will take years before I can harvest any leaves for tea. If anyone knows where I can buy a plant please let me know.

Next time I'll try to bake chocolate chip cookies...