PureVia All Natural Zero Calorie Sweetener Review

Never one to turn down a free sample, I jumped at the chance to try PureVia All Natural Zero Calorie Sweetener, when the offer came my way.  I consider myself the Queen of Sweeteners so I welcomed the chance to try something new. 

I've tried just about every sweetener on the market from Equal to Sweet'N'Low to Splenda, and even remember those long ago popular days of Tab soft drinks, which contained saccharin (rumored to cause cancer).  Currently, my sweetener of choice is Splenda, which I use not only on my fresh food but also to bake with.  The fear of consuming too much aspartame over the years convinced me to try Splenda, which is a no calorie sweetener that is made of sucralose and maltodextrin, not aspartame.   

Last year I was introduced to the liquid form of stevia, a sugar substitute that comes from the stevia leaf.  I'm not an expert on sugar sweeteners (I'm just the Queen), so I don't know all of the facts about stevia, but I had heard that it was a tasty and safe alternative for sugar and other artificial sweeteners.  That was "sweet" news to me!

Okay, so back to the latest sweetener to touch my former artificial-sweetener-soaked lips, PureVia.  Two of the qualities of this product that stood out to me were:

* It has zero calories

* It uses only natural ingredients and is made from the stevia leaf

I do need to mention that if you are watching your carbohydrate intake, one serving stick of PureVia contains two grams of carbohydrates.  Splenda has less than one carbohydrate per one teaspoon serving. 

I tried PureVia in my iced tea, on fresh fruit, and in my yogurt.  I wasn't sure how much to try at first and used only half of a stick in one huge glass of iced tea.  It was plenty for me but I also enjoy my tea without sweeteners on occasion.  Some people may prefer the entire stick and some people may be content with half.  The box states that each stick sweetens like two teaspoons of sugar. 

For my first taste test on fresh fruit, I poured the contents of one stick on an entire quart of cut up strawberries, which proved to be plenty sweet and delicious.  My kids and husband gobbled them up in no time.  Even my hubby liked PureVia, and he is extremely loyal to regular table sugar.   

I rarely use sweeteners on yogurt but wanted to give it a try with PureVia.  Honestly?  It wasn't needed and didn't make my yogurt taste better, just a lot more sweeter.  I don't eat plain yogurt, but if I was forced to, I wouldn't eat it without a sweetener and PureVia would definitely do the trick to make it tasty. 

The PureVia website has a blurb about using it in recipes, but I could not find any specific information on how much to substitute for regular sugar.  Is it like Splenda with a cup for cup substitution, or would I need to take into account that one stick of PureVia sweetens like two teaspoons of sugar?  The company should promote the use of its product in baking and publishing recipes on its website would be beneficial as well.

My Viewpoint:  I really do like PureVia and would consider purchasing this product when it comes time to replenish my sweetener stash.  It is all natural, has zero calories, and comes from the believed-to-be-safe stevia leaf.