Monkfruit- why doesn't anyone talk about this sweetener?

(Mark Rhodes) #4

Just tried monk fruit maple flavored “syrup” on my pork rind waffles yesterday. It seemed fine but my BG is slightly elevated today. I did eat quite a bit of food yesterday so it could be all of it and not just the monk fruit.
The article referenced says this:
“What are the benefits of monk fruit?
Pros
Sweeteners made with monk fruit don’t impact blood sugar levels.”
However it does nothing to note how this was done and while it may not raise BG it could still create quite the insulin response. One would need to test the same way as other individual sweeteners.

I really only use sweeteners these days to appease the wife but have successfully weaned her off of Stevia in her coffee.

(Crippie) #5

The main reason I have found is that it is hard to find in a “pure” form. When I started I thought the same hting and bought a TON of this “Monk Fruit in the Raw” sweetener that I loved and thought was way better than other sweeteners and never knew why it wasn’t mentioned. I soon found out it was because the main ingredient was “Dextrose”, which is garbage for keto. It seems a lot of sweeteners are filled with dextrose and hard to find otherwise.

I did find a monk fruit that was mixed with erythritol instead of dextrose, but for the price it wasn’t worth the extra money from just plain erythritol.

Recently i did find a liquid pure monk fruit at my local Lucky supermarket. It needs to be refrigerated after opening, but one squirt does the trick, and tastes like a concentrated honey to me. I love it, and I recall the price wasn’t too bad. So it will be one of my go-to’s now.

So I think the short answer to your question is. Lack of availability to “quality monk fruit” at a reasonable price.

(roxanna) #6

Which syrup was it? Usually the syrups I’ve seen have some sort of fake fiber in it that is more likely the reason for elevated BG.

#7

Real, pure monkfruit is insanely expensive. The most popular brand is still pretty expensive and is mostly Erythritol. It’s more cost effective for me to just use Erythritol and a little homemade liquid sucralose. Tastes like regular sugar.

(Crippie) #8

I found this one at my local lucky supermarket and it was not too bad, less than $10 for the bottle. I found it on amazon but it is a third party seller, and as you said it is very expensive. I have heard some wal marts carry it as well. SO maybe if you are lucky you can find it.

monk
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#9

I don’t know, but $6 an ounce still seems expensive to me. And it’s still not the pure stuff.

(James Willis) #10

@marklifestyle “pork rind waffles”? Just gotta say, dang does that sound freaking good! I’m excited to delve into some of the connoisseur type keto recipes (another example, the “fathead pizza” I keep hearing about, or cauliflower fried rice, etc.) After I start feeling better (from the keto flu or not-keto-flu or whatever the heck I have) time to get my keto cooking game on!

(James Willis) #11

thanks everyone for the info/opinions. I’ll definitely look more into factors such as purity and excessive price before singing the praises of the stuff any further

(Mark Rhodes) #12

i use a whole bag of 7 serving sizes.
1/4 cup almond flour
1 tablespoon coconut flour
2 egg yolks
1 whole egg
cinnamon
maple flavor extract
HWC to a consistency of batter I need

We prefer the chicken crust starting here with this recipe but I have altered it so much now that it isn’t the same.

(Maitri Libellule) #13

When I went on the ketogenic diet 4 months ago the only thing that was really hard for me was giving up the sugar in my coffee in the morning, which I of course did, but I had a terrible time finding something that worked for me. I was not going to use artificial sweeteners like Splenda and all the rest. And while I like Stevia in many things, and it’s fine in tea, I think it is just dreadful in coffee. HOWEVER when I found Lakanto monkfruit products I finally found something I liked. AND I add a couple of drops of stevia to it and it is perfect for me. Not stevia alone and only a couple of drops. And no, it doesn’t taste like sugar but I haven’t had sugar in so long now I’ve forgotten what coffee tastes like with sugar in it. This works for me, and I’ve been pretty darn picky. The brand is Lakanto, and you can buy it from them directly or from amazon. It’s cheaper on amazon. I buy the 800 gram bag for about $14 and it lasts a long time.

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00EUF5N1C/_encoding=UTF8?coliid=I8WEO96PDKMD&colid=1EURUG1W55VDW&psc=1

You can also buy it directly from their website which I don’t usually do but if you get on their mailing list they have had sales that have been 50 to 70% off. They have the “Maple syrup” sweetener and other monkfruit products that I have found very good used sparingly once in awhile.

They are currently running a 60% off sale on the kind I shared above BUT they charge shipping and with amazon prime there is no shipping.

THE CAVEAT!!! Monkfruit has carbs!!! In the sweetener I use it is 4 carbs for 1 tsp. I use 1-2 tsp in my huge cup of coffee in the morning and a couple of drops of sweetener BUT I consume almost no carbs at all other than what I put in my coffee. I am almost always significantly under 20 grams of carbs a day, never over 20, and I am having incredible results on keto so I will spend the grams on the monkfruit.

Finally, again, it doesn’t taste like sugar, nothing does, but I have found it far more pleasant and without the bitter aftertaste that most natural sweeteners I’ve tried have. Stevia can be really nasty in coffee alone, but a couple of drops added to the monkfruit makes a perfect cup of coffee for me. We all find what works for us but I tried everything else on the market (Swerve, etc) and I didn’t like any of them.

For whatever it’s worth… and KETO ON!

Maitri

(Melissa Marie) #14

It has Erythritol in it and that is why there are carbs. 100% monk fruit sweetener doesn’t have any carbs from what I am seeing. In any event some people don’t count those carbs because they don’t affect BG. I know I don’t count them and don’t get knocked out of ketosis. I use it with Premier Protien in my coffee in the morning as creamer and it is drinkable compared to using stevia which to me tastes like medicine in most things IMO.

(Maitri Libellule) #15

Ah yes Melissa, it does indeed have erythritol in it. I tried plain erythritol and didn’t like it, for some reason I like this, but I am going to look for plain monkfruit when I use this up! Thanks for the info! :slight_smile:

(Cindy) #16

I just received some of the Lakanto products in the mail. Just tried the sweetener in my coffee and I don’t notice any aftertaste.
Tried their chocolate bar and oh dear…I won’t be buying that again, because it tastes TOO good. The entire thing has 12 net carbs, so it could easily fit into my carb totals, but I think if I had it very often, it’d lead to more sweet cravings.

#17

I too use the Lakanto brand, primarily in recipes, and find it to be really good. This is coming from someone who never used sugar substitutes in the past as I always found the flavor terrible. I’m also surprised at how little it is mentioned or used in published keto recipes.

(Cindy) #18

Yes, I can’t stand Stevia, sucralose, etc…I’ve found that I’m ok with erythritol so I don’t mind it being in this mix. I just believe how good this chocolate bar tastes. LOL

(Sarah C) #19

What else was in the syrup? Soluble corn fiber? Erythritol? Those might also have affected your BG

(Mark Rhodes) #20

Nope. I had the good stuff.

(Jim) #21

Dogfish Head just released a low-carb IPA that uses monk fruit. It’s called Slightly Mighty. I’ve been trying to find it but still no luck.

#22

You can buy dried monk fruit in most Chinese supermarkets, at least here in the UK. It’s usually in a packet of 2-3 fruit and costs around £1.50.

The shop assistant told me to wash the outer shell, then break the whole thing up into small pieces, using the shell as well as the seeds inside. Then you boil it in a small amount of water, about a cup per fruit. Actually I use a small slow cooker for this. This makes a dark brown very sweet liquid/syrup which keeps in the fridge for about a week.

It tastes great in coffee, but not in tea. It’s also good on pancakes etc.

(Bunny) #23

Monkfruit is the best!