The Mocking In Monkfruit

It's always uniform for me to walk down the cake, sugar, and spice aisle in the grocery store. I like to think of the baking aisle being my home away from home, an oasis for me.

I love taking my time within the baking aisle learning about new products on the shelves and products that catch my eyes, tastebuds, and my food curiosity.

One day, I came across monk fruit sweetener.

I've always been a maple syrup, raw sugar, or honey fan when it came to sweetening my baking dishes. Lately, I've been open to trying different sweeteners that can elevate my baking and cooking dishes.

I've never heard of monk fruit or monk fruit extract.

Monk fruit is native to Southeast Asia and areas of Thailand and China. Known as Lo Han Guo, monk fruit is a small green melon. Monk fruit is an herbaceous vine in the Siraitia Grosvenor, known as the Cucurbitaceae gourd plant family.

Also known as the 'longevity fruit' originated in the Guangxi and Guangdong mountains in China.

Monk fruit extract is filled with antioxidants used and known in Traditional Chinese Medicine to relieve sore throats.

A 2011 study showed monk fruit can relieve sore throats and reduce phlegm.

Here are a few health benefits monk fruit provides for healthy living.

Move over, syrup.

Monk fruit is a low-glycemic alternative to traditional sugar.

Monk fruit sweetener has many attributes to promote positive health.

Monk fruit sweeteners are created from the extract derived from dried fruit. The sweetness of monk fruit comes from natural compounds called mogrosides.

Mogrosides have antioxidants extracted from the glycoside in monk fruit that can also prevent cancer as well as reduce cell damage from free radicals. This antioxidant also prevents the growth of harmful cells, remedy cardiovascular complications, combat fatigue, and fights infections, to name a few.

A 2016 study showed monk fruit extract can reduce colorectal cancer and reduce the risks of throat cancer.

According to Healthline, monk fruit sweetener is considered a "high-intensity sweetener" because the sugar alternative is nearly 250 times sweeter than table sugar.

The unique sweetener can reduce obesity due to containing zero calories, carbohydrates, and no fat.

Research studies prove certain anti-carcinogen properties that can reduce tumor growth.

Monk fruit provides anti-microbial properties that can help balance gut health.

Present-day...

Today, monk fruit is still grown in northern Thailand and southern China.

According to Dr. Axe, monk fruit is permitted to be grown and manufactured in China [only].

The Food and Drug Administration approves monk fruit to be safe for everyone to use, including pregnant women and children.

Here's the monk fruit sweetener I use for everything! I've enjoyed swapping my granulated sugar for the healthy alternative whether the sweetener is used in my coffee, teas, yogurts, and oatmeal.

To make monk fruit sweetener at home, remove the skin and seeds. Crush and collect the juice. Then, the juice is dried and converted to a concentrated powder.

The process to make monk fruit sweeteners at home is ideal for meal-ready ideas because fresh monk fruit spoils quickly.

When I began using monk fruit as a sweetener, I tried it as a powder for my coffee. Within time, I started using the sweetener in granule form [to test my recipes].

All three options make it easy to transition into healthy sweetening.

Below is my recommendation for monk fruit beginners.

Do you have any ideas on how to include plant-based sweeteners in your food lifestyle?

Have you tried monk fruit sweetener? How do you use monk fruit?

Do you prefer using monk fruit sweetener as a liquid?

Granules?

Powder?

Share your way of using monk fruit!