I do use stevia to sweeten things like homemade salad dressing, frozen desserts, hot cocoa, etc. I also like using raw honey and 100% maple syrup sparingly – a drizzle here and there. The stevia is great b/c it’s zero calories and doesn’t affect blood sugar. In terms of agave syrup, I personally do not buy it myself but i don’t avoid it either, as many of the raw/vegan desserts are sweetend with it. The jury is out on whether agave is a healthy sweetner – yes it has a low-glycemic index but it is very high in fructose and studies show that consuming high amounts of fructose can have a negative impact over the long run. I think any sweetner, including the natural ones, should still be used in moderation. This would be a great topic for a future blog post, however for now, let me direct you to a fantastic article on agave syrup here: http://aol.it/apeqGZ

I know that stevia can have a bit of a funny aftertaste, but there are a few brands I have found that taste a lot better (and I don’t notice the aftertaste). One is Sweet Leaf and the other Nu-Naturals. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to track down the Nu-Naturals brand in Toronto – I bought it on a trip to NYC. Not sure where you are located in the world! Also as an aside – I don’t use stevia for baking. I prefer to use one of the natural sweetners such as Coconut sugar.

Hope this helps.
Elaine