Healthy Highlight: Monk Fruit

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Do you put cream and sugar in your coffee? Recently, many people are putting 'sweetener' in their coffee rather than sugar. Stevia, Truvia, and Splenda are taking over, but so is Monk Fruit Sweetener. Monk fruit is a small, round fruit from southern China and companies have been making zero-calorie, carb-free sweetener from the dried fruit. Is this a good thing? Monk fruit sweetener is 250 times sweeter than table sugar, but the big difference is that monk fruit sweetener does not affect blood glucose levels. Lets see what else the fruit is good for:

  • The sweetness of Monk fruit comes from natural compounds called mogrosides. This makes monk fruit generally safe for diabetes and does not increase blood sugars. Mogrosides also have anti-inflammatory properties and may help prevent cancer.
  • Monk fruit has no calories, carbs, or fats which makes it a great snack for people who are trying to lose weight.
  • Monk fruit also has antibiotic properties. The fruit can help against infection, specifically in the digestive system.

Recipes:

Monk Fruit Chocolate Chip Cookies (Goodforyouglutenfree.com)

  • 2 cups Blanched Almond Flour
  • 1/3 cup Monk fruit Sweetener
  • pinch Kosher Salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
  • 1/2 cup Butter
  • 1 large Egg
  • 1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1 cup Chocolate Chips
  1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  2. Blend almond flour, monk fruit sweetener, salt and baking soda in a large bowl.
  3. Add a softened stick of butter to dry ingredients and use your hands to mix it all together until well combined.
  4. Add egg and vanilla to mixture and continue to blend by hand. The mixture will be wet. Add chocolate chips and mix well.
  5. Roll 1" dough balls and place them on your baking sheet. Do not flatten the balls as they will bake up soft in the middle if you leave them in the rounded shape. You'll have enough dough to make about 14-16 cookies. You can slightly wet your hands to help you roll the balls without the dough sticking to your hands.
  6. Bake for about 12-13 minutes until top of cookies start to brown. Remove from oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes before transferring them from the baking sheet to a wire rack to finish cooling.
  7. Store cookies in an airtight bag or container for 3-4 days.

Cinnamon "Sugar" Cookie Dough Bites (Northernnester.com)

  • 1/2 cup Sugar-free Almond, Sunflower, or Peanut Butter
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoon Coconut Flour
  • 3 tablespoon unsweetened Almond or Cashew Milk
  • 1/4 cup and 1 tablespoon Monkfruit Sweetener
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  • 1/4 teaspoon Mineral Salt
  1. In a medium bowl, mix nut or seed butter (I used almond butter), 1 tsp of cinnamon, coconut flour, nut milk, 1/4 cup of Lakanto Monkfruit Golden Sweetener,* vanilla, and mineral salt together.
  2. In a smaller bowl, stir 1 tbsp of Lakanto Golden Monkfruit Sweetener and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon together.
  3. Roll dough mixture into truffle-sized balls. Roll dough bites in cinnamon "sugar" mixture. Store in an air-tight container in the fridge.

Monk Fruit Mango Lassi (Warriorinthekitchen.com)

  • 2 cups fresh cubed Mango
  • 1/2 cup Yogurt
  • 2 1/2 cups Water
  • 6 teaspoons Monk Fruit Sweetener
  • Cardamom Powder
  • Saffron
  1. Blend all the ingredients in a blender until smooth
  2. Serve Cold. Garnish with Cardamom Powder and Saffron

Keto Creamer (Joyfilledeats.com)

  • 1 cup Monkfruit erythritol blend sweetener
  • 1/2 cup Water
  • 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups Almond Milk
  • 1 1/2 cups Heavy Cream
  1. Combine sweetener and water in a small saucepan and heat on medium just until the sweetener melts. Mix in the other ingredients.
  2. Cool to room temperature. Store in the fridge.