Exploring the Many Ways to Enjoy Monk Fruit
Anyone who has followed a diet knows that it’s fun to discover new foods and try to include them in your diet in different ways. Those who take a chance on monk fruit will discover a food that has a taste and benefits that are unlike anything else out there. Explore this rare, versatile fruit, and learn about the numerous ways you can use it on a daily basis.
Monk Fruit - A Rare and Versatile Superfood
Monk fruit is a rare food in both its origination and composition. Naturally grown only in the mountains of Thailand and China, very few Westerners have seen monk fruit in its natural habitat. Combine this with the fact that monk fruit is the only known food to contain mogrosides, an ultra-sweet glycoside that is known for numerous health benefits, and it’s easy to see why monk fruit is about as rare and unique as a food can be.
Monk Fruit as a Tea
Since it originates in China, it’s no surprise that tea is one of the most popular ways to consume monk fruit. Monk fruit tea, or Luo Han Guo Tea as it’s known in China, is commonly chosen for its cooling and antiinflammatory properties. If you’re curious to try monk fruit tea for yourself, these recipes and tips will help you bring the caramel-like taste of monk fruit into your own home.
How to Try Monk Fruit Tea
Purchase it at an Asian Market
Various products are sold to let you easily make monk fruit tea in your own home. While your local grocery store may have some of these, other people may have to find them at a specialty market that sells Asian foods. Alternatively, numerous websites carry popular monk teas which you can order online.
Buy Premade Monk Fruit Tea
Although still extremely rare and difficult to find, monk fruit teas can be purchased already prepared and packaged for quick consumption. While the only preparation time on this form of tea is opening the bottle, finding and ordering it can be a challenge. Companies such as this one in Australia make monk fruit tea in bottles, selling it in flavors like ginger and original.
Order Dried Monk Fruit Online
Once you have some monk fruit, making tea is easy. If you don’t happen to live near a market that sells monk fruit, you can order it online in its natural state. When your monk fruit arrives, simply break off about 1 square inch of it and put it at the bottom of a tea cup or bowl and fill the container with hot water - after 10 minutes, just strain the fruit pieces out of the tea and it’s ready to drink!
Monk Fruit as a Sweetener
As fitness becomes a greater priority than ever before, Americans are rapidly turning down sugar in favor of lower-calorie, healthier alternatives. Since monk fruit is many times sweeter than sugar with no calories, it’s extract is often used as a healthy sugar-substitute. Learn about brands like Monk Fruit In The Raw, and see how they offer a far healthier and sweeter choice than sugar.
Popular Monk Fruit Sweeteners
Also known as monk fruit sugar and monk fruit powder, sweeteners that include monk fruit are gaining popularity. It’s important to know that different brands of monk fruit sweetener may have distinctly different ingredients and flavors. That’s because various brands include added ingredients to try and curtail the aftertaste of monk fruit. The good news is that they’re all much better for you than sugar, so feel free to experiment and find the flavor that you like best.
Monk Fruit in the Raw
Available in packets or in a 4.8 oz bakers bag, Monk Fruit in the Raw is arguably the purest form of monk fruit sweetener available. Unlike many other brands, Monk Fruit in the Raw lives up to its name by not including any extra sugars, sugar alcohols, or molasses. This keeps its carb count and calories at zero while producing a bold yet sweet flavor that people love.
Lakanto Monk Fruit Sweetener
Another excellent monk fruit sweetener is this product by Lakanto. In this case, the monk fruit is combined with erythritol, a natural low-calorie sweetener commonly found in pears, grapes, and other fruit. This extra addition doesn’t add calories to the sweetener, but enhances the flavor, creating a combination that minimizes some of the aftertaste of the monk fruit.
Food Products that Include Monk Fruit
To achieve a more appealing nutrition profile that reduces calories and sugar, many food companies choose monk fruit as the primary sweetener in their products. Trying some of these products can be an excellent way to taste the difference between monk fruit and your other favorite sweeteners. The tatste of monk fruit is distinct and it gives a very specific flavor to any product that uses it.
Popular Products Containing Monk Fruit
Bhu Foods Protein Bars and Cookies
With flavors ranging from Salted Caramel Pecan to Apple Cinnamon Chunk with Nutmeg, Bhu Foods has achieved the right combination of interesting flavors and low sugar content. All of their products are sweetened with monk fruit, so Bhu Foods is one of the first companies to experiment with using this unique, zero-calorie sweetener. In addition to protein bars and cookies, also check out their monk fruit sweetened chocolate chips and granola.
Luma Soda flavored with Monk Fruit
For anyone who has struggled with weight loss, soda is often one of the first things you have to remove from your diet due to it’s high sugar and calorie content. Luma Soda is attempting to change that stereotype and make soda a healthy option. With four different flavors, all sweetened with monk fruit, Luma Soda is an excellent alternative to the regular or diet sodas you’re used to drinking.
Enlightened Ice Cream
Ice cream is a food that’s traditionally considered a guilty pleasure, but Enlightened is well on the way to making it a healthy dietary staple. Featuring fun flavors like Movie Night and Peanut Butter Marshmallow, Enlightened Ice Cream is sweetened with monk fruit and other zero-calorie sweeteners. This enables them to sell ice cream that has more protein than sugar, and lets you enjoy eating ice cream again without expanding your waistline.
How Do You Use Monk Fruit to Enhance Your Diet?
Since it’s completely natural and has zero calories, monk fruit fits in perfectly with diets such as keto, paleo, and vegan. Even if you just want to cut back a bit on the calories or sugar you’re consuming, there are many benefits to choosing monk fruit as an alternative sweetener. Whether you choose to bake it into your favorite recipes or select products that are already made with this healthy sweetener, there are no limits to the ways monk fruit can enhance your diet.
