An off-shoot of some other threads - Agave?

Is anyone familiar with Blue Agave nectar as a sweetener?

I have used it many times. It is supposed to have a low glycemic index. When I was expecting my kiddos I had Gestational Diabetes, and had to eat like a diabetic, test blood sugar, etc during the pregnancies. It was recommended that I use sorbital, blue agave, and Splenda. I didn't want to use Splenda while I was pregnant because I wasn't convinced it was safe since it hadn't been around very long. I used the Blue Agave sparingly during my pregnancies, and also used it in my children's treats before I could use honey for them.

I was recently telling a very health-concerned friend of mine about it. She went ahead and researched it and came back to me saying that it's very controversial...that it is just processed sugar that is mostly Fructose and is really no better than high-fructose corn syrup. Any thoughts? Paul, Cynthia, Bob, Celia?

Has anyone used it or familiar with it? I thought as long as a sweetener didn't spike your blood sugar that is was pretty good? Is this incorrect? TIA!

Edited to Add: Patty C...I see you have mentioned it in Bob R's post about Splenda...what do you think about it?

I've only drunk any blue agave nectar in the form of tequila, but a quick search on the internet reveals that one supplier, Blue Agave Nectar, has no other sugars but agave in it. Their stats show that it has a low glycemic index.

Maria, I use agave nectar quite a lot. I will sweeten my Yogi tea with it at night when I don't want a big sugar rush. I also use it to sweeten my protein bars, again so I don't get a huge sugar buzz after my workouts. It provides just the right amount of sweetness for me while not tasting at all artificial. Great stuff, it is.

Edit: Maria, I'm getting a little (or a lot) out of my league here but I seem to remember reading something about high-fructose corn syrup. IIRC, the corn syrup blocks the production of a certain hormone in the brain that tells the body when it has had enough to eat. Therefore, one just keeps on eating and ingesting these empty calories. To the best of my knowledge agave nectar does not do this.

I'm sure that there is someone on the forum who can clarify and/or correct this information.

rwj

Maria, I'm sorry, I don't know anything about the agave. But I did get in trouble from Pete for using corn syrup in the brandy snaps. He thinks it's the worst stuff ever, and I think Bernie Roth mentioned it in the Splenda thread as well.

You might find this website of interest : http://www.glycemicindex.com/

There is a discussion in one of their past newsletters about agave : http://ginews.blogspot.com/2006/03/gi-v ... pdate.html

There was also this comment from a reader :

That looks like a great low GI recipe. I just wanted to make sure someone mentioned that not all agave has a low GI. The safest one to use is Volcanic Nectar from http://www.VolcanicNectar.com. It's been tested here in the U.S. and is proven low GI and safe for diabetics! Thanks again for such a great recipe!

and this reply from the authors :

Glad you like it. We think it's very creative recipe development using beans in this way. And tasty too. We don't know Volcanic Nectar agave nectar. But Sweet Cactus Farms Premium Agave Nectar carries the official GI symbol and was tested by an accredited laboratory. It has a GI of 19. We wrote about it in GI News in March 2006.

Maria, I use agave nectar quite a lot. I will sweeten my Yogi tea with it at night when I don't want a big sugar rush. I also use it to sweeten my protein bars, again so I don't get a huge sugar buzz after my workouts. It provides just the right amount of sweetness for me while not tasting at all artificial. Great stuff, it is.

rwj

Cowboy, do you have a good protein bar recipe, please ? The retail ones are full of all sorts of stuff I'd rather avoid...

Thanks, Celia

Thanks guys and gals. Yeah, so far I haven't heard that there is anything wrong with it except from this friend of mine. I asked her to send me the "offending" articles and one was from a company trying to promote their sweetener, and the other one didn't say that agave nectar was bad, but that like all things, it should be eaten in moderation by diabetics.

Thanks for that research Celia...and for the idea about the tea Cowboy. And Larry, I definitely enjoy agave in it's fermented form over it's "nectar" form...LOL!

Maria, I use agave nectar quite a lot. I will sweeten my Yogi tea with it at night when I don't want a big sugar rush. I also use it to sweeten my protein bars, again so I don't get a huge sugar buzz after my workouts. It provides just the right amount of sweetness for me while not tasting at all artificial. Great stuff, it is.

rwj

Cowboy, do you have a good protein bar recipe, please ? The retail ones are full of all sorts of stuff I'd rather avoid...

Thanks, Celia

The one I use is full of almond butter and almonds. I won't post it as I know you have a nut allergy around your house. If you want it, let me know. Otherwise I post another one that I am still tinkering with that doesn't use nuts.

rwj

Robert, could you post it anyway please ? I'm not making it for the kids, and almonds are safe, because they're one of the nuts our son isn't allergic too. He's ok with almonds, hazelnuts and brazil nuts - all the Italian ones - but REALLY allergic to cashews, walnuts, pecans and pistachios. Which means North African, Indian, Thai etc. are all out.

Thanks again, Cowboy.

Celia

Robert, could you post it anyway please ? I'm not making it for the kids, and almonds are safe, because they're one of the nuts our son isn't allergic too. He's ok with almonds, hazelnuts and brazil nuts - all the Italian ones - but REALLY allergic to cashews, walnuts, pecans and pistachios. Which means North African, Indian, Thai etc. are all out.

Thanks again, Cowboy.

Celia

No problem, love. I am still tinkering with this one, too. I really like it with Vietnamese cinnamon in the mix (to taste). I mix this by hand but really wish that I had my Kitchen Aid mixer for the task. Use one if you have it. Also, you may have to gradually add more soy milk so that you get the right consistency.


Protein Bars

2 & 1/2 cups vanilla flavor Soy protein powder
2 Cups Smooth Organic Almond Butter
1 Cup Organic Sugar Cane syrup or Agave Syrup
1/2 Cup Soy Milk
Cinnamon to taste (1 Tbsp?)
2 Cups Rolled Oats (dry, not cooked)
2 Cups Dried Raisins or other fruit
1 & 1/2 cup of roasted Slivered Almonds for topping
Preparation
In a Mircrowave-safe Mixing bowl, mix the 1 cup of Sugar cane or Agave Syrup with the 2 cups of smooth almond butter. Microwave on High for one minute. Remove from Microwave and blend the two together. Put back in the Microwave and heat again for one minute. Remove. Add the Vanilla Soy proten powder a half cup at a time, blending well. Drizzle a little of the half cup of Soy Milk as you do this to make it easier. If the mix gets too dry or hard to blend, return it to the microwave for a quick reheating. Continue in this manner until all the Protien Powder and the 1/2 cup of liquid Soy Milk are well-incorporated into the mixture. (If your nut butter is moist then you can skip all the microwaving; I skip it anyway as I don’t have a microwave.)


Next, add the cinnamon and stir in the rolled oats a little at a time. When fully incorporated, do the same with the dried raisins. You may need to reheat the mixture to keep it mixable. If it gets too dry, add extra tablespoons of Soy milk, one at a time to keep the mixing smooth. Don't add too much milk or it will not set up properly. Mix until well incorporated.

Line a 9 X 13 pan with wax or parchement paper. Dump the mixture in the pan and press it down to a uniform thickness. Next, take the slivered roasted almonds and press them into the top of the mixture so the almonds are firmly embedded (drizzle a little agave nectar on top of the bar mix to help them adhere). You can use a jar of peanut butter or a can of beans to roll over the top like a rolling pin to even out the spreading of the mixture and to embed the roasted almonds in the top. Refrigerate overnight, cut into squares.

Variation

5 tbsp natural nut butter of choice (chunky or smooth) 1 cup flaxmeal,
or a flaxbased hot cereal. If this is not accessible traditional
oatmeal will work. 6 scoops chocolate whey protein (approximately 132
grams worth of low-carb protein powder)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons flax seeds (optional)
1 cup non-fat dry milk (optional)
1/2 cup water (depending on what type of protein you use, you may need
to add more)
Modifications: Use vanilla protein and replace ~1/4 cup of the
flaxmeal with a variety of nuts, seeds, or dried berries.
Basically spray a 9x9 pan with pam mix all dry ingredients and then
mix in the liquids. This forms a kind of dough that you press into the
pan. You can eat this straight up, or freeze it and then cut it into
bars and store on some waxpaper.


Let me know if you have any questions. Good luck and enjoy!

rwj

Many thanks, RJ - appreciate you taking the time to type that all out for me ! I'm going to try the variation first, as I've got all the ingredients, I'm just out of vanilla protein powder. It's good too, because I've been hunting for a recipe for ages that doesn't use raw eggwhite. Will let you know how I go.

I'll trade you my favourite protein powder concoction - there is a great "icecream" recipe here.

Cheers, Celia

No problem Celia. There aren't many bars out there that I will eat, either. I like making my own as I know exactly what went into them. Let me know if you like them and if you made any changes.

Thanks for the recipe, too.

rwj

Check out Heidi Swanson's blog for an interesting flour-less brownie recipe using agave nectar.