natural sweetener

I use agave nectar/syrup a lot. It's made by Mahava, just up the road from me here in Colorado. It is less sweet and less think than honey. And it has a lower glycemic value.

On their website, there are recipes for baking with it. I've used agave in the place of sugar for many muffin recipes.

And I use a bit of it in my tea.

Anne

Lisa, we do not have a Super Target here.  The Target we do have has a very small grocery department.  Where would Agave be...around honey, syrup, sugar..?

thanks

I can't find agave in my local Safeway, but at Vitamin Cottage or Whole Foods, it's right next to the honey.

You can also get it on line : http://www.madhavahoney.com/agave.htm

And find recipes on that website, too.

Anne

Hi, I am new to the forum, just diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer. I hear sugar was a no-no for anyone with cancer. But I know Agave Nectar is low glycemic and I wonder if this is ok to eat with breast cancer. I have such a sweet tooth. Anyone know anything about this? Any research on this ?

AJ

I've been using Stevia for several years for sweetening hot drinks but haven't used it much for other cooking because I stopped making and eating most starchy things that call for sugar. I know a there is at least one Stevia cookbook out. The interesting thing is that just that one habit of substituting it for sugar in my daily hot drinks alone helped so much in dealing with my weight even before I stopped making starchy foods.

It comes in small packets, and also in small bottles in liquid form with an eye dropper.

Part of my reason for using it is because it is hard not to gain weight, but the main reason I use it is because I think real sugar is sort of a "fast food" source for cancer.

AlaskaAngel 

You gals might want to take another look at stevia's supposed safety.  I was just reading this thread and thought I remembered hearing recently that the govt. was kind of warning against stevia use.  So, I did a search and came up with these:

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN1841210720070918?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

http://www.fda.gov/foi/warning_letters/s6500c.htm

I did try stevia a few years ago when I was trying to avoid sugar because of the glycemic index thing, but found it has a funny taste so threw it out.  Never have tried the agave nectar.

Tina