Nature’s Agave: 5 Recipes in 5 Seconds
Top Ten Uses for Agave
Sugar-free Cooking Made Easy
By Kelly E. Keough
New to sugar-free cooking? Start with agave nectar. Nature’s Agave is the best for taste and a glycemic index of 17.
Agave syrup is made from a succulent plant grown in Mexico. It is an all-natural fructose sweetener that substitutes for sugar in everyday recipes.
Imagine making sugar conscious desserts, sauces, and dishes without spiking your blood sugar levels or your kid’s too for that matter! Agave is a low glycemic food and has a low glycemic index of under 50.
Use these simple recipes with agave to replace high glycemic sweeteners like white sugar, brown sugar, molasses, honey, maple syrup, and high fructose corn syrup.
Ten Easy Uses for Agave in Recipes
1. Drinks
Use agave in your morning hot beverage and you’ll have found the first alternative sweetener that has no aftertaste. It tastes great, too.
Coffee and Tea with Agave
8 oz prepared coffee or black, green, or Rooibos herbal tea
1 teaspoon agave
1 – 2 tablespoons creamer
Pour prepared coffee, black, green, or Rooibos herbal tea into cup. Stir in agave. Add in your choice of non-dairy creamer or milk.
Yield: 1, 8 oz serving
2. Smoothies
A simple smoothie using ice instead of fruit can be used for a 10 o’clock or 3 o’clock snack. And with just 2 teaspoon of agave, it will make your life sweeter.
Sugar-free Smoothie with Agave
8 oz water or milk
1 scoop sugar-free chocolate or vanilla flavored protein powder
1/2 cup ice
2 teaspoons agave
To blender, add water or milk, protein powder, ice, and agave. Blend on low and increase speed to high for 30 seconds. Pour into 16 oz glass.
Yield: 1, 12 oz serving
3. Hot Cereal
Don’t dump maple syrup all over your breakfast. Try agave on hot oatmeal or quinoa. Your breakfast will last you all morning long without giving you sugar crashes.
Sugar-free Hot Quinoa Cereal with Agave
1 cup water
1/3 cup Ancient Harvest quinoa flakes
1 teaspoons agave
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dollop of your choice of milk
1/2 cup fresh berries
In medium sauce pan, add water and Ancient Harvest quinoa flakes. Bring to a boil stirring constantly for 90 seconds until cooked. Transfer mixture to a small cereal bowl. Stir in agave and cinnamon. Top with milk and fresh berries.
Yield: 1, 1 1/2 cup serving
4. Yogurt
The best way to buy and eat yogurt is plain, nonfat. Then add your own flavorings like vanilla bean and use agave to sweeten without spiking your blood sugar levels.
Sugar-free Vanilla Yogurt with Agave
1 cup plain, fat-free yogurt
1 teaspoons agave
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or bean
Place plain, fat-free yogurt in a small serving bowl. Stir in agave and vanilla extract until well blended.
Yield: 1, 1 cup serving
5. Salad Dressing
Make salad dressing in minutes with oil, vinegar, agave and spices. Enjoy green leafy vegetables without added cane juice and corn syrup.
Sugar-free Italian Salad Dressing with Agave
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
2 cloves fresh crushed garlic, minced
2 tablespoons agave
1 teaspoon Italian spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
In medium bowl, whisk together oil with lemon juice or vinegar. Stir in garlic, agave, Italian spice and salt. Transfer dressing to a glass jar with lid. Shake well before using. Yield: 1 1/2 cups
6. Ketchup
Most ketchup brands add high fructose corn syrup. No wonder it’s the only food kids will eat. Make your own ketchup with agave. No one will know it doesn’t have sugar.
Sugar-free Ketchup with Agave
1 1/2 cups unsweetened ketchup
2 tablespoons agave
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
In small mixing bowl, whisk together unsweetened ketchup, agave, Worcestershire sauce, and salt. Transfer to an air-tight container and store in refrigerator.
Yield: 1 2/3 cups
7. Marinades
Make your own marinade with citrus juies, oil, agave, and spices. Add flavor and zest to chicken without the added corn syrup and cane juice.
Sugar-free Citrus Marinade with Agave for Chicken
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons agave
1 tablespoon low salt tamari
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup fresh minced cilantro
3 cloves crushed garlic, minced
In medium bowl, whisk together orange juice, lemon juice, olive oil, agave, tamari, and salt. Stir in cilantro and minced garlic. Add to marinade four, 4 oz washed, pounded and patted dry chicken breasts. Marinate chicken for 30 minutes. Cook chicken as desired.
Yield: 2 1/2 cups marinade
8. Baking
Baking sugar-free with agave adds the needed moisture to baked goods and makes an easy backed apple without the ill affects of brown sugar.
Sugar-free Baked Apples with Almonds and Agave
6 Fuji apples, washed and cored 1″ wide and 3/4 down to core
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons agave
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 tablespoons raw almonds, finely chopped
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray oil bottom of 9×13 inch Pyrex baking dish. Place apples in baking dish. In small bowl, whisk together lemon juice, agave, and cinnamon. Stir in almonds. Pour 2 teaspoons of lemon agave mixture into each apple core. Add 1/2 inch of boiling water to baking dish. Bake apples for 45 minutes. Cool before serving.
Yield: 6, 1 cup servings
9. Stir-fry Sauce
Stir-fry is a healthy meal to make with left over vegetables. With agave on hand, you can whip up a sugar-free stir-fry sauce that tastes better than if you used a store bought sauce.
Vegetable Stir-Fry Sauce with Agave
2 1/2 cups low salt vegetable broth
1 tablespoon low salt tamari
1 teaspoon Umeboshi paste
1 tablespoon lime or lemon juice
2 tablespoons agave
1 tablespoon fresh minced ginger
1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh minced jalapeno
1 teaspoon salt
dash cayenne
2 teaspoons kuzu root or cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water
In medium sauce pan over medium heat, add broth, tamari, Umeboshi paste, lime or lemon juice and agave. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Add ginger, garlic, jalapeno, salt and cayenne. Slowly stir in dissolved kuzu or cornstarch and stir constantly until thick about 3-4 minutes. Use sauce in your stir-fry recipe.
Yield: 3 cups sauce
10. Pizza Sauce
Pizza sauce usually contains cane juice or sugar. Sweeten your family’s favorite Friday night meal with agave to ensure everyone loves the slice and can still sleep soundly.
Sugar-free Pizza Sauce with Agave
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 sweet Hawaiian onion, finely chopped
1 15 oz car unsweetened tomato sauce
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup agave
1 tablespoon Bragg’s Liquid Aminos
1 teaspoon sea salt
In large sauté pan over low heat, add oil and lightly sauté garlic for a few minutes. Add onion and sauté until translucent about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, tomatoes, paste, agave, Bragg’s, and salt. Simmer to reduce liquid for 15-20 minutes stirring occasionally. Use pizza sauce on favorite pizza dough recipe.
Yield: 4 cups sauce
Coconut Mana Chocolate Truffles
This video recipe is takes you all the way through the blending truffle process. Nutiva Coconut Mana is a new product that is super satiating and easier to use then hemp butter.
Use coconut mana in:
- smoothies
- on hot and cold cereals
- on yams
- in desserts, baked and raw vegan
Coconut Hemp Chocolate Truffles
By Kelly e. Keough, expert gluten-free/sugar-free vegan chef
And from her cookbook, “100 Best Gluten-free Recipes for Your Vegan Kitchen”
1/2 cup Nutiva Coconut Mana, melted
3 tablespoons Nature’s Agave
3 tablespoons Whey Low or erythritol
3 tablespoons Hemp Milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 rounded tablespoons carob powder
4 rounded tablespoons Navitas cacao powder
1 tablespoon Navitas cacao nibs
1 tablespoon Navitas Goji Berries
3 tablespoons Nutiva Hemp Seeds
In small bowl, blend melted Coconut Mana, agave, Whey Low or erythritol, hemp milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. Stir until all ingredients are incorporated. With flat spatula using a folding motion, work in carob and cacao powder until smooth, pliable, and shiny like fudge. With spatula, fold in cacao nibs and Goji berries. Form into balls and roll in hemp.
Note: To melt coconut mana, place glass jar in two inches of water in medium sauce pan. Heat on low for ten minutes. Remove from heat and stir.
Makes 35, one-inch truffle balls.
Mindful Eating: Who’s Got Time? To Make Kale Salad w/Peanut Butter Sauce and Goji
This recipe is a favorite of everybody, especially me. And because it is raw vegan with a roasted peanut butter sauce, it reminds me of mindful eating.
Put peanut butter on just about anything, and it tastes good! So dressing raw kale– the most nutrient dense green leafy veggie on the planet, with peanut butter is a win/win. Because the kale is raw, the nutrients nourish the body, you’ll feel it. And the peanut butter sauce with Goji and strawberries tantalize the taste buds, satisfy our mouth feel and sweet tooth, and makes us think we are eating something decadent. When really it’s superhealthy!
This is what I call MINDFUL EATING. It is taking the time to plan, prepare, and enjoy the tastes we love.
RAW KALE WITH PEANUT BUTTER SAUCE AND GOJI
from “The 100 Best Gluten-free Recipes for Your Vegan Kitchen”
4 cups thinly sliced dinosaur kale 
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup rice or coconut vinegar
1/4 cup Nature’s Agave
3 tablespoons Bragg’s liquid aminos
1/3 cup Navitas Naturals Goji Berries
1 quart fresh strawberries, washed and sliced
In large mixing bowl, add slice kale with lemon juice, olive oil, and sea salt. Massage the wet ingredients into kale until kale wilts. Mix in sliced onion; set aside.
In medium mixing bowl, whisk together peanut butter, rice vinegar, agave, and Bragg’s. Pour wet mixture onto prepared kale. Toss in Goji berries and prepared strawberries. Serve immediately.
Note: Skip strawberries, or only add as eaten as the strawberries will only taste good when served immediately. This is because the vinegar will make the strawberries taste fermented if left in the fridge over 24 hours.
Yield: 5 cups.
The Latest Thing to Happen to Me About Mindful Eating:
I usually look and feel 10-15 years younger due to my healthy lifestyle and mindful eating. I didn’t come across this behavior naturally, it was actually do or die. From age 35-39, over 1/3 of my hair fell out and I was balding. I thought, “This is my best asset, I can’t loose it!” Always a sugar addict/compulsive over eater, I was desperate to heal my hair and my body. Going sugar-free/gluten-free not only helped my heal my hair and grow back, I healed my sugar addiction and lost 50 pounds. I am now the most mindful eater I know! And I am so grateful. Here’s why…
Three weeks ago, I took a 9-5 job to enhance my understanding of internet business– which was actually a
7 am – 6 pm job. Working from home these past six years as an expert healthy chef afforded me the luxury of practicing a total regime of mindful eating and receiving the benefits from it. Now, I was doing eleven hours in the in can, and my mindful eating was railroaded right off the tracks. Even though I had strong tools of healthy choices and portion control in place, they barely carried me through the rigor of getting at 4:50 am and sitting in front of a computer until 6 pm, plus even though I was learning what I set out to achieve, I was admittedly unhappy and not fulfilled. And that’s because I couldn’t be 100% committed to my health 24-7. Suddenly, I felt badly for everyone everywhere who had a full-time job and didn’t have the time for healthy eating. I knew what it felt like to have limited time to be to shop and prepare whole fruits and vegetables, organic proteins, and sugar-friendly/gluten-free desserts.
Packing my lunch went out the door. I only had time to pack snacks, which were all gone by 11 am because I speedily ate them. Then, I would turn to coffee. Coffee and I don’t mix. The caffeine would crash my blood sugar and make me want to eat more than I needed. Then I would try to balance it all out and buy a healthy salad for lunch. For the average person, this could be batting a thousand, but for me, it was well below my standard of mindful eating. Buying food out at a store when stressed and unhappy was dangerous for me. I had to curb my spending and budget. I saw the stress of the job was causing me to purchase extra good-for-you-foods like rice cakes and Think Thin bars. Nothing wrong with these snacks, it just that I would eat half the bag or more than one bar. The time commitment stressed my body and mind to the max. I lasted three only weeks, and quit! It’s because deep health and natural beauty are what I value most, they are my greatest success and what I hold true and close to my heart. I don’t regret taking the job. It taught me what I love and value most, my health. And so much of my health depends on what and how I eat.
I went back to basics and planned my food for the day. I love the health benefits and appreciate my life more because of my mindful eating. This is all due to my sugar-free/gluten-free and flexitarian food practice of planning, preparation, and prayer. I plan my meals and snacks first and make a shopping list. I prepare all my fruits and vegetables for juicing and snacks and store them in Tupperware so they are ready to eat, even on the go. And prayer is to remind me to receive the benefits of healthy glowing skin, better sleep, trim body, steady blood sugar, and ability to access my happiness frequently through out the day. I am so grateful for who I am and who I have become as a person and as an expert chef. The tools I’ve created for myself saved my life. I could’ve gained 10 pounds and be miserable, but I didn’t.
I bounced back.
Chocolate Hemp Truffles Vegan Recipe
This is the recipe that you will make over and over again.
From my cookbook, “Sugar-free Gluten-free Baking and Desserts”.
Welcome to the Hemp Ball Club!
Why raw chocolate made with hemp butter and why my recipe?
- Full Vegan Protein Source
- Heart Healthy
- High in Omega 3
- Low GI
- Low Sugar
- Less Than 1 Gram Saturated Fat
- Less Than 50 Calories a Truffle
- Satisfies Without Triggering Wanting More
- The Best Chocolate You’ve Ever Had
And I have made over 10,000 truffles and met over 10,000 people who ate them, so I am pretty confident that you will like them too!
Hemp ball truffles
A protein packed Omega 3 vegan chocolate!
1/3 cup raw Manitoba Harvest hemp butter
4 tablespoons Nature’s Agave Raw
1/4 cup ZSweet or coconut sugar
2 tablespoons Manitoba Harvest hemp milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 rounded tablespoons carob
5 rounded tablespoons Navitas cacao powder
2 tablespoon Navitas cacao nibs
2 tablespoon Navitas Goji Berries
3 tablespoons Manitoba Harvest hemp seeds
In small bowl with flat spatula, blend hemp butter, agave, ZSweet, hemp milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. Stir until all ingredients are well incorporated. With back of flat spatula using a folding motion, work in carob and cacao powder one tablespoon at a time until batter is smooth, pliable, and shiny like fudge. Repeat this process until all carob and cacao is incorporated. With spatula, fold in cacao nibs and Goji berries. Form into 1-inch balls and roll in hemp seeds.
Yield: 24, one-inch balls.
Nature’s Agave vs. Madhava Taste Test
At my raw vegan, sugar-free gluten-free cooking class last week, I surprised my class with a new agave product, Nature’s Agave. This is my new choice of agave because it is premium and has the lowest glycemic index of any agave I’ve tried. Coming in at only a 17 GI, it is far lower than most agave rating a 50 GI. A food is considered a low glycemic food if it rates at 50 or below. For me, 50 is high as I can feel it when I eat it. So for me, Nature’s Agave is the obvious health choice. I want to taste my food and be energized from it, not blown away by the sugar rushes and crashes. From a culinary pov, Nature’s Agave has a premium taste and quality unlike any other I’ve tried. It made our recipes sing.
In the taste test video, you will see a candid shot of my student, Susanne, tasting Nature’s Agave for the first time and comparing it to Madhava. While Nature’s Agave is a few more dollars, it is worth every penny when it tastes light, not sugary, and doesn’t spike my blood sugar at all.
Use these simple recipes with agave to replace high glycemic sweeteners like white sugar, brown sugar, molasses, honey, maple syrup, and high fructose corn syrup.
Easy Uses for Agave in Recipes
1. Drinks
Use agave in your morning hot beverage and you’ll have found the first alternative sweetener that has no aftertaste. It tastes great, too.
Coffee and Tea with Agave
8 oz prepared coffee or black, green, or rooibos herbal tea
1 teaspoon agave
1 – 2 tablespoons creamer
Pour prepared coffee, black, green, or rooibos herbal tea into cup. Stir in agave. Add in your choice of non-dairy creamer or milk.
Yield: 1, 8 oz serving
2. Smoothies
A simple smoothie using ice instead of fruit can be used for a 10 o’clock or 3 o’clock snack. And with a just a teaspoon of agave, it will make your life sweeter.
Sugar-free Smoothie with Agave
8 oz water or milk
1 scoop sugar-free chocolate or vanilla flavored protein powder
1/2 cup ice
1 teaspoon agave
To blender, add water or milk, protein powder, ice, and agave. Blend on low and increase speed to high for 30 seconds. Pour into 16 oz glass.
Yield: 1, 12 oz serving
3. Hot Cereal
Don’t dump maple syrup all over your breakfast. Try agave on hot oatmeal or quinoa. Your breakfast will last you all morning long without giving you sugar crashes.
Sugar-free Hot Quinoa Cereal with Agave
1 cup water
1/3 cup Ancient Harvest quinoa flakes
1 teaspoons agave
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
dollop of your choice of milk
1/2 cup fresh berries
In medium sauce pan, add water and Ancient Harvest quinoa flakes. Bring to a boil stirring constantly for 90 seconds until cooked. Transfer mixture to a small cereal bowl. Stir in agave and cinnamon. Top with milk and fresh berries.
Yield: 1, 1 1/2 cup serving
4. Yogurt
The best way to buy and eat yogurt is plain, nonfat. Then add your own flavorings like vanilla bean and use agave to sweeten without spiking your blood sugar levels.
Sugar-free Vanilla Yogurt with Agave
1 cup plain, fat-free yogurt
1 teaspoons agave
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or bean
Place plain, fat-free yogurt in a small serving bowl. Stir in agave and vanilla extract until well blended.
Yield: 1, 1 cup serving