Agave Love

I bought a bottle of Organic Raw Blue Agave syrup a couple months ago from the Superstore and it sat in my cupboard unopened until just before vacation. I was scared to try this unknown syrup made from the same plant as tequila.

In a burst of bravery, I opened the bottle and tried it on french toast. Wonderful!! Where has Agave syrup been all my life? My family wouldn't try it but they had to listen to me rave about how great it tasted and how much I loved it.

"Is this "Agave" love?" my husband quipped.

I laughed at his wittiness and promised to use "Agave Love" as the title of one of my blogs. Eye roll. My writing is so not appreciated at home. Do you know that Shawn has not even read any of my blogs? I tell him he doesn't even know me. More eye rolls. Anyways...that's another blog topic.

Agave tasted so good that I turned the bottle over to examine the nutritional content. Hmm...120 calories for 2 Tbs...that's not much different than sugar. 32 grams of natural sugars too...why is this healthy? My "Raw Energy" book had the answer for me. Agave is healthy because 1) it's raw which means enzyme action and 2) it's low glycemic which means that the 32 grams of sugar won't raise the roof off your blood sugar. It's also sweeter tasting than sugar which means that you can use less of it. I like that it doesn't contain artificial sweeteners so there's no chemical taste.

While in Mexico I looked to see if I could order some of this native syrup with my breakfast. The waiter looked at me with troubled eyes. "Tequila?" he suggests making a drinking motion. I laugh because it's 9am in the morning and it's also obvious that this Mexican has never heard of any other use for the agave cactus. Never mind.

This is just another example of a healthy food that I avoided out of ignorance and then later, fear. Why are we so afraid of the unknown? I'm so glad I overcame that and found a new sweet food to enjoy!