“Why do you use agave? I’ve heard that it’s very unhealthy” I’m asked this question about my “go to” sweetener on at least a daily basis.
First off, there really is no perfect sweetener, so I recommend everything in moderation.
We often take sugar and other sweeteners for granted, forgetting that they were not widely available to humans until the modern era (excluding of course, those living in the tropical regions feasting on mangoes and pineapple). Processed sugar was invented between the Medieval Period and the Enlightenment (more than 500 years ago), it became more widely available during the 1400 and 1500’s. By 1750 (with the advent of the Industrial Revolution and the invention of sugar mills) sugar became wildly popular.
So if we really think about it, up until a couple of hundred years ago, the majority of the human race (at least those living in colder climes) only experienced the taste of sweetness by eating fruit when it was in season (or when nursing, of course). The fruit that was eaten was not the overly ripe, super sweet fruit that is bred today. Think of wild blueberries –they are tiny and tart. The fruit we eat today has been cultivated for its juicy, sweet flavor.
I think the spike in diabetes and other diseases we have seen during the past decades may partially be due to the fact that humans are not accustomed to eating large quantities of sugar and are not able to efficiently metabolize this substance.
Sugar is sugar. Agave is sugar. An apple is sugar with some good vitamins, minerals and fiber. Basically, many of us (especially those with celiac) would be prudent to monitor our intake of sugar in any form (celiac and diabetes ride on the same HLA gene, so the presence of one increases the likelihood of the other).
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While I do use agave in my dessert recipes, I am very cautious about my overall intake of this (and all other sweet substances) because I find that unfortunately, I am one of those whose body rebels against too much sugar. Of course, my husband and children can eat a lot more of this substance than I do and still feel great. That’s what keeps me baking like a fiend. They want their treats and they do just fine with them.
For those of you that are now on the anti-agave bandwagon, I have come up with this date sweetened recipe. Of course, I will still be using agave because I feel ok when I consume it in very small amounts.
Banana Walnut Muffins
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- ¼ cup coconut oil
- 2 medium bananas
- 3 dates (remove pits)
- 10 drops stevia
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- ¼ teaspoon celtic sea salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
Instructions
- Place eggs, oil, bananas, dates and stevia in a vitamix; blend on medium speed until combined
- Add in coconut flour, salt and baking soda and blend until smooth
- Fold in walnuts
- Scoop ¼ cup batter into a paper lined muffin pan
- Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes (my batch took exactly 23 minutes; all ovens are slightly different)
- Cool and serve
Equipment
These tasty gluten-free, Paleo (I think) muffins do not contain agave for all of the agave-phobes out there. I will be creating some desserts with alternative sweeteners just to spice things up (plus, I like a good challenge every now and then). However, I will still be using agave for some recipes.
In terms of the great agave debate, I want you all to know that I use Madhava Agave Nectar. While I’ve noticed a lot of your comments with links to articles about the evils of agave syrup I want to also point out this link posted by one of my readers, Shari, from Madhava’s President Craig Gerbore.
On a much lighter note, here’s a cool coincidence in regards to agave nectar. The winner of last weeks Freebie Friday is Karen from wrighttherapies.com. She left an interesting comment regarding the controversy over agave nectar on my Asian Salad Dressing post.
Agave or not, have a great weekend!
UPDATE: please visit Madhava’s Agave MythBuster website for more information on the agave debate.
Bernadette says
I have joined the anti-agave camp. However, I still enjoy your recipes and would like your help in sweetener conversions so I can continue to enjoy your recipes and use my own sweetener.
I understand that agave nectar is much more sweet than regular sugar, so I wonder how much honey, organic sugar, would be used in place of your agave measurements?
Yehuda says
Are dates healthier than agave when used as a sweetener?
Thanks fot all the recipes!!
Melissa says
Nancy,
I’m glad to help with the stevia. For 1 part agave I use 1 part water and 1/3 part stevia. An example would be if Elana’s recipe calls for 1/4 cup agave I would use 1/4 cup water (in the liquids) and 4 tsps powdered stevia (in the dry ingredients). I prefer Nunaturals powdered stevia. Does this help?
Elana’s recipes are great and that’s the only adaptation I have to make. Her’s is the only website that I’ve found I LOVE the recipes.
Good Luck,
Melissa
Nancy says
I’m new to this site, falling into the recipe for the Banana Walnut muffins. Two batches later, I can say they are GOOD, the best I’ve had. I suffer from many sensitivities and though I love Agave, it doesn’t seem to like me.
Melissa–you stated that you easily switch to stevia powder. You said you use 1/3 of water for agave but didn’t say how much powdered stevia you use. That stuff is STRONG so I would have a hard time figuring it out. Can you help? If so, I could convert a lot of these fantastic recipes.
Al says
http://www.droparecipe.com/recipes/view/gluten-free-chocolate-cake how about a Cake like that, just a pure normal Chocolate cake.
Melissa says
I wanted to let people know what I use as a substitution for the agave. I am on a candida diet and therefore cannot do agave. I use NuNaturals NuStevia White Stevia Powder. There is a slight aftertaste as has been mentioned but I’ve found that after being off sugar for a little while the taste buds adjust. I really like it now as do a few of my other friends who have made the same adjustment. Stevia is an herb with no calories and no glycemic index. It is therefore a sweetener that does not have to be used in moderation and the only one I know to not have ANY bad qualities to it. I take Elana’s recipes and substitute water for agave. I do this because I’m using a powder sweetener instead of a semi-liquid. I add 1/3 of the measurement of the agave with stevia powder. Everything is delicious and has turned out very well for me. Thanks Elana! It’s so nice to only have to adjust the sweetner instead of just about everything in a recipe.
amanda says
Thanks for that info. I was wondering how I could use all Elana’s recipes without the agave, as I have candida as well.
Kristin says
Hi Elana –
Since I did not see any comments about your muffins, only about the “great agave debate”, I thought I would let you know that we made them the day you posted them. The whole family loved them! Thank you for coming up with a recipe using dates and stevia. They were gone in minutes!
Abigail says
Hi Elana,
I’ve just recently started using agave nectar with your recipes. What would you say to articles like this?
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/02/Agave-A-Triumph-of-Marketing-over-Truth.aspx
I have not checked other websites to see if he is the only one claiming that it is neither natural or organic, but is the rule of thumb just always “Everything in Moderation”?
Verde says
Seriously people, where is the idea that agave is bad for pregnancy coming from? Is it gossip spread by that collection of falsehoods published at Natural News? Cause there is no true references for what the author is claiming which essentially is smoke and mirrors partly through the use of political trickery — for example when George Bush said John McCain had a mixed race child out of wedlock back in 2000. This tactic was later used to claim the Clinton admin had trashed the Whitehouse which wasn’t true either. In yet another incident CIA secret agent Valerie Plame’s name was revealed as punishment when her husband revealed the truth about yellow uranium in Iraq before the war was started (which has now gone on for longer than WWII):
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080128/banks
http://archive.salon.com/politics/feature/2001/05/23/vandals/index.html
There are a number of different agave plants of which blue agave (used for agave nectar) is just one. There are a number of nightshade plants too which are very poisonous but some of those in that family include the potato, tomato, all kinds of pepper plants and tomatillo (which is related to the Chinese Lantern but we don’t eat those either just because we do eat green salsa!).
Unless there is a better source then it’s best to stop spreading the lies from that malicious smear job piece. The only “experts” cited there are those who are figments of their own imaginations. I cook dinner most nights so I could call myself, “Senior Management and Meal Developer.” That would not make me a chemistry expert in regards to a sweetener but that’s exactly what they are trying to put forth with their self-imposed creative titles. Most of what the author is advancing is faux facts, fantasy chemistry, and specious associations to use you, the reader to connect what is not really being said so it will be virally spread all over the net and elsewhere. Don’t fall for it.
Faith says
This is really interesting for me because I’ve recently started to experiement with other forms of sweeteners in baking. I love to use honey, but the rest of the recipe needs to be altered to adjust for the liquid and acidity. I’ll be interested to see what other sweeteners you use in your baking, as your baked goods always look wonderful!