As we close in on the holiday season, its tjime to think about food and drink gifts. My Cocktail Pecans are fast and easy and will keep for a few weeks in a tightly sealed jar or tin. And pecans are good for you!

Cocktail Pecans from the Steel's

4 cups pecan halves
1/4 cup butter (melted)
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon Jane,s Crazy Salt
11/2 teaspoons worcestshire sauce

Combine all and coat the pecans. Spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 200 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool and pack in airtight containers..

This is from my friend, Judith Choate, award-winning cookbook author and chef. It comes from her cookbook, HOMEMADE. I have substituted agave syrup for the sugar, making it diabetic friendly and lower in calories.

Coffee Liqueur;

Utensils needed: medium saucepan, heat proof bowl: half gallon non-reactive container Cooking time, ten minutes, infusing time: three weeks

Quantity: 2 quarts

Coffee Liqueur
3 cups agave nectar
2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup instant espresso powder
3/12 cups vodka

1 large vanilla bean split open and cut crosswise into small pieces

Combine espresso powder with one cup of boiling water, stirring to disolve. Add agave nectar,vodka and vanilla bean and pour into non-reative container and set aside to infuse for therr weeks Pour into two 1 quart bottles ,cap and store in a cool,dark spot.

And this is for the cook!

Classic Margarita- from DELICIOUS MEETS NUTRITIOUS , By Stephen Richards of Better Body Foods and Nutrition LLC, ( This is a great cookbook using Xagave agave nectar for sweetening.)

Ingredients:

3 oz. tequila
1 oz. Cointreau or Triple Sec
1 Tbsp Agave nectar
3 oz. fresh lime juice
sea salt or lime wedges for garnish

Fill a large cocktail shaker with ice. Add the ingredients and shake vigorously. Serve in chilled glasses with or without salted rims and garnish with lime slices. Makes two drinks.

Next time I am sending three Pulled Pork recipes. I discovered that pork roasts are very economical- At my supermarket, $1.39 a pound . They are lean and nutritious. and very good in slow cooking recipes.

With the holidays fast approaching, we need to plan for some sugar-free baking. We all know that the high-intensity sweeteners just do not provide the function of sugar, so its time to order Nature Sweet Crystals, Brown Crystals and Powder. They substitute perfectly for sugars in all recipes and since they are PURE maltitol, they have minimal side effects.

I experimented with stevia all summer to develop a baking sweetener, but to date I have found that Nature Sweet behaves like sugar, tastes like sugar and that stevia just isn't there yet- for baking.

I got some excellent Saigon cinnamon at Costco's and have discovered I can make up a sugar free cinnamon/sugar using 1/2 cup of Nature Sweet to 2 tablespoons of cinnamon. I tried it on whole grain toast and it was so good that I added it to mini shredded wheats and came up with a high fiber/ sugar free breakfast cereal- similar to the sugared Kashi version.

Tonight, I am sauteeing apples and adding the cinnamon/Nature Sweet to them. I will use a combo of butter and olive oil for flavor and health. If you have Butter Buds, you can add them to olive oil for flavor.

We are also having fun with agave nectar. It is so good over fruit as it seems to bring out the best in the fruit flavors. I use it over cereal, in margaritas, mojitos and other sweet drinks and in marinades that have lime, but have a little too much "pucker". I cooked up a delicious blueberry topping last week using frozen, unsweetened blueberries , agave nectar and a bit of vanilla. Frozen fruit is a good way to get one of those recommended servings of fruits and veggies, with all those anti-oxidants and with agave- they taste so good. Just remember that agave is one and a half to two times sweeter than sugar so less is good.

We are using Steel's sugar free Maple Syrup for several appllications. It goes into sweet potatos, squash, (microwaved) and over ham slices or pork chops.. jIt is also excellent for a salmon marinade.

Its time for sugar free Pecan Pie. Our recipe uses Nature Sweet syrup, but the Maple works just as well. The pecans are considered a health food, and if your are on a low-carb program, you can make the crust out of almond flour,

Speaking of nuts, I have a great recipe for marinated cocktail pecans, which I will send along next time.

All the best,

Betty Jo

I thought it had a lot of energy,excitement and creativity and that you would never expect that in this economy. The foreign-sponsored booths are always a bit over-the top but the cheeses, olives, olive oil, truffles, pates and desserts were amazing . And the lower floor which always sports exciting start-up products, did not disappoint. This show is all about indulgence- and our more serious healthy offerings are mostly appealing to the buyers who know their customer's real needs. I thought that our being back to that marketplace was really gratifying and that the newly-launched products were very well received. The fact that Steel's is true to its gourmet roots and still delivers healthy, reduced sugar products makes us a good fit for the fancy food show. I think our customers in the pacific northwest are going to be happy to see us back there and back in distribution nation-wide.

Noteworthy were some unusual combinations of sweet and savory. Ice cream and gelato flavors using vegetables and herbs - caramel products that are salty, hot peppers added to sweets. American favorites like hamburgers are getting exotic treatments and the gourmet food creators seem to be on that track. One of the winners of the Sofi awards was macaroni and cheese with lobster added!

Great Show!

We've been highlighting some serious issues on the blog, but I felt it was time to share something a little closer to home. I enjoy cooking, but I don't usually have a lot of time to do it in and I always have more work than I can handle, so I found a way to kill two birds with one stone. I bring my sauces home to cook with. It makes a simple dinner flavorful, and I get a captive audience to try out our products on and see what works!

I arrive home from the plant about seven with a very hungry husband waiting for dinner. Out comes the grill pan, the meat, chicken or fish, and one of the Steel's sauces.

While the main course cooks, I make a salad, microwave the vegetables and voila! Dinner is served in thirty minutes or less. Favorites are Chicken with Mango Curry Sauce, Pork Chops with Hoisin Sauce, and Flank Steak with Teriyaki Sauce. Here are some other recipes that have gone over well at the house.

1. Tuna Steaks with Wasabi Teriyaki and pickled ginger has always been a winner.
2. Ribs with Chipote Barbecue can be hurried along with a hot oven for browning, add the sauce and finish in the microwave.
3. Honey Mustard Dressing is great with Lamb Chops and the Sesame Ginger Dressing is perfect for sauteing sea scallops or delicate fish, like flounder.
4. Raspberry Jalapeno is a great favorite of ours for a finishing sauce for those little pork tenderloins and the left-overs make a great wrap for the next day.
5. We like stir-fry with sea food, pea pods, peppers, onions, and Steel's Sweet and Sour Sauce. How easy is that!
6. We also like baked sweet potatoes with Steel's sugar free Maple Syrup, or acorn squash with Honey flavor Nature Sweet- both microwave-ready in nine minutes.
   

And for dessert: Strawberries dipped in Steel's Fudge Sauce, or Bananas Foster ( bananas sauteed in Steel's Agave Caramel Sauce ) or just some sugar free ice cream topped with Steel's Apple Pie Filling.

We have taken foods that would normally have sugar and re-invented them to be sugar free or low glycemic. Our sweeteners make it possible for the home cook to make any dessert or confection sugar free.

Science prevails! Thanks to Scientific American(May 2010) and Melinda Wenner Moyer for great reporting of really important medical findings. If this information is held back from the USDA's new recommendations- shame on them !! We will be watching them. They are accountable to us taxpayers, not to the soda lobby!! Sugar use needs to be curtailed in our society. Period. Prevention is the best weapon we have against staggering medical costs, and heart disease is a huge part of those costs. At last- the research is solid and the truth is out... Now it is up to our government to support these facts and ignore the big bucks from the lobbyists trying to hide the truth.

Eat less saturated fat: that has been the take-home message from the U.S. government for the past 30 years. But while Americans have dutifully reduced the percentage of daily calories from saturated fat since 1970, the obesity rate during that time has more than doubled, diabetes has tripled, and heart disease is still the country’s biggest killer. Now a spate of new research, including a meta-analysis of nearly two dozen studies, suggests a reason why: investigators may have picked the wrong culprit. Processed carbohydrates, which many Americans eat today in place of fat, may increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease more than fat does—a finding that has serious implications for new dietary guidelines expected this year.

The whole article is well worth a read, but here are some highlights:

In 2008 Stampfer co-authored a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that followed 322 moderately obese individuals for two years as they adopted one of three diets: a low-fat, calorie-restricted diet based on American Heart Association guidelines; a Mediterranean, restricted-calorie diet rich in vegetables and low in red meat; and a low-carbohydrate, nonrestricted-calorie diet. Although the subjects on the low-carb diet ate the most saturated fat, they ended up with the healthiest ratio of HDL to LDL cholesterol and lost twice as much weight as their low-fat-eating counterparts.

A 1997 study he co-authored in the Journal of the American Medical Association evaluated 65,000 women and found that the quintile of women who ate the most easily digestible and readily absorbed carbohydrates—that is, those with the highest glycemic index—were 47 percent more likely to acquire type 2 diabetes than those in the quintile with the lowest average glycemic-index score.

And as we suspected, there are always opponents to science:

Another issue facing regulatory agencies, notes Harvard’s Stampfer, is that “the sugared beverage industry is lobbying very hard and trying to cast doubt on all these studies.”

The Article Finishes:

“If you reduce saturated fat and replace it with high glycemic-index carbohydrates, you may not only not get benefits—you might actually produce harm,” Ludwig argues. The next time you eat a piece of buttered toast, he says, consider that “butter is actually the more healthful component.”

Read the whole thing here

To further refute Dr. Mercola's fact-less claims about Agave, Stephen Richards the CEO of Xagave takes on Dr. Mercola's Article point by point.

We have recently had a number of people contact us regarding the Mr. Mercola article. His article is truly unfortunate and misguided. Below you will find a point by point showing just how incorrect his claims are. I believe in making claims based upon legitimate, objective, number based criteria and it is clear that Mr. Mercola does not. I cannot speak for all agave nectar but I can speak about Xagave, which is a premium blend of Agave Salmiana (white agave) and inulin from agave tequilana. The simple fact is that Xagave is a versatile, low-glycemic sweetener that can be used for cooking, canning and baking and will save a significant number of calories when used. The calories savings comes from both reduced sugar amounts and reduced fat. This is discussed below. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me and you may reprint this information in your blogs. I address each of his issues on a point by point basis below.

1. Mr. Mercola claims that agave is process from the "starch" of the agave plant and thus the same process is used to derive fructose as HFCS. Here is what he states:

"In spite of manufacturer’s claims, agave "nectar" is not made from the sap of the yucca or agave plant but from the starch of its pineapple-like root bulb. The root is comprised mainly of starch, similar to corn, and a complex carbohydrate called inulin, which is made up of fructose molecules. The process by which agave starch and inulin are converted into "nectar" is VERY similar to the process by which cornstarch is converted into HFCS1."

Response: This is absolutely not true. There is no starch in the agave plant. The agave plant contains fructans including inulin. This prebiotic fiber breaks down into two sugars, fructose and glucose when heated. This is a simple, chemical-free process,very different from the conversion of corn starch to fructose. Remember that corn has no fructose in it, just starch and the starch must be converted through a chemical process to create fructose. This is just not the case with agave. Specifically with Xagave, the fructans are broken down into sugars by introducing GMO-free, organically certified enzymes; thus no heat is used in the process and hence the "Raw".

2. Mr. Mercola claims that the process utlizes genetically modified organisms and various chemical agents. Here is what he says:

"The agave starch is converted into fructose-rich syrup using genetically modified enzymes and a chemically intensive process involving caustic acids, clarifiers, and filtration chemicals"

Response: In this regard, I cannot speak for all agave nectars. With respect to Xagave, we have a GMO free certificate on file and our product is USDA Organically certified as well as Bioagricert Certified (the European equivalent of USDA Organic Certification). In short, there are no genetically modified organisms or chemicals used in the processing of Xagave brand agave nectar. Conversely, HFCS cannot get an organic certification.

3. Mr. Mercola that there are different colors of agave and the differing colors is a result of poor quality. His statement is as follows:

"Due to poor quality control in Mexican processing plants, some of the syrup gets burnt Hence, the darker amber color. Of course, this poor quality control is marketed as an "artisan" variation, like amber beer, when in fact it contains higher levels of toxic impurities that arise from the sugar-heating process."

Response. There are different colors or shades of agave -- light, amber and dark. It is true that the darker the shade, the longer it has been processed, which brings out a stronger agave flavor with honey-nutty-flowery notes to it. It is by no means "burnt" as if it is an accident or under poor quality control situations. This last statement truly shows the ignorance of Mr. Mercola and the statements that he is making. Specifically with respect to Xagave, it is processed in a facility that meet USDA organic certification and European certification requirements. The facility meets Kosher certification, in fact the highest level of Kosher certification which is "Passover certification". It is of the highest quality and I have personally visited the facility several times and reviewed the process. I find Mr. Mercola's comments baseless, demeaning and full of racial overtones.

4. Mr. Mercola claims that agave is bad for you because of it high fructose content and not other nutritional value. He states:

"While agave syrup does have a low-glycemic index, so does antifreeze -- that doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Agave syrup has the highest fructose content of any commercial sweetener -- ranging from 70 to 97 percent, depending on the brand, which is FAR HIGHER than high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), which averages 55 percent"

Response: Besides the utterly ridiculous analogy in which the statement is made, Mr. Mercola again shows his ignorance in hyperbole. Again, I cannot speak for all agaves, but specifically with respect to Xagave, it is comprised of 47% fructose, 17% glucose, 12% inulin, with the balance being water containing vitamins and minerals. Xagave's fructose content is lower than sugar, lower than HFCS and is about the same as honey and Xagave has less total sugars than all these sweeteners. Here is a chart for comparison:

I have read through Dr. Mercola's article (be careful clicking, it is nearly impossible to browse his site and not be pressured to provide an email address or buy something) and his “references”. What he is saying is misleading to the point of being a menace. Everything needs to be based on pure science, it is dangerous for people like Dr. Mercola to spread kooky stuff that will get people hurt! Go to real studies! Do your own homework! It is as simple as Google-ing “high fructose corn syrup” and finding good clean information from Universities like Yale, American Dietetic Association or real Doctors like Dr. Mark Berkowitz. Do not listen to someone lacking education trying to discount an entire industry.

Let’s get into my own personal reflections of his article entitle “Agave: A Triumph of Marketing over Truth” Under his recommendations: 6-8 servings of fruit and vegetables a day would be very bad for your diabetic or weight management. Since inulin in agave is a soluble fiber, and nearly all of the fruits and vegetables contain fiber, he would have us limit this important nutrient. There is real scientific research available on pure fructose. He is confused about the sourcing and manufacture of pure fructose and this information is available at Staley Manufacturing, along with the scientific studies citing the use of fructose in the diabetic diet. Dr. Keith Berkowitz, a diabetes specialist in New York, has written extensively about the importance of fiber and reduced sugar for weight management and diabetes care. the Nutrition Department at the Yale School of Medicine is also a good source of real science. Estee Foods specialized in diabetic foods and used crystalline fructose as their principal sweetener- with their products endorsed by the American Diabetes Association (they also have a nice breakdown of sweetener options including agave and how to cook with them). Dr. Mercola: there is some kind of basic disconnect here! If you were a food scientist or a M.D. in the nutrition department of a major medical school and were publishing this information, there would be an academic uproar.

There is a branch of the American Dietetic Association - The Diabetic Educators who publish a credible journal. I suggest that you read it. There is considerable information available world-wide regarding the glycemic index (helpful explanation from the American Diabetic Association Here), which has been used in Australia, England and Europe for years in measuring insulin response and glycemic load.

I appreciate that you are pushing other sweeteners and on the net some of those have appalling side-effects, non of which have been proven by the food science or medical community. In my career, I have used every proven product to help diabetics and dieters cope with sugar restriction. My advisers have been a world famous diabetic specialist, diabetic educators, and top food scientists. We all struggle to help patients lose weight with minimum pain, and not compromise their quality of life on the journey. Obesity is more dangerous than most diets ever will be. If obesity can be managed, it will be a giant step forward for mankind.

Your hang-up on fructose is not valid scientifically- since HFCS is NOT the same as fructose. The fruits and vegetables and nuts that supply fructose are not culprits (lo han and erythritol are sourced from fruits.) The downside of some high-intensity sweeteners is that they often deliver an unpleasant aftertaste. Flavor maskers are designed to kill these off-flavors, but they are often chemical and questionable because their ingredients are proprietary and not disclosed.

The "perfect sweetener" has not been created, yet. I and several of my colleagues are working on it. We don't make a move until we have consulted with accredited FOOD SCIENTISTS. I wish Dr. Mercola's references were better. I wish he wouldn't use scare tactics. I wish he knew more about true fructose. And his recommendation of glucose for diabetics is scary. I am in agreement with him that sucrose can be addictive and that it impedes weight loss and encourages weight gain The sugar alcohols- Maltitol, xlitol,erythritol, lactitol and the like are slowly and partially absorbed, resulting in a minimal rise in blood sugar, Stevia, sucralose, lohan kuo, aesculphane K and Tatin-are high intensity and thus no calories and -no blood sugar impact. Fiber, soluble and insoluble are the dieter and diabetic's friend and I cannot watch them be denigrated.

Agave is a natural fructose and fiber product , it tastes good, cooks well and because it is very sweet, less in calorie use. I have been there, done that with all of these ingredients and I LIKE AGAVE!

After I cooled down I did a little research on Dr. Mercola himself, and found out that I am not the first to question his research or ethics, it seems that making false and exaggerated claims is a very lucrative business for Dr. Mercola. Here are a few articles I found in quick search on the web, including the fact that the FDA investigated him for falsely labeling his products without approval or research.


http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/mercola.html


http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/may2006/sb20060523_063274.htm


Official FDA Letters to Dr. Mercola: Warning about Claims, Inspection of Labels and Drug Claims