tahinitoo

I really thought it would be difficult to come up with a post featuring the letter “X”, especially one relating to vegan food. But then I received an e-mail earlier this month from Robyn at BetterBody Foods & Nutrition offering to send me a sample of Xagave, an organic, raw agave nectar. I love agave nectar and happily accepted her generous offer (who wouldn’t, right?). Within a week, my sexy UPS man delivered a package to my door and I opened it with enthusiastic glee.

Here are some cool facts about Xagave:

1. It is a blend of both blue and white agaves.

2. It is raw and organic.

3. It contains inulin, a prebiotic fiber that makes your lower intestines and immune system happy, plus it increases the absorption of calcium.

4. It contains calcium, vitamins, and minerals too – which occur naturally in the root of the agave plants.

5. It mixes well with both hot and cold liquids.

There are a ton more wonderful benefits/properties of Xagave and I encourage you to check out the website if you want to learn about them.

My bottle of Xagave is nearly empty now because Tim and I used it in a variety of applications. First, I baked some Almond Orange Sweet Rolls (which I recently blogged about here):

The recipe for these rolls already uses agave nectar, but they are the most delicious rolls in the world and I had to make them with Xagave. The result was an incredibly fluffy, soft, buttery, golden treat. If you haven’t made these rolls yet, you should. Xagave lended itself perfectly to this recipe.

We also drizzled Xagave over granola and hot cereals for breakfast.

It was a nice addition, but not necessarily needed.

I stirred some into a spicy tomato-based soup to help cut the acidity. It worked!

I used it when making the rye bread I featured in this post, adding it to the yeast and water mixture. Even lil’ yeasties love Xagave!

I used it when making cupcakes. The flavor is very mild and works wonderfully in baked goods.

Annnnnnnnnd finally, I stirred Xagave into countless mugs of hot bevvies, like green tea:

Xagave is a gentle sweetener with a mild, smooth taste. I love that it is raw, organic and can be added to both sweet and savory foods. It is reasonably priced too. Tim and I usually buy our agave in bulk at our local food co-op and since Xagave isn’t available near us (yet perhaps?), we will continue buying ours in bulk. If you happen to find Xagave at a local store near you though, I suggest giving some a try! Thanks again Robyn!!!