[karmuz]

I have found the BEST almost as good as homemade pasta sauce..

Sauces and Love Sugo Rosa sauce.. it's a vodka sauce with a hint of cream..
one serving isn't horribly high in calories - 110, but it does have a TON of fat for those watching that... however, there is no added anything (sugar, etc) and the only problem i've had with it is that it's so good i want to eat it out of the jar with a spoon! seriously, i'm very picky about pasta sauces, and this is pricey but worth every penny. it would be great for a "cheat" meal because even though it's so rich and savory you won't feel TOO guilty about eating it.
while i'm talking pasta, WF store brand (365) pasta sauce isn't too bad for a jarred sauce and there isn't anything added like sugars if you're watching that (the sauces and love is a fresh, non shelf stable sauce, you can find it in many natural foods stores in the cooler) OH and black soybean pasta.. i forgot that i LOVE LOVE it as i haven't found it in a store for years but my local natural foods store carries it.. only 22 carbs and 11 are fiber! looks like shoelaces when cooked but DELICIOUS with tomato or cream sauce.

lol, can you all tell i'm hungry?

anyway, i started this post because I wanted to tell you all about a book I read today at work - I got an advance copy of "baking with agave nectar" by Ania Catalano and the recipes look FANTASTIC.. many are LF, all are sugar free, many are vegan and or gluten free and they are marked as such. no nutritional info but it can't be that hard to figure out. lots of recipies that sneak veggies into your favorite sweet treats ..I am going to try out at least one of the recipes on my next day off - i'll let you all know how it turns out.

[cbmare]

I've heard of using agave nectar. I saw it in the grocery store. However, I've never tried it. How do you use it?

I'm glad I don't care for pasta. I'd be having trouble with all those sauces out there if I did.

[karmuz]

lol yeah the sauce isn't the bad part - it's the pasta!! but i'm italian and grew up on pasta.. and never had a weight problem as a child.. i do the ww or the soy pastas now but really i just limit my portions (no italian restaurant pound of pasta in my house- i find pasta very filling and often only have half a reccommeded serving. i'm never giving it up completely, i don't think i CAN)

I have yet to cook with agave nectar but it interests me as well. i am defintely going to try out a few of the recipies in the book prior to stocking it in my store .. i mostly just skimmed the book to make sure that I could carry it (WF has very strict standards and if it mentioned any products by brand name it could have been a no no if it wasn't something acceptable) I did find this article on agave and cooking with agave though if you're interested:
http://www.shakeoffthesugar.net/article1042.html