Sweet Italian Dressing

I've been experimenting with agave lately, and having fun doing it. Agave nectar is a sweetener that's made from the agave plant. It's lower on the glycemic index scale than other sweeteners, so it gets aborbed more slowly, meaning you don't get the spikes in glucose like you do from sugar. If you don't have any agave, just use honey instead. Here's one of my new favorite recipes. This salad dressing is quite creamy, so it coats your salad nicely with less dressing. I've also used this as a topping for quickly cooked vegetables. For example, it's delicious over quick cooked asparagus or broccoli.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbs agave nectar
1 Tbs grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1/4 tsp garlic
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together in a blender or food processor. Blend for several seconds, then serve.

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Drizzle a little salad dressing over the top of each individual salad, using no more than 1 tablespoon per serving. That way the greens or vegetables will shine with dressing, but you'll get a better handle on portion control.