The medicinal chef's chocolate avocado pots

By Dale Pinnock

OK, I know avocado and dessert don’t sound as though they belong in the same sentence. But trust me – when making healthy desserts, avocados can be your best friend. They provide a creamy texture without the need to add any nasties, and happen to be packed with heart-healthy nutrients to boot. These chocolate pots are also incredibly quick to make… 

Nutty chocolate avocado pots

Prep: 5 min + chilling

Serves: 2 

1 very ripe avocado 

1tbsp almond butter 

1tbsp maple syrup or ½tsp stevia 

1–2tbsp cocoa powder, to taste, plus more to serve (optional)

1 Scoop the avocado flesh into a blender or food processor. Add the remaining ingredients with 1–2tbsp cold water. 

2 Process on full speed until all the ingredients have mixed into a smooth chocolatey dessert. 

3 Spoon the mixture into ramekins and chill in the fridge for 2–3 hr before serving, sprinkled with cocoa powder, if you like.

Per serving:

217kcal

3.9g protein

19.1g fat

3.8g saturates

7.3g carbs

5.2g sugar

4.7g fibre

0.1g salt

35mg calcium

1mg iron

LOW SALT

VEG

GLUTEN FREE

DAIRY FREE

This recipe is taken from Dale Pinnock’s book Heart Disease: Eat your Way to Better Health (Quadrille, £14.99), out now. 

How to make jam with chia seeds

We’ve reached the end of our chia-fuelled week, and we saved our favourite recipe for last…

This raspberry and chia jam is taken from Green Kitchen Travels by David Frenkiel and Luise Vindahl (Hardie Grant; £20), and it’s as delicious as it is simple to make. Three ingredients and a quick stir is all it takes – that’s right, no cooking! We’ve been enjoying it spread on toast and dolloped on top of fat-free Greek yogurt. Why not whip up a pot ready for a Valentine’s day breakfast treat…   

RAW RASPBERRY AND CHIA JAM

PREP 5 min, plus chilling

SERVES 12tbsp

250g raspberries, thawed if frozen

2tbsp chia seeds

2tsp maple syrup or runny honey

1 Put the raspberries in a bowl and crush with a fork. Stir through the chia seeds, then add the maple syrup or honey and mix to combine.

2 Pour the jam into a sterilised jar, then chill for at least an hour for the jam to thicken. It will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Per tbsp

20kcal

0.7g protein

0.8g fat

0.1g saturates

2.6g carbs

1.5g sugar

1.6g fibre

0g salt

22mg calcium

0.4mg iron

LOW CAL

LOW SAT FAT

LOW SALT

HIGH FIBRE

VEG

GLUTEN FREE

DAIRY FREE

Healthy Valentine's Day pudding

If you’re looking for a special ending to dinner or a Valentine’s treat with a lighter touch, these chocolate goodies will hit the spot

Skinny chocolate muffins

Pre 20 min
Cook 20 min
Makes 12

3 eggs
175g soft light brown muscovado sugar
150g beetroot, peeled and finely grated
175g self-raising flour
50g cocoa powder
1tsp baking powder
100ml low-fat natural yogurt
1tbsp vanilla bean paste
100g plain chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Line a muffin tray with 12 paper cases.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together for 10 min to make a light and fluffy batter that has expanded in volume. Gently stir in the beetroot.

3. Sift over the flour, cocoa and baking powder, then carefully fold into the mixture. Fold in the yogurt, vanilla bean paste and chopped chocolate.

4. Spoon the batter into the muffin cases until they are three-quarters full, then cook in the oven for 15–20 min.

5. Remove the muffins from the oven and allow to cool slightly in the tin. When they’re cool enough to touch, remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Per muffin
196kcal
5.3g protein
6.5g fat
3.3g saturates
31.6g carbs
19.4g sugar
2.5g fibre
0.4g salt
96mg calcium
1.6mg iron

VEG

Win a Magimix and Kikkoman goodies

Chinese New Year begins on Thursday 19 February and it’s the Year of the Sheep. Say "baa" to a takeaway and instead get your friends and family together and celebrate with a delicious homemade oriental meal.

Healthy stir-fries can be made in a jiffy with any meat, fish or vegetables, but there's one crucial item that transforms a stir-fry – soy sauce. Kikkoman Naturally Brewed Less Salt Soy Sauce contains just four natural ingredients – soybeans, wheat, salt and water. The soy sauce is then slowly brewed for several months to achieve a unique, aromatic taste. Try a splash or two during cooking or as a final flourish at the end.

To help make stir-fries even easier to prepare, we have a great competition for our readers: one lucky winner will receive a prize worth more than £250, including a powerful Magimix Compact 3200XL food processor, which slices and grates vegetables quickly, evenly and quietly, plus a bottle of Kikkoman Less Salt Soy Sauce and a recipe book.

For a chance of winning, please log into our widget below (you will need Javascript installed to be able to see it) to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveawayTerms and conditions
This competition is open to Healthy Food Guide readers, registered on the website (free) and who are UK residents, aged 18 and over, excluding employees (or families of employees) of Eye to Eye Media Ltd, or anyone linked to the competition. Website entry closes 11.59pm Thursday 12 March 2015 and entries received after the closing date of the promotion will not be considered. No responsibility is taken for entries lost or delayed. The winner will be drawn at random and the judges’ decision is final. No correspondence will be entered into. The winner will be notified in writing within 28 days of the closing date. There is 1 prize to be won. The winner will receive a Magimix Compact 3200XL food processor, bottle of Kikkoman Less Salt Soy Sauce and a Kikkoman recipe book. In the event of developments outside its control, the promoter reserves the right to offer an alternative prize of equal or greater value. The winners may be required to participate in future publicity. The promoter’s decision is final and binding in all matters and no correspondence will be entered into. Promoter: Kikkoman c/o FML PR, 8 High Street, Hurstpierpoint, West Sussex, BN6 9TY

How to make gluten-free chia and quinoa bread

In the second instalment of our chia celebration, we’ve adapted a gluten-free bread recipe from thehealthychef.com. It’s quite different to a traditional sandwich loaf as the mixture makes a batter not a dough, and the baked result is more dense and cakey than light and airy. But the flavour is deliciously nutty and wholesome. We like to spread a slice with mashed avocado for a nutritious breakfast or brunch.

Prep 15 min + overnight soaking

Cook 1 hr 30 min

Cuts into 12

300g uncooked quinoa

60 g whole chia seeds
 (we like chiauk.com)

60 ml olive oil


½tsp bicarbonate of soda


Juice ½ lemon

1 Put the quinoa in a large bowl and cover with plenty of cold water, then leave to soak in the fridge overnight.

2 Heat oven to 160C/fan 140C/gas 3 and line a loaf tin with baking paper.

Stir the chia seeds into 125ml water, then leave to form a gel-like consistency.

Meanwhile, drain the quinoa in a fine sieve, rinse with fresh water, then drain again thoroughly.


3 Put the quinoa in a food processor along with the chia gel, olive oil, bicarbonate of soda, lemon juice and 125ml water.
Whiz for 3 min or until combined – the mixture should resemble a batter consistency with some whole quinoa still visible.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf tin, then bake for 1 hr 30 min or until the loaf has developed a crust but bounces back when pressed with your finger.  

4 
Leave the loaf to cool in the tin for 10 min, then lift out onto a wire rack to cool completely. The bread will keep, well wrapped in baking paper and foil, for up to a week.

Should we go back to eating full fat?

This week’s headlines might make it seem that after years of being told to cut back on saturated fat, it’s time to bring back the butter dish and return to full-fat milk. But is this really the case? HFG’s nutrition consultant and registered dietitian Juliette Kellow goes behind the headlines…

If you’ve read any of the headlines on fat this week you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s time to ditch the low-fat spread, skimmed milk and reduced-fat cheese – and take a step back in time to the early 80s when full-fat dairy was as common as leg warmers, shoulder pads and Pac-Man. The news comes after a new study was published this week in a medical journal called Open Heart. But first a little history…

Back in 1983, new health guidelines in the UK recommended reducing the amount of saturated fat in our diets to just 10% of our daily calorie intake. It’s advice that still stands and is roughly translated into the current recommendation of having no more than 20g saturates a day.

Fast forward to the new study, which looked at the evidence available in 1983 for making the recommendation to reduce saturates. The researchers identified six Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) available prior to 1983 and concluded from these that lowering saturated fat wasn’t significantly linked to fewer deaths from heart disease. Enter headlines such as ‘Butter ISN’T bad for you after all: major study says 80s advice on dairy fats was flawed’ from the Daily Mail, and ‘Fat guidelines lacked any solid scientific evidence, study concludes’ from the Guardian.

But as is usually the case, nothing is as straightforward as it seems. Firstly, many experts believe the current study is seriously flawed as it’s ‘second-guessing’ the evidence that was used for drawing up the national guidelines in the early 80s – and looking only at a specific type of study. Indeed, we don’t know what studies were actually used to form the basis of the advice in 1983 – many other pieces of research, and not just the six identified in this current study, could have been used.

Let us not forget that in the last 30 years, numerous other studies have been carried out looking at saturated fat, blood cholesterol levels and heart health, with many – albeit not all – finding a link.

But perhaps one of the most significant facts to bypass the headlines is that foods containing a lot of saturates tend also to contain a lot of calories. A daily intake of 20g butter, 300ml full-fat milk and a 30g cheddar (a completely feasible amount of dairy produce for a day) provides not only 24g saturates, but also 463 calories – or 23% of our daily calorie needs. Switch to the same amount of low-fat spread, skimmed milk and reduced-fat cheddar and that’s just 6g saturates and 264 calories (13% of our daily calorie needs). Bottom line: cutting down on saturates cuts down on calories and that surely, in light of the UK’s obesity epidemic, has to be one of the biggest arguments for sticking with the current advice. With this dairy swap alone, around 200 calories are saved by choosing the lower-fat options – enough to lose a massive 20lb in a year if you made those changes every day.

It’s clear that the debate surrounding saturated fat and the impact it has on heart health is set to rumble on. It’s a recommendation that’s been under scrutiny for the past few years now, with some experts dismissing the message that we should cut down on fat or saturates, saying instead that carbs are the real culprit for the nation’s health problems.

But is it really that helpful to try and establish whether the evidence from 30 years ago supported the recommendation to reduce saturates at that time? In reality, wouldn’t it be better to spend time and resources identifying whether the evidence available up to today is sufficient to continue advocating fewer saturated fats in our diet?

Without question, it’s something we need clarification on. Until then, it’s business as usual. Despite what the headlines may have led you to believe, there’s been no official change in advice. Health policy in the UK remains the same – and that’s to continue to reduce saturated fat in our diets.

For a more detailed review of the study visit NHS Choices

How to add chia seeds to your diet

It’s the tiny seed that packs a big nutritional punch, which is why this week we’re saying ‘three cheers for chia’. 

Highly prized since the time of the Aztecs, chia seeds are rich in alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a plant form of omega-3, which the body converts into the longer-chain omega-3 fats naturally found in oil-rich fish. Plus they’re high in fibre, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium – and they contain all eight essential amino acids needed for the body to make complete proteins, making them a particularly good choice for people who follow a vegan or vegetarian diet. 

So much for the healthy credentials, but how can we include them in our diet? Thanks to their mild flavour, the seeds are a versatile ingredient. For a quick fix you can simply scatter a tablespoonful over yogurt, salads and cereals. But at HFG, we like to be a little more inventive than that…

In this, the first of three instalments, we share one of our favourite chia seed recipes – a creamy, indulgent but super healthy pudding (editor Melanie and senior sub editor Rebecca are big fans). Give it a try and let us know your verdict, then check back on Wednesday for another delicious chia idea.

Vanilla chia pudding

PREP 10 min, plus overnight chilling

Serves 1

200ml unsweetened soya milk

25g whole chia seeds

¼tsp vanilla extract

½ chopped kiwi fruit and a few blackberries (thawed if frozen), to decorate

1 Put the soya milk, chia seeds and vanilla extract in a jug and stir well with a balloon whisk or fork.

2 Pour the mixture into a sterilised jar or airtight container, then leave in the fridge overnight. The chia seeds will expand and the pudding will thicken to a tapioca-like consistency.

3 To serve, remove the lid, then scatter the pudding with the fruit. 

224kcal

10.6g protein

11.5g fat

1.4g saturates

20.5g carbs

9.9g sugar

11.2g fibre

0.1g salt

414mg calcium

2.2mg iron

LOW SAT FAT

LOW SUGAR

LOW SALT

HIGH FIBRE

HIGH CALCIUM

VEG

GLUTEN FREE

DAIRY FREE