Chocolate emergency

I know I am not alone when I say that sometimes (more often that I would like to admit to) chocolate is the answer - and I am not too fussy about the question.  I had a bit of a chocolate emergency on Good Friday, suffice to say it was eight o'clock at night, no supplies in the house and venturing into the Arctic night was less than appealing.   However, necessity is  the mother of invention and I realised that I possessed all the raw ingredients within my grasp.

In recent years, raw chocolate has become a growth market and I having been given a demo by the lovely Jo Balfe a short while back, I had excitedly gone out and bought the necessary cacao butter, cacao powder and palm sugar she had suggested, as well as cheeky love heart mould.  This Friday was the now or never moment.

Jo's basic dark chocolate recipe recommends the following ingredient ratios:

• 2 parts raw cacao butter
• 1 part raw cacao powder 
• 1 part palm (or coconut) sugar (preferably ground to a fine powder in a blender or coffee grinder)

Thereafter, it is essentially child's play. 

1. Grate (or shave) the cacao butter and gently melt in a glass bowl sitting over a saucepan of gently simmering water.
2. Once melted, use a balloon whisk to stir in the cacao powder and palm sugar
3. At this point (if it hasn't already), your sense of smell is going to be enveloped in the most delicious aroma,... resist the urge to drip even your little finger into the mixture.
4. Once fully blended, your mixture should look smooth and silky.
5. Take the bowl off the heat and if you would like to you can add any extras; I chose cacao nibs and bee pollen, but it is not necessary. 
6. Pour into your moulds and transfer to the fridge.  One note on all utensils and in particular your moulds, ensure that that they are absolutely dry; water is the enemy of budding and established chocolatiers and means that the chocolate will separate.

Then it just a case of having a little patience while the chocolate sets.  I am not the tidiest of cooks, but by the time I had cleared up,  I was able to taste my first homemade raw chocolate,... emergency over!

Footnote: high on my Good Friday success, I tried again on Easter Sunday, this time I used maple syrup instead of palm sugar and added some chopped hazelnuts.  I hope that my father, another chocoholic, approves!

For more chocolate and general raw inspiration Jo's blog is full of wisdom.
I also referenced Elements For Life which has a plethora of variations on the basic raw chocolate recipe.

A little bit of Nookie

I have become very wary of marketing, but just recently my eye was caught by some genius brand marketing: Nookie - Naughty but Natural.

I was about to pay for my lunch when this chocolate brownie like bar loitering with intent by my side caught my eye.   The name and its less that uniform appearance meant I was unable to resist; I picked it up and flipped it over expecting to see a list of ingredients destined to send my blood sugar soaring, expecting to  somewhat regretfully put it firmly back in its place.

The surprise, however, was all mine.  The ingredient list started with gluten free oats, and included flaxseeds and sunflowers seeds.  The sugars in the form of raisins, dates, coconut sugar and brown rice syrup while concentrated, are largely unrefined and take positions 3, 7, 10 and 13 respectively down the list.  To discover such promise, a product that might go beyond its marketing,...

Suffice to say I did not refuse a bit of Nookie and later the same afternoon, I indulged in its chewy, satisfying sweetness and I have fallen hook, line and sinker.    This is definitely occasional treat territory, but with significantly reduced guilt and limited sugar rush, it has been added to my list of go-to snacks.

Going,...

Going,..

(almost) gone,...

Currently Nookie are distributing through their website and the Pod chain of eateries.
Nookie Bar
Pod: Good Food

To snack or not to snack?

I know that an area that I find difficult to manage in respect to my diet is snacking,... to snack or not to snack,... when does a snack become a meal?   What constitutes a healthy snack?  I know from the observational clinics I have attended that I am not alone.

Being conscious about the reason you are snacking is important and could influence your choice of snack; is your snacking being driven by your blood sugar roller coaster?  Are you filling a nutritional gap that your main meals aren't giving you?  Are you fuelling for or recovering from exercise?  Is it driven by need, habitual, or have you been persuaded by marketing (11 o'clock Diet Coke break anyone?)  Or are you simply thirsty?

For years, my snacking was unconsciously driven my fluctuating blood sugar levels; typically this would send me running to the work vending machine at 3 o'clock every day.  Even if I wanted to make a good choice at this point, the contents on offer where far from ideal.  I then moved through a phase of avoiding snacking assuming (based on the vending machine  experience) that it was wrong.  But as a novice nutritionalist I am learning that can be a valuable addition to our diets.

I am far from perfect, but here are some guidelines which have made me more mindful about snacking and are helping me make better choices:

1) I am hungry or actually thirsty?  
To often we are misinterpreting the signals from our body and snacking instead of drinking.  So I have a jug of water on my desk at work and a drawer with a selection of herbal and Chinese tea.  Instead of reaching for a snack, I have a drink first.

2) Be prepared (1)
Its an old childhood maximum, but the Scouts/Guides were not wrong; being prepared means that you are going to make better choices.  Preparing crudities and spooning with some huumous into a container, or decanting a selection of nuts and seeds into a small pot to take that into work means you have a good choice to hand. 

3) Be prepared (2)
Don't have time to prepare something at home, or caught short somewhere?  Have a mental list of good snacks and know where you can purchase them (and therefore avoid even surveying the chocolate / crisp array in the corner shop).  My personal choices are Nak'd bars, Bounce protein balls, small containers of unsalted nuts or seeds or a plain (full fat) natural yoghurt.  I know where I can  purchase these or I buy in bulk online and keep a supply at home or in the office.

4) Pairing protein and fibre
I mentioned earlier the blood sugar roller coaster, the typical contents of a vending machine will provide the sugar rush (that includes savoury items like crisps) that fuel this mechanism and are to be avoided.  Choosing snacks with protein and fibre will prevent the sugar rush and be more satiating, as well as providing additional and valuable nutritents.   Some examples are: pear/celery with nut butter, oatcakes or crudities with huumous or tahini, or a hardboiled egg alone or sliced on corn thins.

5) Portion control
A snack is not a meal.  It is something to tide you over.  Be careful of portion size.  Decanting nuts and seeds into a smaller pot means the whole bag will not disappear in a single sitting and have the calorific equivalent of a substantial meal.  Overindulging is particularly easy with dried fruit; think of the dried fruit as the whole fruit would you eat a whole bunch of grapes in a single sitting?  Each raisin is a grape, that once sat on the vine.

6) Know what is a treat and what is habitual.
Someone in the office baked and brought in a cake?  Then have a slice.  Its a treat and should be enjoyed.  Just not every day!  

Good luck and happy snacking!

Bounce Protein Balls
Nak'd Bars

Luscious Simplicity: Cauliflower, Almond and Turmeric Soup

It has taken me little short of two months to try this recipe for Cauliflower, Almond and Turmeric soup. My friend and fellow student; Julie Winterton blogged the recipe at the beginning of the year, and it caught my attention. However, at least two cauliflowers got flitched to make cauliflower cheese; comfort food for my brother, but despite being raised at the same dinner table I attribute my reticence about cauliflower to that same dish! But quite simply I am a convert to the silky, creamy nutritious simplicity of this soup. Having resolved to get to the cauliflower first, I discovered I did not have all Julie's ingredients, so I made a few substitutions (in brackets): 

1 large (red) onion, finely chopped 
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
1 large cauliflower, florets roughly chopped, stalk sliced 
70g ground almonds 
1 litre veg stock 
1 tsp turmeric (I used about an inch of fresh turmeric, finely sliced) 
½ tsp ground fenugreek (I used Zatar) 
½ tsp ground ginger (I used a good knob of fresh ginger, finely sliced) 

Melt large knob of butter (or coconut oil) in a pan, add onion, garlic, turmeric, Zatar, ginger, & cauliflower stalk.
Gently, cook until the onions soften 
Stir in almonds to coat the other ingredients, then add stock 
Simmer for 10 mins before adding cauliflower florets. 
Simmer for 20-25 mins, stirring occasionally, ensuring stalks & florets are cooked and soft. 
Take off the heat, and blitz in a blender until smooth. Optionally you can add 300-400ml of yoghurt, but I found I did not needed it. 
Sprinkle with zatar and pinenuts (or salt and pepper, or flaked almonds). 

And savour!

Not only is this dish delicious but it has some kick ass nutritional qualities, it is a good source of protein (thanks to the cauliflower and almonds), but more importantly:

• cauliflower is a member of the brassica family which work well with the liver assisting it detoxify the body,
• cauliflower and ginger are a good source of Vitamin C, which is a potent antioxidant and well as supporting our immune system,
• cauliflower, turmeric AND ginger all have great anti inflammatory properties.  Inflammation is deemed to at the core of many chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease and cancer.  It stands to reason that eating foods which help to regulate our inflammatory response could reduce our risk from these diseases.

So go on, have a second, guilt-free bowl,... I know I did!

Take a look at Julie's blog for more inspiring recipies.

For more information on the nutritional benefits of cauliflower, almonds, turmeric and ginger, take a look at:

The World's Healthiest Foods