Chocolate Mousse

I’ve talked about salads and spinach and now I want to write about chocolate! 

I eat chocolate everyday. There’s no way I could go without chocolate, or some kind of sugar, on a daily basis. 

I strive to be healthy and eat a balanced diet but sugar is my weakness. That said, I’ve tried to educate myself on sugar. I watched a great presentation on YouTube about sugar, by Dr Robert H. Lustig, a UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology. It’s amazing (and shocking) to hear just how BAD sugar is for the body. 

With the acceptance of not being able to go without chocolate, I prefer to eat dark chocolate and where possible, I eat good quality chocolate – high percentage of cocoa and natural ingredients. Just by reading the ingredients list on packaging, it is easy to get an idea of the quality of chocolate.

The price is also a good indication of quality. Generally, the more expensive the bar, the better quality of chocolate. As much as I’d like to eat good quality chocolate every day, I would soon bankrupt myself. Therefore, on a daily basis, I tend to eat cheaper brands.

If I make a chocolate dessert, I want it to be rich and chocolaty – obviously! – and therefore chocolate mousse and puddings are always fail safe options. The majority of chocolate mousse recipes contain chocolate, egg yolks, sugar and cream. My recipe below skips the indulgent cream and sugar ingredients and simply uses chocolate and eggs, with a little coffee or milk.

Chocolate Mousse
Makes 2

Ingredients:
80g / 3oz dark chocolate
2 eggs - separated
2tbsp strong coffee (optional) 2tbsp almond milk if not using coffee

Method:
Melt the chocolate in a bowl.
Add the coffee or milk.
Add the egg yolks one at a time and stir into the chocolate coffee mixture.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites into a hard foam (with stiff peaks) and then fold into the chocolate mixture.
Pour mixture into individual cups/bowls and refrigerate to set.
ENJOY!

Nutritional Information:

Ice Cream, Gelato and Blended Fruit

Before the weather turns colder and I start eating soup everyday, I want to write about ice cream.
Hands down, my favourite flavours are mint chocolate chip and stracciatella. It’s hard to pick just one flavour and so if I’m feeling really greedy, I sometimes get two scoops – evidence below from an ice cream shop in Palma, Mallorca.

As much as I’d eat rich creamy ice cream until the cows come home, I actually prefer gelato. I used to think gelato was just the fancy Italian word for ice cream – which it is! – but it’s also a denser, milkier kind of ice cream.

After a quick search on the internet, I found gelato has less fat than ice cream as it uses more milk than cream. It is churned less and at a much slower pace than traditional ice cream. Gelato is usually served 15 degrees warmer than ice cream.

If I buy any kind of ice cream from the supermarket, I will eat it everyday until it’s all gone. Therefore, I have since learnt a more sensible, controlled approach is to only eat it when I am on holiday (i.e. in Mallorca) or out and about and can only purchase one serving.

At home, I created a healthy, all-natural, and easy alternative. I like to call it ‘banana-strawberry ice cream’, but it’s really just blended frozen fruit! My version is creamy and sweet but doesn't contain dairy or added sugars. I'm sure you could make any kind of banana-berry ice cream - blueberries would be tasty...

Ingredients:
- 1 banana (125g / 4.5oz)
- 75g / 2.6oz strawberries

Method:
Slice banana into 4-5 pieces.
Chop the strawberries.
Place fruit  in a ziplock/freezable bag and freeze for a few hours.
Add frozen fruit to a food processor and blend together until soft and creamy.

Nutritional Information:

I also made a chocolate ice cream version using chocolate pudding from another recipe.

Veggie Bean Burgers

Veggie burgers can be tricky to make. From previous experience they are either too wet, too dry, don't bind together, too plain, too bulky etc.

After trial and error, I think the two burger recipes below are pretty good. Both contain beans, potatoes, egg and oats. The vegetables and flavourings (spices and herbs) can be mixed up, depending on how adventurous I decide to be, plus what foods are available in my kitchen!

A side of coleslaw and some tomato paste (2tbsp paste mixed with 1tbsp water) go great with burgers.

Veggie Black Bean, Carrot & Apple Burgers

Makes 4

Ingredients:

- 148g / 5oz potato
- 40g / 1.5oz oat flour (old fashioned oats food processed)
- 100g / 3.6oz cauliflower
- 420g /15oz / 1 can black beans (no added salt)

- 90g / 3.2oz carrot

- 100g / 3.6oz /1 small apple

- 1tsp cinnamon

- 1/2tsp ginger

- 1 egg

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350F / 175C.
Part boil potatoes for 10 mins so they become soft. Lightly mash the potatoes in a mixing bowl.
In a food processor, roughly blend oats to form oat flour. Transfer to the mixing bowl.
Food process the cauliflower and transfer to the mixing bowl.

Drain the can of black beans, blend to form a rough paste in the food processor. Transfer food processed beans to the mixing bowl.

Grate the carrot and apple into the mixing bowl.
Add the cinnamon and ginger.
Lightly beat the egg and add to the mixing bowl.
Combine all ingredients.
Divide mixture into 4 and shape into round patties.
Place the patties on baking parchment on a baking tray.
If baking in the oven, bake for 25-30 minutes (12-15 mins either side) until golden and crisp.
If grilling on the BBQ, pre-bake in the oven at 350F / 175C for 10-12 minutes so the patties become a little firm. Grill for 4-5 minutes on either side until they become golden and crisp.

Nutritional Information: 

Veggie Black Bean, Carrot & Apple Burgers

Three Bean Veggie Burgers

Makes 4

Ingredients:

- 85g / 3oz potato
- 40g / 1.5oz oat flour (old fashioned oats food processed)
- 130g / 4.6oz chickpeas

- 130g / 4.6oz red kidney beans

- 85g / 3oz black beans (no added salt)

- 50g / 1.8oz onions

- 90g / 3.2oz mushrooms

- 1tbsp soy sauce, light

- 1/2tbsp chili powder

- 1tsp cumin

- 1tsp mixed herbs
- 1 egg

Method:

Preheat the oven to 350F / 175C.

Part boil potatoes for 10 mins so they become soft. Lightly mash the potatoes in a mixing bowl.
In a food processor, roughly blend oats to form oat flour. Transfer to the mixing bowl.

Blend the chickpeas, kidney beans and black beans to form a rough paste in the food processor. Transfer food processed beans to the mixing bowl.

Chop the onions and mushrooms. Add them to the food processor and blend roughly. Transfer onions and mushrooms to the mixing bowl.

Add soy sauce, chili powder, cumin and mixed herbs to the bowl of ingredients.

Lightly beat the egg and add to the mixing bowl.
Combine all ingredients.
Divide mixture into 4 and shape into round patties.
Place the patties on baking parchment on a baking tray.
If baking in the oven, bake for 25-30 minutes (12-15 mins either side) until golden and crisp.
If grilling on the BBQ, pre-bake in the oven at 350F / 175C for 10-12 minutes so the patties become a little firm. Grill for 4-5 minutes on either side until they become golden and crisp.

You can freeze any uncooked burgers by placing the patties on a baking tray (lined with grease-proof paper) and freezing them for 1 hour. Once they've hardened a little, place them in a ziplock bag and freeze for up to a month.

Nutritional Information: 

Three Bean Veggie Burgers

Lean Ground Beef Burgers

Having just bought a new BBQ, I thought I’d make my own beef burgers. I usually make veggie burgers using a mixture of beans, oats, potatoes, mushrooms grated carrots and sweetcorn. However, I didn’t think the BBQ would be too impressed grilling vegetables for its debut! Unfortunately I didn’t have a juicy 16oz steak to hand so some lean ground beef had to suffice!

Beef burgers are so easy to make. Essentially all you need in ground beef. You just shape them into round patties and grill them. If you want to go a step further, you can add some chopped onion, garlic, spices and herbs – which all add to the flavor of the burgers. Parsley, basil, oregano are all ideal herbs. Cayenne pepper, paprika, chili powder, cumin are all ideal spices. Use whatever is in your store cupboard.
I also like to add an egg to help bind the ingredients together and a small amount of oats to add a little more substance to each burger.

The recipe below makes three burgers (in relation to the nutritional information below) but you could stretch the ingredients into four by adding another 20g of oats and/or making slightly smaller burgers using your hands or a small burger press.

The burgers go great with coleslaw and a few mushrooms. I spread 1tbsp tomato paste mixed with 1-2tsp water – a much healthier alternative to ketchup (see previous post) – on a whole wheat bun instead of butter or margarine.

Lean Ground Beef Burgers
Makes 3
Click HERE for a printable recipe card.

Ingredients:
- 411g / 14.5oz ground beef (I use 93% lean)
- 84g / 3oz onion
- 1 egg
- 2tsp mustard (I use Dijon)
- 20g / 0.7oz oats (I use old fashioned)
- 1/2tsp basil
- 1/2tsp parsley
- 1/4tsp cayenne pepper
- Ground black pepper

Method:
In a bowl break up the ground beef.
Finely chop the onion and mix it into the beef.
Beat the egg and add it to the beef/onion mix.
Add the mustard, oats, herbs and spices to the bowl and mix together (use your hands to combine all ingredients if you prefer).

Place the burger mix into a burger press or shape into patties with your hands.
Spray each burger with cooking spray to help prevent sticking to the grill.

Heat the grill on a medium heat and cook the burgers for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until well done.

ENJOY!
Click HERE for a printable recipe card.

Nutritional Information:

P.s. The burger photos below are ones I ate in restaurants. I have no idea how many calories I consumed during those meals but I ate every last bit! I had just raced in a sprint triathlon on both occasions so I guess you could say I earned it. They tasted delicious!

Tomato Ketchup vs. Tomato Paste

I can never eat chunky, thick-cut chips (US: French fries) without dipping them in tomato ketchup.
If there's no ketchup available, my desire to eat chips soon disappears. Therefore, one has to ask, do I prefer to eat chips or ketchup? Like Gin and Tonic, the two go perfectly well together but seem unappealing by themselves.

Unless you're eating the really thin-cut, heavily salted French fries - the kind they serve in fast food restaurants - that taste really good (because of the oil used for frying and the salt used for coating) but don't actually contain very much potato. With a thicker chip, there's more need for a dipping sauce to balance out the starchy bulk of potato.

In my humble opinion, ketchup wins hands down. Chips don't taste the same with brown sauce or mayo. I think ketchup has become such a popular sauce, not because of its tomato base, but because of the added sweetness from refined sugars.

In my quest to learn more about:
1). what goes into foods (read the ingredients list),
2). the nutritional make-up and value of foods (read the nutritional information), and
3). a natural, healthier alternative to processed foods (ingredient substitution),
I discovered all three 'lessons' can be applied to the following food: Tomato ketchup!

I knew tomato ketchup contained added sugar, and some additional ingredients like vinegar and salt (all to make it taste good), but I didn't realize just how much? I then discovered tomato paste and was surprised to find out just how good it tasted and even happier knowing that it was a simple natural food source I could substitute whenever I wanted to eat tomato ketchup.

Below are the ingredients and nutritional information for both tomato ketchup and paste. See the difference and give tomato paste a try when you’re next indulging on a few chips! Just mix 1tbsp water with 2tbsp tomato paste.

There are eight ingredients in tomato ketchup:

• Tomato concentrate made from vine ripened tomatoes
• High fructose corn syrup
• Distiller vinegar
• Corn syrup
• Salt
• Less than 2% of onion powder, garlic powder, natural flavors

At least the main, largest ingredient is tomato. However, the second biggest ingredient is high fructose corn syrup. Corn syrup is also the fourth largest component of ketchup - just in case the HFCS wasn't sweet enough!!! No wonder ketchup tastes so good; it is full of sugar and salt.

Tomato paste just has one ingredient:

• Tomato pulp

Tomato ketchup (L), Tomato Paste (R)

Nutritional Information:

Tomato Ketchup

Tomato Paste

If you just compare the nutritional labels, a quick glance will show little difference between the two. In fact, you may just look at the calorie count and decide ketchup is better because it has fewer calories than the paste. However, when reviewing the number of calories, you also have to read the serving/portion size. The labels above give double the serving of tomato paste for 10 extra calories. The added salt and sugars in the tomato ketchup are clearly visible in the measurements of sodium (190mg) and sugars (4g). The tomato paste has 3g sugars but this is sugar naturally found in tomatoes. There's even 1g fiber and 2g protein from the tomato pulp.

P.s. In the UK, nutritional labels have to display the 100g criteria in addition to the per serving measurement. This allows consumers to easily compare ‘apples to apples’.