Coconut & almond macaroons

ERYTHRITOL and stevia, both sugar replacements, work well together in biscuits to give a pleasant sweet taste and the all-important crunch. Low-carb GP Dr David Unwin isn’t a big fan, as he explained on Wednesday, so use only occasionally. To swap erythritol in the other recipes today, use 2 heaped tablespoons (40g) for 2 teaspoons of honey, or 4 level tablespoons (60g) to replace 4 medjool dates. Once cooled, these macaroons can be stored for up to a week in an airtight container.

PER SERVING CARBS 1.5g PROTEIN 3.2g FAT 10.8g FIBRE 1.5g CALORIES 118

SERVES 8

60g egg whites 70g ground almonds 40g erythritol 40g stevia 30g desiccated coconut 30g butter or coconut oil ½ tsp baking powder 2 tsp vanilla extract 8 whole blanched almonds

PREHEAT the oven to 160c/140c fan/ gas 3. Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Whisk the egg whites in a bowl with an electric or hand whisk, until they form a stiff foam. Mix the other ingredients (apart from the whole almonds) together in a mixing bowl. Then fold in the egg whites with a large metal spoon. Divide the mixture into eight balls, each about the size of a walnut. Place each ball on the baking tray. Push an almond into the centre of each. Bake the biscuits for 15 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and leave to cool before serving.

It’s the last tolerated prejudice. But Femail’s had enough. It’s time we called out those day-to-day moments when we’re patronised for no longer being young...

ROLL on, roll on, April 12. The day we can go to our ‘derms’ for our Botox and filler. For 60, though I say it myself, I’ve held up quite well, but this is almost entirely due to Dr Kersh, the lady I see for my regular ‘vitamin’ injections.

Because of lockdown, I haven’t seen her for almost six months and, in the words of a fellow boomer, my face has ‘fallen to Middle-earth’. Dr Kersh says I am not an anomaly. A lot of women who depend on their cosmetic top-ups are feeling older than ever before.

It’s like dog years, in fact. One month in lockdown is equal to six in normal life, thanks to the lack of cosmetic intervention. I’ve noticed, too, how feeling more jowly makes me act more jowly.

The late and dearly beloved Captain Sir Tom Moore wrote how, in old age, his body had started to bow ‘like a human question mark’. Well, my body has started to bow too. I just noticed it while catching a reflection of myself doing the ironing.

Which leads me to the conclusion that lockdown itself is ageing. The countdown has started. Like I said, roll on April 12.