All you need is love (and chocolate)
ACCORDING to the creator of Charlie Brown and Peanuts, Charles M. Schultz, “All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn’t hurt”. It was ever thus. From Charlie and The Chocolate Factory to over 60 million hashtags on Instagram, chocolate has always been a go-to to make us happy but also there to cheer us up when we feel sad. But why is this?
According to functional nutritionist and author Christine Bailey, who will be hosting a celebrity kitchen at Martin Roberts’ Achieve weekend this October, some types of chocolate are loaded with nutrients that can positively affect your health. If you buy quality dark chocolate with a high cocoa content (70 per cent plus), it is actually packed with antioxidants, fibre and a range of minerals including iron, magnesium, copper, manganese and zinc. ‘Cacao’ is also rich in antioxidants and has been found to have some anti-allergy properties by helping to reduce IGE synthesis. Being high in polyphenols, it can also support the growth of our healthy gut bacteria, too.
According to Christine, “Studies suggest dark chocolate could help lower LDL cholesterol, blood pressure and improve beneficial HDL cholesterol. It may also improve cognitive function. The flavanols (plant antioxidants) from cocoa have been shown to improve blood flow to the skin and protect it against sun-induced damage.”
Christine’s new book My Kids Can’t Eat That: How to Deal with Allergies & Intolerances in Children (Nourish Books) contains some easy-to-prepare, healthy chocolate recipes. Here is Christine’s take on dairy-free and gluten-free chocolate mousse and chocolate brownies…
EASY CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 3 minutes Chilling time: 1 hour
Serves 4
150g dairy-free chocolate 1tbsp dairy-free milk 2tbsp cocoa powder
2 small oranges, peeled and remove pips 250g silken tofu
» Orange/mandarin segments to decorate
METHOD
» Place the chocolate and almond milk in a pan and gently stir over a low heat. Put the melted chocolate into a blender with the remaining ingredients and blend until creamy.
» Pour into individual ramekins or glasses and chill for one hour.
SWEET POTATO BROWNIES Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 1 hour Makes 16 brownies 200g/1 medium sweet potato 100g dairy-free spread 200g dairy-free chocolate, chopped 80g Xylitol
2 beaten eggs
2tsp vanilla extract 100g gluten-free flour 1tsp baking powder
30g cocoa powder
75g dairy-free chocolate chips
METHOD
» Preheat the oven to 190C, gas mark 5. Grease and line a square, 20cm tin.
» Prick the sweet potato then bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until soft. Allow to cool then remove the skin and place the flesh in a food processor.
» In a saucepan, melt the dairy-free spread, chocolate and Xylitol, stirring regularly.
» Pour the chocolate mixture into a food processor then add the sweet potato and blend until smooth. Tip in eggs, vanilla, flour, baking powder and cocoa powder, and process to form a stiff batter.
» Pulse in chocolate chips.
» Spoon the mixture into the tin and smooth.
» Bake in the oven for 25 minutes until firm on top.
» Allow to cool before cutting into bars. Many would agree that we could change Mr Schultz’s quote to “All you need is chocolate. And a bit of love now and again doesn’t hurt”. Either way, keep us smiling, dear chocolate!
www.achieve.co.uk