![]() You don’t have to tell us carrots aren’t as cool as chocolate we know. Make your own PB eggs with recognizable ingredients and switch things up with almond butter for more fiber, iron, and vitamin E. The filling, for instance, often contains more sugar than actual peanuts. (Thought so.) Though store-bought eggs taste like the nectar of the Easter Gods, they’re often oversized and full of not-so-healthy ingredients. Name one person that doesn’t like peanut butter eggs. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2008 Sep 24 56(18):8527-33. Hershey Center for Health and Nutrition, The Hershey Company, Hershey, Pennsylvania. Miller, K.B., Hurst, W.J., Payne, M.J., et al. Why? They’ve got fewer ingredients (usually just cocoa, sugar, and sometimes an emulsifier, vanilla, and milk) while other bars feature artificial flavors and cocoa processed with alkali (which knocks out some of the flavanol antioxidants) Impact of alkalization on the antioxidant and flavanol content of commercial cocoa powders. Organic chocolate bars, while generally a little pricier, are more bang for your buck. Make sure the first ingredient on the label reads “cocoa butter” or “cocoa liquor.” When sugar is the first ingredient, it may taste sweeter, but it has far fewer health benefits. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 2012 95(3):740-51. Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. Effects of chocolate, cocoa, and flavon-3-ols on cardiovascular health: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials. Yale University Prevention Research Center, Griffin Hospital, Derby, Connecticut. Healthy bonus points: Cacao has been shown to help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk for coronary heart disease Cocoa and chocolate in human health and disease. ![]() To reap the benefits of dark chocolate, choose a bar with 70 percent or more cacao. While we wouldn’t tell you to forego candy completely (that’s just cruel), you can choose a healthier chocolate bar by keeping a few things in mind. This time of year, drug stores and grocery stores stock their shelves with bunny- and egg- shaped treats… which are loaded with sugar, syrups, and hard-to-pronounce stuff. Instead of ripping open a bar, grab one or two pieces at a time to enjoy. Chocolate bars are exciting and all, but individually wrapped spheres and squares of chocolate offer built-in portion control. Now that you know how to choose the good stuff, it’s time to healthify that Easter basket in another less obvious way. Pour the mixture into a shallow baking pan or cookie sheet and cut into cubes, or use bunny-shaped molds to get extra festive! 4. While it takes some time, it may be worthwhile to make your own fruit snacks using real fruit (this version uses just four ingredients-strawberries, lemon juice, honey, and gelatin). Standard fruit snacks often contain a host of artificial flavors, synthetic colors, and preservatives. For an added crunch, roll the fruit in chopped nuts (we like almonds, walnuts, pecans, and pistachios). To scale back on the chocolate, drizzle the melted stuff over fruit with the tines of a fork. Place the chocolate-ized fruit in mini muffin papers so the chocolate doesn’t smear all over the rest of the basket’s contents. Microwave the chocolate on 50-percent power in 30-second increments, stirring between spurts, until smooth (or use a double boiler). For a chocolate fix with a healthy dose of fruit, dip whole strawberries, grapes, or banana slices in melted chocolate.
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