Milly White's Blog, page 52

How to Make Homemade Nutella Recipe

Homemade Nutella Recipe

How to Make Homemade Nutella Recipe

Homemade Nutella Recipe

How to Make Homemade Nutella Recipe

Homemade Nutella Recipe

The ABC of Berry-licious Blackberries

Stand aside blueberries, the true berry superfood is the much humbler and self-effacing blackberry. From anti-ageing to cholesterol-lowering, discover the ABC of health benefits packed into these delicious drupelets.The ABC of Berry-licious BlackberriesA is for Abundant in Anti-Ageing AntioxidantsBlackberries had the highest antioxidant content per serving, when tested against over 1000 other foods (source: 2006 American Journal of Clinical Nutrition).B is for it’s No Brainer For Brain HealthBlackberries owe their vibrant, rich colour to their anthocyanin content and this fabulous flavonoid antioxidant plays an important role in protecting the brain, which may help reduce the effects of age-related brain diseases including dementia and Alzheimer. C is for Champion Cholesterol-Lowering Food! As well as being naturally low in fat and high in dietary fibre, a scientific study in 1998 found that the blackberries could significantly reduce the buildup of  harmful LDL cholesterol (American Chemical Society 1998),  and were found to have "the highest LDL inhibitory effect", better than raspberries, sweet cherries, blueberries or strawberries.  Healthy Blackberry RecipesIf you're looking for some tasty ways to enjoy blackberries, why not take a look at my Blackberry Recipe Videos? My Blackberry Bakewell Sponge Pudding features fresh or frozen blackberries so this easy recipe can be enjoyed all year round.  What's more, this quick and easy-to-make recipe is low in saturated fat and it's just the ticket when you’re looking for a heart-healthy dessert idea on a diet or low cholesterol eating plan. Each serving is only 220 Calories, with just 10g of Total Fat and 2.1g of Saturated Fat per portion.

Removing Skin from Chicken Drumsticks, Thighs & Breasts - Pros vs Cons & How To

Is It Best to Always Remove Skin from Chicken Before Cooking?The advice to remove skin from chicken drumsticks, thighs & breast as part of healthy eating plan is very long-standing, but is it best to always do so? Within the context of an overall healthy, balanced diet, what are the pro's and con's to this cooking tip?
Six Benefits to Removing Chicken SkinIt's an indisputable fact that removing the skin from chicken pieces prior to cooking does:


reduce the calories (by up to 27%)reduce the total fat (by up to 77%)reduce the saturated fat (by up to 81%).
Just take a look at the table below which shows the differences per 100g of skin-on vs skin-less chicken:


Reducing the calories that you eat will be an important consideration to anyone following a restricted calorie weight-loss plan. What's more, reducing the saturated fat in your diet is essential for anyone wanting to follow a cholesterol-lowering diet.And, it's not all about health. Leaving the skin on chicken doesn't work well in some recipes or dishes, for example in the long, slow-cooking process for curry, stews or casseroles not for dishes such as chicken stir-fry1 Reason Why You May Not Want to Take-Off Chicken Skin (Every Now & Then)Within the context of recommended daily calorie, total fat and saturated fat intake, the absolute difference (as opposed to the percentage difference) between skin-on and skin-off for chicken breast meat is relatively small, especially when considered as part of the day as a whole. For example, compare a fairly standard portion of chicken breast, say 170g (6oz) in size. Eating this sized chicken breast with the skin on would add:51 kcal - which equates to 2.0%-2.3% of recommended daily calorie intake6.3g total fat - which equates to 6.6%-9% of recommended daily fat intake1.4g saturated fat - which equates to 7.4%-11% of recommended daily fat intakeWhat's more, there's fewer calories and less fat and saturated fat per 100g in a skin-on chicken breast than a skin-less thigh or drumstick. So let's take a closer look at these and the maths is really not favourable when looking at a chicken thigh or drumstick. Eating either of these chicken portions with the skin-on (based on 150g (5.3oz) boneless joint) would add:93 kcal - which equates to 3.7%-4.7% of recommended daily calorie intake11.9g total fat - which equates to 13.2%-16.9% of recommended daily fat intake5.6g saturated fat - which equates to 18.5%-27.8% of recommended daily fat intakeSkin-on or skin-off?The decision is obviously entirely yours, dependent upon your healthy eating goals. If you want to remove the skin from a chicken drumstick, thigh or breast but have found it a little tricky in the past, then take a look at my quick how-to video:

3 Quick, Easy & Cheap Ways To Supercharge Your Breakfast

Great Breakfasts Help Wellbeing & HealthWhen we wake-up in the morning, breakfast serves to quite literally “break the overnight fast!” It refuels our body and brain, stopping us from running on empty. What’s more, as well as giving us a kick start energy boost, breakfast can also be an excellent source of essential heart-healthy nutrients such as B-complex vitamins, Vitamin C and cholesterol-lowering beta-glucan dietary fibre. And the final triple whammy is that a breakfast rich in protein and dietary fibre will also help keep the mid-morning munchies at bay, by helping us to feel fuller for longer.


The Hidden Enemies to a Good BreakfastHowever, it’s not so easy to make healthy breakfast choices, especially when we’re short on time. The hidden enemies to a good breakfast include:

sugar-laden breakfast cereal served with full-fat milknutrient-poor white bread toast thickly spread with high-in-saturated-fat buttercooked breakfasts of fried, salty, processed foods such as bacon and sausages
However, it really doesn’t to be this way, so here’s my top 3 ways to supercharge your breakfast:


1. GO GREEN!
Yep, add those leafy greens to breakfast. And the easiest way to do this is with a delicious, plant-based Green Breakfast Smoothie, combining non-dairy plant milk with a selection of nutritious fruits and leafy greens such as fibre-packed kale or spinach. They taste fantastic and are great for breakfast on the go too. If you’re not sure where to start, take a look at my step-by-step Green Smoothie recipes here, including my Cinnamon Fig Green Smoothie (pictured left) or my Plum Crazy For Granola Green Smoothie (pictured top).



2. OATS GET MY VOTE!
Oats are a fantastic breakfast food, as they are an abundant source of cholesterol-lowering beta glucan dietary fibre. Cheap, heart-healthy, naturally gluten-free and so very versatile. A steaming bowl of hot porridge is a great way to start a cold winter’s day, and overnight oats must be the definition of a convenient morning time-saver as all the prep is done the night before! My best tip for money-saving though is to make your own crunchy, taste-tastic, healthy granola, you’ll be shocked at just how easy it is to do, I’ll show you how here.


3. SPREAD A LITTLE (HEART)-HAPPINESS!
Instead of topping your toast with high saturated fat butter, why not spread on a nut-butter instead? Bursting with heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, which improve blood serum cholesterol levels and can lower your risk of heart disease. Unfortunately, store-bought nut-spreads can also include some less healthy ingredients such as sugar, palm oil and salt, so fire up the blender or food-processor and make your own, like my Roasted Almond & Cashew Nut Butter here.


Lots More Breakfast Recipe InspirationYou can find many more morning recipes in my Brunch & Breakfast Cookbooks, I have one for those looking specifically for gluten-free, celiac (or coeliac) breakfast recipes and another for those looking for low fat and low cholesterol options and these are available as a paperback or Kindle book from Amazon or as an ebook from iBooks, Nook or Kobo, links are below. 


Available to buy as Paperbacks or eBooks from Amazon: <br /> <br />
As an eBook from:    

How to Bake & Decorate a Christmas Wreath Cake

Did you know that you CAN have your Christmas Cake & Eat It Too - even on a low-fat, low-cholesterol, heart-healthy diet? This rich, moist fruit cake is so crammed full of deliciousness, that you’ll never guess that it has 62% less saturated fat than a traditional fruit cake plus my clever baking tip (which requires no specialist cake tin) makes it super easy to cut into even portion sizes.
Bake & Decorate a Christmas Wreath Cake Step-by-Step Video TutorialMy step-by-step recipe and decorating tutorial videos show you how to bake and decorate my Christmas Wreath Cake, just click here to watch both of them (links to YouTube).


Featured RecipeThis recipe is from my new Easy Low Fat & Low Cholesterol Christmas & Holiday Entertaining Recipe Cookbook:
   

Menu of the Month - October

After a gorgeous long summer here in the UK, the mellow fruitfulness of Autumn is now definitely upon! Autumn is my absolutely favourite season of the year, I love the colours of the foliage, the crisp snap to the early morning air and, best of all, comforting warming food bursting with delicious flavours. But comfort food doesn't have to mean stodgy, heavy or unhealthy, so let's take a look at what I'm cooking this month!
London Particular (Spit Pea) Soup Recipe
So there is nothing quite like a warming bowl of delicious soup on a chilling Autumn day and the colours of my gloriously-named London Particular Soup looks like Autumn in a bowl!
Watch my video recipe on how to make my easy and delicious, heart-healthy version of this warming split pea soup. It's low fat and low cholesterol, naturally gluten free and suitable for vegetarians and vegans too!
Spicy Seed & Carrot Flatbreads Recipe
If you're looking for the perfect accompaniment that will turn a bowl of London Particular Soup into a really warming, hearty meal then why not add one of my Spicy Seed & Carrot Flatbreads? Fragrant, golden and wonderfully tasty, they are so simple to make too, you can watch my video recipe here .
Lemon Vanilla Poached Pears Recipe
And as we're talking about the mellow fruitfulness of Autumn , what could be more appropriate (or delicious) than finishing off with a fruit pudding? My Lemon Vanilla Poached Pears make the most of our lovely seasonal autumnal fruits and what's more, you can indulge in this light, low fat dessert even if you're on a diet as they are virtually fat free and only 115 calories! See how when you watch my video recipe here.
Featured RecipesThe recipes from my October Menu of the Month can be found in my best-selling Easy Low Fat & Low Cholesterol Mediterranean Diet Recipe Cookbook (soup and flatbreads) and Low Fat & Low Calorie Diet Treats Recipe Cookbooks including my Desserts, Cakes & Bakes Cookbook (poached pears):
   

Spicy Seed & Carrot Flatbreads - My Easy Heart Healthy Low Fat Video Recipe

Watch my heart healthy low-fat video recipe for my easy and delicious Spicy Seed & Carrot Flatbreads:

Mediterranean Diet Low Fat & Low Cholesterol Spicy Seed & Carrot Flatbreads Fragrant, golden and wonderfully tasty, these flatbreads are so simple to make and are wonderful to serve with humous but I think they are best served alongside my my warming Slow-Cooked Spicy Lentil & Sweet Potato Soup.

This flatbread recipe makes 6 and is only 179 Calories, with 5g Total Fat and just 1g Saturated Fat per serving. If you are worried about cooking for high cholesterol, you can enjoy the taste of low fat, heart-healthy eating for lower cholesterol with my best Mediterranean Diet based recipes.
Looking for More Mediterranean Diet Recipes?If you'd like to discover over 100 more easy, everyday recipes on the Mediterranean Diet, then you may want to checkout my best-selling Easy Low Fat & Low Cholesterol Mediterranean Diet Recipe Cookbook:
   

Is a Mediterranean Diet Better For Your Heart Than Statins?

A Mediterranean diet is rich in vegetables, nuts, fish and oils Heart-Healthy Mediterranean DietIt’s well accepted that the Mediterranean Diet is a heart-healthy diet (see Doctors back the Mediterranean Diet as a sure way to improve health). However, what about someone who has unfortunately already suffered from a heart attack, stroke or blocked arteries? Would following a Mediterranean-style diet help them too? Well, the answer appears to be YES!
Professor Giovanni de Gaetano (head of the Department of Epidemiology and Prevention at the IRCCS Neuromed Institute in Italy) has just reported on a study he’s led that study followed 1,200 people who had such a history of cardio-vascular disease for 7 years. 

A Mediterranean Diet (more detail here) is one that is rich in vegetables, fish, nuts, and plant oils, and lower in the types of saturated fats found in red meat and full-fat dairy such as butter. 
So, Is a Mediterranean Diet Better Than Statins? Image: adamr at FreeDigitalPhotos.netProf Gaetano’s study found that those who most closely ate a typically Mediterranean diet were much less likely to die than those whose diet was least like it. In fact, the difference was as great as 37%. As a comparison, cholesterol-lowering drugs such as statins are reported to make about a 24% difference.

Leading heart health charities advise that people should combine following a Mediterranean diet and taking regular exercise alongside any medication such as statins prescribed by your doctor, as the optimal way to fight heart disease.
Want to try the Mediterranean Diet?If you're looking easy ways to follow the Mediterranean Diet, then you may want to checkout my best-selling Easy Low Fat & Low Cholesterol Mediterranean Diet Recipe Cookbook which features over 100 easy, tasty everyday recipes:
    Watch my Low Fat & Low Cholesterol Mediterranean Diet Recipe VideosSubscribe to my YouTube channel for lots of great Mediterranean Diet recipe demonstrations.