Kim Hill: O is for oats
Oats are great for healthy comfort food and because they contain only a small amount of gluten they are suitable for people who struggle to digest gluten grains, such as wheat and rye.
Oats are great for healthy comfort food and because they contain only a small amount of gluten they are suitable for people who struggle to digest gluten grains, such as wheat and rye.The nutritional highlights:
A great source of calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and vitamin B3.
They lower cholesterol levels, thus helping to prevent heart attacks, strokes and blood clots.
Antioxidant compounds unique to oats, called avenanthramides, help prevent free radicals from damaging LDL (good) cholesterol, thus reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
They stabilise blood sugar – important for keeping your energy levels stable and avoiding sugary snacks and drinks.
Recipe - Flapjack
This is a much healthier version of the traditional flapjack recipe and has a rich treacle flavour. This recipe was cooked in a fan oven. If you don't have a fan oven, then allow an extra fives minutes cooking time.
Ingredients:
4ozs coconut butter*
2 tbsps molasses**
2tbsps agave nectar**
3 fresh medjool dates
2 tbsps water
8ozs oats
Method:
Grease a 8in round sandwich tin and heat the oven to 160C, gas mark 4.
Mix the dates with the water to form a paste. You can use a hand-held blender or pestle and mortar for this.
Place the date paste, coconut butter, molasses and agave nectar in a medium- sized saucepan and heat gently until the coconut butter has melted.
Stir in the oats and then turn out into the sandwich tin. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Take the tin out of the oven and run a knife around the edge of the tin and also cut the flapjack into slices. Leave in the tin for 45 minutes to cool down before removing the slices completely and placing on a wire rack to cool down.
*Coconut butter can be purchased from some health food shops or at www.coconutty.co.uk
**Agave nectar and molasses are available in most health food shops and some supermarkets.
Kim offers a range of nutritional products and services plus a free monthly newsletter with tips for a healthy life. To find out more visit www.naturovita.co.uk or e-mail kim@naturovita.co.uk or call 01733 345495.
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Saturday 20 March 2010
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