Olive oil brownies

We have friends coming tomorrow for a bbq of course and I thought I'd do some brownies of a different kind, without butter! I found this recipe. Also I replaced two of the eggs by a banana. So we shall see!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with foil, leaving a 2-inch overhang on at least 2 sides. Oil the foil (not including the overhang).

Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder and salt in a medium bowl. Melt the chocolate with the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently. Let cool slightly. Stir in the sugar and eggs. Add the flour mixture, and stir to combine. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and bake until a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs, 30 to 35 minutes.

Let the brownies cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack. Use the foil overhang to help lift them out of the pan. Cut into 16 squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Recipe

Your choice!

As Imogen is a vegan, she has to drink soya milk, on the other hand, Camille has chosen to drink soya milk. When Imogen visits us from uni and then goes back to London, she leaves behind the bottle of soya milk she has started and naturally in order to avoid wasting, I finish it. I actually like the nutty taste of soya milk. Steven on his part does not drink milk at all and hardly uses it in cooking. He will have a black coffee! 

I did a bit of research and after reading that, I am very tempted to switch completely to soya milk.

What do you think? Do you drink lots of milk anyway or not? Have you ever tasted soya milk?

Unlike cow's milk, soy milk is naturally low in fat. Regular-fat soy milk contains slightly more fat per cup than 2% milk, but it is naturally free from saturated fat (which is considered to be more unhealthy than unsaturated fat ). ( More on fat contents in milk )

Because it is made from plant material instead of an animal byproduct, soy milk contains no cholesterol . Dairy milk contains about 20 milligrams of cholesterol per cup. An adult's recommended daily allowance of cholesterol is 300 milligrams, and many people with high cholesterol or some types of heart problems are better off consuming well below the usual RDA of cholesterol.

Soy milk is also high in protein . One cup of soy milk contains about seven to ten grams of protein. This is similar to cow's milk, which contains eight grams of protein per cup. Although some sources say that soy protein in soy milk is undigestible or an incomplete protein, this is not true. Soy milk protein is a complete protein and is highly digestible. Here is an interesting chart! 

What do you think? Do you drink lots of milk anyway or not? Have you ever tasted soya milk?

 

Pass the butter please...

Pass The Butter ... Please. I thought that I'd share this comparison between butter and margarine. Let me know which one do you use?

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back.


It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow colouring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it? They have come out with some clever new flavourings....

DO YOU KNOW.. The difference between margarine and butter?

Read on to the end...gets very interesting!

Both have the same amount of calories.
Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams; compared to 5 grams for margarine.

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.


Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods.
Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few and only because they are added!

Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavours of other foods.

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years .

And now, for Margarine..

Very High in Trans fatty acids.

Triples risk of coronary heart disease ...

Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)

Increases the risk of cancers up to five times..

Lowers quality of breast milk

Decreases immune response.

Decreases insulin response.

And here's the most disturbing fact... HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING!

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC... and shares 27 ingredients with PAINT.

These facts alone were enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance).

Open a tub of margarine and leave it open in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will notice a couple of things:


* no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something)




* it does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value ; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not a find a home to grow.



Why? Because it is nearly plastic . Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

Cutting down on red meat?

Do you like your meat or do you prefer vegetables? In our family, it's a bit of both. My hubby and my step-daughter love red meat, I do too but can do without, as I am happy with a plate of couscous or lentils, Imo has just become a vegan after being a vegetarian since she was 13! What about you? What's your diet like? I must say that I will avoid talking about deserts!..

Is this new research I found in the daily telegraph a publicity stunt?
The researchers define a “high-protein” diet as deriving at least 20 per cent of daily calories from protein. They recommend consuming about 0.8g (0.03oz) of protein per kilogram of body weight every day in middle age. It means a person weighing nine stone should eat about 45-50g (1.6-1.7oz) of protein a day. A 300g (10.5oz) steak contains 77g (2.7oz) of protein.

As well as red meat, dairy products high in protein are also dangerous, the researchers said. A 200ml (7fl oz) glass of milk represents 12 per cent of the recommended daily allowance, while a 40g (1.4oz) slice of cheese contains 20 per cent.

Chicken, fish, pulses, vegetables, nuts and grain are healthier sources of protein. However, a chicken breast or salmon fillet still accounts for about 40 per cent of recommended daily protein intake.

“The research shows that a low-protein diet in middle age is useful for preventing cancer and overall mortality,” said Dr Eileen Crimmins, a co-author of the study.

“However, we also propose that at older ages, it may be important to avoid a low-protein diet to allow the maintenance of healthy weight and protection from frailty.”

British experts agreed that cutting down on red meat had been proven to lower the risk of cancer but said a balanced diet was still the best option.

Dr Gunter Kuhnle, a food nutrition scientist at the University of Reading, said: “While this study raises some interesting perspectives on links between protein intake and mortality… It is wrong, and potentially even dangerous, to compare the effects of smoking with the effect of meat and cheese.” 
He claimed that sending out such statements “can damage the effectiveness of important public health messages”, adding: “The smoker thinks: 'why bother quitting smoking if my cheese and ham sandwich is just as bad for me?’ ”

Prof Naveed Saattar, an expert in metabolic medicine at Glasgow University, said the low-protein effect in older people could be due to “survival bias”, where those who have lived longer are already generally healthier.

Protein controls the growth hormone IGF-I, which helps bodies grow but has been linked to cancer susceptibility. Prof Tim Key, a Cancer Research UK epidemiologist, said: “Further research is needed to establish whether there is any link between eating a high protein diet and an increased risk of middle aged people dying from cancer.”

Do you look after your brain?

It seems like a silly question but do you look after your brain? 

It appears that your brain is so complex and therefore needs to be fed properly! You may remember bits of your biology lessons at school. As far as I am concerned I had to do some research. I found a very good website where clear explanations were given.
To build brain cells you need fatty acids. Two kinds of fatty acids are considered
"essential," which means you must get these essential fatty acids (EFAs) from the food you eat.
Your body cannot manufacture them. 

The 1st essential fatty acid you need is Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).
ALA is the foundation of the "omega-3" family of fatty acids. Food sources of omega-3 ALA include 

flax seeds,

chia seeds, 

walnuts, 

sea vegetables, 

green leafy vegetables, 

and cold water fish like salmon,
sardines, 

mackerel and trout.

The 2nd essential fatty acid you need is Linoleic acid (LA).
LA is the foundation of the "omega-6" family of fatty acids.
Food sources of omega-6 LA include expeller cold-pressed sunflower, safflower, corn, and sesame oils.

I must say that I should eat more fish. I am not sure that I know what the chia seeds and the safflower are so I will need to do more research.

Have a blessed week-end and enjoy the sunshine!