Happy Easter

There are lots of tempting Easter themed products in the shops now – well some appeared not long after Christmas! Most of them are designed to give a fun, spring-like mood with lots of flowers, chicks and bunnies. Easter eggs come in every size from teeny-tiny to humongous. I notice that the egg-sized ones now come by the half dozen in egg boxes – what a clever way to make you buy more. Most are hollow, some with other chocolates inside, some have creamy, sugary fillings and some of the smallest ones are solid with a sugar shell.

Whilst I find it sad that a joyous Christian festival has become an excuse to sell us heaps of sugary stuff, you can enjoy a healthier Easter without saying no to all Easter eggs or chocolate. Instead, aim for quality.

It’s certainly true that cheap, high-sugar, chemical-laden chocolate, consumed in large quantities, is going to damage your health. White chocolate isn’t actually chocolate at all. Dark chocolate (>70%) is best. It’s got a lower sugar content than milk chocolate and is good for you in moderation (check out my December article).

What about buying some chocolate egg moulds so you can have a go at making your own Easter eggs? Here are my efforts; I’m sure you could do better!

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Another fun activity with the kids is dying boiled, hens’ eggs. Use onion skins or dandelion flowers, put them round an egg, wrap in a piece of cloth, tie with string and boil for 10 minutes. You‘ll get beautiful effects and you can eat the highly nutritious egg.

Top tip: Go easy on the chocolate eggs. Happy Easter.

Mmm – Chocolate

As we approach Christmas, sweet treats are everywhere. The UK chocolate market is worth £4.1 billion and we eat a staggering 437 million kg every year. Most of it is bad for you so you might be glad that a bit of quality, dark chocolate does you good.

The health benefits of dark chocolate are all the rage right now, with some calling it a super food. I‘m not sure I’d go that far but its low sugar content and rich concentrations of beneficial antioxidants and poly-phenols make it a superior snack. It needs to be >70%; the milk and white varieties, although undeniably tasty, don’t cut it and have far too much sugar. And you’ll still need to apply some moderation – a few squares a day, not a few bars. So what’s in it?

• resveratrol, a powerful antioxidant, good for blood pressure, heart health and your brain.

• flavanols which are anti-inflammatory.

• cocoa butter, containing approximately 33% oleic acid, the same healthy monounsaturate as olive oil.

• minerals including potassium, phosphorus, copper, iron, zinc, and magnesium.

Companies are springing up making organic, raw chocolate in all sorts of amazing flavours from chilli to gin and tonic. If, like me, you were saddened that the government allowed the Americans to buy Cadbury’s and ruin a great British product, you may be interested to know that James Cadbury (great, great, great grandson of the original John Cadbury) has started a business under the brand Love Cocoa, making high quality, ethical chocolate. I’ve tested it for you (a hard job but someone had to do it).

It’s delicious on its own or use it in my favourite Chocolatey Nut Seed Snack, recipe in my resources section here – keep scrolling down past the soup which you might also enjoy during the current wintry weather!

Top tip: A little dark chocolate does you good

Merry Christmas!