An Olympic Salad!

So today is the last day of the olympics! Very sad, didn't think we would but we have really really enjoyed it. Britain has some AMAZING athletes/sports people and we have done incredibly well. It has been a fantastic two weeks and we have watched sports we never would have paid any attention to beforehand, and enjoyed them!! (And not just the men in their trunks in diving!)

Anyhoo...

This evening I made an amazing salad well worthy of celebrating the olympics.

I took a small piece of boneless pork shoulder, butterflied it out, removed all fat and then smothered it in a rub made from paprika, chilli flakes, cayenne pepper and garlic powder, then left it to marinate all day.

Then roasted it in the oven at about 180oc for about 40 minutes, leaving it to rest once cooked.

In the meantime I put some baby new potatoes, with their skin on, in my most favouritest gadget of all ... the actifry.

(If you haven't heard about one of these I really recommend them, well worth the money, I cook everything in them practically!!! No oil required, cooks everything with hot air, constantly turning it so all gets cooked, amazing!)

... along with some chopped up sweet potato.

I sprayed them with a couple of sprays of fry light and then put on timer for 35 minutes so they would be ready with the pork.

I then made a big salad of mixed leaves, sweetcorn kernels, beetroot, cucumber and tomatoes on each plate. I added the potatoes on top and then thinly sliced the pork and laid over it all. The pork was pretty damn spicy so I made a yoghurt and mint sauce to drizzle over, using Total 0% greek yoghurt and a teaspoon of mint sauce.

The result was completely empty plates!!!

We don't normally have dessert, the most we will have is a yoghurt or a mini twister lolly. But this morning I started following an amazing lady with an amazing story....

HungryHealthyHappy

I spotted a recipe for a healthy chocolate dessert .. well that got my attention! Even more so when I realised that one of the main ingrediants was avocado!!! Avocado and chocolate, who'd have thought it!!

I love avocados, they are one of my most favourite foods, but had never thought of them as a dessert food. However, reading her posting she assured you really cannot taste it, but it does add a fantastic creamy texture!!

Intrigued ... I had to find out.

Ingredients – serves 4:

2 bananas, peeled and frozen
1 avocado, peeled, pitted and frozen
4 pitted dates
225ml almond milk (you can use normal skimmed milk)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
4tbsp cocoa powder

raspberries and cinnamon for topping.

Thickly slice the banana and avocado and add it together with all other ingrediants to your blender and blend until all smooth and erm ... blended!!

Spoon into serving dishes, top with raspberries and a sprinkling of cinnamon and chill ... or you can eat it straight away!

One word ...................YUM!

You cannot taste the avocado at all, it is very creamy, a bit 'bananery' but very very good! I have since seen a recipe that doesnt include the bananas, just two avocado, vanilla essence and cocoa powder, will try that next time.

Again, the dieters will be horrified at the thought of avocado, soooo many calories. But they are good calories, from good fats. Avocado are amazing foods and should be used widely as they have so many benefits.


Health Benefits of Avocados

The folate contained in avocados is mostly responsible for reducing the risk of heart disease, especially compared to people who have a diet low in folate. The vitamin E in an avocado has also been linked to a healthy heart, something needed to keep you successfully burning fat all day long.

Another health benefit of avocado is that it is extremely helpful in preventing both rheumatoid and osteo-arthritis. The many different antioxidants found in avocados help reduce inflammation, a major concern for sufferers of either type of arthritis. Avocado nutrients responsible for this health benefit include vitamins C & E as well as manganese.

Perhaps the biggest health benefit of avocados is that by adding avocado to certain foods, you can improve your absorption of nutrients. This means that when you combine other fat burning foods with avocado, you can improve your nutrient absorption up to 400%!

Avocados provide many general health benefits, in addition to its fat burning benefits due to its vitamin E and glutathione, which protects you against tons of diseases including several forms of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and cholesterol.

Avocados also help reduce the signs of aging, regulate blood sugar and promote eye health.

They are fab for great skin and hair, not only by eating but by making into various masks. Even just rubbing the inside skin over your face 3 - 4 times a week has amazing hydrating effects, avocado oil is said to be very close to our own skin oil.


So there you go ..... make sure you don't leave these magical gems out of your diet under the impression they are full of calories and therefore bad for you, they're not, they're your best friend in the food world!!!