Make it today
Play
The allure of avocado
“Make It Today” is all about quick recipes that anyone can make. Not only will each dish be fabulous in flavour, it will offer information that you might never have known.
Avocado was once thought too high in fat and not a great choice for a diet. Today there are three proven reasons it will help you. It’s full of protein, acts as an anti-inflammatory, and contains fats that are good for your heart and can help prevent strokes. It’s also high in oleic acid, which studies show prevents breast cancer.
I sometimes try to make a little avocado go a long way, and a great dip involves half an avocado, a cup of low-fat plain yoghurt, a handful of chopped cilantro leaves, and a quarter of a red onion, finely chopped. You mash it all together and serve with carrot and celery sticks as dippers.
You can also make delicious cold soup by blending an avocado with a pint of cold vegetable stock and some fresh basil until smooth. Then chill it and serve. It’s perfect on a hot night.
It’s not always so important what else you put into your body. Just make sure you put something good in it, like this dish for four people:
2 avocados
4 eggs
4 tablespoons olive oil
Juice 1 lemon
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon fresh dill
1 tablespoon capers
4 to 6 anchovy fillets
Cut the avocado in half, take out the pip and crack an egg in each half. Place on a baking tray in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile whiz all the remaining ingredients in a food processor until they form a chunky mix.
Serve the avocado with the dressing on top.
If you’re on a carbohydrate-free diet and finding breakfast hard, try seaweed-wrapped smoked salmon.
There are three facts you might not know about salmon. It’s a fan
tastic source of Omega 3 oils and protein that keeps you full longer than carbohydrates. And if you have no fat in your diet, it’s hard for your body to absorb Vitamins A, D, E and K from other foods.
You can also wrap in seaweed ham and eggs, chicken, sun-dried-tomato paste and cooked spinach. They all help cut out the carbohydrates, but are still tasty. You can make a salmon or tuna tartar and wrap it up. That’s just raw tuna or salmon mixed with olive oil, chopped onion, chopped basil, lemon juice and a little chilli.
Don’t feel you need a hardcore diet to benefit your body. It’s the small differences we can sustain that make big differences in the future.
1 sheet seaweed paper
2 layers smoked salmon (about 40 grams)
Edamame
2 eggs whisked
Make a flat omelette with the scrambled eggs and lay it on the seaweed paper, followed by a layer of salmon. Roll it up and cut the ends to tidy it up. Slice it in half, then half again, and top with an edemame bean.
British celebrity chef Daniel Green loves to create healthy recipes that are easy to follow. His column “Make It Today” – sharing his passion for good food that’s low in fat but modern and full of flavour – will appear on the last Sunday of every month.
