Life Changing Bread
Why? Because for most of us, me included, bread is at the heart of our diets and so of our lives. It makes sense so that, if we can make that bread as nutritionally dense as possible and replace lots of the less nutritious bread we eat with it, then it’s going to make big changes for the better in the way we feel. So according to Sarah here is that loaf, it has no downside. read more →
Recipe of the Month – Molasses Oat Bran Cookies
Oats are officially a superfood, they keep you fueled and energized, they keep you feeling full if you want to avoid cravings, they keep your digestion ‘right’ and they even contain compounds to keep you calm.
But what about the oatbran, this is the often quite finely milled outer husk of the oat grain? It’s special properties come from the fact that it’s a type of fiber called ‘soluble fibre’ with unique heart healthy, cholesterol busting properties.
You can simply throw a few tablespoons of oatbran into your granola or yoghurt or indeed you can make porridge from it on its own but with a little imagination it can become the basis for any number of baked delights. We asked Ruth, our in store super baker, for some ideas for oatbran and here’s what she came up with.
These cookies are crunchy and yet chewy in the middle! They are full of flavour from the spices and molasses, balanced out by the sugar. As this is Heart Health month at Only Natural, we decided to combine Oat Bran, a high-fibre food that can lower your cholesterol. We’ve also added molasses, which is rich in Iron.
We’ve used organic unrefined cane sugar as it has been minimally processed and hasn’t been exposed to the damaging pesticides present in conventionally grown sugarcane. Unrefined cane sugar also contains 17 amino acids, 11 minerals and 6 vitamins, including antioxidants that may help reverse oxidative damage.
These cookies are perfect with a cuppa!
Ingredients
165g Wholewheat Flour (use plain gluten-free flour for coeliac friendly version!)
135g Porridge Oats
100g Oat Bran
2 teaspoons Baking Soda
¼ teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Ginger
200g organic Unrefined Cane Sugar (e.g. Billingtons)
220ml Rapeseed Oil
1 large Egg
85g Molasses
Flaked Almonds to decorate
Method
In a large bowl, thoroughly stir together flour, oats, oat bran, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and ginger.
In a separate bowl, mix the sugar, oil, egg and molasses.
Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients and make sure it’s mixed through before putting in the fridge for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Line three baking trays with parchment paper. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls and space them evenly on each cookie sheet. Press down with palm of hand to make half inch thick rounds. Sprinkle tops lightly with flaked almonds. Bake for 7-10 minutes.
Healthy Heart Naturally – more than COQ10 and Fish Oils Supplements?
As Ireland continues on the road to becoming Europe’s most obese nation avoidable deaths and diminished quality of life due to heart disease are still part of our health climate. Better heart health is achievable through lifestyle choices and, where applicable, preventative and remedial supplementation. Coronary heart disease involves damage and narrowing of arteries and veins resulting in the heart having a more difficult job to fulfill its function of pumping blood around the body resulting in an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Firstly reduce your exposure to the risk factors that predispose to heart disease. These include being overweight, smoking, excessive stress, insufficient exercise, raised cholesterol and diabetes.
A heart healthy diet includes lots of whole grains and vegetables, healthy fats from fish and vegetable sources, soluble fibre to both regulate the digestion and reduce cholesterol (oats and oat products like oat bran and oatcakes come to mind here) and heart healthy herbs such as garlic and turmeric.
Hawthorn is a very effective and quick acting remedy for high blood pressure.
If elevated cholesterol is a problem due to lifestyle or hereditary causes Red Yeast Rice (taken with COQ10 which is sometimes included in the supplement), Plant Sterol tablets (Irish made brand Zerochol comes to mind) and Soya Lecithin can all be beneficial.
