Make your own Nutella

If any two ingredients were a match made in heaven it's chocolate and hazelnuts! Spread on some really great bread or rolled up in a crepe = sublime.

I love this stuff but in my quest to eat as few preservatives, over-refined nasty oils and ingredients that I can't pronounce, I have stayed away from the commercial brand of Nutella.

Here is what the label on Nutella says:

          • Over 50 Hazelnuts per 13 oz. Jar
          • Contains No Artificial Colors
          • Contains No Artificial Preservatives
 

ingredients: sugar, palm oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, skim milk, reduced minerals whey (milk), lecithin as emulsifier (soy), vanillin: an artificial flavor.

Food manufacturers today think it' perfectly okay to put soy in everything (which BTW is not as great as it has been made out to be- I will riff on that subject on another post), and wow- it has no artificial colors or preservatives, but artificial flavor is okay?? C'mon! Only 50 hazelnuts? ....and notice that sugar and palm oil are the first ingredients. 

If you are a food label fanatic like me, you know that ingredients are listed in order of the most to the least- so if you want a mouthful of sugar and palm oil get this stuff and be done. You also need to be mindful of what type of palm oil is being used- here they don't specify but there's palm fruit oil (taken from the fruit) and palm kernel oil (taken from the seed which is super high in saturated fat- 80% to be exact as opposed to 50% in the palm fruit oil). Consuming this type of oil can lead to heart disease and a host of other health issues so always read your labels and try to find better oils like olive and canola. Not to mention the environmental impact that farming palm oil has created.

I stumbled upon this blog where I learned to make it from scratch and I agree- it's so easy and worth it. All I can say is yum! Get the full recipe here and enjoy!

 

photos via missmoss.co.za

Wonderful Spinach

 I am on a spinach kick these days-coming up with as many ways I can think of to make sure I get a daily dose.

Not only does spinach pack a punch of vitamins and minerals, it is also concentrated in health-promoting phytonutrients such as carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin) and flavonoids to provide you with powerful antioxidant protection. It has more calcium in it than iron (which was surprising!).

Nutritionists believe that raw spinach is a much more beneficial way to absorb these essential nutrients, but lightly cooking or steaming it is not the end of the world!

I can't recall where or how I found this recipe for Wilted Spinach Salad with Hazelnuts, but it makes a lovely winter salad and very easy to prepare as well as addicting! I think it may be from an old Gourmet magazine......

Wilted Spinach and Hazelnut Salad

2 handful of baby spinach, washed (per person)
1/4  cup hazelnuts
1-2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced or chopped fine (you decide)
2 tablespoons olive oil
drizzle of good balsamic
salt and pepper to taste

Chop the hazelnuts and toast in a skillet with the olive oil. Add the garlic being careful not to burn.

Pour over spinach in a salad bowl, toss with the balsamic and season with salt and pepper.

EXTRA CREDIT: add a few spoonfuls of soft goat cheese for some real magic!