Now that we even have quite an extreme health regime such as ketogenic diet there is a movement that is bringing back the good fats.
I totally agree that not all the fats are created equal. I am a big fan of clean plant based fats which are not oxidised. When we change the structure of fat/oil by exposing them to extreme light or heat it becomes quite toxic to our bodies and can cause inflammation. That is one of the reasons I avoid heated oil, especially non-saturated oil (which is most of cooking oils except palm coconut oil and butter) Fragile omega 3 based oil should never be used for cooking.
It is important to get a healthy balance of omega 3 and 6 fats. Because of our current mainstream diet which has much more omega 6 than omega 3 we need to consciously either increase the consumption of omega 3 or decrease the amount of omega 6, especially those omega 6 fats are coming from denatured cooking or processed oil.
Omega 3 is harder to come by when our diet is consisting of plant based food. Chia, flax and hemp seeds do contain a great amount of omega 3 but our body cannot convert their omega3 to more useable form (DHA and EPA) as easily as animal based omega 3. It may be useful to take algae form of DHA and EPA (which is vegan and already converted so the body can utilise this directly) and do make an effort to eat more omega 3 fats.
Here I made a delicious creamy cacao cream using chia seed and hemp seed, combined with avocado. Even though avocado is high in omega 6 (though mostly mono saturated fat, oleic acid similar to olive oil) this fruit has proved so many health benefits including improving cardiovascular, eye health as well as diabetes, arthritis and other inflammatory diseases. They are high in potassium, folate as well as vitamin E.
This cream pudding is also sugar free using one of my favourite sweetener Luo Han Guo, No GI, No calorie natural sweetener that tastes great, and Chaga mushroom extract
Chaga mushroom (inonotus obliquus) is sometimes called “King of Mushroom”. Wild chaga grows on a birch tree and looks a little like a burnt charcoal. Chaga contains high amount of vital phytochemicals and antioxidants such as betulinic acid (powerful cancer fighting compound), melanin (free-radical scavenger, beauty enhancer), Superoxide Dismutase (SOD)(anti-ageing, powerful anti oxidant), pantothenic acid (aids adrenal glands and digestions), triterpenes (detoxifying and lowers cholesterol), inotodiol (aids immune system), polysaccharides and much more. It also contains variety of nutrients including B and D vitamins, flavonoids, phenols, copper, calcium, potassium, manganese, zinc, iron, rubidium, cesium, germanium and more.
Chaga is one of “superfoods” or “super herbs” I recommend highly to almost everyone because it is relatively safe for most people and offers amazing benefits with a lot of researches to back it up.
so this recipe, not only delicious… it is so good for you 😉
AVOCADO, CHIA AND HEMP CREAM WITH CHAGA
2 tbs chia seed
2 cups water
1/4 cup hemp seed
5 small avocado flesh
vanilla extract (I used medicine flower extract)
pinch of salt
1/4 cup cacao powder
10ml chaga extract powder
1 tsp luo han guo 80 percent
First, soak chia seed in the water ( in the blender that you are using just like in the video) at least for 30 minutes, preferably over night
Add the rest of the ingredients and blend till creamy and smooth.
serve and decorate with your favourite topping.
Here I used fresh strawberry, blackberry, coloured coconut, cacao nibs, coconut chips and tahini.
You can also freeze this and eat it like ice cream. (so good)
enjoy xx