Quick, FALL drinks with health benefits
As the weather dips into cooler temperatures, you may be tempted to indulge in café drinks that may or may not be loaded with added sugars and empty calories. But enjoying your favorite fall flavors doesn’t have to be that way. Michelle Dudash, Registered Dietitian and Author of “Clean Eating for Busy Families,” is here to share her favorites.
- Hot Turmeric Matcha Latte
Green tea matcha contains three times the antioxidants as regular green tea. When you make your matcha latte at home, you’ll probably get much less sugar, too, which is good because studies support that less refined sugar is better for heart health and blood triglycerides.
To prepare: Heat 2 ounces of water until steamy but not boiling. Place 1 rounded teaspoon matcha green tea powder and 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric into your drinking vesicle. Pour 6 ounces of hot steamy milk over the tea and turmeric. Sweeten to taste with honey.
Pumpkin spice goes great with chocolate. While you’ve probably heard chocolate is good for you, most chocolate undergoes processing that reduces the beneficial cocoa flavanols in the chocolate.
Cocoa flavanols are plant-based nutrients naturally found in cocoa beans that help maintain healthy levels of nitric oxide in the body. Nitric oxide is a compound naturally produced in the body that helps maintain healthy blood flow, which helps get oxygen and other nutrients to all parts of the body.
This is a recipe I love from CocoaVia® brand, who I work with to help educate people about cocoa flavanols. Simply heat your favorite milk, then stir in your favorite sweetener, like honey, pumpkin spice, and a CocoaVia® Dark Chocolate Unsweetened stick pack. Or make a CocoaVia® Hot Chocolate by eliminating the spice or adding a few mini marshmallows or vanilla extract. Or do all of the above for the tastiest drink!
This drink is just 130 calories and offers 10 g protein + 375 mg cocoa flavanols. Find CocoaVia® stick packs and capsules at your local Walgreens or at CocoaVia.com.
This smoothie contains white beans, which are a superstar in soluble fiber, a nutrient that have been proven to reduce blood cholesterol. It also contains oranges-a potassium-rich food, kale, pears, and kiwi. Parsley gives it a totally refreshing taste.
This smoothie contains 9 grams fiber, 9 g protein, just 230 calories, and more than 2 times the Daily Value for vitamin C!Whole-Grain Pumpkin Snack Cake with Chocolate Chips
I love this for breakfast or an afternoon snack. You can freeze halves, quarters, or slices for up to 1 month and enjoy again “fresh” when the craving strikes.Ingredients:
Expeller-pressed canola oil spray
1 cup (120 g) whole-wheat pastry flour (or white whole-wheat flour)
1 cup (125 g) unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
2 teaspoons (9 g) baking powder
2 teaspoons (9 g) baking soda
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 (15-ounce, or 425 g) can pure solidpack pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup (340 g) honey
¼ cup (60 ml) expeller-pressed grapeseed or canola oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon (2 g) grated orange zest
½ cup (88 g) dark chocolate chips
1/ 3 cup (40 g) chopped walnuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 325ºF (170ºC, or gas mark 3) and spray a 9 x 9-inch (23 x 23 cm) baking pan. Mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and salt in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, stir together the pumpkin, honey, oil, eggs one at a time, and orange zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until almost moistened. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Pour into the pan and spead evenly, avoiding overhandling. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack and cut into 12 slices
Recipe Note: Alternatively, you can bake the bread in four 5 x 3-inch (13 x 7.5 cm) mini loaf pans for 35 minutes.
Total Prep and Cook Time: 1 hour
Yield: 16 servings, 1 slice each
Per serving: 290 calories; 11 g total fat; 3 g saturated fat; 5 g protein; 46 g carbohydrate; 3 g dietary fiber; 35 mg cholesterol.
To learn more, visit www.michelledudash.com.