And it’s not just that it’s delicious. Chocolate contains tryptophan, the amino acid that the brain uses to produce serotonin, a neurotransmitter that makes a person feel happy.

Relieves stress

Dark chocolate effectively lowers the level of stress hormones.

Contains fiber

The tile of high-quality chocolate (70-85% of cocoa beans) contains 11 grams of fiber. These are the dietary fibers that lower cholesterol levels and make you feel full. So black chocolate is useful for both figure and digestion.

Makes you smarter

Numerous studies prove that by eating chocolate, people undergo intellectual tests much better. Besides the fact that a piece of dark chocolate will make your brain work more efficiently in the morning, regular use will be an excellent prevention of senile dementia.

Good effect on the heart

A small piece of chocolate tiles 5-7 times a week reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease by 57%.

Useful during pregnancy

Finnish scientists have found out that children grow up happier and less fastidious if during pregnancy their mothers regaled themselves with dark chocolate.

Lowers pressure

Chocolate contains flavonoids – plant antioxidants, which help reduce blood pressure and cholesterol, and also take care of maintaining the health of blood vessels.

Has a positive effect on the skin

In the hot summer, black chocolate can save you from sunburn, because it contains phenols and catechins – antioxidants, which are very useful for the skin.

Picture Credit: VistaCreate

Why does oatmeal help lower cholesterol?

Oats are considered a superfood as well as a daily resource that we should all consume to take care of our health. It is good for the heart, regulates weight, improves digestion, and prevents constipation.

Great benefits of oats to reduce so-called bad cholesterol:

• Oatmeal contains soluble fiber, which is rich in lipoproteins and helps reduce the density of LDL (bad cholesterol).
• This type of fiber is similar to that found in apples, whose effectiveness in lowering cholesterol is well known.
• There is another aspect to keep in mind: not all foods that contain oats will help you lower your cholesterol. Example? Oatmeal cookies, which instead of helping you, can actually hurt because they contain a lot of sugar and saturated fat.

Ways to consume oatmeal to lower cholesterol

1. Oatmeal with green apple and cinnamon

Ingredients:

• 100 grams of instant oatmeal
• 1 green apple
• 1 glass of water (200 ml)
• a little cinnamon

Instructions:

• Start by washing and slicing the apple. It can not be cleaned, because it is in the peel and contains most of the useful properties that will help lower cholesterol.
• Now boil a glass of water with the oats until it is completely cooked. It’s very easy.
• After 10 minutes, add the apple pieces, and leave them to cook for another 20 minutes. When you see that the apple has softened, turn off the heat.
• Put everything in a blender and mix until smooth. Sprinkle a little cinnamon on top before eating. This is a great recipe for breakfast.

2. Oatmeal with pear

Ingredients:

• 1 pear
• 100 grams of instant oatmeal
• 1 glass of water
• 20 g of honey

Instructions:

• This dish is perfect for breakfast or lunch. To prepare it, you must first heat a glass of water in a saucepan and then pour the oats. Once it has acquired the desired sticky consistency, add a tablespoon of honey to give it more flavor.
• Then peel the pear and cut it into small pieces (do not peel). Pears are also ideal for fighting cholesterol, and in combination with oats, their potential benefits even increase.
• Put the oatmeal in your favorite bowl and add the pear pieces. It’s delicious and you get a nutritious and healthy breakfast.

3. Oatmeal with plums

Ingredients:

• 100 grams of instant oatmeal
• 2 plums
• 3 walnuts
• 1 glass of water

Instructions:

• Bring the water to a boil and add the oatmeal.
• While it is cooking, you can peel the plums.
• Also, chop the walnuts and set them aside for later use.
• When the oatmeal is cooked, put it in your favorite bowl, and add plums and walnuts.

This breakfast is an effective way to fight high cholesterol. In addition, it helps maintain a slim figure and eat right every day.

Keep in mind that the three best fruits to fight cholesterol are apples, pears, and plums. However, strawberries, blueberries, kiwis, and grapes are also very useful, so you can use any combination you want when you cook oatmeal in the morning to lower cholesterol.

In this case, the most important thing is to eat oatmeal every day.

In addition to oatmeal, do not forget to eat well during the day and exercise moderately. Start taking care of your health today!

Picture Credit: VistaCreate

Cooking frappe, be sure to make espresso for it, you can take the usual instant coffee, for bumblebee coffee you need orange juice, preferably fresh, and for the glaze, you will need ice cream and a little chocolate. Cold coffee with orange juice or ice cream can cheer up no worse than the classic.

Frappe

Ingredients:

• coffee (ground or instant) – 2-3 tsp;
• sugar – 2-3 tsp;
• ice – to taste;
• milk or cream of any fat content – 150 ml.

Method of cooking:

1. Prepare a standard portion of espresso, cool.
2. Pour coffee into a container, add 2-3 tsp of sugar, if you drink with sugar, mix thoroughly until foamy.
3. Put a few ice cubes in a glass, pour coffee into it.
4. Add cream to taste.

Bumblebee coffee

Ingredients:

• ice – 5 cubes;
• caramel syrup – 10 ml;
• orange juice – 100 ml;
• espresso – 30-35 ml.

Method of cooking:

1. Boil espresso, cool.
2. Mix the remaining ingredients in a blender and pour them into a glass.
3. Pour cold coffee on top.

Glace coffee

Ingredients:

• vanilla ice cream – 400 g;
• coffee without sugar – 400 ml;
• whipped cream, dark chocolate – to taste.

Method of cooking:

1. Spread in two tall glasses of 200 g of ice cream and pour cold coffee.
2. Gradually the ice cream is mixed with the coffee.
3. Decorate with glaze with whipped cream.
4. Grate a little dark chocolate on top or decorate with cocoa.

Picture Credit: Pexels

A biscuit with berries or fruit is a delicious open pie with fruit filling. Any seasonal berries and fruits will be suitable as a filling.

Ingredients:

• flour – 170 g
• cold butter – 120 g
• cold water – 60 ml
• salt – a pinch
• sugar – 5 g

For the pie filling:

• fruits or berries – to your taste
• sugar – 1 tbsp
• powdered sugar – optional (for topping)
• 2 yolks for grease the sides of the pie
• 1 tbsp milk or water

Recipe:

1. Mix flour with sugar and salt.
2. In a food processor, mix the flour with the butter. Gradually add cold water. Knead the dough.
3. Put the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
4. At this time, do the stuffing: wash the fruit or berries, cut if necessary.
5. Divide the dough into 2 parts and roll out into a cake about 3 mm thick.
6. Put the cakes to a baking sheet greased with oil or lined with baking paper.
7. In the center of the cake layers out the fruit or berries, distributing on the surface and leaving 2 cm from the edges. Sprinkle the filling with sugar. You can add or reduce the amount of sugar at your discretion.
8. Wrap the free edges of the cakes on the filling, forming the sides of a round biscuit.
9. Grease the sides of the biscuit with egg yolks diluted in a spoonful of milk or water.
10. Put the biscuit with fruit in a preheated oven to 180°C and bake until golden brown, about 30-35 minutes.
11. The finished biscuit should cool. Sprinkle it with powdered sugar and serve.
12. Enjoy!

Picture Credit: Unsplash

If you think that avocado dishes are something complicated and easier to cut into slices, we will convince you otherwise. With avocado, you can quickly and deliciously prepare a delicious snack, dessert, or main course.

1. Avocado + egg

Cut the avocado in half and remove the stone. Prepare a poached egg and place it in the avocado hole. Season to taste.

2. Avocado + hummus

Mash the avocado and mix it with the hummus, making the perfect addition to the pie or bread with bran.

3. Avocado + pasta

Boil the pasta from hard wheat. When they are ready, leave a quarter of the pasta water. Cut the avocado into cubes, add to the pasta and mix.

4. Avocado + tuna

Cut the avocado in half and remove the stone. Fill it with canned tuna, add spices, and olive oil to taste.

5. Avocado + berries

Mix in a blender half an avocado and frozen berries. Delicious and healthy smoothies are ready!

6. Avocado + pineapple

To prepare the original variation of salsa sauce, cut the pineapple and avocado into cubes and mix. Serve in the avocado peel, salt to taste.

7. Avocado + lime

These products will make a delicious salad sauce. Grind avocado in a blender with the juice of 1 lime. Done!

8. Avocado + cocoa

Mixing 1 avocado with 1/3 cup of cocoa powder in a blender, you will get a stunning chocolate mousse.

9. Avocado + boiled eggs

To make delicious stuffed eggs, boil them and cool. Chop the avocado and mix with the yolks. Fill half of the eggs with the mixture.

10. Avocado + ice cream

From this, you will be able to prepare the best milkshake. You take a blender, ripe avocado and ice cream, mix, and taste!

Picture Credit: Unsplash

These recommendations will help you not to gain too much and not harm your health.

During a forced stay at home during quarantine due to coronavirus, there is a great chance to start overeating and, as a result, gain excess weight and worsen health.

Adhering to these tips, you can strengthen the immune system and reduce the degree of anxiety.

1. Decreased caffeine intake. If possible, exclude altogether and pause. Avoiding caffeine will help you behave more evenly and reduce anxiety.

2. Refusal of alcohol. The immune system is directly suppressed under the influence of alcohol, plus when intoxicated we tend to eat more and not usually more fatty and sweeter foods.

3. The mode of eating. Enter your food rules: basic meals. As long as the period of reduced physical activity continues, remove the snacks, they will take away additional calorie intake.

4. Eat only in the kitchen. Neither at the computer in the workplace, nor in the bathroom, relaxing, nor watching the series, nor tricks from the vases in the kitchen. There will not be this rule you will become mired in food depravity.

5. The cleanliness of kitchen surfaces from food. Vases, saucer, trays, fruit bowls — clean them! Otherwise, you will turn into the white walkers into the kitchen for the next piece, slice, nut, and you will eat once a day from morning until night.

6. Do not mix pleasure. Food, reading, bath, series should all be separate. Absorption of food under something has a “hypnotic” effect. How much I ate I didn’t understand myself, I recovered when it became hard to breathe.

7. Fewer semi-finished products. Such a great time is not justified by the lack of time for cooking. Indulge yourself with homemade food. And the more “ready-made store food” there is, the higher the temptation will be to have a refrigerator and nip off a bite.

8. Pasta or not? Pay attention to frozen vegetables, fish, legumes, dried (frozen) mushrooms. Calm your brain with a complete food freezer. Of these products, you can feed yourself much more interesting than pasta.

9. The priority of the order via the Internet. The fewer contacts you have, the better. And if you have the opportunity to buy elderly neighbors take them some products. Now is the time to show kindness to people.

10. Keep track of expiration dates. Keep in mind the expiration dates. Random rainy day purchases can lead to quick food spoilage and food poisoning. As you know, coughing and diarrhea are the worst companions.

Picture Credit: Pexels

How is it known that kiwi is ripe enough to eat? You can find out in the store, without peeling and trying the fruit. Just touch it … touch it. Kiwi should be picked up and gently squeezed. The perfect fruit should slightly bend.

If the kiwi is hard, it means it must mature. It will probably be sour and not very tasty. In turn, too soft copies are already overripe. Their taste leaves a lot to be desired, it is hard to eat without getting dirty, and in addition they can even cause stomach ache. When shopping, we should avoid hard and very soft kiwifruit.

Perfectly ripe kiwi tastes great when eaten alone as a snack. It also works well in cocktails, fruit salads and as an addition to desserts. It’s worth eating kiwi because it’s a treasure trove of vitamins, minerals and fiber. It provides a lot of vitamin C, a lot of vitamin A and calcium and potassium. Kiwi is one of the few non-fat sources of vitamin E. It also contains a lot of antioxidants, lutein, magnesium, zinc and folic acid. Not everyone knows, but this fruit can be eaten together with the peel, although it is not very encouraging.

Kiwi Cocktail with Bananas and Apples

You will need:

• 1 ripe banana
• 3 kiwis
• 3 apples, best red
• Half a glass of milk, preferably cold (200 ml)
• Honey or other sweetener if required

Cooking method:
To make this delicious cocktail, peel the bananas and kiwis, remove the hearts from the apples and cut all the fruit into cubes.
Put all ingredients in a blender and whisk well.
Serve cold and enjoy!

Picture Credit: rawpixel

Pear is the tree of the Pink family. Depending on the variety, the shape, color and taste may vary.

The largest supplier of fruit is China. It produces about 70% of pears falling on the world market. The rest is supplied by Europe, New Zealand, California, Chile and South Korea.

Pears can be consumed for dessert or snacks. Pieces of pears are added to salads and used in baking.

Due hypoallergenic, fruits are used as complementary foods for infants.

The pear is rich in antioxidants, flavonoids, fiber, carotenoids and anthocyanins. Unlike other fruits, the pear contains fructose instead of sucrose, as well as sorbitol.

Benefits of pears
There are about 4000 kinds of pears, but only 30 of them are edible. The most popular are Asian and European pears. Asian varieties have a firm texture and a hard skin, and European pears are softer and juicy.

For joints and
Pears prevent the development of osteoporosis, arthritis and rheumatism, making bones and joints sturdy and hardy. The consumption of pears retains calcium in the body and does not wash it out of the bones.

For the heart and blood vessels
Pear reduces the risk of coronary heart disease and type 2 diabetes. In one pear contains almost 25% of the daily dietary fiber of an adult.

Pear reduces cholesterol in the body and serves as a preventive maintenance of cardiovascular diseases.

The pear extends the vessels. It reduces blood pressure, reduces the burden on the heart and prevents the formation of blood clots, providing blood flow to all organs. Fruit helps to avoid stroke, atherosclerosis and heart attacks.

For eyes
Pear affects the condition and work of the eyes. It reduces macular degeneration, reduces the risk of cataracts and deterioration of vision with age, and also helps to avoid other .

For the lungs
Pear cooked in sugar syrup, relieves phlegm in respiratory diseases, removes swelling from the throat, relieves inflammation and moisturizes the lungs. The product is effective for wet and dry cough.

Pears improve the work of the lungs and reduce the symptoms of lung disease, expressed in the form of shortness of breath and cough. This fruit reduces the likelihood of developing asthma and normalizes the work of the lungs.

For the digestive tract
Pear will help cope with colon diseases, ease the work of the intestines, reduce pressure and inflammation in the large intestine.

Detoxification is another important property of the pear. It normalizes the work of the intestines.

Pears are a good way to lose weight. They provide a long feeling of satiety.

For skin and hair
Vitamin C in the pear provides a normal metabolism and speeds up the healing of wounds.

Vitamin A in the pear slows the aging of the skin, prevents the formation of premature wrinkles and age spots, reduces hair loss and makes them sturdy and beautiful.

For immunity
Pears are sources of antioxidants. They protect cells from damage.

Pears are good for the immune system. They will strengthen the body’s resistance to viruses and bacteria, reduce the symptoms of flu and colds, and provide the body with energy.

Harm and contraindications of pears
Contraindications to the use of pears can be:

• allergy to pears or intolerance of any component that is a part of;
• disorders of the digestive system, as well as irritable bowel syndrome.

Harm pears can be caused by excessive use. It is expressed in the form of gas formation, bloating, diarrhea and stomach pain.

Image credit: 27707

Any dessert can decorate fresh berries, especially a fragrant strawberry. From a strawberry it is possible to prepare a gentle soufflé, an ice-cream cake. With strawberries, delicious creams, strawberry cocktails are obtained. Try our recipes for desserts from strawberries.

Cakes with strawberries and cream are a simple, tasty and bright dessert with fresh berries.

• Flour 200 g
• Water 220 ml
• Egg 4 pcs.
• Butter 100 g
• Salt pinch
• Condensed milk 1 pot
• Butter 200 g
• Strawberry

Cooking method

1. Melt the butter in the saucepan, add boiling water, salt, bring the mixture to a boil and pour all the sifted flour immediately.

2. Heat the mass over a low heat with constant stirring. When the mass is rolled into a single lump and it will be easy to separate from the edges of the pan, remove the pan from the fire. Allow the mass to cool slightly.

3. Whisk the eggs and add them in a flour mixture in small portions. You should get sparse dough.

4. Cover the baking sheet with baking paper. Put the dough with a pastry syringe.

5. Bake the custard in a preheated oven. After 10 minutes, lower the temperature of the oven and bake for another 15 minutes. During baking, do not open the oven door, otherwise your chiles may settle. Let the baked custard base cool.

6. For cream, evaporate the condensed milk with butter using a mixer. Cut the cavernous base in the middle, but not to the end. Put in a small amount of cream, close the cake.

Sprinkle the finished cakes with powdered sugar. Serve with strawberries and mint leaves.

Image credit: RitaE

Image credit:  Engin_Akyurt

Valentine’s Day is universally celebrated in different parts of the world, lovers give each other gifts, send valentines, confess their feelings … The magic of Love seems to be in the air and the winter day on February 14 magically becomes a real spring holiday!

Your care for your beloved can also be expressed in a culinary gift – for example, to prepare for breakfast on Valentine’s Day and bring him to bed, the morning awakening to the scent of fragrant coffee will leave few people indifferent. And you can arrange a romantic dinner with candles for a glass of sparkling wine.

I suggest that you prepare Tiramisu today – a very airy, gentle Italian dessert, with an amazing contrast of sweet creamy cream and a bitter taste of strong coffee. However, it is useless to explain what Tiramisu tastes like, it’s just worth a try. The recipe for classic Tiramisu includes: cream cheese Mascarpone, chicken eggs, espresso, sugar and Ladyfinger (biscuit), on top, dessert is usually sprinkled with cocoa powder.

Now Tiramisu is very popular all over the world, but his homeland is Italy. In translation from the Italian Tiramisu means “Lift me up” or “Take me up”

There is still a version of what it means to “cheer me up”, but more often the name “Pick me up” is associated with the version that Tiramisu has a kind of invigorating, exciting effect and that the Italian grandees ate this dessert before loving dates.

Classic Italian dessert tiramisu is a delicate treat for all lovers of sweet. Try to cook our unusual version of tiramisu with lemon notes.

Image credit: moigram

INGREDIENTS

• 300 g mascarpone
• 4 eggs
• 170 g of sugar
• pinch of salt
• 3 lemons
• 1 lime
• 100 ml of limoncello
• cocoa powder

To make the tiramisu work well, the main thing is not to overdo the Ladyfinger (biscuit Savoyardi) cookies in the impregnation, otherwise the dessert will flow, the best option is to dip the biscuits in impregnation for one second. You can prepare this delicate dessert as in separate small forms or glasses, and in one large.

How to make lemon tiramisu

Remove the zest from the lemons, and from one squeeze the juice. Separated egg yolks from proteins. In a separate bowl, whisk yolks and a half of sugar to white, then add mascarpone and whisk for another 2-3 minutes. Add lemon juice and zest, whisk a little more. In another bowl, whisk to a strong foam proteins, adding 2 tbsp. l. sugar and salt, then very gently interpose them in the mass of yolks with mascarpone.

In a suitable container, mix the remaining sugar with limoncello, lemon juice and lime until the sugar is completely dissolved. Dip the savoyardi into the resulting syrup and spread it into a mold, then a uniform layer of cream, and so before filling the mold. The last layer should be a cream. Evenly sprinkle the dessert through a cocoa mesh powder and take it to the refrigerator for 6 hours.