Last week Sarah and I went clothes shopping. We both stared in disbelief at the clothes tag, which read Size 4. The garment we’d picked up looked the right size but in unison we both exclaimed ”I’m never a Size 4!” Well, at least as far as Whistles is concerned, we both are, and so we ended up fighting over a single pair of trousers (Sarah’s sense of Birthday Girl entitlement meant she won!)
The surprising thing is, now I’m developing Primal-friendly recipes for this blog, we eat far more guilt-free baked and sweet treats than ever before, yet we continue to drop dress sizes or, at the very least, 'stay put' at our optimum weight. True, we have recently cut back on our alcohol intake (one bottle of Champagne between three of us is now our idea of binge drinking!) but still…way to go! I am absolutely convinced that an eating strategy that’s highly nutritious, low in carbohydrates and much higher in fat than you’ve been told is good for you, is decidedly the best if you want to lose excess weight.
The downside? For a full-on, enjoyable experience whilst you shed unwanted inches, you actually have to cook! I think It’s a crying shame that most people seem to prefer ready-meals, eating out, microwaving, meal-replacement shakes and other fast food options rather than getting into the kitchen with their family and cooking fresh, nutritious food for themselves. Consequently, they then either have to resort to extreme bouts of exercise or workouts in the gym in the hope they can ‘burn’ off their foodie indiscretions (how much time does that take up in the “I’m too busy to cook’ lifestyle?), or allow themselves to get fat. People need reminding that a good diet isn’t just about weight loss and being thin, it’s about being healthy and giving your body all the nutrients it needs so it doesn’t fall prey to debilitating disease.
To get you started on your real food adventure (if you haven’t already), Tigernut Hob-Nobs are where it’s at! These crunchy, crumbly biscuits are child’s play to make, moreishly delicious to eat and are full of goodness. Perhaps it’s most useful to begin by saying what these biscuits don’t contain:
- No grains
- No gluten
- No sugar
- No dairy
- No eggs
What you do get from taking the time to bake Tigernut ‘Hob-Nobs’ are some remarkable health benefits:
- Tiger nuts have a high content of soluble glucose and oleic acid, along with high energy content (starch, fats, sugars and proteins)
- They are rich in minerals such as phosphorous and potassium, calcium, magnesium and iron necessary for bones, tissue repair, muscles, the blood stream and for body growth and development.
- They are rich in vitamins E and C. Vitamin E delays cell ageing, improves elasticity of skin and helps to clear the appearance of wrinkles, acne and other skin issues.
- Sugar-free tiger nut milk (Primal Plate recipe for Horchata coming soon) is suitable for diabetic people and also helps in weight control. It is recommended for those who suffer from indigestion, flatulence and diarrhoea because it contains digestive enzymes like catalase, lipase and amylase.
- The high content of oleic acid has positive effect on cholesterol, thereby preventing heart attacks and thrombosis.
- Tiger nuts reduce the risk of colon cancer and prevent constipation.
- Tiger nuts also contain a good quantity of vitamin B1, which assists in balancing the central nervous system and helps to encourage the body to adapt to stress.
- The health benefits reflect a reduction of low density lipoprotein-cholesterol, which is good for sports’ men and women and those intending to lose weight.
In summary, I really can’t imagine any other snack food that would nutritionally support anyone (including gym bunnies and athletes) better than my Tigernut ‘Hob-Nobs' Nor a better way to indulge in some childhood nostalgia than with delicious raw whole milk and biscuits. Scrumptious!
Go nuts for tiger nuts! You can buy them online from The Tiger Nut Company
Our Tigernut Hobnobs are perfect with a glass of raw whole milk
Tigernut ‘Hob-Nobs' (Makes 16 biscuits)
Ingredients
75g coconut butter (not coconut oil)
2 tsp vanilla essence
150g tiger nut flour
¼ tsp sea salt
1 tsp baking powder
75g macadamia nuts, chopped (for ease, I pulse the nuts several times in a food processor - however, don’t process them too long or you’ll end up with nut butter!)
50g cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3 tbsp cold coconut water
Instructions
In a large bowl combine tiger nut flour, salt and baking powder.
Use your fingertips to rub the coconut butter into the flour, salt and baking powder until you have a mixture that resembles coarse breadcrumbs with no large lumps of coconut butter remaining.
Using a fork, stir in the vanilla essence, chopped macadamia nuts and desiccated coconut.
Stir in the coconut water then abandon the fork and knead the mixture with your hand until it all comes together to form a firm dough.
Roll the dough out between two sheets of cling film to 6mm/ ¼ inch thickness. Using a 6cm / 2½ inch biscuit cutter, cut out 16 biscuits. As you go, you’ll need to gather up the off-cuts and press them back together before re-rolling out to make more biscuits N.B. because tiger nut flour is gluten-free, you can work the dough several times over and it won’t get tough.
Lay the biscuits 2cm apart onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Cover the biscuits loosely with cling film then place the baking sheet in the fridge to chill for 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 160℃ / 325°F / Gas mark 3
Transfer the baking sheet to the pre-heated oven and bake for 20 minutes until light golden brown. Turn the tray around halfway through the cooking time to ensure the biscuits brown evenly.
Remove from the oven and transfer the biscuits to a wire cooling rack - they’ll crisp up even more as they cool, so try to distract yourself from eating them until they do!
Carbohydrate 12g Protein 2 g - per biscuit
