Panos for Progress: Thoughts and Selections

For many years I enjoyed Nutella straight up as a snack, a couple of spoonfuls at a time. But a couple decades ago, I started getting a good idea about nutrition. Then I stopped eating it altogether despite Costco's efforts to sell it to me for a few pennies per spoonful! Look at the label: Two tablespoonfuls is a small snack, but it's loaded in sugar and saturated fat. Bye! As I started having more time in my hands (retirement, and winter in Reno, NV helps,) I found many recipes for homemade nutella. After a few tries, the one below is my favorite; healthy and easy to make. The engineer in me would say that this recipe is 90% healthier than the real thing, and 90% as good as the real thing. Go for it as follows: 1.5 cup hazelnuts (I get mine from Trader Joe's) 0.5 can (200 grams) cannellini beans, rinsed 5 tbs natural unsweetened cacao powder 4 stevia packets (optional for extra sweetness) 15 dates softened in warm water for about 15 minutes 1 cup warm oat milk (any milk) ...

Easy to pack to work, school or hikes. Goes great with morning coffee! In a bowl, mix 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds 1/3 cup sunflower seeds 1/3 cup sesame seeds 1/3 cup chopped pistachios 1/3 cup chopped peanuts 1/3 cup chopped almonds 1/3 cup tahini 1/4 cup maple syrup Optional: add a 1/4 cup of raisins or chopped dates Lay mix thin and flat on parchment paper Spread the choc morsels on top (1/2 cup) Put it in the middle of the oven Bake for 14 min at 350F after preheating Spread the morsels with a flat knife or spatula after baking Let cool  Refrigerate, cut in pieces and store

While I do not follow a keto diet, I do like some of the offerings, like this almond flour bread . It is bready, a little spongy and you can't miss the egg in it. Easily done... 60 minutes from start to finish. 5 eggs 5 tbs olive oil 1 tbs maple syrup 1 tsp apple cider vinegar 1¾ cups almond flour, super fine 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/4 tsp salt Preheat oven to 350.  Line an 8" loaf pan with parchment paper. In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Whisk in the oil, maple syrup and vinegar until smooth.  Mix in the almond flour, baking soda and salt until the batter is uniform and thick.  Transfer to loaf pan and bake for ~35 minutes, until golden on top. Cool the loaf 10 minutes in the pan, remove to a cooling rack and cool another 20 minutes.

I read a story about Saint Phanourios which mentioned that Greeks bake a special cake, called a Fanouropita, on August 27... hoping to harness the saint's powers and find lost objects. I haven't lost anything, but the cake's ingredients and vegan simplicity were attractive. Indeed, it was done in one hour. A very tasty option for breakfast! Here's is the recipe I used. Ingredients 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup brown sugar 1 tbs baking powder 1 tbs cinnamon 3 tbs sesame 2 tbs vanilla extract 1 tsp salt (or less) 3/4 cup fresh orange juice 3/4 cup vegetable oil Powder sugar Process Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray round or bundt pan with avocado oil and dust with flour; remove excess. Mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, sesame seeds and sugar. Add oil, orange juice, and vanilla. Transfer the tick mix into pan and slowly kneed it in to take out air pockets. Bake it at the center of oven until golden, about 40 minutes for bundt pan. Insert a wooden too...