Sunday, January 27, 2013

ANZAC Biscotti's and Dairy for Weight Loss


ANZAC Biscotti



Well this does not quite have the characteristics associated with ANZAC cookies even though similar ingredients are used. ANZAC cookies are crispy and chewy, these ANZAC biscotti’s are just crispy. But still very very delicious. And if you are calorie or fat conscious, you will notice that there is no butter used in the recipe.

Just like ANZAC cookies, these biscotti’s don’t keep for long. Its difficult to stop eating until they are all gone. The recipe is available here.

Today's Favourite Photo
Winter White Marshmallow Mousse and Red Currant Verrines



Today’s Favourite Blog
Source: IFT
This is a relatively old research which I just came across. Very interesting.

A study published in the British Journal of Nutrition shows that the nutrient combination of calcium and milkfat present in dairy may play a key role in reducing fat absorption and may have the ability to maintain good cholesterol (HDL) while minimizing any increase in bad cholesterol (LDL). In other words milk and other dairy products with a high content of calcium such as cheese, might actually reduce the risk for cardiovascular disease.

In another study it was found that calcium from dairy sources, but not supplements, decreased excess levels of fat in the blood after eating. In other words if you have more dairy calcium in your diet, less fat will be absorbed by the digestive system.

These studies indicate that including calcium from dairy products could assist in weight loss. Scientists are getting smarter it seems.

This could be one of the answers to the French paradox. The French eat lots of fat but don’t have as much heart problems as expected. One common explanation is red wine. Roquefort cheese has also been mentioned because of anti-inflammatory properties which could help guard against cardiovascular disease. Perhaps calcium in blue cheese is also helpful.

I am not suggesting that eating pizzas will help reduce weight.  

10 comments:

  1. I am BIG on dairy so this is all good news :-D But I need more dairy apparently still lol. Those biscottis look delicious. I have to try Anzacs soon. These biscottis woud be pefect with a glass of warm milk!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Another brilliant twist on ANZAC biscuits! I love this idea!
    When I was reading the dairy text I wanted to say "another thing the French do regularly and they are among the healthiest nations in Western world" and the last paragraph proved to be about them ;-)
    By the way, the hard cheese such as Cantal, Comté, Emmental have the biggest amount of calcium. Beware! I read once that commercial cheese sold in supermarkets is sometimes made with all kinds of disgusting stuff and doesn't contain the same amount of calcium (I have read about palm oil...). And this concerned France! I suppose this happens even more often in the US, where cheese culture has nothing to do with the French one.
    By the way, they found once more a batch of cheese with Lysteria (sold in a supermarket chain) and once more made from pasteurised milk! I think it has been several dozens of years no lysteria was found in French raw milk cheese (because it's produced with care for hygiene), but i have heard about lysteria cases several times in huge batches of commercial pasteurised (read: cheaper) milk cheese. When I think that people still let themselves be brainwashed by producers about the "advantages" of milk pasteurisation in cheese production... Anyway, Anzac biscotti look perfect.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The French are the cause of so many mysteries - at least its keeping scientists busy:)
      I haven't read about palm oil but I am not surprised. You mean they add stuff to 'real cheese', not just processed cheese? If its added to cheese marketed as processed cheese, than its OK.
      I guess because unpasteurised milk/cheese is uncommon, those who produce it do it the traditional hygienic way and there is no need to cheat, unlike mass producers who do all sorts of things to increase profits

      Delete
    2. It doesn't contain even traces of milk so it's not even processed cheese... It is called "cheese analogue" (here is the link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese_analogue but make sure you don't read it before eating... It was a US invention of course and travelled of course to Europe. It has even gained an award!!!! This disgusting stuff is put into many processed pre-cooked meals and also I suppose in cheap pizzerias... Luckily I go only to one Italian pizzeria and I see what they put on pizza.
      Of course the ingredients are enumerated on packages, but it is never mentioned "this pizza doesn't contain real cheese".
      When someone decides to produce raw milk cheese he keeps the hygiene standards well because I suppose he is happy to produce real cheese... Mass producers are just happy to earn money... (Moreover, very often the pasteurised milk cheese's price is exactly the same!).
      I am used to the comparison of raw French vs pasteurised French cheese (I now only buy the former), but apart from Parmesan I never have Italian raw milk cheese. Recently, a couple of streets from where I live an Italian man opened a minishop where he sells and produces mozzarella himself (from raw organic, local milk). You can even see him work in the morning because it's all behind a huge glass. His mozzarella tastes like... not mozzarella, but heavenly. You want to eat it alone with a bit of good oil and even not melt it ;-) It costs 3x as much but it's worth even ten times as much as the awful stuff called mozzarella. I have always repeated mozzarella had no taste. Now I know: I only commercial, mass-produced one is bland.

      Delete
    3. Thanks for the interesting link, never heard of it before. It says that 3/4th of frozen pizza sold in the US contain cheese substitutes! I suppose most people can't tell the difference, and wouldn't care if they knew the truth anyway!
      Using the word cheese is confusing. I guess its no different from vegetarian bacon, vegetarian beef etc:)
      Some of the supermarket mozzarella sold here is OK, not the best but OK. In Australia I tried grated mozzarella - it tasted like cardboard (not that I have tried cardboard). It was bit firm so I guess they dehydrated the cheese before grating. I refused to eat it, and I was alone!

      Delete
  3. Really delicious looking ANZAC biscottis! No butter? Hard to believe! I love reading about all these studies. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I always make those ANZAC biscuits and never thought of using the same ingredients for a biscotti. Great stuff

    ReplyDelete