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Movember has become an incredibly powerful
movement for raising funds and awareness for men’s health. Since I chose not to grow a moustache this
year, I knew I had to make my contribution in some other way.
What I came up with? Plant-based Movember
Mo-Muffins. These muffins are specially crafted to contain ingredients that are
of particular importance to men’s health, and of course are topped with little
moustache picks that can be purchased at your local party goods store.
The words “Men’s Health” mean different
things to different people. Some people think depression, others might think
prostate cancer and of course heart health is a big one too.
As a dietitian, heart health is actually
the entity that I associate most with Men’s Health.
There
are two primary reasons for this:
1)Heart Disease is one of the top contributors to mortalityin men and is very strongly linked to
dietary practices.
2) High
blood pressure and high cholesterol are big
risk factorsfor
heart disease and two of the most common reasons why men are prescribed
medication. Yet they can be treated ( sometimes exclusively) through dietary
intervention.
Long story short, we have a pretty strong understanding
of the different types of foods that are “Heart Healthy”, which makes it easier
to identify and incorporate heart heathy ingredients into recipes.
It should come as no surprise that these
muffins are plant-based, as plant-based diets are increasingly being associated
with a reduced risk of death by chronic disease.
Let’s take a closer look at my Mo-Muffins.
What
you need:
2 tbsp Flax Seed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 avocado, mashed/pureed.
1 large banana, mashed/pureed.
2 tbsp Plant Sterol Margarine
¾ cup rolled oats
1 cup whole oat flour
½ cup soy milk
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup chocolate chips ( optional – if you
need a little convincing)
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
Directions:
1.
Preheat your oven to 400F
2.
Lightly oil muffin tray
3.
Prepare “flax eggs” by
combining 2 tbsp flax seed with 6 tbsp water and refrigerating for 15 minutes
4.
Whisk flax eggs, mashed banana,
oil, margarine , avocado and soy milk until smooth
5.
Stir in oat flour, oatmeal, walnuts, chocolate chips, baking soda and
baking powder to create batter
6.
Fill muffin cups with the
batter and cook for ~20 minutes.
Movember
Matters
This muffin is something you can feel good
about serving and eating. Every single ingredient was selected for its specific
utility to Men’s Health and, if you ask me, there is no better recipe to
celebrate the end of a successful Movember!
For those who are interested in learning
more about why these ingredients are exceptionally important for Men’s Health,
I have provided a brief explanation below.
Bonus
Content – Why These Ingredients are great for Men’s Health
Potassium
– Comes from the banana and the avocado and is considered
helpful for blood pressure regulation and overall heart health.
Soluble
Fibre – Comes from the oat flour, oats, banana,
avocado and flaxseed and is considered helpful for blood cholesterol &
blood glucose regulation and overall heart health.
Omega
3 Fatty Acids – Come from the flax seeds and
walnuts and are considered helpful for
blood triglyceride regulation and overall heart health.
Soy
Protein – Comes from the soy milk and is considered
helpful for blood cholesterol regulation and overall heart health.
Monounsaturated
Fats – Come from the olive oil and the avocado and
are considered helpful for blood cholesterol regulation and overall heart
health.
Plant
Sterols – Comes from the plant sterol margarine and
is considered helpful for blood cholesterol regulation and overall heart
health.
Thanks so much for taking the time to
review today’s article and a special salute to all those who participated in
and raised money for this great cause
Andy De Santis RD MPH
