A better afternoon tea

Filed in archive Healthy Eating on August 9, 2007

Having afternoon tea is a very old tradition. To enjoy the real afternoon tea, as in England , you should have tea and scones with cream and marmalade.

But why follow traditions? The tea is sweet, the scones contain lots of white flour that doesn't do much good at all, the cream is fat and the marmalade is a real sugar kick.
So instead of having a traditional afternoon tea, why not have a healthy one?

Replace your tea with some green tea or herb tea such as chamomile. No need to add sugar. If you must have scones, make sure they are made out of whole wheat instead of white flour. Forget the cream, make some cashew butter and use as a spread. No need for cream but if you must, use low fat cream.

The marmalade can be substituted for homemade fruit jam with low sugar content.
Simply dice some fruit, add a little bit of water and a table spoon of sugar. Cook for a few minutes and let cool. Serve with your scones.

If you don't want to eat scones, why not have some natural yogurt with nuts and perhaps some cinnamon. Add 2-4 teaspoons of honey or chopped raisins to sweeten.

How to make cashew butter:
Pre-soak 200g of cashews overnight, mix in a blender until it becomes butter. No need to add extra oil although you can if you think the consistency is not what you want it to be. Depending on your taste you might want to add a tiny pinch of salt as well.
Store in an air tight container in the fridge.

Enjoy your afternoon tea.