A celebrity chef claims to have created the ‘world’s healthiest’ cookie, which contains our recommended five-a-day.
Nutritionist Gurpareet Bains – whose recipes are used by the likes of Dermot O’Leary and Dame Vivienne Westwood – has brought out the unusual snack, which is thought to be nutritional equivalent of five whole bags of leafy greens.
The cookie features five full portions fruit and vegetables – something believed to be a culinary first.
The blueberry-flavoured ‘Chikitsa Crumble’ (which takes its name from the Hindi for ‘therapy’ or ‘treatment’) is not only packed full of fibre, but he also claims it helps to lower cholesterol, manage Type 2 diabetes and boosts heart health.
While the exact recipe for the gluten-free cookies remains a secret, they feature a blend of nuts, spices, courgette, pumpkin, carrot, blueberries, and goji berries.
They’re made with four and a half 80g portions of vegetables and one 40g serving of fruit which (when oven dried and thoroughly dehydrated) results in a bitesize snack weighing 84g.
Each individual cookie contains 12g of fibre, 12g of protein and 280 calories.
Gurpareet was inspired to create the healthy snack for people who don’t enjoy eating fruit and vegetables – much like his own nieces and nephews.
He said: ‘The cookie was developed to help children, teenagers and adults – including those who won’t normally touch fruit and vegetables – to get their vital “five-a-day” without even realising it.’
It seems Gurpareet’s new creation has gone down a treat with his family members in lockdown – so much so, he’s begun making weekly batches of 100 for his extended friends and family.
The chef is now considering rolling them out more widely, through his website.
He added: ‘As a chef and nutritionist, I’m constantly reminded how difficult it is for people to make healthy food choices and to navigate their way through the minefield of diet advice and conflicting information.
‘The cookies cut through the noise by providing a minimum intake of fruit and vegetables in a handy snack. I’m over the moon that they’ve become so popular.’
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