Healthy Valentine's Day pudding

If you’re looking for a special ending to dinner or a Valentine’s treat with a lighter touch, these chocolate goodies will hit the spot

Skinny chocolate muffins

Pre 20 min
Cook 20 min
Makes 12

3 eggs
175g soft light brown muscovado sugar
150g beetroot, peeled and finely grated
175g self-raising flour
50g cocoa powder
1tsp baking powder
100ml low-fat natural yogurt
1tbsp vanilla bean paste
100g plain chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4. Line a muffin tray with 12 paper cases.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar together for 10 min to make a light and fluffy batter that has expanded in volume. Gently stir in the beetroot.

3. Sift over the flour, cocoa and baking powder, then carefully fold into the mixture. Fold in the yogurt, vanilla bean paste and chopped chocolate.

4. Spoon the batter into the muffin cases until they are three-quarters full, then cook in the oven for 15–20 min.

5. Remove the muffins from the oven and allow to cool slightly in the tin. When they’re cool enough to touch, remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Per muffin
196kcal
5.3g protein
6.5g fat
3.3g saturates
31.6g carbs
19.4g sugar
2.5g fibre
0.4g salt
96mg calcium
1.6mg iron

VEG

How to cook a healthy Valentine’s supper

By Melanie Leyshon

HFG crème brûlée: pure indulgence for under 200kcal 

One Valentine’s Day, before joining Healthy Food Guide, I was planning a night-in for two. I spent an age on recipe sites, trying to find three perfect courses – not too everyday, not too indulgent. There’s nothing seductive about a pudding that delivers 900 calories in one go or a meal that makes you feel so stuffed that you want to go to bed early… to sleep it off.

I couldn’t find any planned menus I liked, so chose three recipes that came in under 1,000 calories – a simple smoked salmon pâté to start, a fantastic seared steak with rocket (tagliata) and an extravagant, but not too OTT, chocolate pud (thanks to Healthy Food Guidemagazine’s indulgent cookery cousin, http://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk).

This year, as editor of Healthy Food Guide, I thought I’d do myself (and those of you who are also staying in à deux) a favour by asking our recipe consultant Phil Mundy to plan a healthier Valentine’s supper. The brief: the menu needed to be satisfyingly sexy but still under 700 calories.

Phil chose a French bistro-style meal that has 673 calories all-in: a prawn salad with mango and chilli, steak and chips with a homemade tomato chutney and a prepare-ahead crème brulée.

Our friends at the Express newspaper came over to the HFG test kitchen to film Phil cooking all three recipes. Even the paper’s man-size cameraman found them filling as well as tasty.

Sit back and watch Phil whiz up the menu at http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/food/454999/How-to-cook-a-healthy-three-course-Valentine-s-Day-dinner-for-two. He also shares his brilliant cookery tips and nutrition advice.

For more recipe clips, see Phil cook our three favourite Healthy Food Guide mood-boosting recipes at: http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/food/455028/beat-the-january-blues-with-three-easy-mood-boosting-recipes.