Superfood for me is a completely new way of thinking. It's a revolution in my life and I know it's going to be one in your life. It's not just about kale and quinoa, it's about cooking smart with simple ingredients. Making the most delicious nutritious food doesn't have to be about fancy fashionable ingredients. You can make them from things that are around you. It's just how you put them together. To inspire you to create nutritious recipes that your family will love to eat, I'm going to take you around the world to explore some of the healthiest cuisines on the planet.
Woo! Now you're flirting with me.
Where families eat simple healthy diets. What more do you want? Loads of family, friends, good food. And live long.
And you're you're done. I'm absolutely speechless.
And active lives. From Alpine Switzerland — not like the lakes where I come from. I mean, I'd drink that. To the amazing flavors of South Korea. All I can tell you is this will be delicious. And the stunning island of Sardinia. I want to pick the plate up and hug it. So good.
Inspired by what I've learned, I'm going to show you new and ingenious ways to give a superfood twist to your family's favorite dishes. From breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You're going to love it.
I don't want you to eat healthy food because you have to. I want you to eat it because it's delicious.
With every meal, we all have the power to make a massive impact on our health. Tonight, I'm heading to three health hotspots on our beautiful planet. I'll be winding my way down to the South Korean island of Jeju. It's absolutely delicious. In search of culinary wisdom to bring to a lunchtime dish of delight. Fast, furious, and full of all the good stuff.
Closer to home, in the shadow of the Alps, I'm harnessing the health benefits of Switzerland's most prized product, chocolate.
I'll be sticking some cocoa into a wonderful savory dinner that packs a nutritional punch. You've got five, yes, five of your fruit and veg a day in one portion. From Alpine Switzerland to the rugged interior of Sardinia, where I'll be admiring the handiwork of an 86-year-old shepherd. He's properly strong. In his honor, I'll be creating a superfood shepherd's pie with a mighty nutritious ingredient for another delightful dinner for the whole family. Happy days.
But first, let's kick off our family superfood day in the kitchen with the most important meal of the day. It's breakfast time, guys, and getting protein in your diet for breakfast is so important. And one of the best and most readily available is the lovely little free-range egg. And of course, you can do so many things with it.
If you think making breakfast takes ages, think again. It'll take you 10 minutes, and it's a scrumptious way to start your family's day.
One of the things I've struggled with for many years, if I'm just honest, is the poached egg. Yes, I can do it, but it was kind of like playing with me. It was sort of like some were good, some were okay, some were bad, and it was quite frustrating. And then I came up with this little hack, this little tip that made every single one perfect. So, let me let you into a lovely world of the magic poached egg that never goes wrong. Check this out.
You get yourself some cling film, you create these little pouches, and then of course, you can flavor them with different things. Lovely shaved mushrooms, tiny bit of truffle oil, you got little bits of tapenade in there, all these kind of flavors that you have around the house. You can take really fiery harissa, and of course, the flavor cooks into the egg. So, I want to show you one of my favorites today.
Get yourself a little bowl or cup. Get yourself some non-PVC cling film and lay out a little sheet like this. So then we need to have a nice little drizzle of olive oil so I can create a nonstick surface. Then I'm going to lay this little sheet into our cup and you can just use your hand and let it sort of sag in.
Now one of the things I love is smoked salmon. Just 10 grams will give you extraordinary flavor. So tear up little pieces and you can buddy it up with stuff. So I'm a kind of a little bit nuts about chili. So I just put a few little slivers in here and then some herbs if you want. I've got some chives here. So at this point get yourself a nice free-range egg and I'm just going to crack this in. And over the years with the improvement of farming and feed, eggs have actually got more and more nutritious with the feed that they eat. So it's a good good thing.
Now make a pouch by pulling out the cling film and squeezing out the air. Then twist and tie up. Simple. Just reminds me of making water bombs when I was a kid. But this time with gorgeous, tasty, lovely things in it. So there you go. It couldn't be simpler to cook.
Just stick them into a pan of simmering water for about 6 or 7 minutes for a lovely runny yolk or longer if you like it harder. What I do want to do is use the heat from that to steam some spinach. I love having this and of course just having eggs on its own, as lovely as it is, is not a balanced, fully nutritious meal and that's what I want to give you in superfoods. So I'm just going to rip up 80 grams of lovely spinach and you can put the lid on top and that'll wilt in a minute, minute and a half. So then we got veg, protein, and then I'm going to use beautiful bread for the carbohydrates.
A really, really important thing that we need to do is we're not eating enough fiber as a nation. Studies have shown that high fiber diets are associated with a decreased risk from some cancers. So, a really easy trade-up is from white bread to brown. Cut yourself a lovely thick slice. And by the time it takes to toast, your spinach will be done.
I think we can have a little feel of our eggs. It's feeling nice, so that can come out now. That should be beautiful and soft in the middle.
Top off the toast with a heaped teaspoon of cream cheese. It's delicious and got less saturated fat than butter. A definite bonus for a healthy heart.
Hit the spinach with lemon juice and add a little salt and pepper. You can just sort of hug it a little bit to get rid of any excess moisture. Whack that on the toast. And now, the moment of truth.
Cut the knife off. Pop the egg onto the toast. Remove the cling film. And there you have a perfect magic poached egg flavored to your liking. Get your knife in there. And hopefully, yes. And you've got a mouth-watering, beautifully balanced breakfast with less than 300 calories a portion and one of your five fruit and veg a day. Look at that. Come on.
Guys, what are you waiting for? Magic poached eggs. How would you do it? Balance it up. Get that superfood vibe going in the morning. Set the day up right. Boom. Happy days.
I'm heading to the South Korean island of Jeju. Rates of heart disease here are a staggering one-third of the UK's, where it's the number one cause of early death. The answer to Korea's heart health could lie in a little ingredient that packs a punch, the sesame seed. High in thiamine and polyunsaturated fats, good for lowering cholesterol.
Jeju's Black Pork Street is famous for the meat it's named after. And traditional Korean barbecue, Goji Gui.
Chef Bong, how you doing, man?
To find out how important sesame is to South Korean cuisine, I'm meeting Chef King Sae-bong. This is Black Pork Street.
And the black pork, is that a special pork?
The Jeju black pig, coated in black hair, is unique to the island. And so is the way that they start their barbecue here. They grease the grill with a cube of pork fat. Side dishes like kimchi and bean sprouts are also cooked on the grill. Many of these dishes here have got sesame seeds. It's in the soups, in the kimchi, it's in the sauces, the dips.
Yeah. This is normal?
In England, we like... we have to think about using them.
Sesame seeds to you are almost like salt and pepper, aren't they? They're like a seasoning.
I think like what the Korean diet gets right is this kind of array of beautiful things. If you talk to them about it, they're not really aware that they consume huge amounts of vegetables. They're not really aware that they consume large amounts of nuts and seeds. And they're not really aware that they have small quantities actually compared to us of meat. But, you know, here we got lovely fatty rare breed pork, free range, so it's a quality bit of meat. But, actually, a lot of the fats going into a Korean diet are polyunsaturated fats from nuts and seeds, really healthy fats that protect your heart. So, it's really interesting how Korean food's just got this fantastic balance.
Chef Bong cooked the pork to perfection. The first biteful is traditionally dipped in sauce, sesame of course. Okay, I'm going to copy you.
This?
Mhm. Yum. Really roasted flavor. Very good. Sesame oil, salt, sesame seed.
If you haven't got enough sesame oil and sesame seeds, now we have sesame leaf. So, now we're doing like a roll. Okay. Into that leafy goodness goes the barbecue black pork, spicy bean sprouts, garlic and onions.
Mhm.
That was a big mouthful. It's absolutely delicious. Those are sesame leaves, they're amazing. So, let's build one more of these, brother.
So, we're going to take some pork.
We have to raise a bowl of peanut rice wine to the Koreans for the subtle and delicious way they've managed to get sesame in all its glorious forms into their diet. Oh, that's delicious. So, look, this is a local wine which is definitely not a superfood, but even this is made out of peanuts, which is a legume. It still doesn't make it healthy, but anyway, cheers.
Seeds and nuts, guys, the Koreans love them and they use them in so many dynamic ways. And evidence is now showing that diets rich in seeds and nuts are showing lower cases of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. So, well worth thinking about it and we're going to use them in style in this dish.
A hearty Korean-inspired sesame chicken lunch with rice noodles and Asian slaw. It's got future family favorite written all over it. So, first up, we're going to use complex carbs with our lovely rice noodles. Definitely, if you've never tried them before, get a pack. They're in all the supermarkets and they're brilliant. You don't even have to get a pan out. Just get yourself a kettle, grab a little pinch of salt, and we're going to rehydrate these lovely noodles. And after about 5, 6 minutes, they'll be gorgeous. So, you can just put those to one side.
Next, I'm going to cook up a couple of chicken breasts, 120 grams each. Removing the skin reduces the saturated fat by nearly 70%. You'll notice that one side of the breast is thicker than the other. So, we want it to all cook evenly. So, just put a little bit of greaseproof over the top and just give a nice little light whack to that thick end. If you don't fancy bashing it even, you can slice it horizontally and open it up.
I've got a griddle pan on. You could use a frying pan if you want. I want to season the chicken with salt and pepper. I preheated this griddle pan. I'm going to drizzle just a little bit of groundnut oil over the chicken. I'll use a fork just to rub that oil in and we'll take the chicken straight over to the griddle pan. Push it down nicely. And about 3 to 4 minutes on each side is going to be perfect.
Let's have a little clean up. So, while the chicken's cooking, the noodles are sorted. Let's make something exciting with veggies, okay? And I love the concept of a slaw. You can cheat brilliantly by using a thin slicer on a food processor. Brilliant. But, look, that's going to take like 6, 7 minutes. That's soaking. We got 5 minutes. We can make a slaw.
You can vary the veg. I'm kicking mine off with half a finely sliced Chinese cabbage. And a couple of peeled carrots. A crinkle cutter for veggies, anything crunchy, is just really good fun.
Next up, a red chili and some asparagus. Speed peeled. This dish will start and finish in 15 minutes. Now, but even 20 minutes is still fast food. It'll take you longer than that to get on the phone and get a takeaway. I can guarantee this will be more nutritious. It'll be more tasty than most and it'll probably cost you a lot less.
Next up, four spring onions. Finely slice the green part. Spin the white around and slice it lengthwise. Bang in some mint and a handful of sugar snap peas for some vitamin C.
So, if you look at the pan now, guys, you can see it's half cooked. So, we'll turn it over and look what we got, guys. Gorgeous golden charred marks. That's going to be attitude and flavor.
While the other side cooks, I'm going to dress the raw veg with the zest of a lime. Roll it to release the juice. A tablespoon of soy sauce, low salt is preferable. The crunchy slaw will contrast nicely with the soft noodles.
Let's get back to my hero ingredient, sesame seeds. I'm going to put about 2 teaspoons of sesame seeds in the griddle pan. Let them toast away for a few moments. Then get everything out of the pan. There we go.
Happy days. So, we got soft, hot, steamy noodles, crunchy electric slaw, perfectly simply cooked quality chicken just resting away. Going to be sprinkled with the sesame seeds. I want one last element of this dish that will come together in no time at all. I want a sauce, a really simple sauce.
We're going to use peanut butter. So, a nice tablespoon of that. And then I'm going to have double the amount of natural organic yogurt. So, 2 tablespoons goes in. And fresh ginger goes in. Okay. And a little lime juice and ginger brings the peanut butter together in such a cool way.
And we're done. Mix that together and you get this incredible, deep, tasty, but kind of fresh, kind of satay sauce.
That's the cooking done. Time to build. Drain and divide up the noodles. Slice up the chicken about a centimeter thick. Use the cooking juices as well. And serve up the slaw and sauce. Then, of course, where we began, where we started, a celebration of seeds over the chicken like that.
How's that for a picture-perfect plate of goodness? With three of your five fruit and veg a day and only 489 calories a portion, your family lunchtime transformed. Delicious.
Mhm. Absolutely delicious. There, my friends, is a lovely superfood dish. Fast, furious, delicious, and full of all the good stuff.
I've traveled all over the world learning from some of the healthiest people on the planet, and these recipes are inspired by what I've learned. We started our superfood day off with a banging herby smoked salmon breakfast, followed by a Korean-inspired lunch of sesame chicken, Asian slaw, and rice noodles. Two meals, three of your five a day, that just leaves dinner.
Next stop on my journey around the planet's healthiest countries, Switzerland.
It could be known as chocolate land. They eat more of it here than anywhere else in the world. Some studies are showing that although it's naughty, one or two squares per day of dark chocolate with a high cocoa content could be healthy for us, keeping blood pressure down, which in turn could reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks. And more surprisingly, dark chocolate could protect us against type 2 diabetes.
Here in the small town of Schwyz, I'm going to find out how the cocoa bean gets transformed into chocolate. I'm going behind the scenes with master chocolate makers, Sepp Schönbächler and Lionel Tissot.
Wow, so this is where all the beans come in. For over 100 years here, up to 35 varieties of cocoa beans from around the globe have been turned into high-end chocolate used in professional kitchens the world over. So, where do the best cocoa beans come from?
Ah, you walked just to the right bean. So, this is Maragogype Grand Cru. Only about 3 to 4% on the whole planet is criollo quality, high flavor bean.
So, all of the cocoa beans in the world, this is like the Aston Martin.
It's important to understand as well that the farmer that we are working with, they are not using artificial chemical product for the fertilizing.
