Apricots are a good source of beta-carotene and lycopene, two substances that help to hinder the formation of low-intensity LDL lipoproteins, the so-called bad cholesterol .
They bring a high fiber content, compared to a few calories: 100 grams of apricots contain less than 50 calories but provide about 12% of the daily dietary fiber requirement .
Thanks to these characteristics, they are very useful fruits in the diet of those who want to lose a few pounds for the summer and also in the diet of those who need to keep blood sugar under control.
Finally, they are a precious source of vitamin A.
How to eat apricots
Apricots are ideal to eat in purity, as a break-hunger snack mid-morning or mid-afternoon. Thanks to the high fiber content they have an excellent satiating power .
They are also excellent at breakfast, for example to enrich a natural yogurt, perhaps adding a little dried fruit and / or whole grains.
Apricots are a fruit that is also particularly suitable for small children, from the earliest stages of weaning.
Find out more about apricots and other potassium-rich fruits
Apricots in the kitchen, not just cakes and sweets
Apricots are an excellent ingredient for the preparation of tasty homemade cakes . Let's try them, however, even in salads.
Apricot and green bean salad
This salad of apricots and beans is a concentrate of dietary fiber and is a very refreshing dish.
Ingredients for 4 people :
> half a kilo of preferably organic apricots,
> half a kilo of green beans,
> a lemon,
> extra virgin olive oil,
> salt
> some thyme and mint leaves or other aromatic herbs, according to taste.
Preparation : check and wash the beans and boil them or, better, steam them. After draining them, let them cool very well; it is advisable to cook them half a day before and keep them for an hour or two in the refrigerator so that they are very cold. Cut them into not too large pieces, more or less in half, and add them to the apricots washed and cut into slices.
Prepare the sauce with a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, the juice of a lemon, two fine jacks of iodized salt and aromatic herbs, emulsify and season.
To use, instead, apricots in a more traditional way and that is for the preparation of desserts, here is the recipe of a light and tasty cake, very suitable for a children's snack and for the breakfast of the whole family.
Yogurt cake with apricots
To make this cake the unit of measure of the ingredients is the yogurt pot, so it is also very practical.
Ingredients :
> 8/10 apricots,
> a jar of apricot yoghurt,
> 3 jars of flour, a jar of sugar,
> a jar of high oleic sunflower oil,
> 3 eggs,
> a sachet of vanilla yeast for cakes,
> 2 tablespoons of raw cane sugar.
Preparation : whisk the sugar with the reds, add flour and oil and whisk until a homogeneous mixture is obtained, finally add the egg whites and the yeast.
Pour the mixture into a greased and floured baking pan, add the halved or four-piece apricots to the surface, according to taste, until the whole dessert is covered, sprinkle with raw cane sugar. Bake at 180 degrees for about 35 minutes.