A good heart—both literally and metaphorically—is the key to a healthy life. If you’re someone who does plenty of sport, avoids taking the metro and walks whenever possible, you’ll know that olive oil is a great ally for keeping that all-too-often forgotten muscle ticking over nicely.
Take note of these tips: your heart will thank you for it.
1- Swap toast and butter for bread drizzled with olive oil at breakfast.
2- Add olive oil to your smoothies and blow people away with an explosion of flavours.
3- Get creative with desserts! Bread with chocolate and olive oil is always a winner with kids and grownups of all ages.
4- If you’re feeling really creative, try out some spherifications (a cooking technique popularised by Ferran Adrià which coats food in a gelatine sphere that explodes in the mouth): they’re easy to make and work wonders with any dish.
5- Use olive oil for frying and say goodbye to butter: batter made with olive oil makes mouthwatering croquettes.
6- Drizzle fruit in olive oil and show the world you don’t need fat and calories to conjure up a knockout dessert.
7- Make an original vinaigrette! Mix olive oil with honey, soya sauce, lemon juice or mixed herbs or spices and you’ll have a delicious salad dressing.
8- Bring out the flavour in your veg: steam and then finish off with a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and a pinch (don’t overdo it) of herbs or spices on top.
9- Bowl over your friends with some homemade extra-virgin olive oil ice cream. You’ll have the trendiest freezer on the block.
10- Sandwiches are always best with olive oil, one of the wonders of nature. Drizzle it over bread and your heart (and taste buds) will thank you for it.