Our cooking, eating, drinking, and shopping habits have been reshaped by COVID-19. Personal health comes first, always. As we continue to cook more at home and have meals with our families, these activities have a positive impact on us.

Miracle foods are the buzzword. Quinoa, acai berry, chia seeds, and coconut oil are the rage. Americans diagnosed with three persistent ailments nearly doubled since 1995. The rate of infant mortality has increased, and life expectancy has decreased in the US. In the 1970s, one in 25,000 American children was born with autism. One in 88 children born in the US now has autism. From 1980 to 2010, there was a 176 percent increase in Type 2 diabetes. The total costs of diagnosed diabetes in the US in 2017 were $327 billion, $237 billion for direct medical cost and $90 billion in reduced productivity. The occurrence of celiac disease is four times more common now than in the 60s.

This is my list of 19 miracle foods that work wonders for our bodies. They are functional that calm the mind, soothe stress, and strengthen the immune system.

There is no love sincerer than the love of food – George Bernard Shaw

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world – J.R.R. Tolkien

Almonds

I like almonds as a snack – keeps your energy up but doesn’t fill you up – Ina Garten

Almonds are considered as a miracle food because it contains fiber, protein, mono-saturated fat, vitamin E, manganese, magnesium, copper, riboflavin, phosphorus, and antioxidants. Antioxidants help the cells in the body to fight against cancer, aging, and inflammation. Vitamin E helps the body against heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and cancer. I personally buy them with the skin on and eat it raw.

Apples

Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree – Martin Luther

Apples contain vitamin C, fiber, antioxidants, and phytochemicals. The cancer-fighting quercetin, kaempferol, myricetin, flavonols, anthocyanins, chlorogenic acid, and epicatechin are in apples. Apples help in regulating blood sugar and protect the neurons.

I personally prefer eating a whole apple and when Jean was young used to cut them and give it to her with honey. I drink a glass of apple cider daily.

Avocados

The avocado is a food without rival among the fruits, the veritable fruit of paradise – David Fairchild

Avocados are extraordinary among fruits as they contain healthy fats, a variety of nutrients, minerals, and vitamins K, C, B5, E, B1, B2, B3, B6 and contain more potassium than bananas. Potassium reduces the blood pressure in the body, which is linked to kidney failure, strokes, and heart attacks. The fiber in avocados is good for metabolic health, fighting cancer, and keep eyes healthy. In the summer months, I just scoop the flesh from ripe avocados and eat them.

Blueberries

There are eyes, to be sure, that give no more admission into the man than blueberries – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Broccoli

Listen to your broccoli and it will tell you how to eat it – Anne Lamott

Broccoli is considered a miracle food because it comes packed with vitamin K, C, B-6, folate, phosphorus, potassium, and manganese. The phytochemicals in Broccoli reduce your risk for dementia, breast cancer, and heart disease.  I boil, saute and bake broccoli.

Bananas

Bananas protect you against blindness, diabetes, cancer, combat depression and deal with hangovers. Bananas contain tryptophan which helps in dealing with depression. The calcium helps with bones. Vitamin B-6 helps to reduce inflammation. Bananas act as a prebiotic and help the body in absorbing nutrients. Bananas are a natural antacid. I eat a banana daily.

Cabbage

Cabbage: A familiar kitchen-garden vegetable about as large and wise as a man’s head – Ambrose Bierce

Cabbage was a key food intake to prevent type 2 diabetes in a study in Denmark. The various phenols and flavonoids are antioxidants that decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease. Sinigrin helps in preventing colon, prostate and bladder cancer. The vitamins, manganese, magnesium, potassium, and fiber act as a detoxifier, have anti-inflammatory properties, support the digestive tract, reduce blood pressure, gives your body a huge boost in terms of immunity, promotes good eye health and helps in healing. I use cabbage in salads.

Chicken Breast

Chicken breast is lean protein and needed for a healthy metabolism and to maintain muscle mass. It is low in sodium, fat and has a zero glycemic load and is considered a low-carb food. Niacin, phosphorus, selenium and vitamin B6 is in the breast of a chicken,

When you eat chicken breast in healthy portions, it controls the homocysteine amino acid levels which are good for your heart. The phosphorus is good for your kidney, liver, nervous system, teeth, and bones. Selenium works wonders for your metabolic system which includes immune, hormone and thyroid functions. Niacin guards you against DNA damage and cancer. I grill chicken, roast, bake and even put the breast of chicken in a slow pot with vegetables and eat it.

Dark Chocolate

White chocolate. Intense, sweet. But not deep. Okay for prom dates or flings, but not to get serious. Milk chocolates are guys you could date for like a few months, and dark chocolates are for love – E. Lockhart

Dark chocolate has copper, magnesium, iron, fiber, manganese, and cocoa is good for mood, skin, brain and cardiovascular health. Flavanols in cocoa are antioxidant and anti-inflammatory and help protect the skin from the sun. Theobromine improves your mood, functioning of the brain and helps with mental clarity. Anandamide creates a positive mood and a feeling of bliss while Phenethylamine helps with the release of dopamine. Serotonin helps with fatigue and getting better sleep. I personally like Lindt’s dark chocolates. I eat three to four pieces a day. Also, try dark chocolates flavored with salt or chilies.

Eggs

Eggs are one of my all-time favorite foods, and making the over-easy egg is a test of skill – Wylie Dufresne

Chicken eggs are the Jack of all trades in terms of having every nutrient you need. I like the omega-3 eggs. Eggs have a positive influence on HDL, the good cholesterol. Eggs contain choline which helps the brain function better. As we age, our eyesight gets worse. The lutein and zeaxanthin are antioxidants that help the retina become stronger. The proteins and amino acids in eggs help the body function better.

Fatty Fish

All fats do not behave the same way in your body, and certain fats, including the omega-3 fats in salmon and other fatty fish and the monounsaturated fats in nuts, virgin olive oil, and avocados, are integral to a healthy diet – Harley Pasternak

Trout, sardines, herring, mackerel, tuna, and salmon contain omega-3 fatty acids which do wonders for your heat. Omega-3 fatty acids lower the triglycerides in your blood. I personally grill or steam these fishes.

Garlic

Garlic is divine. Few food items can taste so many distinct ways, handled correctly – Anthony Bourdain

Since the beginning of time, soldiers and slaves have been fed garlic to keep them in shape. Garlic is good for preventing infections, cancer, stroke, and heart disease. Garlic boosts your immune system, beats inflammation and helps with cold sores. Add chopped garlic to everything and let the allicin go to work for you.

Lean Steak

A lean cut like round steak, shoulder steak and flank has iron, vitamin B-12, coenzyme Q10 and enough protein for your body. The vitamin plays a major role in red blood cell production. Grill your lean steak with garlic.

Oranges

Everyone should wake up and have a fresh-squeezed orange every day. By having a fresh glass of orange juice with American oranges, you are supporting the local economy, you have all the vitamin C you need in a day, and you support the environment because you don’t use any plastic from bottles or bags – Jose Andres

Oranges have phytochemicals, that protect you from colon, stomach, breast, lung and skin cancer. Orange juice should be consumed in moderation to prevent kidney stones, lower cholesterol and help the heart in its daily functions. Vitamin C protects cells. The vitamin A protects you from macular degeneration, magnesium maintains blood pressure and beta-carotene protects the skin. I use orange juice to make fruit smoothies.

Strawberries

Sometimes you’ve just got to grab an apple – or grapes, or strawberries. Something that’s healthy but maybe a little bit more adventurous, if you can see fruit as adventurous – LL Cool J

If you have a craving for sugar candy or some other sweets, give strawberry a try. Strawberries contain anthocyanins, phenol, ellagitannin and a whole bunch of phytonutrients. Anthocyanins protect the cells, phenol protects the heart and ellagitannin protects you from developing certain kinds of cancers. I use strawberries in smoothies and with vanilla ice cream.

Sweet Potatoes

Purchase items that can be made into several meals, like a whole roasted chicken, or a bag of sweet potatoes, and shop the periphery of the grocery store, avoiding the middle aisles full of processed and higher-priced foods – Cat Cora

Sweet Potatoes has vitamin A, potassium. Magnesium, folic acid, vitamin C, fiber and fiber. I recommend having fries with the skin on as the beta-carotene does wonder for your eyes, vitamin E protects you from colds, Vitamin A is good for your complexion, vitamin B  keeps you strong and the fiber is good for your digestive tract.

Cherries

Here’s an idea: let’s get over ourselves, buy a cherry pie, and go fall in love with life – Tom Robbins

Cherries are my favorite fruit because it has a very low glycemic index of 22, the lowest among fruits. Cherries have melatonin, which helps you get your beauty sleep. Cherries also is the king among fruits with the highest level of antioxidants. Cherries are good if you have arthritis, gout attacks or swelling.

Turmeric

The king of all spices. Turmeric is anti-inflammatory, good for your brains, prevents cancer, fights depression and regulates blood pressure.

Red Wine

Red wine looks and tastes like a liquified beefsteak – James Joyce

Red wine contains resveratrol which helps the blood vessels and prevents blood clots. Resveratrol protects against Alzheimer’s and quercetin works against cancer. I strongly recommend that you do not drink more than one glass a day.

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Audrey Dufay is the Chef and Owner of Terre de Sienne.   A bar of unique chocolate made by hand from ethically sourced ingredients. Audrey began working at the age of 21 in France as an apprentice at Sadaharu Aoki. She has worked in various pastry shops and restaurants in Europe and Australia. The idea of making her own chocolate originated from research into the chocolate industry and her desire to make a change in the way chocolate is sourced and handled. Some chocolate makers choose to get their chocolate as a semifinished product after the grinding or conching stage. At Terre de Sienne, she prefers to get the beans after the drying stage, sort them, roast them, and turn them into chocolate. She believes in corporate social responsibility and sources ethically.

Audrey, I want to know something unique and important about you that no one knows. Go ahead and tell me?

I believe that sexism is still a thing. I still don’t feel treated the same as men around me. I keep quiet. I try to make a change. There is this trend of calling a woman “feminist”, like if it is a bad word every time we denounce unfair treatment.

Help me understand what inspired you to become a pastry chef? On a daily basis, where do you go for your inspiration to become creative?

I have always loved food. However, I did not see it as a career, until I faced an obstacle. I was studying medicine until the age of 20.  I did not get the grades to get into the specialty that I wanted. The French school system being what it is didn’t allow me to sign up on time for my plan B.

Not knowing what to do actually drove me to what I wanted the most, make food, especially pastry and chocolates.

I get my inspiration from my love for a good dessert. I love to cook what I love to eat. I also like to discover new flavors and start from the ingredients themselves, instead of creating on paper and then ordering the ingredients needed to make the dish.

Did you go to culinary school or are you self taught?

I always prefer to teach myself rather than learn from others. I think that it gives me more freedom, allows me to think outside of the box, and to try new techniques.

But I have to say that the basics have to be taught, for this, I did an apprenticeship in France, 1 week at school, 3 weeks at work, for a year.

Talk to me about your three most favorite ingredients in the pastry kitchen and why do you like them?

My favorite ingredients are:

• Dark chocolate. I just fell in love with making it. There are so many ways to make it and use it.
• Almonds. I love praline, marzipan, frangipan.. as long as it is not too sweet.
• Fruits. It is too hard for me to pick one. I just love them all. They are amazing to work with in pastry, raw, cooked, poached, roasted.. once again so many things to do with them.

If you were given a chance to rewrite all the pastry books in the world, what three ingredients would you get rid of and why?

I would get rid of:

Food coloring. It is not needed and it’s been overly used recently in my opinion. It happens that I have to use it as well. However, I am trying to be sensitive about it and keep my food as real as possible.

Bought in fruit purées. I understand that some chefs find it great to keep recipes constant and be able to make a strawberry mousse in the middle of winter, but this is where the problem is. Working with seasonal ingredients is very important to me. I like to work around what’s available at the time.

Lecithin. I just think that it’s a cheat to make preparation more stable and looking better when there is no real need for it.

Walk me through the city you live in. How is the food scene? What are the hot restaurants? Why should we visit your city?

I am new to the area so I will speak about the city I used to live in before that.

I just moved from Sydney, Australia. It has the best food scene I have experienced so far. From a very cheap Asian “street food style” food court to fine dining restaurant. I have been blown away by the diversity of the food there. There is food from everywhere, especially from Asia (which was perfect for me because this is my favorite food), and for every occasion, breakfast, late brunch, cheap lunch, afternoon cakes and bubble teas, to a fancy restaurant and late-night eateries.

Places to visit :

Food courts/fast food: laksa from Happy chef, ramen from Gumshara, fried chicken from Butter, char hor fun from Ho Jiak..and many more.

Do you believe in ethical sourcing for your chocolate?

Ethical sourcing is extremely important to me. It is just the right thing to do. People work hard to provide ingredients, they should get the respect they deserve.

Explain to me what does women’s empowerment means to you?

I have mixed feelings about women’s empowerment. I think that it’s a great thing but at the same time, it shouldn’t even exist. Women should have had the same “power” and authority from the beginning. Therefore it shouldn’t be any empowerment needed.

Sadly it is still needed, but I am happy to live in a time when things are changing, and there are people to hear you out, and help you on the journey.

Do women make better pastry chefs? Why?

I don’t like to put gender on job skills, I would say that if we do become better it could be because of the feeling that we have to work twice as hard to get what we want.

You were at the savor patissier of the year competition in Australia. How was the competition?

It was a very good experience. A great way to be aware of my weaknesses and to grow from it.

What are your future plans for the chocolate business? How does personal finance play a role in that?

I just started my chocolate business. I am leaving pastry on the side to focus on chocolate making.

I am sourcing my cocoa beans ethically, and treat them with respect to the environment. I banned single-use plastic from my kitchen and from my packaging. To make a change we need to start from ourselves and this is why I made those decisions. They might not be financially the best option, but this is what feels right to me.

I have been planning on having my own business for a very long time. I have been saving since then, in order to provide the equipment needed, my branding, how I want it to be, and take my time to make things right, while paying my rent and my food for as long as it takes to have a profitable business.

Life throws all kinds of curveballs at us. I want to know something challenging in your life. How you overcame it and what did you learn from that?

The most challenging thing I overcame is probably not succeeding while in medical school. However, it’s also what brought me where I am at the moment. It was the most challenging time for me because I was young and in the mindset of a 20 years old student, who thinks that school success is everything. I am very happy to have discovered that life is full of other kinds of curveballs and that there is always a way to grow from it no matter how hard it feels at the time.

How has your family helped you with the person that you are today?

My family has helped me by letting me be the person I wanted to be. They give me good advice here and there when I needed it, by telling me off when I was getting off track. But they never told me that I couldn’t do anything. I always felt supported in my own choices. Out of the three sisters, I am the only one who didn’t carry on in a medical career and it has never been a problem or even mentioned by my parents. There was only one condition in what we were doing, do it if it makes you happy and with passion.

You make your own chocolate…talk to me about it. Where can we get it?

I get my cocoa beans from a company called uncommoncacao. The beans are from transparent trade. My customers can trace how much the farmers are paid, and what is the condition of work. Once I have them. I roast them, sort them, crack them and remove the husk from the nibs. I turn the nibs in cocoa liquor with my grinder, then I add the other ingredients. Once all that is done I temper the chocolate, mold it in bars and package it.

My chocolate is on sale online at https://www.terredesiennechocolate.com/ for UK and France. I am also looking for retails spots. I just found my first one in a beautiful antique shop in Worthing UK, the display is a 1948 chocolate fridge. I am very excited to display my chocolate there (Bygone Treasures, 33 Brighton Rd).

My daughter is 15. She wants to make a career as a pastry chef. Give her some advice on the dedication, hard work, sacrifice and the long hours involved?

For me, the key is passion. Being a pastry chef is hard, like any other chef’s, there are long days. Sometimes over 14hours. We never have weekends off. Therefore, it is hard to have a social life. But with passion, it is worth it. You just need to keep your goal in mind, know where you want to go and what you want to achieve, and it all falls into place.

How do you deal with the long hours and stress of the job?

To be honest it is still very hard for me after more than 12hours straight standing on my feet. I try to feel better by having a laugh with my colleagues and keep a positive vibe. I like the heat of service. It gives a kick of adrenaline. On the other hand, the stress that comes from the hierarchy can be quite toxic. I deal with this by talking it out with my boyfriend who is also a chef and understands.

Vegans are on the rise. What are some of the desserts you serve vegan clients?

For vegans, I like to make almond milk chocolate ganache, with fresh fruit and fruit sorbet.

You are chosen to go to MARS. You are allowed only 5 personal items. What would it be and why?

A camera to take as many pictures as possible, my partner, my two sisters (I hope they count as items), and some chocolate.

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