People will round off their Christmas dinner with a tasty pudding – but one choice could be healthier than you think
There’s a cheap and tasty traditional dessert you can enjoy after your Christmas dinner that won’t wreak havoc with your cholesterol levels.
When you think of Christmas pudding, health might not spring straight to mind. But, it’s probably the best thing you can indulge in after your big meal for a number of reasons.
The dish is fairly cheap to buy ready-made, with options as reasonable as Aldi’s 89p Holly Lane version weighing 100g. The classic pudding is made mostly with dried fruit, breadcrumbs, suet, eggs, and spices.
The dried fruits used to whip up this festive concoction provide most of its benefits. The likes of raisins, sultanas and more are used to form the once-a-year treat and bring plenty of perks with them.
Raisins are rich in fibre, potassium and antioxidants. Research has shown these components may help reduce the risk of heart disease and decrease blood pressure. Another study found that raisins have the power to suppress appetite, making you feel fuller for longer.
Sultanas, like raisins, are high in fibre, which can promote healthy bowel function. A diet high in fibre can also help reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
The mixture of seasonal spices also brings extra benefits to the Christmas pudding’s wealth of goodness. Most puddings use a traditional blend of coriander, cinnamon, caraway seeds, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.
Ginger and cinnamon are both powerful anti-inflammatories that help your body quickly recover from tissue damage or infections. On top of that, some studies suggest that cinnamon may also have an effect on reducing LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.
The 100g Christmas pudding from Aldi appears to feed just one person, according to the nutrition labels. This whole cake is just under 350kcal, which isn’t too mad for something on the dessert menu—but that’s without any added saucy toppings.
These will increase the calorie count quickly. Before that though, these puddings are also very high in sugars. The Aldi version having around 51g per 100g serving which goes well above the maximum recommendation by the NHS.
As with everything, it’s all about moderation. So, before you go ahead and devour a whole Christmas pudding to youself, be aware of the overall nutritional value.
JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP: As we countdown to Christmas, join our FREE Christmas WhatsApp here, where we’ll be sharing gift ideas, recipes, festive fun, quizzes and much more. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
