Shape up for summer with shallots

If you want to shed a few pounds for summer but don’t want to deprive your taste buds of delicious foods, try cooking with shallots. Shallots add lots of flavour and texture to savoury dishes – ideal if you want to cut down on the calories but don’t want to compromise on flavour. Shallots are a rich source of vitamin A, B and E, they are low in fat and contain just 40-50 calories per 80g (which counts as one portion towards the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables a day).

Shallots have high levels of vitamin C – twice that of onions! Their vitamin C content is doubled if they are eaten raw, for example in salads.

Shallots are a good source of potassium which is important for maintenance of stable blood pressure and they are low in sodium. Shallots contain Allicin which is thought to help lower blood cholesterol levels, promote good heart health and stimulate the body’s immune system.