Why you should eat a portion of bitterballen every week
Look, I'm fine with it, shoveling in salad and soup. So that's fine. But it's not really cozy. Never.
Because life is about being in balance and staying in balance, I know it has to be done. I behave on one day, because then you can unapologetically be naughty on the other day. That's why I like to eat vegetables on Monday and Tuesday, purely because I know one eating issue for sure: on Saturday I eat bitterballen. Plural. Not one or two silly, half balls or those small ones, no way, a whole portion of golden brown rascals. At least. And that's a good thing, because we are massively happy from bitterballen. happy.
How come? There are (some) carbohydrates in a bitterbal. And it's precisely those carbohydrates that we need to avoid becoming gloomy and down. Especially in winter, girls. They promote the production of serotonin in your brain – your natural antidepressant. And yes, the taste (and generally good food) also almost always activates the happiness hormone endorphin. Why? We automatically associate these snacks with coziness. The bitterbal equals ‘doing something fun’. While enjoying a drink, you have delightful free time spent with a sister, friend, or love. Pure richness. And that's exactly what makes us happy.
And that's not even all the good news, my hungry loves. Research shows that eating yellow food makes us even happier. Not green. I didn't make it up, really. So bring on that dollop of mustard. Because it just happens to be that one happy color and it just happens to be the faithful companion of the bitterbal.
Oh, I actually don't need any reason at all, because they belong to, the weekend. My little friends. I thank the inventor of the fried mini croquette on my bare knees. Ballelujah.
Nice to know
Actually, it's nothing more than a mini version of the original Dutch croquette. It fits with drinks, it's a small ‘one-bite snack’ and that's why it's called a bitterbal. Because those little balls were often eaten with drinks like bitters (a type of gin). Hence the name, because they are not bitter in taste:
What actually goes into the good old bitterbal? It is usually made from:
- Beef
- Broth
- Butter
- Flower
- Onion
- Breadcrumbs
- Herbs
So not much weirdness. Moreover, the calories are quite reasonable. One bitterball contains an average of 50 calories, with mustard you end up at 55 calories. Each. Calorie. Worth.
FACTS
- Not so into the balls themselves? A mini frikandel has fewer calories than a bitterbal: 39 to be exact. But that's without that dollop of mayo on top.
- In the Netherlands, an average of 300 million croquettes are eaten every year.
- You can have a portion of bitterballen burned off after just 15 minutes of running. Just sayin’.
