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Treat yourself this Mid-Autumn season with these five healthy yet delectable mooncakes

With Mid-Autumn Festival just around the corner, cravings for mooncakes have officially begun. These sweet yet savoury treats are rich, highly decadent, and sinfully good, to say the least. While traditional mooncakes are a classic staple during this season, modern mooncakes have taken the world by storm.

From vodka and espresso filled mooncakes to Hong Kong milk tea flavoured mooncakes, these delectable treats are stunning yet dense in calories. In recent years, debates have sparked over how healthy mooncakes really are. As refined sugar is typically used in mooncakes, overindulging in this festive treat may lead to health risks

With mooncake packaging becoming increasingly sophisticated and luxurious, incorporating various materials such as paper, plastic and wood, these packagings also become increasingly difficult to recycle—thus resulting in excessive waste. 

Fortunately for us, many eateries have taken note of this, coming up with mooncake choices that are healthier for both us and the environment. From being conscious of ingredients going into each mooncake to creating sustainable packaging that can be upcycled for future use, many eateries have begun their move towards sustainability this season. 

See also: 11 New Snowskin Mooncake Flavours to Try This Mid-Autumn Festival 2021

One eatery of such is Green Common—a one-stop plant-based eatery and marketplace.

“Though public demand for plant-based alternatives has grown rapidly, there is a gap in the market for vegan mooncakes. A hallmark practice in celebrating the Mid-Autumn Festival, traditional mooncakes are also known for being high in calories and fat, and lacking in fibre and vitamins. We have created a sustainable, healthy and cruelty-free option that anyone—vegans and meat-eaters—can enjoy with friends and family,” Green Common explains.

Many eateries have followed suit, creating healthier and more sustainable mooncakes this year, without compromising on their taste. While still as rich and divine as traditional mooncakes, get to indulge in these five healthier mooncakes, with a good conscience.

See also: Mid-Autumn Festival 2021: 7 Decor Ideas for a Stylish Celebration at Home

1. Green Common

In line with its mission to create practical transitions to sustainable living, Green Common created a plant-based mooncake set in hopes of providing an accessible mooncake option to customers that are kinder towards the environment and their health. This set focuses on improving the nutritional value of the mooncakes by carefully selecting high-quality nutritious ingredients such as plant-based milk, agave syrup and flaxseed powder to enhance its taste and texture.

Green Common offers two mooncake sets: the vegan custard mooncake set and the vegan mixed nuts mooncake set. The former features a vegan version of the classic mooncake, while the latter comes studded with figs, pistachios and oats, as well as mixed nuts blueberries and purple sweet potato. Its mooncakes contain no cholesterol or trans-fat and are free from added preservatives and artificial colourings. 

2. Kele

This year, Kele is offering its indulgent mooncakes with a revamped recipe—reducing its sugar while keeping its taste. Kele offers both traditional and snowskin mooncakes. Its classic series of traditional baked mooncakes is a favourite, and is made with luxuriously creamy low-sugar white lotus paste. Try its double yolk white lotus mooncake box—its mooncakes are filled with creamy white lotus paste, encased within a golden-brown baked skin. 

Kele also encourages the repurposing of its mooncake box, giving it a second life. These boxes can be repurposed into mini dessert stands, or converted into planters for your tabletop. 

See also: The Best Afternoon Tea Experiences in Singapore

3. Lean Bento

Crafted with ancient grains, legumes and natural extracts, Lean Bento's protein mooncakes are healthy yet delicious. Its mooncakes consist of 70 per cent less fat and 35 per cent more protein than average mooncakes. Not only are they protein-filled, but they are also vegan. 

Its protein mooncakes set consists of four mooncakes—cocoa, matcha, taro and azuki. Each mooncake is individually hand-wrapped in soft, chewy and chemical-free snow skin. Each bite is light, yet earthy. 

4. Shangri-La Singapore

On top of limited edition mooncakes, including its mandarin peel, rose and red bean paste mooncake (to commemorate Shangri-la Singapore's 50th anniversary) the hotel will also be offering reduced sugar versions of its traditional and snowskin mooncakes. 

Highlights include its white lotus seed paste mooncake and mixed nuts with chicken ham mooncake. A delightfully savoury treat, its mixed nuts with chicken ham mooncake offers various textures and flavours, complementing each other in the luxuriously traditional treat. 

For a more modern mooncake, try its kaya with reduced sugar white lotus seed snowskin mooncake. This mooncake adds a local touch by incorporating rich and creamy kaya into its lotus seed paste, wrapped in a blanket of soft and silky skin.

5. Pulse Patisserie

Founded to celebrate women and to explore various flavours, Pulse Patisserie offers pastries that marry French techniques with modern flavours. To celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival, Pulse Patisserie will be offering traditional baked mooncakes featuring its signature Yam Piah—silky yams intertwining with five-spiced walnuts in a salted egg yolk speckled pastry. 

Its vegetarian mooncake set includes four different flavours—red bean and pine nuts, charcoal black sesame with melon seed, Yam Piah with salted egg and walnut, and Yam Piah with salted egg and walnut mochi. Each set is encased in an elegant mint green magnetic box, embellished with a Chinoiserie pattern. 

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