Tag: diet

Potato gnocchi, because they are also good on a diet – Italian Cuisine

Simple and rich in taste, in the right quantities and with the most suitable ingredients, they are an ally of the line. Here are the advice of an expert to follow

The potato gnocchi they combine tradition and taste and are also good a diet. They are an excellent alternative to pasta, for example on holidays, when it is more necessary to reconcile moments of conviviality with the need for the line because they provide almost half the calories, but allow you to bring dishes and recipes with a particular flavor to the table. But which ones to choose? Better homemade or packaged ones? "The ready-made ones often contain not only potatoes, flour and water, but in some cases palm and rapeseed oil, sulphites, glutamate and many other preservatives that risk making the dish less healthy and less ally of the line", explains the nutritionist Nicoletta Bocchino. "Then, you need to pay attention to the quantities to avoid exceeding with starches with a high glycemic index that can cause a sudden increase in blood sugar and make weight loss more difficult due to the reappearance of appetite in a short time", says the expert, which explains why potato gnocchi are also good on a diet.

The advantages for the line

«Egg-free potato gnocchi mainly provide slow-release carbohydrates and many B-complex vitamins, such as vitamins B1, B2 and B3, which give energy and satiety and promote metabolic processes. In addition, thanks to the richness of tryptophan, they activate a whole series of wellness hormones that help you feel better, including serotonin. The latter, in addition to making you feel satisfied and relaxed, is involved in the regulation of hunger, "says the expert. If the potato gnocchi are prepared with eggs, they are slightly more caloric, but at the same time they provide proteins that make the recipes even more complete. "Combined, for example, with seasonal vegetables and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, they can become a single dish that in a single course guarantees all the nutrients the body needs for a balanced meal".

The tips to follow

"To make potato gnocchi excellent allies in the diet, first of all, you can add the boiled potatoes to the dough only after having cooled them in the fridge. Cooling in fact modifies the structure of the starch and lowers its glycemic index, thus avoiding the fluctuations in blood sugar that promote greater production of insulin, the hormone that stimulates hunger. The combination with other foods will do the rest ", explains nutritionist Nicoletta Bocchino. Another small trick is to use the black one, also called violet, in the dough instead of the white potato. "In this way anthocyanins are added which also give the dish antioxidant properties, useful for facilitating the disposal of toxins and counteracting inflammation". To improve the nutritional profile of the dish, type 2 whole wheat flour can be used in the dough. "Compared to refined, 00 and 0, it provides slow-release carbohydrates and fibers that slow down the absorption of starches. And, finally, you can completely exclude the salt in the dough and add it only in the sauce, to avoid overdoing the sodium, which promotes retention and swelling ".

How to combine them at the table

"A mistake that is often made when eating potato gnocchi is to consume other foods rich in carbohydrates in the same meal, such as bread and starchy foods in general, which worsen their impact on blood sugar." Then pay attention to the condiments. «For example, eating a plate of gnocchi with butter will have a different effect than a plate of gnocchi prepared for example with tomato sauce and seasonal vegetables. In fact, vegetable fibers slow down the absorption of starches, reduce their effects on blood sugar, blood sugar levels and increase their satiating effect ". Ok also with fish such as salmon or with the classic meat sauce. "They both provide noble proteins, complete with all essential amino acids and healthy polyunsaturated fats that improve their impact on insulin. In these cases, however, it is better to give up the second one to avoid an excess of protein that slows down its digestibility and combine the dish with a mixed salad, dressed with extra virgin olive oil, which increases its satiating effect ".

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Pasta and side dish? The true Mediterranean diet – Italian Cuisine

No meat, but cereals, legumes, vegetables and extra virgin olive oil. From the Apulian tradition to a starred version, a mix to bring to the table every day; and the dream of a vegetarian tavern

Vegetables; pasta, bread or rice; fruit: the main meals in the Mediterranean diet they are based on a few basic ingredients, enriched with vegetable fats and dairy products. In fact, a balanced diet consists of 50% complex carbohydrates, more than 20% fat and 10-12% protein. Practically what the whole world envies us is a diet based on first courses and side dishes; even though it may seem strange today, get used to the veal slice or the vegan burger. The recipes for a healthy daily diet are more like orecchiette with turnip greens or pasta with lentils rather than high-protein and avocado-based dishes. And they are not two random examples, because Puglia is in fact one of those regions where this mix has always occurred, and to which one can look to today to rethink one's daily diet.

Land of agriculture and "sopratavola"

Puglia is a land of flourishing agriculture, the national vegetable garden from which more than 30% of the oil, tomatoes, artichokes, cabbage and salad we eat in Italy come. But it is also a region with enormous biodiversity in terms of vegetables and which produces vegetables unknown elsewhere such as sponzali, barattieri, purple carrots and other varieties that are the protagonists of the local food and wine tradition. In addition to the most well-known and already mentioned typical dishes, just think of the eggplant parmigiana and the so-called "sopratavola", ie the use of serving raw vegetables to munch on before or after a meal, such as a pinzimonio or crudité, to put it in French. Carousel, celery, chicory, radishes were brought to the table to end a meal and linger chatting and munching on something or, as happens everywhere today, together with olives and chips for an aperitif. Healthy.

Pasta and side dish

Domingo Schingaro, starred chef of the restaurant I Due Camini in Borgo Egnazia, is one of the singers of Apulian biodiversity and puts vegetables at the center of his dishes, even without necessarily combining them with a component of fish or meat, a deeply trendy choice today and at the same time absolutely Apulian. On the stage of Identity of Pasta annex2021 edition of the Identità Golose congress so he presented a plate of tubettini with a side of green beans. Or vice versa: depending on your point of view. «In the dinner tasting menu we serve courses that include several saucers, and we always try to propose the right amount of carbohydrates also according to the daily cycle of necessary nutrients. Consuming fiber along with a pasta improves digestion and the proper absorption of carbohydrates. This concept of well-being is linked to a tradition: a raw vegetable such as "uaccie" celery has always been served on an Apulian table together with an important course such as Orecchiette con le brasciole. barattiero watermelon, Polignano carrot, celery, radishes .

Spaghetti with green beans and tubes with mussel water

Three preparations that are served in a single course: «The carbohydrates of the tube, the green bean which has the shape of spaghetti which provides fiber and minerals, the mussels and the cacioricotta the proteins. Spaghetti is replaced by the "pinto" green bean, a typical Apulian long croissant that can be kept dried until winter. She cooks them in an essence of seaweed and mussels and then serves them by placing a conserve of Gargano tomatoes and aglione on top. To finish the dish, a sprinkling of cacioricotta, also from the Gargano. On the side, a second dish with tubes cooked in risotto in the same broth of seaweed and mussels, served over a cream of bran and parsley, and then a few drops of a cream of mussels, tomato peel powder and crusco pepper. Everything is cooked without salt, replaced by the flavor of algae and mussels, and by the concentration of flavors obtained from the various drying processes. To drink, an infusion of dried fig leaves which, he explains, "helps to decrease the glycemic part of the pasta", and therefore promotes its digestibility. The name is Mediterranean Breeze, because the Mediterranean breeze in Puglia helps the preservation and drying of food, which "stops time" and allows us to enjoy these products even when the season is over.

The vegetable precedence: the prize

A recurring theme in the most anticipated chef's congress in Italy, the vegetable has also become the prize Best Green Ideas, assigned to Diego Rossi of the Trippa restaurant in Milan. During the award ceremony Katia Piazzi of Koppert Cress thus motivated the award to a tavern that made the fifth quarter its flag: "We at Identità are pleased to see how finally many realize that one must not be partisans of a choice, but to experience cooking in an omnivorous way, without considering vegetables as side dishes to which you do not pay the right attention. Diego Rossi succeeds with gusto because he himself loves vegetables . His dream? A vegetable tavern with a side of meat.

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Citrus diet: the most delicious recipes – Italian Cuisine

Our ideas to lightly include citrus fruits in your weekly menu

Depopulated on the web and promises to lose three kilos in a week: it is the so-called citrus diet, a low-calorie diet that exploits the characteristics of these fruits to lose weight. It involves the intake of many liquids such as infusions, juices, broths and it is one unbalanced diet to be followed only for a few days. Our advice, however, is always to not use do-it-yourself methods or rely on fashion diets, but to be accompanied on the weight loss path by specialist.

The properties of citrus fruits

Rich in water, soluble fiber and of C vitamin, the citrus fruits favor thediuretic and draining action, there intestinal motility and help the immune system against seasonal ailments. L'citric acid which they contain, together with vitamin C, then increases the absorption capacity of iron. A recent study by experts from University of Western Ontario in Canada and published in the Journal of lipid research moreover, it would have shown the slimming properties of citrus fruits thanks to a molecule contained in them and called nobiletin.

Our recipes with citrus fruits

If you want to include citrus fruits more often in your weekly menu, here are a few recipe (without too many calories) that's right for you.

Citrus starters

Avocado with scampi and grapefruit, Crudity with parmesan and citrus, Codfish tartare, radicchio, apple and mandarin, Citrus and ginger juice, Salad with barley and grapefruit, Octopus, chickpea, fennel and orange salad, Marinated salmon with grapefruit salad, Warm fennel and pink grapefruit cream, Lemon salad, Sea bream carpaccio with basil and lemon, Salad of prawns, pink grapefruit and fennel, Bresaola and grapefruit.

First courses with citrus fruits

Pilau rice with mandarin and broccoli, Venere rice with orange and rosemary, fragrant rice and fish stew with lemon.

Second courses of fish with citrus fruits

Sautéed prawns with orange, Hake with citrus fruits, Pagello in salt crust with citrus fruits, Sea bass stewed with citrus and fennel, Cuttlefish and scallops with mandarin sauce, Monkfish with cedar with vegetables, Pineapple with steamed sea bream and citrus, Baked turbot with citrus, Braised snapper with citrus fruits, Tuna steaks with citrus scent, Salmon steak with citrus fruits and almond mayonnaise, Steamed turbot with pink grapefruit, Tuna escalope and pink grapefruit, Fillets of sole with grapefruit, San Pietro baked with fennel and lemon, Scampi roasted with orange, Mackerel with orange, fennel and spices, Squid salad with lemon and rocket, Sea bream with pine nuts and lemon, Baked monkfish with mustard, rosemary and lemon, Octopus with spring onions and lemon, Shrimp salad, avocado and Orange.

Main courses of meat with citrus fruits

Cockerel with citrus fruits, Grilled cutlet with grapefruit, Slices of veal with grapefruit, Turkey with orange with herbs and almonds, Chicken bites with lemon and green pepper, Chicken with ginger with fennel and orange salad, Chicken rolls marinated with yogurt and lemon, Turkey with lemon and basil, Rabbit with lemon.

Vegetarian second courses with citrus fruits

Jerusalem artichoke with citrus fruits, Barchette with Jerusalem artichoke, cauliflower and orange, Spinach with rennet and orange with honey, Mixed salad with orange, Purple cabbage and lemon pressed salad.

Salads and side dishes

Citrus fruit salad with cedar and oranges, or with grapefruit, lemon and oranges, Endive and raw fennel with orange, Seasonal raw food with orange and apple, Spinach salad with orange, Avocado, orange and Treviso radicchio salad, Raw food with oranges, celery and lemon salad.

Infusions and extracts

Infusion of rooibos and mandarin, Orange, grapefruit and ginger extract, Lemon, pear and yellow grape extract, Pineapple, celery and lemon juice, Banana, yellow apple, rocket and lemon extract.