Tag: diet

Mediterranean diet in winter: what to eat to feel better – Italian Cuisine

Even in the coldest months, the Mediterranean diet is an excellent ally for health. It ensures many precious micro and macronutrients to defend against the ailments of the period. Here are which foods to aim for

Several researches have shown that adopting the Mediterranean diet at the table is an excellent strategy to prevent and protect yourself from ailments. The Mediterranean diet in winter, for example, becomes a powerful ally against both the classic seasonal ailments such as colds, coughs, sore throats, and discomfort that colder days can cause like a bad mood. One of the great advantages it has is seasonality. "The different menus of the day include the consumption of seasonal vegetables and fruit, which are real natural supplements of minerals and vitamins that help strengthen the body's defenses," says the dietician Patrizia Gaballo. Another advantage of the Mediterranean diet is that it is not monotonous. "Thanks to the variety of foods it never bores the palate and consequently helps to stay away from nervous hunger attacks which in the colder months due to the lower production of serotonin can be more frequent". But there is more. The Mediterranean diet is high in healthy fats. "Extra virgin olive oil, the food par excellence, provides essential fatty acids that have a protective and anti-inflammatory action. It also reduces appetite because it ensures satiety and taste for dishes, "says the expert, who here suggests which foods to choose to follow the Mediterranean diet in winter.

Fruits and vegetables to protect yourself from seasonal ailments

The Mediterranean diet involves the consumption of fruit and vegetables in every meal of the day. «Vegetables that are in season in the winter months such as beets, apples, chicory, broccoli ensure many prebiotic fibers that nourish and keep the intestinal microbiota healthy, which according to various studies is involved in the functioning of the immune system. Kiwis, mandarins, oranges are also rich in vitamin C which, with its antioxidant action, stimulates the production of interferons, proteins that have the task of counteracting the attack of viruses ", says the expert.

Whole grains and fish to fight bad mood

Less exposure to the sun on colder days favors a lower production of a series of hormones that regulate sleep, hunger and mood. "Whole grains and their derivatives, including pasta, but also fish, meat, eggs, dairy products, typical foods of the Mediterranean diet, are excellent sources of tryptophan, an amino acid that stimulates the production of dopamine and serotonin, two hormones that counteract mood disorders and affect the sense of hunger. Even legumes such as lentils, beans, chickpeas are a good source of it . To enrich the menus with micronutrients and macronutrients, also useful for dried fruit and oil seeds. "Walnuts, for example, are a mine of vitamin B1, zinc and many other precious substances to face the rigors of winter".

A typical menu

Breakfast: yogurt, coffee, a slice of toasted spelled bread with a teaspoon of honey and 5 almonds.

Snack: orange juice and 3 walnuts.

Lunch: brown rice with broccoli cream, fresh chilli and parmesan flakes, grilled radicchio with sunflower seeds and extra virgin olive oil.

Snack: a fresh fruit of the season (oranges, mandarins, apple, pear) and 5 unsalted pistachios.

Dinner: sea bream baked with orange peel and pepper, cabbage salad with chopped hazelnuts dressed with extra virgin olive oil and wholemeal bread.

In the gallery 10 essential foods in the Mediterranean diet in winter

Appointment with the recipe that celebrates the Mediterranean diet – Italian Cuisine

Barilla and Future Food Institute invite us to participate in the masterclass of 2 July where the Mediterranean diet is the protagonist, together with a conscious look at the future

The best way to celebrate 10 years of appointment of the Mediterranean diet as a UNESCO heritage site? Explore its greatness! To do it, Barilla awaits us on July 2nd at 6.30pm with the masterclass "Mediterranean diet: the recipe for well-being" moderated by Sara Roversi and with the participation of Mariangela Rondanelli, Associate Professor in Dietary Sciences and Techniques at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Pavia, Marcello Zaccaria, Executive Chef of Academia Barilla and José de la Rosa, Gastronomy Scientist of Future Food Institute .

During the appointment, in which we will be able to participate through the channels of Future Food Institute, the chef Marcello Zaccaria will guide us in preparing yours Mezze Sleeves on chickpea cream with rosemary, with monkfish. A dish from which to start to reflect on the importance of the Mediterranean diet in our life.

"We decided to create this recipe to celebrate the 10 years of the Mediterranean Diet, because it gave us the opportunity to apply the fundamental principles of this diet in an effective and above all tangible way" explains Marcello Zaccaria, chef of the Barilla Group. “In this recipe, in fact, we can find pasta, the basis of the dietary food pyramid; chickpeas, therefore legumes that should be eaten at least two or three times a week; rosemary, which underlines the importance of dried aromatic herbs; and fish, which represents a very important source of health for us ".

"The Mediterranean Diet is often synonymous with cereals, an ingredient that has taken on an even more important role in the last months of lockdown," says Mariangela Rondanelli, Nutritionist and Associate Professor in Food Sciences and Techniques at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of the Studies of Pavia. “The home-made preparations of pasta, pizza and bread quickly became a surprising daily reality that allowed us to rediscover sociability. At the base of the food pyramid of the Mediterranean Diet, in addition to purely nutritional elements, there is also an aspect that affects human relationships. In fact, he stressed how conviviality, therefore the pleasure of sharing good food with our loved ones,
it represents an important moment of well-being, in the broadest sense of the term ".

Fennel diet: how it works – Italian Cuisine

For a salvific help in view of the costume test, you can try this diet which involves a large consumption of the vegetable for lunch, dinner and snack

The term diet literally means lifestyle, especially in the food sector. The meaning we give today to this term, however, comes close to a series of recommendations aimed at weight loss. For an adequate and reliable diet one should rely on a dietician or nutritionist, eat healthy and exercise a lot: often, however, we hear about "diets of the moment", more or less questionable methods to lose extra pounds in a very short time in sight summer. Among these, of course, there is fennel diet, one of the most famous and historical lightning diets.

Why fennel?

The theory behind this diet claims that the fennel, which contains only 31 calories per 100 grams, is the perfect food for lose fluids in excess e deflate the belly, thanks to the high fiber content. This diet promises to lose approx two kilos in two weeks, those caused by water retention, that is, by water that the tissues are unable to dispose of due to a diet rich in sugar and salt and low in raw fruit and vegetables.
This food plan which is based on the predominant consumption of only one food, should only be followed for a couple of weeks at most to avoid food shortages.

How the fennel diet works

The fennel diet is based on a calorie restriction and on the abundant consumption of these vegetables. Light dishes are combined with this food, preferring the first at lunch with a small protein content e a second at dinner, but without carbohydrate sources, fruit excluded. Both meals must be accompanied by at least 150-200 grams of fennel and the snacks are obviously based on raw fennel or centrifuged and a low-fat yogurt. The only meal in which the detox vegetable is absent is breakfast, which, as in many diets, must be made with 200 milliliters of partially skimmed milk and 30 grams of cereals. To accompany the fennel diet and improve its effects, it is necessary to do a light daily physical activity and drink two liters of water per day. To speed up the drainage of liquids even more, it is often suggested to drink herbal teas and infusions based on, guess what, fennel.

Warnings on the fennel diet

The fennel is a vegetable that has excellent nutritional properties and is actually a valuable help to purify and deflate the body. The fennel diet, however, is rather monotonous and boredom is certainly not an ally in the goal of losing weight and in general all diets of this type should not be followed for a long time: the variety of foods is always the best ally of the our health!
It is also good, before starting a diet, to consult a specialist doctor also because in particular the fennel diet is not suitable for those sensitive to umbrellas, a genus which also includes parsley, celery and carrot. In some cases it could trigger real allergic reactions.