Tag: diet

How to make a light cheesecake (and face the diet gently) – Italian Cuisine

If you are tired of staying away from your favorite dessert, the good news is that there is a light cheesecake that is waiting just for you. Here the recipe to prepare it and some advice to enrich it

Since we discovered the cheesecake, we have never abandoned it. Sweet, but not cloying. Tasty, but at the same time fresh: it's love, slice by slice. But what if we are on a diet? The answer is a light variant, which you can no longer do without.

The cheesecake light recipe

Ingredients for 8 people

400 g light spreadable cheese, 100 g thick greek yogurt, 30 g sugar, 150 g reduced-fat wholemeal biscuits, 3 sheets of edible gelatin, a vanilla bean

Method

Line a hinged mold (diam 18 cm) with baking paper and cover the bottom with the biscuits. To prepare a light cheesecake it is best to avoid using butter, then we will proceed with the whole biscuits instead of blending them, mix them with the butter and let the base cool. We cover the remaining holes with broken biscuits, making sure they adhere well to each other. Now add the yogurt to the cheese and add the gelatine that we will have soaked in water and wrung out. We work the mixture well adding the seeds of half a vanilla pod and the sugar. Let the cream settle in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes, then pour it into the mold covering the biscuit base, level the surface well and put it back in the fridge for 2 hours.

To complete

This base lends itself to many variations. You can enrich it with fresh fruit or a puree obtained from pureed fruit and a sheet of gelatin soaked and wrung out.

The alternative bases

As you have seen to make a light cheesecake we must avoid the use of the butter that we usually use to tie blended biscuits to the base and prefer something lighter. Yes to wholemeal biscuits therefore, but also to bases that you can prepare before going to work. A clever idea is that of prepare a very thin whole biscuit with a diameter of 17 cm (to be sure that it enters the mold) o replace the classic crunchy base with … nothing! In fact, the real strength of the cheesecake lies in the cream and if we are following a diet that asks us to stay away from excess, we can sacrifice the crunchiness of the base and concentrate on the rest. Maybe adding some crunchy cereal or almond flakes as a final topping!

The portions

If you are few and you are afraid that a light cheesecake for 8 people will turn into a caloric bomb for a single glutton, try to portion it in small glasses. In this way you will not be tempted to give yourself huge slices and you can alternate layers of fruit and cream to make the dessert even lighter.

Blue Zone in Sardinia: the diet of centenarians – Italian Cuisine

In Sardinia, the number of centenarians is surprising and the concept of active aging is based precisely on this phenomenon. What are the secrets to getting over a hundred years healthy?

They are called Blue Zone, Identify parts of the world where it is possible to live happily and for a long time, there are very few: the Greek islet Icaria and the Japanese Okinawa, the peninsula of Nicoya in Costa Rica and the community in Loma Linda in California, but above all our Sardinia. On the beautiful island, there are magical corners where the inhabitants arrive and often easily exceed the 100-year goal, as in the area Ogliastra in the province of Nuoro, for example. Indeed, in the village of Seulo, in the Barbagia, they were counted well 20 centenarians between 1996 and 2016 confirming the longest living country in the world! It will be the sea and mountain air, the favorable combination of climate, the traditional social structure or simply the food based on Mediterranean diet? Let's find out together.

The invasion of the ultra centenarians

Antonio Todde, called Tziu Antoni, was officially recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records 2001 as the oldest man in the world who died at the age of 112 and 346 days. Guess where he was born? Exactly, in the province of Nuoro, in Tiana to be precise. At the BBC the Sardinian shepherd had revealed his secret: to live one day at a time without stress, to love others and drink a glass of red wine every day. Another example is Giovanni Frau, born in 1890 in Orroli in the province of Cagliari, who came to extinguish the 112th candle on the cake.

At their last birthday parties there was also the doctor Luca Deiana, For years professor of Clinical Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Sassari, and one of the greatest scholars of the mystery of Sardinian centenarians. Its the project Akea, acronym of the Sardinian wish A kent’annos (up a hundred years old), which since the 2000s has been collecting data and testimonies on the territory up to census over 4 thousand ultra Sardinian centenarians. "On our island we have certain evidence that centenarians have always existed. And they are a constant. Thanks to the research we have carried out over the years, even with the Akea project, we can confidently say that there is a personality of the Sardinian centenary, The scholar, who also registered the brand, released the newspaper La Nuova Sassari THEonly of the centenarians.

The secrets of Sardinian grandparents

The discovery of the field elixir of long life could start right from the Sardinia, where certainly the original DNA is indispensable but not sufficient. It should be accompanied by other important factors (food, environmental, behavioral) that can certainly be an example to help everyone live longer and healthier.

In fact, at an anthropological level, typical essential elements such as the value of the social role (the family in the foreground), the sense of community (winning especially in the small inhabited centers of the hinterland, which live in the shadow of the bell tower), the awareness of the meaning of life. Let's not forget thephysical activity daily, which operates the locomotor system by spending the calories acquired – even in a playful version such as traditional dances, for example the Passu Torrau comparable to interval sports training.

Then we come to the secret of Pulcinella: the fundamental role of nutrition. Roberto Pili, president of the World Longevity Community, carries forward the concept of active aging right from Sardinia, emphasizing the Sardinian Mediterranean diet as a strength. "Healthy eating that respects nutritional and metabolic needs is in fact one of the pillars on which the privilege of overcoming the century of life is built."Says Pili, who recognizes the way to go in food sobriety and in conscious nutrition. The Sardinian environmental cradle with its wide biodiversity is winning starting from the local diet that allows the metabolism to dialogue with foods born in the same land.

The diet of centenarians

Eating habits in Sardinia are rooted in tradition and are based on a consumption of food mainly of vegetable origin (such as fruit, vegetables and legumes, not forgetting nuts) and a small percentage of animal origin (necessary for essential amino acids), seasoned with olive oil, rich in antioxidants, without forgetting the wine, strongly healthy when consumed in a way measured at meals, especially the red one as the typical one Cannonau.

From the point of view quantity, let's not forget that tradition is the single dish to compose the meal and is plant based with a minimal animal component for a balanced supply of macro and micro nutrients, without exaggeration or excess. A smart way to keep caloric intake under control, unlike what is happening in the world today.

We close with an example of the Sardinian centenary breakfast: from the high hill, it is based on the strong pastoral component with cow's milk or goat's milk (this last omega 3 and 6 virtuoso), the Sardinian yogurt called Gioddu and the wholemeal bread made with flour from the mills. And if you need to sweeten honey, but certainly not refined sugar. A first life lesson to learn for longevity – since morning.

Diet to fight pollen allergy – Italian Cuisine

Some people who are allergic to pollen may also be allergic to certain fruits and vegetables. The expert advises not to follow a do-it-yourself diet but to do an allergy test to understand what each person can and cannot eat

Those who are allergic to pollens and dust mites can often have allergic reactions to certain foods. This is the case of those suffering from cross allergies. The triggering cause is the presence of the same protein, both in the pollen and in the food under indictment, recognized as harmful by the immune system. It so happens that, during the summer, in addition to having to play hide and seek with plants and flowers, there are also those who are forced to eliminate a series of foods to prevent coughing, itching, sore throat and burning eyes become unbearable . But is there a diet to combat pollen allergy?

Cross-allergies, the diet must be personalized

First of all "it is not said that those who are allergic to pollen also have cross reactions with certain foods". To say it is the doctor Francesca Puggioni, specialist in Diseases of the Respiratory System of the Humanitas hospital, interviewed by the chef of health Marco Bianchi. In fact, the incidence of this form of food allergy in pollen allergic patients is around 20%. Secondly, «before establishing a do-it-yourself diet – continues the doctor – risking to eliminate a series of fruits and vegetables important for a healthy and balanced diet, it is better to go to your doctor and do an allergological test which in a short time reveals what a person can or cannot eat. The reason why "there is no perfect diet to combat allergy to the various types of pollen", Puggioni concludes, "is because the immune system of each individual does not always respond in the same way".

Useful tips before getting to the table

There is no general rule that applies to everyone with this type of disorder. But there is a list of cross-allergies. For example, those who are allergic to grasses, in the presence of suspicious symptoms, should eliminate kiwi, watermelon, peach, plum, citrus fruits, melon, apricot, cherry, tomato, beets, almonds and peanuts. In addition to avoiding certain foods you can also follow some useful precautions. For example, if really necessary, it is better to consume the foods included in the "black list" baked or in the microwave. Another council is to deprive fruit and vegetables of the peel since it is here that the allergens are concentrated in large quantities. Finally, between a very ripe fruit or vegetable or the others still slightly unripe, it is better to choose the latter.