Tag: Food

Brexit, the British prepare with the food emergency kit – Italian Cuisine

It's called Brexit Box and contains 60 freeze-dried meals expiring in 25 years, a water filter and a device to light the fire. The exit panic without agreement from the EU is unleashed in Britain

A maxi kit with the necessary for survival: 60 freeze-dried meals, 48 servings of meat, a water filter and a device to turn on the fire. And the Brexit Box, and many Britons have bought it in these days, in a hurry, with the fear of not being able to have the basic necessities.

Panic among the British

Last night the agreement on Brexit, which regulates the exit procedures, a result of two and a half years of negotiations between the Theresa May government and the European Union, was rejected with 432 votes against (and 202 in favor). A new draft is expected for next Monday. But the British know that as long as Parliament does not approve the agreement on Brexit, Britain will run the risk of leaving the European Union without guarantees. And the no deal it could have repercussions on the British economy. It is a hypothesis that terrorizes citizens: convinced that such an eventuality could be translated into lack of food and medicine, have unleashed one procurement race.

To buy one Brexit Box, launched in December by Emergency Food Storage, you spend the equivalent of 330 euros (but there is also the deluxe version of about 700). "Brexit could potentially be an emergency," CNN James Blake, co-owner of the company, told CNN. "We are in an unprecedented situation. The Brexit Box gives people the idea of being able to control something when they can not control what is happening around them. "

Meanwhile, Dave Lewis, head of the supermarket chain Tesco, announced last week that he was working with suppliers to store canned food and non-perishable goods if they left the European Union without an agreement. On social platforms, such as Twitter and Reddit, or on Mumsnet parents' forum, users are sharing lists of products to stock up on.

How things really are

But they are unfounded fears: the "Financial Times" reported that according to the Government provisions are not necessary and, indeed, could to trigger panic. So much so that the London Metropolitan Police told CNN that concerns about the shortage of goods could lead to "a significant increase in customers" in supermarkets and suggested that stores should try to organize a security plan to "minimize requests for intervention by law enforcement agencies due to crowds or queues in shops ".

Meanwhile, Blake said that to buy the Brexit Box are people of all social classes, from the employee to the CEO: every day, on average, 25 are sold. "What we wanted to do is create a kit with everything". Among the products, which have one shelf life of 25 years, there are cans of macaroni with cheese, "bolognese" pasta and chicken tikka. Blake says he lived for a week eating only the Brexit Box foods, adding that "they are also pretty good".

The fonio, super cereal, becomes Novel Food – Italian Cuisine

Traditionally cultivated in West Africa, it is rich in starch and resembles millet and quinoa: gluten-free, it can be used for the production of gluten-free bread and pasta. It requires little water and grows well even in dry soils

It looks like millet and quinoa, it is a "modern, gluten-free, high-value-added" food: the fonio (digitaria exilis) is a super cereal of 5 thousand years, cultivated in West Africa, and now it has been approved as Novel Food by the European Food Safety Commission. For EFSA's food safety experts, who have classified it as "traditional food from third countries under Article 14 of Reg EC 2015/2283 adapted to our diet", there is no doubt about his safety.

The basis of nutrition
For many local African populations, fonio has always been the main food: peeled, can be consumed as couscous, in a mix of fonio and rice or as porridge. But they too had neglected their production: they preferred to import it, because it is so small (the seed is not longer than 1.5 millimeters and tends to detach from the ear to disperse in the ground) that its processing, mortar and pestle, is rather complex, it is long and low yield. So the fonio has been forgotten for a long time, without ever being valued. Now we have introduced new machines that break the grain, but they are not very performing.

The rediscovery

The first in Europe to bet on the fonio was Gabriele Fortunato, founder of Obà Food Srl, who managed the whole process to make it a Novel Food. It started by promoting the development of small local farming communities, improving working conditions, promoting sustainable agriculture and helping producers become more competitive on the world market.

But to value the fonio has also thought about it Pierre Thiam, the «new king of African cuisine, a Senegalese chef who regularly uses it in his exclusive dishes, prepared for his New York customers. And that also presented it as a bulwark in the fight against climate change: resistant to dry weather and drought, the phonio has a limited environmental impactor, it requires little water and grows well even in dry soils, unlike other cereals, such as wheat. Thiam defines it as "the cereal perfect for the lazy farmerbecause it is enough to throw the seeds that grows by itself ". No need for chemicals.

Gluten free

The fonio contains on average 85% of carbohydrates, 10% protein and 4% fat, is rich in starch, has a taste just sweetish, characteristic and integral. Flour, it is added to rice flour or corn flour. It has a triple fiber and double iron compared to brown rice, contains minerals and is a source of vitamin B. It is gluten-free and rich in essential amino acids that are not present in other cereals: they are nutritional characteristics that make it an interesting complete ingredient, suitable for the production of gluten-free foods. Once ground, you can use it to prepare baked goods, such as bread and pasta without gluten. We have to bet: we will hear more about it.

Fight insomnia with food – Italian Cuisine

Sleeping is fundamental to our health. But it is not always easy. There are foods that help us to let ourselves go in the arms of Morpheus. Like honey, fantastic for fighting insomnia, almost unbearable when combined with warm milk. And then other foods much less obvious: who would have said that chicken is among the foods that promote sleep – unlike red meat?

Before moving on to the list of pro-sleep and anti-sleep food and drinks, a couple of pieces of information: due to the stress and of the increasingly busy days, in the last 50 years there has been one reduction average of sleep daily about 1.5-2 hours and today they are at least 9 million Italians who have developed achronic insomnia. A disorder in its own right, as it is now 15 years old, has established the World Health Organization.

The difficulty in getting to sleep or going back to sleep after i night awakenings it afflicts more and more people: tiredness, concentration and memory deficits, mood disorders, depression are the result. Not only that: scientific studies have proven that those who sleep little get fat: food comforts and satisfies, especially if it is high in fats and sugars. This is why lack of sleep intensifies night visits to the fridge and, unfortunately, the choice always falls on the wrong snacks. Not only that: a recent small study has shown how to rest well at night induces a healthier diet during the day: a real cìvirtuoso, or vicious circle, therefore, depending on how our nights go.

What to do? Definitely adopt one diet that makes us dream! First of all we need to restore the biological clock. Dinner time can affect sleep: the good rule is have dinner four hours before going to sleep (and do not go to sleep late: get fat!) The sleep-friendly diet includes one Breakfast regular, at the same time every morning, rich in fibers that help to improve the quality of sleep; for dinner, a mix of carbohydrates, proteins and smaller portions of food to not weigh down the stomach and interfere with digestion. The secret lies in going to bed neither too hungry nor too full.

Foods that promote sleep

Hot dishes and maybe even liquid, like soups and velvety.

Carbohydrates complexes like those of wholemeal rice and pasta, spelled: stimulate insulin which in turn favors the availability of tryptophan, an essential amino acid that raises the levels of serotonin and melatonin, the hormone that induces drowsiness. There bran contained in the Whole grains it is also the richest food of magnesium, whose deficiency manifests itself with sleep disorders.

Fruit in season, and in particular apricots (even dried), apples, bananas, kiwis (eat a couple before going to bed, they are a sleep-safe!) and olives, sources of serotonin and melatonin, the two hormones that promote sleep, B vitamins (which promote hormone synthesis), magnesium.

Nuts, and in particular the walnuts, which raise the level of melatonin and le almonds, for magnesium. Try them also in the form of butter – such as peanuts: it is a fat that promotes insulin (do not abuse!). On bread (complex carbohydrate) is a perfect combination. There dried fruit – dates in particular – it is also an excellent source of magnesium.

Drinks that help you sleep

Warm milk: is an excellent sedative, contains calcium, magnesium and melatonin, a hormone that helps to stabilize the physiological rhythms of sleep-wake, and tryptophan, amino acid that releases relaxing serotonin, reduces nervousness and promotes rest.

Chamomile: increases the level of glycine – amino acid that induces relaxation – in the body.

Valerian and passionflower: already known from ancient Rome, they can reduce the time taken to fall asleep and improve the quality of sleep; increase the level of gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), a chemical that keeps nervousness at bay and calms anxiety.

water: better to drink a lot during the day to stay well hydrated throughout the night, thus avoiding waking up for thirst or going to the bathroom in the middle of the night. The European Food Safety Authority recommends drinking about 1.6 liters of liquids for women and 2 liters for men. In total there are 8-10 glasses of 200 ml distributed during the day.

Food and drinks that steal sleep

Alcohol: just sip a glass after dinner does not hurt, but if it becomes a habit and consumption increases it can lead to insomnia. Of course, after an evening of heavy drinking it can be easier to fall asleep or better, fainting on the bed, but you have to be very careful because the alcohol upsets the patterns and cycles of sleep. During the night we usually have six or seven cycles REM (Rapid Eye Movement), the most satisfying form of sleep, during which our brain processes the information we have stored during the day. But if you exaggerate with alcohol, REM cycles can be reduced to one or two, insufficient to make us feel good the next day. In addition, alcohol transforms those who do not usually snore into professional inflators.

Coffee: due to the high content of caffeine it interferes with our deep sleep. The quality of sleep can also be disturbed by the coffee you drink during the day because the caffeine lasts for many hours. Not everyone has the same level of tolerance to caffeine, but surely those who suffer from insomnia must avoid the classic cup of coffee after dinner. Recent studies show that drinking an espresso three hours before bedtime delays the production of melatonin for at least 40 minutes.

Chocolate: not everyone knows this, but even the food of the gods is a source of caffeine. Do not overdo the quantities just before going to sleep, better just give yourself a square of dark chocolate shortly after dinner.

Spicy foods: the bad news is that spicy food gives digestive problems and raises body temperature during the first cycle of sleep, disturbing it. It is shown by numerous research that with the decrease of body temperature we fall asleep better. The chilli then is a stimulant of the nerve endings and can cause an unwanted adrenaline effect.

sugar: a recent study suggests that a diet rich in sugar disturbs sleep, precisely because of their energy power not really ideal for good sleep. In fact, the participants in the research, after taking very sugary foods and drinks, had continuous awakenings during the night. So it is better to avoid after-dinner desserts which slow down the digestive process by interfering with sleep.

Red meat: a difficult renunciation for the most impenitent carnivores, but because of the tyrosine contained in it, amino acid that increases the production of adrenaline, it is highly inadvisable.

Overly processed and salty foods: usually they are also very seasoned and are definitely too heavy to digest. Better to choose a light meal, dishes seasoned only with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. And you should not exaggerate with salt to avoid the risk of waking up several times during the night in the presence of an unbearable thirst.

article of Monica Pilotto
March 17, 2016
updated by Stella Rita
January 2019

Flickr photo Aurora983

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