Tag: fruits

Fruits, vegetables and legumes: these are the most potassium-rich foods – Italian Cuisine

Bananas, but not only: potassium, fundamental for our well-being, is present in many foods. Here are some examples

Microelement essential for the life and proper functioning of our cells, the potassium he is considered one of the most important allies for human well-being. The balance in its concentration is essential to ensure the efficient functioning of nerves and muscles, but not only. According to several studies, the last one conducted at the University of Naples, potassium is important to protect the health of the heart, avoiding incurring cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore the protects muscles from crampsas they know well sports but in general, in a healthy diet, it is good that there is no lack of food that can guarantee our body the right amount of this mineral salt.

In principle its quantity in the blood, to be well, should be maintained constant, remembering that this goal can be reached more easily if we maintain a healthy and balanced diet, able to meet our daily needs and the constant sequence of phases of mobilization and storage of the mineral in the cells. During each day the potassium level is continuous balancing: it is taken with food, it is transported and used in the different cellular mechanisms and it is eliminated with the urine, partly with the sweat and in the transit of food in the intestine. If you are not careful at the table, you do not vary much and do not take into account the importance of potassium, so that some diseases (or even the use of drugs) can alter this delicate balance and induce a deficiency, also called hypokalemia or hypokalemia. At this point, therefore, it is important to draw up a list of foods with good amounts of potassium, to be never lacking in the shopping cart.

Fruits and vegetables of the season January – Italian Cuisine

A month of leeks, artichokes, cabbage, oranges and grapefruits. Where winter vegetables and citrus fruit shine in all their variety

Definitive farewell to table grapes, welcome to the first mammals, while the sun always shines on the realm of citrus and cabbage. This could be summarized as the framework of the seasonal fruit and vegetables in January. However, among the vegetables that deserve attention in this month certainly falls leek. An ingredient to be discovered, which in Italy, however, has a moderate success compared to what happens in Northern Europe: we think, for example, to Wales, which has made it a national symbol. Without going so far, the leek is actually interesting for its taste similar to that of the onion (and, in some ways, garlic) but sweeter and more sophisticated. It can be eaten raw or cooked and gives the best of itself seasoning for soups and stews. Source of Vitamin C, iron and fibers, it also has diuretic, laxative and antiseptic properties, as well as low fat.

First mammals coming

As foreseen by the PGI specification, the collection of the former begins in January Roman artichokes, that is, the violets (or cimaroli), which in the first months of the year is flanked by thorny and violet artichokes. It is still a few examples, the beauty will come in the following months: but in the meantime we can already enjoy this specialty of Italian cuisine. Perfect ingredients for the cornerstones of Lazio cuisine such as i artichoke alla giudia, or those to the Roman. With the pennyroyal which, in most of the recipes, appears as inseparable companion. Fall among the seasonal vegetables also beets, chard, carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, chicory, onions, fennel, lettuce, radicchio, radishes, rocket, celery, spinach and pumpkin.

Red and Valencia

As for fruit, January is the perfect month for the citrus fruits, from oranges to mandarins, from kiwis to clementines. As for oranges, this is in particular the period ofRed orange of Sicily PGI. It is in their sweet nuanced taste with a slightly acrid aftertaste and in the classic blood color that we find all the perfumes of the eastern coast of Sicily, south of Etna. There are three varieties: Tarot, spherical and seedless; Moro, with a typical ovoid shape and particularly suitable for juices; is Sanguinello, slightly sugary but with a high content of citric acid. They can be grown only in Sicily because they require very special climatic conditions and soil characteristics, made possible by the presence of Etna. But with the beginning of the new year it is also the turn of the oranges Valencia, the most belated variety that will accompany us until May-June, particularly suitable for juice.

Goodbye to grapes and persimmons

Instead the salons of shops and supermarkets greet thetable grapes and, except in rare cases, i khaki. Do not underestimate, among citrus fruits, also the grapefruit, mainly cultivated in Turkey and in Israel but of which also theItaly owns a small production. Present in both the yellow and pink versions, sweeter, it is excellent for making sweet and sour recipes. And it is also an ally of our health, given the amount of vitamins A, C and B that contains: grapefruit is also a fruit particularly useful for detoxification of the liver and control of LDL cholesterol levels. Season always OK also for i mushroomsas well as for the truffles winter (winter scorzone, precious black and white). Last cartridges to shoot, however, for the chestnuts.

Fruits and vegetables for children: 8 tricks – Italian Cuisine

Preschool and school children are the most physically vulnerable and exposed to the potential risks of improper nutrition in terms of quantity and quality. To eat well means to grow well. Here's how to make your children love fruit and vegetables.

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You can try putting them in the sandwich or in the cocktail, but often they come back home. You can opt for juices – at least for fruit – but it's not the same thing at all. You know that fruits and vegetables are essential for feeling good – more: they lengthen your life – but you can not convince your little ones to taste them.

Here are some tips to stimulate children to eat fruits and vegetables.

1. A good habit is to start a meal with vegetables. When they have more hungry, are more predisposed to appreciate new and plant foods.

2. Science has shown that demonstrated that the time dedicated to the meal is directly proportional to the quality and success of the meal itself. It is fundesirable that the children have sufficient time to appreciate food and to take an interest in those dishes that often feel less appealing: fruits and vegetables.

3. To get them used to new tastes you need to hold on. We need to 10-15 attempts within a short time for the child to get used to new flavors. Rejection of the first taste is more than normal.

4. The good example of parents encourages children to emulate. If mum and dad usually consume vegetables, it will be easier for them to come back into their children's eating habits.

5. Involve in preparing dishes, it makes them feel important, involved and more curious about the result.

6. Playing with i colors fruit and vegetables exploit them to create a nice presentation of the dish, stimulates the fantasy and it makes everything more appetizing.

7. Serve a single plate with vegetables next to something that children love a lot, like potatoes, pasta or rice, it invites you to taste again.

8. It is not necessary to exhaust children because they face plateaus of hateful spinach or disturbing salads. Just a few samples and small amounts.

Francesca Santambrogio
October 20th 2015
updated by Carola Traverso Saibante
December 2018

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