Tag: good

What to eat in winter (to feel good) – Italian Cuisine

Rich in vitamins, antioxidants, minerals, they invigorate the body, give energy and help fight tiredness and bad mood. Here are the best to bring to the table

Winter is the time of year when you are more exposed to ailments and ailments. Passages from indoor environments that are overheated and dry at cold and humid outside temperatures make the body more vulnerable to disturbances of various kinds. In this period, then, the days the lower exposure to sunlight promotes mood swings. To counter the negative effects of winter in aid are vitamins, minerals and antioxidants that are particularly rich in some seasonal foods. Let's see with the help of Dr. Valentina Schirò, nutritionist biologist specializing in nutrition science, what to bring to the table at this time to reinvigorate the body and have more energy.

What to eat in the winter to strengthen the defenses

"Seasonal vegetables and fruits like kiwis and citrus fruits are excellent sources of vitamin C, which favors the assimilation of iron, whose deficiency causes weakness and strengthens the immune system's defenses. Then they bring fibers, which in addition to favoring satiety and keeping hunger attacks away, favor the elimination of excess toxins that strain the body, "explains the expert.

To raise the mood

"Many seasonal vegetables, especially those with green leaves like chicory, spinach and chard are particularly rich in B vitamins and minerals like potassium and magnesium, which support the nervous system and help to counteract irritability," explains nutritionist Valentina Schirò.

Here is the super food to bring to the table in winter.

Chicory
Chicory ensures a great variety of antioxidants, fibers, minerals, in particular potassium and magnesium, which counteract the frequent swelling in this period due to the more sedentary life.

Fennel
They have the advantage of being diuretics and satiating. They bring a lot of water and fibers that favor the elimination of excess toxins. They are also excellent sources of antioxidants, including precious flavonoids and vitamin C.

Red oranges
They provide vitamin C and B vitamins to help boost the body's defenses. Moreover, they contain many minerals like magnesium and potassium, which are precious to support the organism. They are also an excellent source of antioxidants, including anthocyanins.

Beetroot
Deflates and purifies. Ensures so many minerals, especially potassium that helps drain and eliminate excess fluids. In addition, it is rich in water and fiber, facilitating intestinal transit and toxin disposal.

apples
Contain inulin and pectin, prebiotic substances useful to strengthen the "good" bacteria of the intestine, which mitigate the inflammation, responsible for the swelling.

broccoli
They supply many fibers and vitamins of the B group, in particular vitamin B2, B5, B9, B12. In addition, they are excellent allies of the line: they have fewer calories and lots of water, about 92 percent.

Cabbage
Raw, it provides so much vitamin C, which enhances the immune system. It then provides many prebiotic fibers, useful for nourishing "good" bacteria.

Artichokes
They have a good purifying and draining action. They contain many antioxidants, including anthocyanins and phenolic compounds. Furthermore, it is a source of inulin, a soluble fiber that performs a prebiotic activity: it nourishes the "good" bacteria that populate the intestine. Then bring a variety of B vitamins, including vitamin B2, B3 and B5.

spinach
They are an excellent source of B vitamins, useful for extracting energy and combating stress and fatigue.

Kiwi
They are an excellent source of vitamin C. They contain more than oranges. Then they bring a great variety of minerals including potassium and magnesium, which help to counteract the feeling of tiredness.

Grapes are good for the heart – Italian Cuisine

Grapes are good for the heart: a study by Crea says this, according to which the daily intake of this fruit would have an anticoagulant effect on the blood

One grain leads to another. And that's okay because eating grapes is very good. Some researchers of the Crea have discovered it, in collaboration with the University of Bari: consuming a portion of table grapes every day is good to the cardiovascular system. Increasing the consumption of fruit in the diet is a good habit, to be taught right away to the children too, because that fruit, in general, does well, is well known. Between this, however, the table grapes it was found to have protective properties of the cardiovascular system. How does all this happen? The researchers found that grapes, if consumed regularly, develop an anticoagulant power on the blood, and therefore are capable of removing cardiovascular diseases.

All the properties of the beans

With their low sugar level, their high rate of polyphenolic compounds and the important antioxidant action, black grapes, in particular the Autumn Royal variety, are able to increase the fibrinolytic activity of the plasma, that is, they make sure that no thrombus is formed following a blood coagulation operation, caused, for example, by a wound or a laceration of blood vessels, also due to age. In this way the cells designated to repair the wound are activated and, once they have completed their work, they are swept away and eliminated, so as to prevent them from forming clots in the blood, giving rise to thrombus. The relevant aspect is that this faculty remains even if the consumption of grapes is interrupted. The subjects examined took a quantity of grapes equal to 5g / kg of weight per day, for a total of 21 days.

And now some recipes for using grapes in the kitchen: browse the gallery

How to prepare pumpkin soup and legumes, good and fast – Italian Cuisine

Our recipe and all the steps of pumpkin soup and red and black beans and chickpeas with onion to the agro easy to prepare in 20 minutes

Pumpkin is the queen of winter and invites us to be tasted in soft velvety, rich creams, fragrant first courses and second courses. Its strong sweetness and the pleasant softness that it takes in cooking then, make it perfect for the preparation of warm winter soups ideal for comforting us on a cold day or recharge after a long walk. In the recipe shown in the video above, we created with Legumissimi Findus a pumpkin soup and vegetables with onion on the agro that plays with contrasts, textures and aromas to give us an authentic taste of winter.

Recipe

To prepare the pumpkin soup and vegetables with onions, you will need 200 g of pumpkin pulp reduced in cubes, 80 g of sliced red onion, extra virgin olive oil, a pack of Legumissimi Findus with red beans, black beans and chickpeas, 50 ml of white wine vinegar, 200 ml of water, salt and thyme.

First you have to prepare the onion to the agro by soaking it with vinegar for 10 minutes. When 5 of them have passed, put the oil and the pumpkin on the fire, which you will be filling with the thyme. Then add the Legumissimi still frozen, salt and cook with the lid for 6 minutes. Prepare the dish with a serving of soup that you will complete with the onions.
To prepare this dish, they are needed less than 20 minutes.

Because the legumes

Many traditional soups focus on legumes thanks to the wealth of plant proteins and fibers, but also for their ability to provide good energy. 100 g of beans for example, they contain about one gram of fat, 40 g of carbohydrates, 15 of fiber and 20 of proteins. Those blacks in particular, are very rich in iron, antioxidants and mineral salts. They are also considered an excellent ally to maintain low cholesterol levels in the blood. Present in the mix we have chosen, also i red beans, particularly appreciated thanks to the presence of substances that contribute to the good health of our immune system. Depuratives and diuretics, are also often recommended in low-calorie diets because they make less in comparison to other types of beans. THE chickpeas instead they have always been appreciated for their ability to reduce bad cholesterol in the blood and lower blood pressure. Naturally rich in iron, are recommended to counteract the deficiency and to balance poor diets.
Combined with a low-calorie food, but rich in purifying benefits, vitamins and minerals, they make an interesting nutritional dish that is perfect for a balanced meal. Pumpkin soup and legumes is indeed a recipe that can be inserted in the weekly menu as an alternative to meat to make a full of vegetable and iron proteins.

Practical and fast

One of the major difficulties related to the preparation of legumes is the long cooking that they require. Starting from a dry product in fact, we will have to provide for 8-12 hours of soaking before proceeding to a cooking that will take less than an hour. The necessary planning and long preparation exclude them from impromptu meals, which we often prepare to cope with the various emergencies that crowd our weeks. Have available a frozen product that cooks in 6 minutes in a pot or 8 in a pan, reverses the situation and finally includes legumes between last minute foods to be tapped daily. Among the mixes proposed by Legumissimi Findus, we used the soup with black and red beans and chickpeas, a side dish made with borlotti beans, green beans, cannellini beans and potatoes and borlotti beans, peas, chickpeas and lentils.