THE carbohydrates he sugars, which have always been considered petrol for our body, have become one of the main causes of these last years intolerances food. There are many disorders that a bad metabolism of these two foods can cause, but for Barbara Minati, a mother who lives in Stockholm, the fight against carbohydrates has become a vital question: the life of her daughter was at stake. We met her on an informal occasion and she told us the story of Letizia, this is the name of her child, who fell ill in 2013: the lack of a enzyme did not allow his body to turn sugars into power and so his muscles were forced to use the protein of which they are composed, self-destructing (it is the disease of McArdlei – glycogen storage disease type 5 – www.aig-aig.it) and forcing it, within a year, on a wheelchair.

Barbara inquired, read and studied about it, and understood that i fat could be a viable alternative energy source for your daughter. So she approached the diet ketogenic (in Sweden known as LCHF (Low carb high fat) and so, as all mothers in the world do, she started cooking and cooked for her family, except that from the pantry he eliminated carbohydrates and sugars and introduced fats.

In his house in Stockholm, in one kitchen full of light, Barbara began therefore to experiment recipes at first only without the ingredients indicted, to then come to create delicious dishes and with a colorful and inviting appearance.
Her recipes, published on Instagram (www.instagram.com/lchf_italian), gathered in a page full of colors and creative ideas, won over 10,000 followers.

A diet for the whole family
Barbara's new kitchen has quickly helped Letizia regain her energy and return to school. THE benefits of this diet however there were also for the rest of the family: Barbara was prediabetic and with this new diet he solved his problems started with the pregnancy, the husband is cardiopathic and after years of struggle between good and bad cholesterol, he managed to find a balance. And Letizia's brother (17 years old), not wanting to be outdone in progress, has achieved excellent academic results and enrolled at the university in record time.

This diet, according to Barbara, has given everyone more power and above all he helped Letizia get up again, reducing the break muscular and these results could expose them to world conference held this summer in San Diego (Lowcarbusa.org), in front of more than 200 doctors, researchers and experts on this metabolism alternative.

The low carb day
Right from breakfast, Barbara "breaks the mold" with the omelette, to then indulge in the meals later playing with colors and flavors. The contribution of fat it is the characteristic of this diet: going to replace sugars and carbohydrates, they must be present in large quantities; the liquid cream, in this sense, is an excellent ingredient which is well suited to different types of dishes, from the first to the dessert. The vegetables are limited and the fruit it is forbidden (allowed wild berries on special occasions and small quantities).
Here Barbara's suggestions for a day full of energy:

Breakfast
Omelette: (for 4 people) 6 eggs, 200 g of grated Parmesan, 250 g of ricotta, salt and pepper. All in the oven at 180 C for 45 minutes. To taste, you can add sautéed zucchini, boiled spinach and parmesan flakes.

First dishes
– Zucchini Spaghetti: from carbonara to pesto, any seasoning is fine. For the preparation of julienne courgettes you can use the spiral-shaped slicer, it works like a sharpener. In a few minutes you can prepare large quantities of spaghetti.
– Stracciatella: 8 eggs, 200 g grated parmesan, salt and nutmeg. Pour it into the boiling broth adding a few spinach leaves.
– Soups: blend the already cooked and low glycemic index vegetables (squash, courgettes, spinach, asparagus) adding plenty of cream and cheese. Or: tomato sauce, cream, rosemary and mozzarella.

Second courses
– Roast: seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and cream, then baked in the oven at 180 C for an hour
– Chicken: accordion: stuffed with ham and cheese, seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic and rosemary, then cooked at 200 C for half an hour.
– One kg of salmon: cooked on a cream of 500 g of mascarpone, juice and grated peel of a lemon, salt and garlic. 15/20 minutes in the oven. To try!

Side Dishes
– Peppers: stuffed with sausage, mascarpone and gorgonzola
– Spinach: boiled and sautéed in a pan with butter, garlic, mascarpone and grated parmesan

Desserts
– Chocolate cake: 200 g of butter, seeds or vanilla extract, 4 eggs, a tablespoon of powdered sweetener and 200 g of 85% dark chocolate. In the oven at 200 C for 10 minutes. It is very good with whipped cream
– Tiramisu cream with sweetener: decorated with cocoa, cinnamon, vanilla or coffee to have 4 variations
– Panna Cotta: with the same 4 variations of tiramisu cream, or even with raspberries

Snacks
– Parmesan lollipop: put the Parmesan on the baking paper, you can help yourself with a knife to give the circular shape; then add the stick and cover more Parmesan. Cooked for less than 10 minutes at 180 C on baking paper
– Fat bombs: smoothed and filtered raspberries, then mixed with a lot of cream and frozen in silicone molds
– Chocolates: melted dark chocolate, liquid sweetener and vanilla / cinnamon / cardamom powder. It freezes with the molds and you're done ..

Barbara's advice:
Being positive and adding a bit of creativity and fun to every dish is definitely the main ingredient!

The ketogenic diet is recommended as a treatment of choice in Finland against obesity and in particular in some cases it is very indicated: when it comes to eliminating fat accumulations in limited areas for example, but especially in some diseases, such as diabetes type 2 and all metabolic pathologies in which there is an intolerance to carbohydrates.

Ornella Guess 2016
Photo credit: @Lchf_italian

article modified from
Emanuela Di Pasqua
April 2019