Hot summer, little inclination to cook, need to go home every now and then to feed and rest. It will be up to take a trip to the supermarket and tackle the shelves. Some ideas to follow.
1. Fruit e vegetables in first place. At least five servings a day, seven even better second recent studies, for a healthy diet. Natural vitamins, antioxidants, fibers and more. Biological it is preferred, to avoid residues of pesticides such as glyphosate and other chemicals. Oil extra virgin olive, preferably Italian, and a handful of seeds (such as flax, sunflower, sesame, pumpkin, hemp) to dress the salad, a little nuts with shell to accompany the fresh one, and cheers!
2. Protein, with variety and without exaggerating. Putting aside the false myths of hyper-protein diets, it is better to supplement the intake of amino acids by alternating protein sources. Green light therefore to free-range eggs, perhaps hard-boiled, tuna and mackerel in oil, strictly from sustainable fishing, the mortadella of only Italian pork, etc. For vegans, the mix of cereals and vegetable, such as seitan (wheat) and tofu (soja), rice and chickpeas in salads.
3. Cereals and therefore carbohydrates, the primary energy resource in Mediterranean diet. For the body and a good mood. But the mere thought of boiling water takes away the idea of pasta or rice. Let's look at then bread and flours. The offer is wide, let's try to orient ourselves by looking at the label, the identity card of food products:
- Whole grain bread or 'with wholemeal flour'? Whole grains are to be preferred, due to their natural richness in fiber - soluble and insoluble - and the germ, which is found at a high price in some supplements. But you have to check that the bread is 100% wholemeal and that it really is. This is not the case when refined flours (type 0 and 00), and perhaps even bran, appear on the list of ingredients. In the latter case it is not a question of a true 'integral' but rather of a 'dis-integrated' and 'reconstituted', which is quite different.
- Unrefined, multi-grain flours. Type 1 and type 2 flours are subject to a coarser grinding, a valid compromise between 'fine powders' (such as very fine 00) and wholemeal. The cereals vary, from the superlative Apulian durum wheat to the more modest soft wheat, up to the ancient spelled and the fashionable khorasan (Kamut TM). Sometimes buckwheat, oats, barley, rye are added, useful for expanding the wealth of micro-nutrients, but rarely able to justify stellar prices.
- 'Gluten-free'. When we see rice and corn flours, it is easy to come across terms of the 'gluten-free' type, often with the symbol of the crossed ear. Following a strictly gluten-free diet is the only cure available for celiac patients, who must therefore be very careful when shopping, and especially when dining outside the home. But for healthy individuals, 'gluten-free' is nonsense. Taking into account that gluten, the characteristic protein of wheat, is precious for nutrition and sustainable for the environment. Furthermore, the glycemic index of cereals that lack it is higher.
- Palm oil, No thank you. If the excess of completely avoidable saturated fats were not enough, the palm tree has proved itself be carcinogenic and genotoxic, word of Efsa (European Food Safety Authority. And that's it, the products that contain it must be left on the shelf, waiting for even the most lazy and recalcitrant industries to replace the poor tropical oil with those belonging to our own. culture Food safety, sustainability and quality.
- Sourdough, sourdough? A suggestive but substantially meaningless wording. The 'mother' is nothing more than the residue of the previous dough, left to ferment and reused in the next dough to activate the leavening. Instead of the traditional brewer's yeast, to which some urban legends without any scientific support attribute undesirable effects.
- Without additives / preservatives / GMOs. The preservatives can be replaced by the treatment of long-life bread with a minimum percentage (<2%) of ethyl alcohol, which tends to disappear completely a few minutes after opening the package. The use of food additives is therefore not essential even on the softest breads, even if they are destined to last a few months. The absence of GMOs is taken for granted everywhere, since if this were not the case, GMOs should be marked in the ingredients list.
Dario Dongo
