Category Archives: Healthy eating

Digestive biscuits? Almost!

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Digestive biscuits are one of the most popular commercially-baked biscuit varieties in the UK. The name Digestive derives from its high content of baking soda as an aid to food digestion. Digestives are not overly sweet and here in Italy are often used in cheesecake preparations. I personally like their taste, but in the last few years I eliminated a lot of store bought products and started to prepare my own. I prefer to know what the ingredients are and where they’re coming from. Thus, I’ve started making my own digestive biscuits too.

I found this recipe in a site that I often visit for its healthy recipes and interesting posts, and thought they would have been ideal for my breakfast. The original recipe Sonia found used whole wheat flour, but she changed it to whole rye flour, which I also prefer. Oat bran adds a depth and a rustic consistency to the biscuits.
Digestives are not exactly the same as the store bought ones but close enough and I should add much healthier. I added a tiny bit more sugar and also a pinch of baking soda to give the biscuits that tingly sensation that is typical for them. Continue reading →

Quinoa with cream of leeks

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Few years back, as some of you already know, I decided to vary my diet introducing different cereals like millet, kamut, spelt, barley and quinoa to name few of them. Quinoa made quite an impression on me for its  organoleptic properties and nutritional value.

Quinoa is actually a pseudo-cereal, closely related to species like spinach and beets. It has been cultivated in the Andean highlands for nearly 6000 years. Considered sacred by the Incas it was called, chisaya mama, the mother of all grains. Nowadays the majority of quinoa is still imported from South America where it grows in poor soil, arid climates and high altitudes. There are over 100 species of quinoa, but only three main varieties are cultivated: the white or sweet variety, the red and black quinoa.

Quinoa is highly appreciated by vegetarians and vegans for its high content of proteins. It’s actually a complete protein, meaning that one can obtain all 9 essential amino acids from the grain. It’s also a good source of dietary fiber phosphorus and is high in iron and magnesium. Quinoa has more calcium than milk and its fat, mostly polyunsaturated, provides the essential fatty acids our body needs. Being gluten-free it’s an alternative for people with celiac disease. Continue reading →

Minestrone: food for the soul

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Minestrone is the Italian word for vegetable soup. Vegetables are cut in small pieces, and to make it tastier a soffritto is added. Soffritto is the base for a lot of Italian dishes. It consists of a small amount of vegetables, thinly chopped and saute in few spoons of olive oil or butter. The vegetables vary from recipe to recipe but the two classics are of onions, carrots and celery for dishes like the ragù alla bolognese, and butter and onions for risotto dishes.

I usually prefer to consume my vegetable soup pureed, and in this case it’s called passato di verdura (pureed vegetable soup). When I saw this recipe on Sale & Pepe Magazine (February 2010), I didn’t think twice and I made it right away. This dish is a complete meal and has all the nutrients you need. The quantity of vegetables and legumes is well balanced and neither of them has an overpowers the complete dish. Continue reading →

Hummus with crudités

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Hummus is a Middle Eastern specialty commonly served together with a variety of appetizers, dips, salads at the beginning of a festive meal and they are called mezze or meze.
The dip is now known worldwide and it’s eaten accompanied with fresh or toasted pita bread or fresh vegetables. It’s a great snack or appetizer even if I often eat it as a main course with fresh vegetables. It’s very healthy and tasty and I never tire of it.

The first time I ate it was about 12 years ago when a take out Syrian restaurant opened in Verona. It was a small family restaurant the first of its kind in the city. They made pita bread from scratch and all the dishes were well selected and lovingly prepared. Unfortunately the restaurant didn’t take off and after awhile they closed. I’m still dreaming about those dishes: kebabs with falafel balls, hummus or Baba Ghannoouj and other appetizers whose names I unfortunately don’t remember. They were particular to me because they used unusual ingredients like pomegranate juice to season the meat or a yogurt garlic sauce to add in the kebabs. I’m pretty sure that in Milan, Rome or in other larger Italian cities I could find the similar dishes, but then that is too far to go for lunch.  In the meantime I’ll try to make my own sometimes with success and sometimes not, and sooner or later I’m sure the restaurant I’m looking for will open again here in Verona. Continue reading →

Romanesco broccoli soup

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It’s been awhile since I posted but in these days I’ve been really busy running around, showing my niece and mother-in-law Verona and its surroundings, Venice, Bolzano and as many places as our schedule can fit in. I’m having so much fun and I’ll be publishing really soon some of our visits. We, as you can imagine also tasted various typical Italian dishes and being here during the carnival season made sweets one of the most popular choices. I needed a vegetable break and this soup was what I was craving. My relatives never tasted romanesco broccoli before so I thought it would be a good idea to prepare this creamy soup. Continue reading →

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