What do we want from summer nutrition?
The key points are: lightness, hydration, freshness and flavor! Let us never forget that the word diet does not mean punishment, elimination and suffering, but rather, balance, respect, well-being. Even summer therefore calls its diet, essential nutrients for the body, such as vitamins, minerals, enzymes and fibers, an organism that needs to refresh and regenerate in a lively and tasty way, never coercive! So, generally speaking, considering the day, there are two portions of fruit, three of vegetables, three cereals and one of protein of your choice!
Fruit and vegetables, go ahead!
At the start the summer salads made with carrots, chicory, onions, green beans, endive, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, red radicchio, radishes, rocket, celery and valerian. Ideal for both lunch and dinner, when, in the evening, carbohydrate consumption should be reduced to a minimum. The salads are special if accompanied by seitan, fresh cheese, eggs, seasoned with vinaigrette enriched with seeds and dried fruit: sesame seeds, melon seeds, pumpkin seeds, walnuts, pine nuts, almonds. Wide among the vegetables also with courgettes and aubergines. Stuffed eggplants are a light and tasty passepartout, ideal for any diet, even simply accompanied by white basmati rice. The marinated raw courgettes, cut into very thin slices with the help of a potato peeler and seasoned with a little oil, salt, pepper and lemon can become a perfect second, if accompanied by flakes of your favorite cheese. The oil is strictly extra virgin olive oil, preferably cold pressed, never more than five tablespoons a day. If you really desire cooked vegetables, it is better to prefer short cooking such as steaming.
Properties, nutritional values and calories of zucchini
Diet-friendly spices
We must not forget to grow precious herbs and spices in the garden or on the balcony, fantastic allies to gather to enrich the summer diet. Not only do they enhance the taste of foods, but they also reduce the dose of salt in our dishes . So go ahead for aromatic herbs, such as basil, rosemary, sage, thyme, fresh parsley and mint : they give flavor to dishes, stimulate metabolism and help burn fat.
And the fruit ally!
Summer is time for strawberries, cherries and then go ahead with apricots, peaches, plums, watermelon: the fruit of summer enriches the table with every meal! If there are three portions for vegetables, they should be at least two per day for fruit. Fruit can also be included in our diet in the form of sorbets, smoothies, fruit salads, in yoghurt or cakes. For breakfast, remember that homemade cakes, with yoghurt and fruit in fact, are much lighter, easier to digest and often provide less calories than packaged products!
Without the cereals the pounds do not fall
Cereal is not synonymous with swelling and heaviness, indeed. Cereals include some foods that are friends of the diet; we speak for example of barley, which has diuretic and refreshing properties, promotes the elimination of excess liquids and helps to combat cellulite . The consumption of pasta and rice is also ideal at midday, to be preferred in integral versions. About three portions of cereal per day, including for example the breakfast flakes, is the right amount.
And it also takes a little cunning in the kitchen!
Are you so hungry but don't want to get heavy? Eat an apple before the meal, you will just have to satiate that spasmodic search for food! Do you fancy something substantial for dinner? A beautiful quinoa salad, which is not a cereal, will satisfy you without swelling; add fresh mint, freshly sautéed courgettes, parsley, basil, cherry tomatoes and ginger. Be careful not to abuse too elaborate snacks and snacks, they are often the ones who cheat the line: hunger is also calmed by sipping a good hot green tea, a spicy black tea or a deflated herbal tea made from fennel and cumin.
