Guide to a Healthy Diet
Many of you have asked "what I eat in a day" and what my "diet" is.
It’s so difficult to write down or explain what my diet is. It varies so much that I don’t really keep track of it.
Let’s talk instead about what I usually avoid. Of course you can indulge in something naughty every now and then but I never eat the same thing twice.
I've never had a problem with food or watching my figure because I’m a ballerina. I’m lucky from that point of view, although there has been a point on my life where I had been affected by other bad habits. After almost fainting in a rehearsals I very soon realised I had to change the way I ate food.
I hate diets and counting calories as I think it’s a waste of time but I love good food, I love the feeling of eating something made with passion. As an Italian I enjoy preparing my own meals, taking time to choose the right ingredients and adding them one by one to the pan. What comes out is always a great satisfaction.
I’ve learned to choose ingredients of the places where I live, organic and especially from local farms and IN SEASON. Never eat berries in winter!
I know many of you don’t have the time to “waste” in the kitchen (unless it’s to exercises with some of my videos 🙂) but you can always prepare an extra portion to take at work with you the next day. This way you will firstly know what you put in your body and secondly it will save you a lot of money.
I’m guilty too of eating out and not making those extra portions sometimes, but there are alternatives you can choose very easily
Get Rid of a few “Evils.”
First things first, if you want to start your healthy diet today you need to get rid of:
Fizzy Drinks
Bad Sugars (cookies, ice cream, chocolate, white sugar)
Gluten (pasta, pizza, white flour)
Processed foods
Dairy
Alcohol (ok, ok I can allow you a couple of glasses of red wine a week or a pint of beer…no more than that)
There are great alternatives to Feel Full and Energised:
Drink Plenty of water!!!! Water with cucumber/lemon/Mint
Free-from foods
In Season Fruits & Veggies
Seeds
Quinoa, Barley
Gluten free pasta
Herbal teas
As vegetarian I have plenty of choices, you just need to open the fridge and have a bit of imagination
Getting rid of the bad habits is the first step to a better more energised you. You might feel this is impossible but after only three days of detox your body will be clean and your mind more active and clear. These are small steps but a great value for a healthier body, mind and life.
In this video, Mirko Lausi, a chef and soon to be nutritionist, will explain in detail the dos and don’ts to achieve a heathy body and mind. I highly suggest you follow him and if you have any questions to ask him feel free to contact him on his social media! We are both here to give you a hand to achieve your goal! 🙂
He’ll then show you how to prepare a couple of succulent recipes. You can still have pancakes, but what a fantastic alternative for pancakes!
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Let's get Cooking! Here two Great Vegan Recipes
How to Prepare a Veganyasa
Ingredients:
1 Sweet Potato
1 Slice of Gluten Free Bread
1 Slice of Tempeh or Tofu sprinkled with cajun spice
1 Small Red Onion
100gr mushrooms any type
Spring of Thyme
Pesto Sauce
Pepper
Salt
Olive Oil
Slice your sweet potato about half inch thick season with salt, pepper and some oil cook, in the oven at 355F/180C for half an hour to 45 minutes depending on how you like it done.
Boil your onion in abundant hot water for half an hour, cool down in cold water then peel, cut in half and season it with salt oil and pepper, keep aside.
Slice your tempeh and mushroom, season cook them in a non stick pan on low heat all together with the onion till they all get a nice golden (some ingredients may cook quicker just take them out and keep the rest in the pan).
Add the spring of thyme at the end and keep aside. To let thyme release flavour, cover with a lid.
For your pesto sauce you need 50gr basil, 50gr coriander, 10gr pumpkin seeds. Put all the ingredients in really hot water for 15 seconds then strain and cool down really quickly in cold water.
In a blender put 150gr vegetable oil, a small piece of garlic, salt, pepper, your basil, coriander and seeds properly dried from most of the water, all together in the blender. Blend at high speed for a couple of minutes till a deep green colour starts appearing, turn off the blender.
Have fun creating your own dish presentation.
GLUTEN FREE BREAD
Ingredients:
300gr warm water
2 1/2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
30gr any sugar
Whisk all ingredients well, then add
450gr gluten free flour
25gr sultanas
25gr pumpkin seeds
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
Mix everything well with a wooden spoon, brush a 500gr tin loaf with oil and flour it as well, pour the mixture in, let it proof for 30-45 minutes, cook in the oven at 355F/180C for 40 minutes, cool down on a resting tray, slice with a bread knife and toast.
HAVE FUN! 🙂
CHIA BUCKWHEAT PANCAKES
Makes 9-10 single pancakes
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons Chia Seed
6 tablespoons warm water
200gr/7oz apple puree
3 tablespoons desiccated coconut
400gr/14.1oz coconut milk
200gr/7oz buckwheat flour
3 teaspoons gluten free organic baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
Hazelnuts
Maple Syrup
Mix Chia Seed and warm water. Whisk and let sit for a minute till jelly forms,
Add all the rest of the ingredients, mix with the back of a wooden spoon throughly, making sure not to over mix leaving the batter almost lumpy.
Grab a small ladle, using a non stick pan on medium heat (make sure your pan is hot before pouring the batter). Pour an almost full ladle of batter right on the same spot. It will spread itself in a round shape. While cooking it will get bigger and rise, so don’t worry too much about the initial size of your pancakes. On the other hand make sure you don’t pour too much or you will end up with a full size cake.
Keep cooking on medium to low heat (2-3mins) till the sides of your pancakes get dry, that’s just about the time to flip them carefully as the top of it will still be runny enough to drip off.
Cook the other side as well (1min) when they feel firm to the touch, it’s time to remove them from the pan quickly. You don’t want your pancakes to be dry. It's better they're 30seconds less on the heat than more.
VEGAN CUSTARD CREAM
Ingredients:
50gr coconut milk
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon vanilla essence
30gr potato starch
Mix the above ingredients well in bowl, then put aside.
450gr coconut milk
60gr maple syrup or any sugar
1 orange zest finely grated
In a saucepan bring to a simmer/boil, the add the mixture you set aside and cook for 2 minutes till it thickens. Stir constantly with a spatula, while making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
POACHED PEAR
Ingredients:
500gr red wine
100gr brown sugar
3-4 star anice
1 cinnamon stick
Peel your pears whole, cut them in half and immerse them in the poaching liquid (all the above ingredients can be added at the same time in a sauce pan) making sure they don’t surface too much. On low heat bring to a boil and cook for about 25-30min, moving the pears every so often to make sure they cook evenly. When a knife can be easily inserted in them without pressure, remove them from the heat and let cool down in the same sauce pan.
When storing in a container, leave the pears soaking in the liquid, they will keep a very deep red colour.