Cereals, Legumes and Condiments - On a Diet Spending Little

Spend little on cereals, derivatives and tubers

A whole treaty could be written about this category of food. The healthiness of the (foreign) raw materials used by the most famous manufacturers of dry food pasta has recently been questioned.

Personally I doubt that these can cause damage to human health but, on the other hand, there is also a moral aspect to be taken into account. There is not much to do for dry pasta; the choice is limited and you have to rely on the labels. For wheat flours, on the other hand, some lucky ones have the opportunity to rely on mills with a short supply chain; certainly this is not a convenient solution (and sometimes not even economically advantageous), but the certainty of consuming a product that respects the Italian regulations and far from radioactive contamination could be worth the waste of a few euro cents. The same goes for whole grains of any other cereal.
Bread is a very high consumption product. Recently there has been a real turnaround; while in the past almost no one produced it independently, today (due to the very high costs) it tends to be packaged at home. This too is a product that deserves to be kept in the freezer because, as you know, once the oven is turned on (remember that it is an appliance with disproportionate consumption) it would be better to cook as much food as possible! It is therefore logical to deduce that bread must be kneaded in large quantities and, to prevent it from deteriorating, it is necessary to freeze it already portioned in slices of 25-30g l "one. To learn how to cook a good homemade bread, consult Alice's video-recipe book, for example the Pumpkin Bread.

 

Some Video Recipes for homemade bread

 

Bread with Potatoes and Rosemary Rye bread and Yogurt White bread Protein bread Soybean Bread Pita or Arabic Bread

 

For potatoes, in Italy we can't complain. Often, we waste time looking for the cheapest food on the market or supermarket stalls, when it comes to tubers that have a large number of varieties (early and late), easily cultivable and available in any patch of land on the peninsula. A not far from home, everyone can buy homegrown potatoes for about 1 euro per kilo. D "on the other hand, once you have bought a crate of potatoes, if well preserved they can boast a shelf-life of one or two months (average value) . You will certainly come to a time when the tubers will begin to sprout. At this point it will be necessary: ​​peel them, cut them, blanch them in boiling water and freeze them. Here are our potatoes available for any type of preparation and can be stored for many months. NB. Remember that the cooking water of potatoes, like that of vegetables, can be useful for other purposes.

Spend little on legumes

What a delight and what cheap! Legumes have long been considered the "meat of the poor"; in fact, if associated with cereals, they can provide proteins with a high biological value, allowing the consumption of foods of animal origin to be moderated (to the benefit of cholesterolemia). The low glycemic index, fiber and mineral salts also contribute to their constant presence in slimming diets. But are all legumes the same? Certainly not! Cooked and preserved ones are the least advisable form to buy. Instead, dried legumes (to be rehydrated at home) are the ideal solution because they are: cheap, nutritious and without added salt.

Find out how to cook legumes "

In our country we enjoy a very high possibility of choice; therefore avoid the pre-packaged mixed salads and serve yourself in the trays of the supermarket. 3 or 4 euros will be enough to cover the whole month (variable according to the portions and the frequency of consumption). Even the fresh ones, in the reference season, represent an "excellent alternative but, no one knows for what reason, they always have a higher cost. Eventually, as in the past, you could buy a large basket of fresh legumes still in the pod ( beans, peas, etc.); at home, with the help of the whole family, shell them all and freeze them (raw or cooked). Personally I consider it a "secondary option" to the purchase of dry ones as the freezer could already be quite full of meat and fish (see paragraphs above) Dried legumes, on the other hand, remain fully preserved even inside the kitchen cabinets (together with pasta and flour).

Spend little on fats and seasoning oils

Better to cut off the bull's head right away. Extra virgin olive oil is one of the healthiest condiments (presence of omega-‰ 9 fatty acids useful against dyslipidemia), more suitable for cooking (thermal stability), more suitable for conservation (in oil) and above all GOOD . Other types of oil are also conquering the market; especially the cheaper ones for frying (see hydrogenated and bifractionated) or those rich in alpha-linolenic acid (omega-‰ 3 in soybean, linseed, walnut, kiwi oil , grape seeds, etc.). The latter do not always have an affordable price and, given that we can take omega-‰ 3 in an even more active form in blue fish, why give up the typical Italian extra virgin olive oil? 100% production made with community olives, and not only BOTTLED in Europe. The difference would seem minimal but it is not. Moreover, in many areas of Italy extra virgin olive oil is produced. Once again it is possible to buy a product typical at a reduced price, it is understandable that this can in no way compete with that of oils from abroad. The choice of one or the other depends once again on trust in the control institutions for food safety.
Better not to mention cream, butter and lard; these are predominantly saturated fatty foods that should not even be included in a low-calorie diet or aimed at maintaining health.

Other articles on "Cereals, Legumes and Condiments - A Diet on a Budget"

1. Fish, Eggs and Cheese - A Diet on a Budget
2. On a diet on a budget
3. Meat - on a diet on a budget
4. Vegetables and Fruits - On a Diet Spending Little

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