Cheap, simple, fresh… and it could save your life! Aldo Zilli explains how you can make a med diet work for you
Aldo says Brits have a lot to learn from Italian eating habits
NOT only is a Mediterranean diet very savoury, new stats shows it can help to save your life.
Research has found patients with heart problems who ate a Med diet rather than lots of butter and meat were a third less likely to die early.
Eating high amounts of fish and fruit could even cure patients who are already very ill.
To give us all the benefit of this healthy lifestyle choice, we have enlisted the help of award-winning Italian chef Aldo Zilli to show us the way.
Aldo, 60, grew up in the Abruzzo region of Italy and says Brits have a lot to learn from the Italians’ eating habits.
HOW TO TAKE YOUR MEDS
YOU can make your diet more Mediterranean by:
Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables
Eating fish
Eating fewer portions of meat
Eating starchy, wholegrain foods, such as bread and cereals
Cooking with olive oil
He says: “The Mediterranean diet is so simple, anyone can do it.
“People think it’s expensive but it’s actually cheaper than ready meals and buying pre-made sauces — as the secret is cooking from scratch and in season.
“People don’t need to buy strawberries in December in this country.
“In the Med you shop locally and cook with things that are available in season, which means they taste nicer and keep your diet varied and healthy."
“When Brits think of a Med diet they think big plates of pasta covered in sauce and deep pan pizzas — this is the total opposite of what we eat.
“We eat small portions of pasta as starters or small amounts of a main course.
“We cook the pasta in a fresh sauce rather than pouring it all over afterwards — this keeps it fresh and healthy rather than overindulgent.”
And it’s not just the way we eat pasta that is different from Med locals.
He says: “Pizza is not seen as a main meal to be eaten by one person.
“In Italy we eat pizza to share, as a small snack.
“Mediterranean chefs cook thin crust pizzas made with the right dough. If you want to make it healthy, it’s all about the topping. In the UK I see the rubbish people pile on top of a pizza.
“People overload it with tuna and chicken and lots of cheese. If you want to eat it like an Italian you cook the thin base then add the toppings raw — like fresh tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella and extra virgin olive oil.”
MEAL PLAN 1
BREAKFAST Cereal with bran flakes and almond milk scattered with blueberries
LUNCH Small amount of fresh pasta with a veg sauce (tomato and chilli), shellfish and prawns with grilled veg – aubergine and courgette
SNACK Fennel, carrots and nuts
DINNER Baked sea bass with big bowl of salad and rice on the side. Roast the fish, stuffed with garlic and rosemary
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION 1164 cals, 78g protein, 35g fat, of which 6g sat fat, 143g carbs, of which 36g sugars from the veg (no added sugars), 19g fibre, 4.7g salt
AMANDA SAYS: This meal plan has plenty of protein for the day for both men and women and is especially lean on fats.
Some extra fruit will help boost fibre to get you closer to your 30g daily target.
Well, that means Domino’s BBQ Chicken Deep-Pan is firmly off the menu.
Aldo believes the key factor to a healthy diet is balance and says the Mediterranean way is to eat a lot of vegetables with meals.
He says: “Salads or vegetables are served with nearly every meal.
“We are big on grilling vegetables; courgettes, aubergines, beans and eat a lot of spinach. We use onion in salads and never smother them with creamy dressings, we drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
“The key is balance and moderation.”
This all makes sense, but is it easy to change a lifetime’s worth of habits?
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He says: “I grew up on a farm where we had everything fresh but only ate at meal times.
“Breakfast is not a big thing in the Med.
“We might have a poached egg with a small coffee or little pastry then that will last us through until our early lunch.
“Carbs are eaten at lunchtime, usually a small bowl of pasta with vegetables and snacks of fruit and nuts.
“Then the big meal of fish and vegetables is served in the evening.
“The thing is, we have a culture where bingeing — whether that is drinking or eating — is not a thing.
“Of course we enjoy a drink, but usually a glass of nice red wine with a meal — we rarely drink outside of meal times.
“Yes we enjoy a dessert, everyone has a sweet tooth, but these are usually sweetened fruit, fruit cakes or, on the odd occasion, things like tiramisu.
“I think the main differences are swapping butter for olive oil, red meat for fish, and cooking from scratch.
“I love my Mediterranean roots in cooking and would love to teach more people the joys of cooking fresh, healthy meals like I grew up eating — give it a go.”
MEAL PLAN 2
BREAKFAST Two boiled or poached eggs on a slice of brown ciabatta
LUNCH Grilled veal with a salad drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and new potatoes with mint, vinegar and olive oil
SNACK Different types of melon
DINNER Baby spatchcock chicken, grilled then roasted with salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary, served with roast shallot onions and cauliflower
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION 1011 cals, 98g protein, 31g fat of which 8g sat fat, 91g carbs, 32g sugars from the veg (no added sugars), 13g fibre, 2.7g salt
AMANDA SAYS: Many of us don’t get enough fibre so the breakfast with high fibre wholemeal ciabatta is a great start.
The salt level is particularly good, coming in at just under half the daily 6g maximum.
The research about the Med diet benefits, published by the NHS, showed patients with a history of heart attacks, strokes and blocked arteries were 37 per cent less likely to die over seven years if they ate the diet.
The research also found eating in this way could even be better than statins when it comes to preventing early death.
Giovanni de Gaetano, the senior author of the study, said: “So far research has focused on the general population, which is mainly composed of healthy people.
“What happens to people who have already suffered from cardiovascular disease? Is the Mediterranean diet optimal for them too?
“Yes.”