Italian cuisine and soup 

I'm what you call a "souper," defined as someone who will eat soup all year round, even on hot days. And for those of us who can be a bit last-minute (me!), a big pot of soup is the perfect answer to the pesky question, "what's for dinner?" 

A characteristic dish of Italian cuisine, the soup consists mostly of pasta or rice or vegetables, cooked in water or broth and variously seasoned. The soup is a single dish, whether it is a cold salad or a hot soup, it is always a practical solution for quick meals, especially when you have hectic pace of life or short breaks during smart working. For it to be healthy and nutritious, however, it must be well balanced. Waiting for the summer to bring fresh and colorful salads based on vegetables and summer vegetables back to the table, let's review the strengths of the undisputed queen of the table in the cold months: soup. 

Soup is a dish rich in water, and you know that after 45 the sense of thirst begins to diminish and therefore it is even more important to choose foods that are rich in it; it is a dish that can be complete and nutritious; You can prepare it by inserting proteins and vegetables and have a very tasty meal without excess salt, fat or sugar. In short, soup seems to be the best dish for mature age. And it is so: the important thing is to learn to prepare it wisely. Here are some tips to prepare a nutritionally balanced soup, but also tasty and practical especially if you need to cook it in advance and take it to work or consume it in the break from smart working (maybe too short to allow you to cook your dish at the moment). If you want your soup to be a valid single dish, you must include these nutrients in its preparation.

Moderate the intake of carbohydrates (so pasta, rice or other grains) and if you think you need to lose weight, contact a nutritionist to know exactly which portion is suitable for your caloric needs; prefer good fats (above all extra virgin olive oil); always ensure a portion of protein to support the maintenance of muscle mass that with advancing age is physiologically reduced to the advantage of fat; Add vegetables to taste, essential to ensure the right amount of fiber, precious to combat constipation (which could be a discomfort related to menopause) and to increase your sense of satiety. Chickpeas, beans, broad beans, chickling peas and lentils are an excellent source of vegetable proteins and, in addition, are rich in beneficial effects for the body. The only care you need to do in this case is if you suffer from colitis. The strength of legumes also lies in the fact that they are an extremely practical food: they simplify your life in the kitchen because you can make stocks to keep in the pantry (whether you choose the dried ones or the ready-made ones). So you can use them whenever you don't have time to go to the butcher or fishmonger and prepare meat or fish to add to your soup to ensure the necessary protein intake.

The extra tip: if you buy ready-made legumes in a jar, rinse them carefully under running water to eliminate the salt of which their storage water is rich.

The advantages of barley and spelt, if you do not know them yet, will amaze you: they are an excellent source of carbohydrates with a low glycemic index and, at the same time, are functional to the absorption of vegetable proteins of legumes. For this reason, prefer these grains to pasta or rice, which also have the disadvantage of not keeping cooking well if you are forced to cook your soup in advance. A soup based on spelt or barley, even if heated to the last during smart working, is even better. If you like couscous, then practicality is assured because it does not require cooking.

The seeds of pumpkin, flax, sunflower, sesame, chia, poppy – just to name a few – give an extra touch even to the most trivial of soups. In addition, the crunchy sensation makes chewing satisfying and helps the sense of satiety. The most important thing, however, is that they ensure you the right amount of zinc, selenium, magnesium, tryptophan (it is a precursor of serotonin), of which in this period you have an increased need. Even dried fruit (almonds, walnuts, cashews as long as they are always natural and without salt) is rich in important nutrients for your well-being such as omega 3, antioxidants (useful for slowing down the cellular aging process) and melatonin, important for regulating the sleep-wake cycle (which in this period could be altered by hormonal changes).

If you include the seeds or dried fruit in the soup you can reduce the amount of extra virgin olive oil so as not to exceed the amount of fat, although "good". In principle you can consider this proportion: a tablespoon of seeds or dried fruit is equivalent to a tablespoon of oil.

In winter a hot dish is always pleasant to taste, especially if brothed like a soup, which also has the advantage of increasing the intake of water in a tasty way for the palate. When boiling ingredients for your soup, however, remember to use plain water rather than ready-made broths or vegetable cubes to melt because they are both high in salt. In summer soup can be a fresh and refreshing dish.

Take advantage of seasonal vegetables to compose new soups

Savoy, cauliflower, broccoli, turnips, chicory, chard, fennel, artichokes: the vegetables of this period offer you a wide variety of ideas to create new dishes. Here are some ideas that, with a pinch of creativity, you can decline in several ways to compose many different soups:

Couscous is an excellent base for fish soups, especially molluscs and crustaceans. The combination of walnuts and feta is very tasty if combined with a cream of artichokes. Cooked fennel is more draining than raw so they are an excellent base for creating a soup, with the addition of carrots, potatoes (in this case do not insert other sources of carbohydrates) and meat (preferably white). The pumpkin and chickpea soup goes well with croutons (in this case no pasta, rice or other cereals) and toasted sesame seeds.

The abuse of salt, saturated fats and sugars can negatively affect general well-being. Also pay attention to the "hidden" salt in certain foods such as snacks, sausages and preserved foods. Excess sodium does not help at all to eliminate swelling and excess fluids that in this period could be a consequence of hormonal alterations. If you love to eat "tasty" better choose spices: curry, turmeric, cumin are an excellent alternative to the use of salt and in addition they are rich in beneficial properties.

Water: never without. For the reasons we have just listed, it is particularly important to restore your water balance and drink at least 2 liters of water a day to which, to ensure the right hydration without too much effort, you can add infusions and herbal teas that can be allies of your well-being. Certain medicinal plants, in fact, can help you drain excess fluids responsible for swollen legs in the evening but also to keep under control certain discomforts related to the period such as day and night sweats, sleep disorders and irritability. But pay attention to excess sugars: the ideal would be to drink infusions and bitter herbal teas.

Even the mood, which in this period can be a bit "dancer" due to some joke of your hormones, can benefit from certain small tricks that you can adopt at the table. Dried fruit (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts and cashews, as long as they are roasted naturally without added salt) and extra dark chocolate (in a percentage not less than 78%) are friends of your emotional well-being.