eight steps to start eating healthy

Fruits and vegetables. Also legumes, whether dried, frozen or canned. “There’s talk of fast food, but just as fast – and much healthier – is to make a good dish with some pot chickpeas,” says Oliver. Our shopping cart should include rice, whole wheat pasta, chicken (not sausages), fish, milk and eggs. Another basic element are the jars with tomatoes. Run away from the tomato sauce, no matter how much “home style” is written on the label. What you need to buy are boxes of tomatoes whose exclusive ingredient is tomato. We can fry it with a little extra virgin olive oil. In a few minutes we will have one delicious homemade sauce infinitely healthier than the prepared ones.

Chase away flavored yogurts. They have four sugar cubes for every 125 grams. “In the ultra-processed foods we see in the supermarket, sugar – Oliver recalls – can appear under many other names, such as glucose, dextrose, sucrose, agave syrup, maltose …” So, from now on, buy natural yogurts without added of sugar. If you don’t like acidity, a tip: “Add a little ground cinnamon, vanilla essence, crushed strawberries or ground walnuts. “Of course, no industrial pastries. No ready-made pizza (” buy the dough and make it at home, “advises the author) or bags of melted cheese mixes. What about sausages? “Yes, but occasionally, not several times a week. If processed meat – bacon, sausages, industrial burgers and blood sausages – is eaten regularly or if taken in large quantities, over time it can cause very serious diseases such as cancer. “, warns the book.

How many times have I heard that for a day when you eat sweets, nothing happens? And it’s true, but if – indeed – it was one day a year. The reality is that the festive calendar includes several school birthdays, family reunions, Halloween, Christmas Eve, Three Kings, Easter, city parties … “Your children need to know that these sweets must be something extremely punctual. And not just your kids, but the rest of the family, grandparents, for example, that takes a lot pedagogical work with the family “, highlights the author “¡Ñam!” Tip: Before your child goes to the birthday he or she was invited to, give him or her plenty of fruit before leaving home.

At this point, Oliver suggests returning to traditional menus. Instead of pate and sausage trays, choose a homemade hummus (chickpea paste, with a little garlic, lemon and sesame), a lentil pate seasoned with vegetables or some toast with extra virgin olive oil, paprika and salt. For a main course, how about a fried chicken with lemon and garlic or a vegetable curry with rice? And for dessert, combine the eternal trays of nougat and polvorones with another full of chopped fruit.

Run away from so-called soft drinks. They’re actually sugary drinks. “If you take them occasionally, fine. But you have a serious problem if you add them regularly to the table. The best thing is to never have them at home.”

Walnuts, almonds, chestnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios … They are rich in healthy fats, provides vitamins, minerals and proteins. One hand is recommended every day. Of course, raw or fried. And always without salt or sugar.

The best snack for your little ones (and for you) is fruit. But “Yes!” offers several options. To prepare a healthy sandwich you can make one peanut butter, beating them in a blender until you get a paste. Spread on whole wheat bread and add a few slices of banana. Another option is a oatmeal bar: mix rolled oats with milk, add fried apple and ground cinnamon and crushed walnuts. Put the mixture in the microwave for four minutes and let it cool. One last idea: white bean humus (beat the legumes with oil, lemon, salt, cumin and paprika) with carrot sticks. And another for those with a sweet tooth: homemade nocilla (hazelnuts, pure cocoa, milk and extra virgin olive oil).

No matter how handy you are in the kitchen, your children will almost always prefer industrial pastries to your homemade cakes. “It’s very difficult to compete,” says Oliver, a mother of two. To change bad habits, do not make sudden changes. Go slowly. And of course, never force or impose“.