Healthy January 0.4

Herbal tea

This time we made a hot drink, an herbal tea that combines those plants that remind us of Italy and that also have healthy properties for our body such as promoting detoxification.

Nettle is native to all Europe — Urtica dioica, called ortica in Italian, is an herb with amazing properties! First of all, nettle leaves are extremely nourishing and a great source of iron and antioxidants, which has little to do with detox, but it’s something we —especially us ladies— should always remember! Nettle is also mildly diuretic which means that it can support the urinary tract and stimulate water retention. It can also work as an antihistamine, helping with allergic responses.
Another amazing herb that comes from Souther Europe and is largely used in Italian cuisine is liquorice. This herb can promote detoxification in the cells, help getting rid of the mucus after a chest infection, improve elimination with its mild laxative effect.
In the mix Giulia and I also put fennel seeds, diuretic and soothing for the gut, and anise with its antimicrobial and anti-oxidative properties.


https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11056414/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27141606/
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0944711318305555

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Detox tea per 500ml water
3 g dried nettle leaf tea
3 g dried liquorice root
3 g fennel seeds
2-3 anise seeds

Citrusy drink

This is our new recipes for the festive season. We all know that both Christmas and NYE involve drinking and eating in large quantities. So I asked Giulia if it is right to break the rules sometimes. “Of course I know that, as a nutritionist, I shouldn’t recommend to drink alcohol…but this cocktail has vitamin C in it!” she said jokingly.
”To be honest with you, the rational I use for sugar is the same I use for alcohol – cheat foods are non-healthy foods that becomes “healthy” on an emotional level, therefore if drinking a glass of wine once in a while makes you happy… DO IT!”

The topic of alcohol consumption is quite interesting and debated. Professor Tim Spector in his latest book “ Spoon-Fed” dedicates a chapter to alcohol. His research actually revealed that drinking a small glass of alcohol a day may not be as harmful as we think, but at the contrary, it might have some benefits for the body.

Remarkably many of the centenarians in the mountains of Sardinia drink a glass of red wine a day with meals.

This drink has been suggested to us by our mixologist friend Alessandro Viscardi who combined and slightly changed the French 75 and the Breakfast Martini recipes. The result is a delicate sweet & sour cocktail with a vibrant colour.

INGREDIENTS
30 ml gin
20 ml fresh lemon juice
10 g clementine jam
Top with Prosecco

INSTRUCTIONS

In a shaker pour the gin, lemon juice and jam and shake it!

Sometimes the jam has some stringy bits, so it is best to strain it before pour the liquid into a flute.

Top it up with Prosecco.