eight steps to a healthy diet

Fruit and vegetables. Also legumes, dried, frozen or canned. “It is fast food, but just as quickly – and much healthier – it is to make a good dish with some chickpeas from the jar,” says Oliver. Our shopping cart should include rice, whole grain pasta, chicken (no cold cuts), fish, milk and eggs. Another staple is tomato jars. Run away from tomato sauce, no matter how often the label says ‘house style’. What you should buy are cans of tomato whose exclusive ingredient is tomato. We can bake it with a little extra virgin olive oil. We’ll have one in a few minutes delicious homemade sauce infinitely healthier than those who are prepared.

Banish it flavored yogurt. They have four sugar cubes for every 125 grams. “In the ultra-processed foods we see in the supermarket, sugar can – Oliver recalls – come under many other names, such as glucose, dextrose, sucrose, agave syrup, maltose …” So from now on, buy natural yogurt with no added sugar. If you don’t like the acidity, a tip: “Add a little ground cinnamon, vanilla extract, crushed strawberries or ground nuts. Not industrial pastries, of course. Nor ready-made pizzas (“buy the dough and make it yourself,” advises the author) or bags of melting cheese mixes. How about the sausage? “Yes, but occasionally, not several times a week. If deli meats – bacon, sausage, industrial burgers and black pudding – are eaten regularly or taken in large quantities, they can cause very serious illness over time, like cancer, ”the book warns.

How many times have we heard that during a day when you eat sweets, nothing happens? And it’s true, but if – really – it was one day a year. The reality is that the party calendar includes multiple school birthdays, family reunions, Halloween, Christmas Eve, Three Kings, Easter, the city holidays … “Your kids need to know that these candies have to 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 “, the author of ‘¡Ñam!’ One tip: Before your child goes to the birthday they are invited to, offer them plenty of fruit before leaving the house.

On these dates, Oliver suggests returning to traditional menus. Instead of the typical pate and sausage bowls, opt for a homemade hummus (chickpea paste, with a little garlic, lemon and sesame), a vegetable spiced lentil pie or some toast with extra virgin olive oil, paprika and salt. How about a roast chicken with lemon and garlic or a vegetable curry with rice as a main course? And for dessert, combine the eternal bowls of nougat and polvorones with another full-cut fruit.

Run away from so-called soft drinks. They are actually sugary drinks. “If you take them now and then, okay. But you have a serious problem if you put them on the table regularly. It’s best never to have them at home.

Walnuts, almonds, chestnuts, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios … They are rich in healthy fats, provide vitamins, minerals and proteins. A handful are recommended every day. Natural, raw or roasted. And always without salt or sugar.

The best snack for your little ones (and for you) is fruit. But ‘Yum!’ offers more possibilities. To prepare a healthy sandwich you can use a peanut butter, beat them in the blender until you get a paste. Divide it over wholemeal bread and add a few banana slices. Another option is one oatmeal bar: mix oatmeal with milk, add a roasted apple and ground cinnamon and crushed nuts. Place the mixture in the microwave for four minutes and let it cool. One last idea: white bean hummus (beat the legumes with oil, lemon, salt, cumin and paprika) with carrots. And one more for those with a sweet tooth: homemade nocilla (hazelnuts, dark cocoa, milk and extra virgin olive oil).

No matter how many hands you have in the kitchen, your kids will almost always prefer industrial pastries to your homemade cakes. “It’s very difficult to compete,” admits Oliver, a mother of two. Parents should set an example, because in the long run, those healthy habits will permeate the kids. Don’t make sudden changes to change bad habits. Go little by little. And of course, never force or impose“.