These foods have been linked to lower rates of cardiovascular disease, dementia, and even cancer
A leading nutritionist has revealed the “new five-a-day” we should all be eating. According to the expert, incorporating these foods into your routine ensures you are getting a healthy nutritionally balanced diet.
We are all well aware of the five-a-day campaign that encourages us to eat at least five fruit and vegetables every day. This Government-backed initiative was launched in 2003 and is still cited by health bodies such as the NHS when it comes to having a healthy diet.
While it is still important to eat as many fruits and vegetables a day as possible, a nutritionist has expanded on what we should be eating by sharing the “new five-a-day”. In a video shared to her Instagram, Dr Federica Amati – head nutritionist at Zoe Health – explained more.
She said: “I often get asked about what I eat as a nutritionist. I am not a chef so these are not recipes that are designed to be beautiful masterpieces but this is how I think about the principles of pulling a meal together.
“What I try to do is include the new five-a-day.” According to Dr Amati, this should include:
- Whole grains – such as quinoa, oats, and barley
- Fruits or vegetables
- Nuts and seeds
- Legumes – such as beans, peas, lentils, and chickpeas
- Healthy fats – such as extra virgin olive oil, and oily fish.
Her recommendation is in line with what is known as the Mediterranean diet, which is often considered to be the healthiest diet in the world. This diet prioritises plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains, alongside moderate amounts of lean proteins, fish, and low-fat dairy.
Olive oil is also a staple of the Mediterranean diet. Multiple scientific studies have looked into the health benefits of this diet, which include lowering the risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, obesity and even cancer.
In her video, Dr Amati shared a simple 10-minute recipe that incorporates all five of the food groups. To make this meal yourself you will need:
- Quinoa
- Nuts and seeds
- Sweetheart cabbage (or any leafy greens)
- Black beans (or any legumes)
- Tinned sardines (or any oily fish)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Spring onion
- Tomatoes
- A lemon or lemon juice
- Salt.
She started by adding half a cup of quinoa to some salted water in a pan on the stove. Next she chopped some sweetheart cabbage and added this to the water.
Dr Amati said: “I’m just going to take some leaves of a very simple, sweetheart cabbage. If you like kale, if you like cavolo nero, that’s great. Free chop this here.
“We can literally add it in with the quinoa and it will be tender by the time the quinoa is done.” She then opened a jar of black beans and added them to a bowl.
“This can be any bean or it can be chickpeas,” she clarified. However, she warned: “If you’re starting with beans, and you’re not used to them, stick to just one spoon for the first few days and then increase the amount as you get used to it.”
To the bowl she added some chopped spring onion and tomatoes, and then sprinkled some lemon juice on top. She also added some tinned sardines.
Dr Amati said: “I love using tinned fish because usually the smaller fish are more sustainable. They are delicious, they tend to be affordable and they didn’t require cooking.
“Of course, if you can get them in extra virgin olive oil, great. Otherwise, they often come in lemon and oil, or in tomatoes. Just be sure that they don’t have lots of added sugar to them when you check.”
By this point the cabbage had wilted and the quinoa was cooked. She drained this and added it to the rest of the bowl with a drizzle of olive oil.
She added: “You’ve got some greens, you’ve got lovely colours. A really delicious variety of polyphenols and proteins, healthy fats, fibres, and the finishing touch, always for me is a delicious drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.”
For “extra crunch” she sprinkled some sunflower and pumpkin seeds on top. “There you have it – an easy peasy under 10-minute, nutritionally balanced, and delicious lunch.”