The arrival of summer and longer days encourage to stop off at home and dine later, often taking breaks before dinner to enjoy a good aperitif.
This moment, if not well managed, can lead to the consumption of high-calorie foods and rich in sugars and frustrate the efforts made during the winter to try to keep informed.
It is always recommended to combine a little movement before or after moments of relaxation, then go to consume the aperitif by bike or with a long walk is already a good strategy. Also often taking advantage of the moment of relaxation I recommend to turn the aperitif into an aperitif (without eating too much) but avoiding to consume two meals . The aperitif can often provide the same kcal as a meal ( 600-700 kcal), because appetizers have a high caloric density and also alcoholic beverages are very rich in sugars .
The lighter drinks are definitely prosecco and white spritz, a glass of wine in general does not bring many kcal even if the reds are more alcoholic and more sugary .
They are much more sweetened Aperol or alcoholic drinks like Mojito that can bring the same energy as a slice of pizza. Alcohol-free aperitifs are often dangerous because they are based on concentrated fruit juices and even if without alcohol can provide 15 to 25 g of sugar per glass. Beware also of beer, whose consumption, as a fresh drink, often leads to consuming excessive quantities , so while not very alcoholic, drink 2-3 glasses raise significantly the level of blood sugar and alcohol.
There are two strategies to manage the aperitif well:
- Drink only one glass avoiding food and then go to dinner
- Drink a glass and combine protein-rich foods correctly and turn the aperitif into a light dinner.
The protein combination, in this case , slows down the increase of glycemic given by alcohol and even introducing a greater number of kcal we do less damage and we manage to turn our aperitif into a fairly balanced meal .
Some tips:
- Try not to drink more than one glass of alcoholic beverage ( or non-alcoholic mix), then combine water flavored with mint or lemon
- Always combine a protein food: e.g. grana cheese, mozzarella, omelette, raw ham or bresaola
- Do not overeat salty foods ( olives, chips, salted peanuts) will lead you to consume other drinks
- Green light to fresh vegetables pinzimonio , pickles
- If you prepare it at home, try to make avocado cream, humus, tzatziki and accompany with some fresh whole wheat bread a little toasted
- The most dangerous foods are pizzette, breadsticks, chips.
(Article by Dr Cristina Giusto, nutritionist biologist)
