Tag Archive for: healthy snacks

Blueberry Bowl for a perfect breakfast

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Since many of you often ask me where I get my energy from, I’m revealing one of my daily habits: my Blueberry Bowl, a colourful and energizing way to start the day.

I’m sharing this habit with you because the colour of the month, which I explore together with nutrition coach Bianca Balzarini, is blue—the same vibrant hue as two of the main ingredients in this bowl: blueberries and spirulina. In the world of food, blue is a rare shade, but it’s as fascinating as it is full of benefits.

The blue-violet colour of blueberries comes from their high content of anthocyanins, which help fight oxidative stress and protect cells from damage caused by free radicals. These little vitamin-rich fruits are low in calories and offer more than 3 grams of fibre per 100 grams, making them a low glycaemic index food.

Spirulina is a green-blue superfood with extraordinary properties. It’s a freshwater microalga made up of 60–70% high-quality protein that includes all essential amino acids. It’s rich in vitamins and minerals, a powerful antioxidant, and thanks to this exceptional nutritional profile, some studies suggest it may support metabolism and cardiovascular health.

Perfect for breakfast or as a functional snack, this bowl is packed with macro- and micronutrients. In addition to the benefits of blueberries and spirulina, it also provides protein from Greek yogurt, natural sugars from fruit, fibre, and healthy fats from seeds and nuts. All ingredients are naturally gluten-free, and the balance of carbohydrates, protein, and fibre makes this bowl an ideal choice for people with type 1 diabetes too.

What are you waiting for? Enjoy your breakfast!

Ilaria-bertinelli-bowl-ai-mirtilli

Blueberry Bowl

10.12g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 4 bowls

  • 300g fat-free Greek yoghurt
  • 150g banana
  • 125g blueberries
  • 3 dates
  • 1 level teaspoon of spirulina
  • 1 kiwi
  • suflower seeds
  • pumpkin seeds
  • goji berries
  • walnuts

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on  Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

  1. Blend the yogurt with the banana, half of the blueberries, the pitted dates, and the spirulina until smooth.
  2. Divide the mixture between 4 bowls and top each with: 2 teaspoons sunflower seeds, 2 teaspoons goji berries, the kernels of 2 walnuts, 1 teaspoon pumpkin seeds, a few cubes of kiwi, and the remaining blueberries. Enjoy as breakfast or a snack.

Ilaria-bertinelli-bowl-ai-mirtilli

 

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Eggplant patties with yoghurt sauce

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Patties and meatballs are always a guarantee of success, so I’m constantly seeking alternative ingredients to meat to make some tasty, quick and easy ones: find out how to prepare Eggplant patties with yoghurt sauce.
The inspiration for this recipe is a dish prepared by some Sicilian friends where I modified some steps and ingredients to make my patties as light as possible so that they can be suitable for frequent consumption. Since they are vegetable-based and I didn’t want to add egg, you will struggle a bit to give them a regular shape, but don’t worry too much about their aesthetics because the taste will overshadow it.
I wanted to propose a yoghurt sauce to accompany the patties so that you can also serve them as an appetiser or aperitif, but served with a vegetable side dish they will also be perfect as a main course.
And if you love meatballs, have fun browsing the session Meatballs and Patties of the blog.

Eggplant patties with yoghurt sauce

carbohydrates 13.5g per 100g of patties without sauce

Ingredients for the patties

  • 650g eggplant
  • 150g cherry tomatoes
  • 40 g breadcrumbs** plus breadcrumbs for breading
  • 35g almonds
  • 30g celery
  • 1 tablespoon desalted capers
  • chopped cumin, coriander and green pepper to taste
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • salt and pepper

Ingredients for the sauce

  • 200g fat free Greek yoghurt
  • 40g soy milk*
  • 10g seed oil
  • 1 heaped teaspoon of pistachio paste
  • salt and pepper

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

  1. Dice the eggplants, sprinkle them with salt and place them in a colander to draw out moisture for about 30 minutes.
  2. Remove the moisture from the eggplants with paper towels, then put them in a wok with a little oil. Wilt them over high heat, stirring frequently, and add the halved cherry tomatoes, continuing to stir occasionally until the eggplants are cooked.
  3. Blend the almonds to a flour, then add the chopped celery, desalted capers, eggplants and cherry tomatoes in the blender and blend until smooth; thicken by adding the breadcrumbs, season with salt, pepper and chopped spices to taste.
  4. Form patties with a teaspoon and coat them with breadcrumbs, then place on a baking tray covered with parchment paper, drizzle with a little oil and bake in a convection oven preheated to 200°C until golden brown.
  5. Meanwhile, prepare the yoghurt sauce by mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl.
  6. Serve the patties with the yoghurt sauce as an appetiser or with a vegetable side dish as a main course.

Polpette-di-melanzane

Version with gluten of Eggplant patties with yoghurt sauce

Replace gluten-free breadcrumbs with standard breadcrumbs, no other adaptation is needed.

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