Mediterranean Cuisine - Colonial Med Restaurant
Cardápio Spa Mediterrâneo
Maria Carolina Pedrosa R. D.
Nutritionist CRN-315890
At the Colonial Med Restaurant, you will savor tasty, healthy dishes from the Mediterranean cuisine.
There is a menu selection specially designed for expectant mothers. If this is your case, please, at the time of the reservation, inform us about your birth date, pre-pregnancy weight, and current height and weight to allow us to choose the most adequate diet plan for you.
The Mediterranean diet is based in healthy and varied consumption of functional foods, claimed to have a health-promoting and disease-preventing properties, such as lowering the risk of cardiovascular diseases and many types of cancer.
Some of the guidelines of the Mediterranean diet are:
Eat a large selection of fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts.
Substitute olive oil for others fats: add one dessert spoon of olive oil to low calorie dishes to add some flavor.
Prefer fish. The consumption of red meat should be limited to three meals a week.
The main source of protein should come from poultry, fish and lean meat.
Choose preferably low fat dairy items (cheese and yogurt).
Drink one glass (150 ml.) of red wine during dinner, if desired. It equals to 90cal.
Fruits, vegetables and greens as base ingredients of juices for breakfast or for snack – they are packed in fibers and antioxidants (such as beta-carotene, lycopene, vitamins E and C) that can prevent diseases (e.g. cancer) and help lower ‘bad’ cholesterol level (LDL).
Grains (rice, breads, pasta): served always in small portions, give energy for the body; prefer whole grains, which are packed with fibers, Complex B vitamins, vitamin E and Selenium.
Beans (lentil, bean, chickpea …): are an excellent source of vegetable protein and fibers. Regular fiber intake enhances proper bowel movements, and also may lower ‘bad’ cholesterol level (LDL) and prevent colon cancer and coronary heart diseases.
Nuts (hazelnut, almonds, nut …): are rich in poly and mono unsaturated fat acids, which help to prevent high levels of LDL cholesterol. They also contain antioxidants, which are believed to fight cellular aging, and to help prevent certain types of cancer. Nevertheless, despite its numerous advantages, they have to be consumed in small portions, for they are too caloric.
Olive oil: rich in antioxidants and mono unsaturated fat acids, which stimulate the production of the “good” cholesterol (HDL), beneficial to the heart. The diet recommends one (01) dessert spoon of raw olive oil, as finishing or for seasoning salads. And since it’s a type of fat, it has a high caloric value, and should be avoided in large quantities.
Non-fat yogurt: an excellent source of calcium that also contains live and active bacteria. Calcium contributes for the prevention of osteoporosis, while live bacteria can build up the intestinal flora, by combating the pathogenic microorganisms present in the intestine.
Fish: rich in fat acid Omega 3, which prevent the development of diseases such as: hypertension, coronary heart diseases, atherosclerosis and cancer.
Red wine: because of the presence of high contents of flavonoids (antioxidants), it may prevent artery clogging, therefore reducing the risk of heart diseases. The weigh loss program allows one glass (150 ml.) of red wine during dinner, which equals to 90 cal. The excessive alcohol consumption may be a risk factor for your health.
All of these ingredients are available at the Colonial Med Restaurant’s menus, so that you may adopt the Mediterranean diet, making the most of the flavor, with fewer calories and plenty of health benefits.
To help you with your weight maintenance at home, we also offer a diet kit composed with 30 meals, for a two week program (lunch and dinner). Ask for information.
