Campodimele was a really fun place to discover fact about because it is really interesting to know what makes this small town to important and so healthy. Local products are the main focus here as well as fresh air.
Life span of 95 years
- Campodimele is a small village that is in between Rome and Naples, this Italian town is also called the “Village of Eternity.”
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“Campodimele is a classic Italian rural idyll. It’s a village that is about 1,000 years old and situated on a mountain top in the middle of the Aurunci Mountains. It’s about 25 km (15 miles) from the Tyrrhenian Sea coast.”
- Pure mountain air
- It’s residents can live to 95 years.
- wild asparagus, ripe figs, local pasta.
- Festival of the “cicerchie” – It’s a small bean that look like a squashed chickpea. It has a sweet and musty taste, its local of Campodimele.
- Festival of “laine e fagioli” – “Laine is pasta ribbons made out of just flour and water. There are stalls laid out in the village, and you can see the ladies rolling the pasta and cutting it into ribbons. Then it’s served up to the public with sort of a tomato sauce laced with beans and onions.”
- They have food festivals, it is common to eat spaghetti with ricotta sauce.
- They don’t use the word “organic” because its just obvious there.
- Locally grown fruits and vegetables.
- Goat and wild boar is hunted locally.
- They use a lot of olive oil.
What do they eat?
- They grow Mediterranean vegetable like “artichokes, shallots, salad greens, arugula, porcini mushrooms, root vegetables, spinach, shallots, garlic and tomatoes. Their vegetables are fertilized with nutrient-rich manure and are perfectly delicious simply boiled for a short time and eaten as they are.
- “Sometimes drink the water vegetables have been cooked in, thus getting all the minerals which leach into water during cooking.”
- They use herbs like basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme.
- Fresh fruit.
- They eat and make their own fresh pasta called laina, “from whole wheat flour, and their own whole wheat bread which they dunk in extra virgin olive oil.”
- “They make their own extra virgin oil, cloudy, green and rich in flavor.”
- They “use fagioli beans and a small locally-made bean variety called cicerchie in soups, stews and pasta dishes.”
- “A local specialty is laine e cicerchie – home made pasta with cicerchie beans cooked in tomatoes, onion and garlic and served with dried ricotta cheese made from goat’s milk.”
- “Another favorite dish is cicerchie beans soaked overnight then simmered with garlic, onion and shallots and poured over slices of home made whole wheat bread with a good wholesome slosh of heart-friendly olive oil.”
- “Get their protein from a variety of sources, including nuts, beans, fish, snails, goat meat, lamb, locally-made parma ham, chickens and wild boar, all lean and organic.”
- “Eat traditionally-fermented cheese from organic unpasteurized sheep and goat milk.”
- “Eat ‘a little of everything’.”
- “Eat a well-balanced diet with the right proportions of carbohydrates (such as whole grains and vegetables), proteins and beneficial fats.”
- “Prefer a barley drink to coffee.”
- “Drink a glass of home-made white or red wine with a meal, sometimes diluted with water. They also drink plenty of water during the day.”
- “Linger over their food, chatting, relaxing, and really enjoying their meal.”
Recipe: Stuffed, baked eggplant
5 Amazing Barley Water Benefits: Drink Up This Elixir to Good Health
Plavaneeta Borah , NDTV | Updated: October 22, 2017 22:34 IST
An ancient remedy or an elixir to good health, barley water is an incredible beverage that our ancestors included in their daily diet since the dawn of civilisation. The power grain barley, which our generation commonly associates with beer, has long been used to make cereals, as a substitute to rice and to dish out other delicacies intrinsic to various regional cuisines. While we now marvel at one of the variants – pearl barley, with the ongoing trend of eating what our ancestors ate and using it to toss up salads and quick stir-fries, another barley form which is garnering attention is barley water.This healthy beverage has made a mark in various cultures – Greek, Britain, and East and Southeast Asia. In ancient Greece, one of their favourite beverages called kykeon was made with barley water, and it was deemed to be a cure for various ailments. In Britain, it was mostly used as a hot beverage, much like tea, and flavoured with lemon rinds, sugar or other fruit juices. In fact, it is said that athletes at Wimbledon are often served an orange flavoured, barley water drink during summers. Coming to Asia, barley water is enjoyed both, hot or cold, and drank as is or flavoured with lemon. According to Ayurveda, it is an excellent diuretic, which cures urinary tract infections (UTI) and also helps the body to keep cool during the summers.
Health Benefits of Barley Water
Barley water ranks high in the category of healthy beverages because it is loaded with essential nutrients. Since barley is a good source of soluble and insoluble fibre, vitamins, essential minerals (calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, zinc and copper), anti-oxidants and phytochemicals which are believed to lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes, barley water too draws out these benefits to make itself a health booster. Here’s why you should give it a try –
1. Aids in Detoxification
Regular usage of barley water helps flush out toxins from the body and the intestines through the urinary tract. This process is primarily triggered by a group of sugars called beta-glucans which are present in the cell walls of barley. It therefore helps in cleansing the internal system of the body.
2. Home Remedy for Urinary Tract Infections
Since barley water acts as a diuretic, in many households in India, it is considered to be a natural remedy for urinary tract infections, and children or adults are often recommended a few glasses of barley water on a daily basis till the infection subsides. It is also said to be a good remedy for kidney stones or cysts.
3. Helps in Digestion Related Problems
In Ayurveda, barley water is considered as a digestive tonic which helps in facilitating the process of digestion, especially for those who have low ‘agni’. Different body types, such as Vata, Pita and Kapha, can also mix in a few spices respectively to further aid in the process. It is often recommended to those suffering from constipation or diarrhoea, and it also helps restore the electrolyte balance during infections.
According to the book Barley for Food and Health: Science, Technology, and Products by Rosemary K. Newman and C. Walter Newman, “Barley water is a beverage known since ancient times as a folk remedy or preventative for numerous ailments, such as gastroenteritis and heat exhaustion.” Since it is a light beverage, it is easy on the stomach, and because it contains essential minerals, it aids in various processes of the body.
4. Promotes Weight Loss
Since barley is an excellent source of fiber, barley water too retains this characteristic in some measure. It therefore proves to be a great option for those seeking to lose weightas it tends to fill you up for a longer time, thus cutting down on your food intake. Moreover, as it is good for digestion, it also stimulates the metabolism of fats. But this definitely doesn’t mean that you can indulge in fatty foods and expect barley water to work its magic.
5. Lowers Cholesterol and Blood Sugar
Being a good source of fiber and beta-glucans, barley water also works towards keeping a check on blood cholesterol (by inhibiting the absorption of LDL and triglycerides from food) and blood sugar (by improving insulin resistance). Moreover, it has anti-inflammatory properties which not only help in cooling the body but in protecting the heart as well.
How to Make Barley Water
To make the most of this healthy drink, it is best to stir it up at home. It is simple to make and you can even use flavour boosters and sweeteners to improve the taste. You can use hulled barley or pearl barley to make the drink. Ensure that you cook the grainswell to extract the most nutrients from it.
1/4 cup pearl barley
4 cups water
A pinch of salt
A drizzle of honey (optional)
A lemon rind (optional)
Method:
1. Heat the water and pearl barley in a saucepan and bring it to a boil.
2. Add the salt and let it cook on a low flame for 30 minutes. You can muddle the grains a little, using a spoon.
3. Strain it into a glass, tip in a lemon rind, and drizzle with a little honey on top. Let it cool completely. You can also keep it in the refrigerator for 30 minutes and then have it.
Note: You can use ginger, cinnamon, cumin seeds and other spices, or orange juice to enhance the taste. The leftover grains can be used to make cereals, salads or a thickening agent for curries and smoothies. Don’t waste it!
How to make Barley Water in 3 easy steps
Barley water is commonly available to buy from the supermarket but here we are going to show you how you can easily make your own fresh delicous version that is free from artificial colours, preservatives and sweeteners etc.
Barley Water is made using barley grain which is commonly available as Pearl Barley. You should be able to find Pearl Barley in health food stores and supermarkets. Because it tastes of relatively little, a zesty or tangy flavour such as Lemon or Orange is normally used to liven the taste up. Other fruit juices can also be used and honey is often used to counter balance the tartness of the fruit acids.
Ingredients for Barley Water
- 1 cup organic Pearl Barley
- 5 cups water
- Juice of 1/2 – 1 lemon (to taste or other fruit if preferred)
- 1 tablespoon honey (optional to taste)
- Cinnamon stick (optional)
- Root Ginger (optional)
Servings: 4 cups
1. Put ingredients in a pan
Place the Pearl Barley in a sieve and rinse for a minute or so with plenty of fresh running water.
Place the Pearl Barley, water (and ginger / cinnamon if using) in a pan that can easily accommodate the volume of barley water you are making. Switch the heat on.
2. Boil it up
Bring the water to the boil and then simmer for 20-25 minutes with the lid off. This will reduce the amount of water by about 1/3.
The grains should be softened and cooked.
3. Strain and refine taste
Pour the barley water mixture through a sieve to seperate the barley grains, ginger and cinnamon from the Barley Water. Add the lemon juice (or other preferred fruit juice) and honey to taste, stir and leave to cool.
Barley water is normally drunk cold and it is best to drink it on the day of making when it is at its freshest. Your home made Barley Water should keep well in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Raw Barley Water
Although the recipe above is probably the most common type of Barley Water recipe you can also make a raw version by placing all the ingredients into a jug that is covered with a breathable lid / kitchen towel. Stir the mixture and leave to stand for 24 hours. Strain the mixture using a fine metallic sieve and serve.
What do I do with the left over Barley?
The left over Barley is useful for a number of other recipes such as:
- Bulking out and thickening soups and stews with it
- Combining it with some chopped nuts, seeds, sultanas, raisins and other dried fruits for an alternative to muesli or porridge.This has natural sweeteners and is high in dietary fiber.
- Add it to salads to add another texture
- Pop it in your blender and use it as a thickener for your smoothies
Variations on the recipe
You can use the same recipe but just substitute other flavours into the drink instead of the lemon/ginger/cinnamon/honey. Try using fresh Mint leaves, Orange or Lime juice, Maple Syrup and other herbs and spices.
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