mHave you drank a coffee with cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil? It seems incredible just thinking about it: it’s like thinking about spaghetti with pineapple. Instead you have to try it to taste it. Because the result is a soft, velvety, delicately sweet coffee with an absolutely unexpected consistency. In short: a surprise.
The novelty is called Oleato Caffè Latte, and was created by Starbucks. It is found (for now) only in Italy. And it was born from the merger between Arabica coffee and Partanna extra virgin olive oil, in Sicily, known for the Nocellara del Belice olives. It will also launch in Japan, the Middle East and the UK later this year.
It seems like an impossible blend, as we said, after all it is not even that far from our taste as emerges from a research just carried out by the Nestlé Observatory. The survey has “discovered” that we are all stressed, worried, we sleep badly, we do not love our bodies but on the other hand we have become much more aware of healthy eating. Partly for selfish utility, partly for environmental urgency.
And the Mediterranean diet is once again among our priorities.
The survey was carried out on two thousand people to analyze the lifestyle, the state of health and happiness of our country between nutrition, sustainability, moods, emotions, relationships and deep desires. And find out what and how we eat and what we would no longer like to eat in 2023.
Tomatoes and pasta: the symbol of the Mediterranean diet (Photo Getty Images)
Mediterranean diet and food awareness
The return of the Mediterranean diet confirms, in effect, an aptitude for well-being among Italians who increased their consumption of fruit (by 36%), vegetables (by 40%) and yogurt (by 26%) reducing spirits, cured meats, desserts, fish, cheeses and meat.
For the majority of Italians (48%), red meat is the food that will appear least on the table in the next ten years, followed by sugar, cured meats and salt. 71% consider themselves informed on nutrition education at various levels.
46% also say they weigh the portions to be cooked. More than one in two is willing to spend more on food. 49% say they follow a healthy and balanced diet to control their weight. Most consume 1-2 liters of water per day. 80% do not consume functional or ‘0’ calorie drinks.
Furthermore, for 45%, lunch represents the most important meal, yet a few questions away, it emerges that lunch is often skipped due to lack of time.
From tomatoes to olives: you can’t get more Mediterranean diet than this
Not just the Mediterranean diet: sustainability is important
An important and particularly urgent topic examined by the Nestlé Observatory is also sustainability: 82% believe they are aware of its issues and more than half say they have changed itheir lifestyle to be more sustainable but 17% are not so sure they did it.
Most said they would cut back own energy consumption (about 70%), avoid food waste (67%) and reduce/eliminate plastic consumption (56%).
Almost three out of ten Italians state that the material of the product pack influences their purchase choice. But analyzing the answers to the question “what is essential for you in order to make a purchase”, for 67% it is price and promotions that are the main drivers for choosing food products.
Nothing is thrown away
On the subject of ‘food waste’, the majority declares that they do not throw anything away butif it really has to, fruit (11%), bread (14%) and above all vegetables (about 20%), are the foods that are thrown away most frequently.
On how we experience mealtimes and our relationships, 37% say they often eat in front of a screen and 40% say they spend about two hours a day in front of the TV, while 42% say they spend more than two hours on their cell phones.
And in fact, to verify the wholesomeness of our habits, questions about the quality of sleep arrive: aAlthough 85% say they sleep between six and eight hours a night, 31% say they have poor or very poor sleep quality while more than 35% say it’s fair.
So many contradictions
As for their relationship with themselves and their bodies, half said they were not satisfied with their physical appearance. So why does one out of two Italians claim to have a sedentary or semi-sedentary lifestyle? Among the most active, only 4.6% play team sports, demonstrating a tendency towards isolation.
43% of Italians have a negative mood. Of these, more than half describe themselves as anxious, depressed or distressed.
The biggest concerns concern the illness of loved ones (45%), economic uncertainty in the future (39%) and personal illness (32%) and, gift of 2022, war (about 16%).
To the question “do you have only one wish to fulfil”, we all prove to be selfish: no doubts about one’s health (about 30%), happiness and serenity (25%) then, gripped by a sense of guilt, 13% answers a balanced planet. Hallelujah.
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