*** I wanted to write so much more. I think I might make this a series. Let me know what you thought and if you would enjoy learning more about living like an Italian. ***
Most of you know that I recently fulfilled my lifelong dream of traveling to Italy. My wonderful husband agreed to celebrate our 15 year anniversary there and I love him so much for that. I told everyone who would listen (and dozens who just nodded and smiled) that I was just going there for the food, the wine and the coffee and I truly meant it. We skipped all of Northern Italy and concentrated on Rome and the southern tip. Who needs museums when there is pizza? Why would I care about a gondola ride when there is fresh pasta and gelato? Ever since I read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, I've been obsessed with the idea of Italy and visiting a country where everyone takes food just as seriously as I do. (If you haven't read it and you care about food at all, I highly recommend it. Seriously. Read the book.) As you can imagine, after dreaming and drooling about this trip for a lifetime, I had no intention of watching my portions, counting my calories or checking my macros. I anticipated gaining 10 lbs over my 10 day trip and I was completely ok with that. I ate it all. Cappuccino, chocolate croissants, pizza, pasta, risotto, gnocchi, pre-dinner drinks, wine, beer, after dinner drinks, dessert, gelato, you get the picture. This was no time for restraint!
Despite all this amazing food, when I went to button my jeans towards the end of the trip, they were loose. (!!!) I figured it was a fluke. Maybe I was dehydrated from the lack of AC or something. When I finally got home, I warily circled my scale and finally screwed my courage and stepped on. Then I double checked. I had lost weight. I have NEVER lost weight on a vacation, despite usually running wherever we go and trying to (somewhat) watch my portions. I was amazed, intrigued and more than a little obsessed. What could be so different? Everyone said the same thing, "Oh, its all the walking." Um, no. I am a very active person. I teach fitness classes, I walk my dogs and I love to ride my bike. Yes, it was a lot of walking, but it was still less activity than my average day. Also, I run the strip in Vegas and walk everywhere. Still gain weight. We hiked to the highest point in Hawaii. Still gained weight. We walk everywhere in Nola. Definitely gain weight there. So, I've made a study of the Italian culture and how it differs and I think I've figured out some things and I wanted to share.
Breakfast is light, sweet and fast.
Almost every day in Italy started the same way- Standing at the counter with a cappuccino** and a chocolate cornetti. (Cornetti is the Italian version of a croissant.) To the average calorie counting American, this sounds incredibly decadent but the Cappuccino has no sugar, comes in a small cup (there are no, venti, grande, etc. in Italy) and the Cornetti comes either filled with chocolate or cut, toasted and slathered in Nutella. Even so, I would wager it still has less sugar than the average overly sweetened grande flavor of the month at Starbucks. Here's the big difference- NO ONE is sitting, buried in their phone, their laptop or a newspaper as they slurp and gobble their breakfast down. No one is eating while they drive (seriously, you would die and kill 5 others if you tried to eat and drive in Italy) Walk into any coffee shop in America and you will see people completely absorbed in something. The Italians stand at the counter. Its a brief social event. You stand, you sip your cappuccino, you enjoy your pastry, and you chat with the people around you. The only people sitting for breakfast are tourists One sweet "bar" owner asked if I wanted to sit or stand. When I said I would stand, he kindly explained that if I sat, he promised he would not charge me extra (as some do to the gullible Americans). Even though we didn't speak Italian, some of our favorite social encounters were standing with the Italians for breakfast.
**side note- breakfast is the ONLY time you may order a cappuccino in Italy. Italians believe that milk should not be in your stomach at any other time of the day and if you try and order it with lunch or after dinner, you will get some strange looks. A kind waiter might even refuse "for your own health". There was a morning that we woke up very late and I was desperate for one. I explained to the bar owner that I was stupid American and could I please have one anyway?
**side note- breakfast is the ONLY time you may order a cappuccino in Italy. Italians believe that milk should not be in your stomach at any other time of the day and if you try and order it with lunch or after dinner, you will get some strange looks. A kind waiter might even refuse "for your own health". There was a morning that we woke up very late and I was desperate for one. I explained to the bar owner that I was stupid American and could I please have one anyway?
Pranzo is a serious affair
In America, lunch is generally the least thought about. Its fast, its easy, and its usually distracted. A quick drive through, a protein bar on the go, a fast sandwich packed the night before. People work through, balancing their meal around the keyboard, kids get psuedo-food in 20 minutes from a cafeteria, and busy moms are generally grabbing a few bites and just trying to hang on till naptime.
Pranzo (lunch) in Italy is a leisurely affair, generally lasting an hour or longer. Some school children go home for lunch so they can eat a fresh meal with their families. In the countryside, work stops. In the city, shops close. There are separate courses to each be enjoyed in their own time. Antipasto (appetizer), Primo (first plate) and Secundo Piatto (second plate). All meals are served with acqua e vino (water and wine). No sugary sodas. No iced tea filled with flavoring and artificial sweeteners. Water. Wine. Those are the options. Its impossible to speed through a meal when it comes out in different courses and you are sipping wine. Looking around the restaurants as we ate, I never saw Italians buried in their phones. Even those eating by themselves still looked completely present and engrossed in their meals. Once, I saw an older man reading a newspaper, but he was still aware of his surrounding enough to notice us and insist (all in Italian) that we switch tables with him so we could properly enjoy the view.
Pranzo (lunch) in Italy is a leisurely affair, generally lasting an hour or longer. Some school children go home for lunch so they can eat a fresh meal with their families. In the countryside, work stops. In the city, shops close. There are separate courses to each be enjoyed in their own time. Antipasto (appetizer), Primo (first plate) and Secundo Piatto (second plate). All meals are served with acqua e vino (water and wine). No sugary sodas. No iced tea filled with flavoring and artificial sweeteners. Water. Wine. Those are the options. Its impossible to speed through a meal when it comes out in different courses and you are sipping wine. Looking around the restaurants as we ate, I never saw Italians buried in their phones. Even those eating by themselves still looked completely present and engrossed in their meals. Once, I saw an older man reading a newspaper, but he was still aware of his surrounding enough to notice us and insist (all in Italian) that we switch tables with him so we could properly enjoy the view.
 The sweet man in a coastal town who switched tables with us. |  He was right. The view was gorgeous. |
One of my favorite meals was a long lunch in Sorrento. Trey and I spent almost two hours savoring our food and having one of those conversations that reminds you of why you married someone in the first place.
Cena is all about the company
. Like lunch, Cena (dinner) is all about the company you keep. Its meant to be enjoyed with friends and family with good conversation and local wine. As with lunch, it is served in courses (but traditionally less food). When you sit down, you order your entire meal and then its brought out to you in the proper time as it is ready. Since everything is cooked fresh, you can't order an antipasto and then see if you are in the mood for a primo. If the cook is going to cook and toss the pasta in time, it must be ordered at the beginning. We had some fantastic desserts, but the most common is a simple, small plate of fruit, followed up with a digestivo (after dinner drink). The after dinner drink can be cafe (espresso) or a liqueur such as lemoncello. This may be one of my favorite traditions. It felt like the final punctuation to the meal. period (cafe.). exclamation point (limencello!). Either way, the meal is over. It has come to a proper conclusion in the proper time and that is the end. You would never leave an Italian meal and then go rummage around in the pantry for a snack. You are finished. You observed the digestivo. È finito. It is finished.
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Eat like an Italian whenever you can!
I can hear you thinking, "That's nice Melissa, but I can't take an hour and a half for lunch. I can't sit at dinner with my family for 4 courses. I don't know how to make a cappuccino." I get it. I'm trying to incorporate so much from my trip in my current lifestyle and it is a challenge. I'll be posting more about my adventures in making my own cheese, importing Italian flour and more, but for the moment, just embrace the joy of savoring your food and your company. Now, instead of eating my lunch over my laptop (or with my phone), I take a breath. I walk out to my patio and I sit down with my plate of food and my sparkling water (some days its with a glass of wine or a cold beer from the tap) and I give my entire attention to the food that I'm enjoying it. I don't watch a show. I don't scroll through Facebook. I just eat the Italian way.
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