The Mediterranean Diet

During my time studying abroad in Italy, there were a lot of misconceptions I had about the food there. Coming from a 50% Italian background, I thought everything my Nonna cooked for me growing up, is what was eaten in Italy. But, I was completely wrong.

Some of the main differences that I found were that, they do not have chicken parmesan, the have meat sauce instead of meat balls in sauce, and an Italian dressing standard is oil and vinegar. Obliviously, American culture has made its way over to the European continent and has had some form of impact of their society, especially in the major city of Florence. This is due to the heavy tourism that travels through the city. But, holding onto their strong roots, Italy has remained to keep their culture strong without letting tourists change who they are.

One main concept is that food in Italy is seasonal! But, one basic plan that they follow is The Mediterranean Diet. Eat: Vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, potatoes, whole grains, breads, herbs, spices, fish, seafood and extra virgin olive oil.

Eat in portions: Poultry, eggs, cheese and yogurt.

Rarely eat: Red meat.

Don't eat: Sugared beverages, added sugars, processed meat, refined grains, oils or other processed foods.

This diet is also big on good pairing and making sure the foods that you eat are complimentary to one another. An example of this, is a dry light would pair well with vegetables.

Overall, there are many different key components to the Italian food style, something that I didn’t think existed until I spent four months living there. It was very interesting to live the life style during the time and learn about how import food culture is to Italians.