Hummus, Eggplant Parmigiana, Wine, & Pizza

Today, I had my Mediterranean Diet class where learned more about Italian diet. For example, a typical Italian diet is for breakfast: yogurt, fruit, and some sort of starch. Lunch is vegetables and pasta (lots of pasta!) and dinner is a protein and vegetables. We also studied The Traditional Healthy Mediterranean Diet Pyramid where Daily Physical Activity is at the bottom and biggest part of their food pyramid (they walk or bike everywhere!) Second biggest is bread, pasta, rice, couscous, polenta, and other whole grains and potatoes. They seriously eat it at every single meal. It is recommended that fruits, beans, legumes, nuts, vegetables, olive oil, cheese, and yogurt be consumed daily, 20-30% of their diet comes from fat. However, it is very uncommon to see an overweight Italian as they consume healthy fats. I mentioned cheese and yogurt both of which are dairy but I did not mention milk, because it is not typical in their diet. Even in the grocery stores, there is a very small milk section and it is sold in small containers. I have yet to drink any milk since being here. It is suggested that they consume fish, poultry, eggs, and sweets 2-3 times per week. At the very top of the pyramid is meat which is only to be consumed 1-2 times per month. The Daily Beverage Recommendations include 6 glasses of water and wine in moderation. After, just taking a nutrition class back in America, the Mediterranean Diet is very, very different but my body feels better than ever and I greatly enjoy eating lots and lots of pasta and pizza! For the cooking portion of the class, we made hummus and eggplant parmigiana. The food never fails to amaze me.

The afternoon was spent trying Sangiovese (The King of Tuscan Grapes) wines. Sangiovese is one of the most common Italian vines in central Italy. We tried three red wines today all of which included Sangiovese. The three types were 100% Sangiovese, Sangiovese & International Grape, and Sangiovese & Local Variety Grape. I would have to say that the Sangiovese with the local variety (Canaiolo & Colorino) was my favorite because of the fresh taste and persistent flavor.

While walking back Emily and I found an amazing supermarket where we picked up a pre-packaged pizza for dinner. The supermarket was huge and reminded me so much of home because there was actually pre-packaged chicken and a few other items that we had yet to see any of the other smaller markets. Also, the supermarket was filled with people all picking up food before heading home from work, I mean packed with people rushing around and the lines to check out were actually quite long. Although you have to bring your own bags and bag your own groceries. Oh, and our favorite part was the line at the bakery of people waiting for the fresh baguettes coming out of the oven so naturally we waited in line too and could not even wait till we got outside to have a bite of our hot and fresh baguette! We will definitely be making our way back to this supermarket again. Buona sera!