Eat Like an Italian

Yes, you can make mistakes on the Mediterranean Diet. And it’s more common than you’d think. The Mediterranean Diet, renowned for its health benefits and delicious flavors, has gained significant attention in recent years with the popularity of The Blue Zones, The Longevity Diet, and the like. With its emphasis on fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and heal

It’s well-known that the populations who follow a Mediterranean Diet are among the healthiest and longest-living on the planet. But while the focus is obviously on the variety of delicious foods, what is often missed is the role of fasting. Either for religious reasons or for the simple lack of abundance, inhabitants of Italy, Greece, Spain and other Mediterranean countries have

Both the Mediterranean Diet and the Paleo Diet ask us to “eat the way our ancestors ate.” BUT, the Mediterranean Diet asks us to look back only 3-4 generations, whereas the Paleo would have us look back 2.5 million years, or roughly 80,000 generations. Evolution has had plenty of time to catch up… During the Paleolithic period, early humans lived in caves or simple huts and

Pasta has gotten some bad press in recent years. In the age of the "fad diets," pasta contains an awkward amount of that evil archnemesis, "the carb." Or worse, carb's ugly cousin, gluten. Well, populations who follow the Mediterranean Diet have been eating carbs and gluten for centuries with no ill effects. Indeed, these are the healthiest, longest-living

The general consensus is that red wine, in moderation, (maximum 2-3 glasses a day, depending on your age, weight, and sex) can impart cardiac benefits, and contribute to overall well-being. But it's more complicated than that.  Yes, experiments with laboratory animals have shown remarkable benefits for subjects given large doses of resveratrol, the so-called "magic" ingredient

Recently there was an article published by Taste Atlas that listed the Top 100 cheeses in the world. Not surprisingly, cheeses from Italy took 8 or the top 10 spots. I spoke about this with Robert Campana from Stop Italian Sounding, a brand dedicated to educating consumers on the differences between genuine Italian products and "fake" products that only borrow (read: steal) credibi

If you want to learn about Italian culture, there is no better lens from which to look than through Italy's food traditions and regional cuisines.  Today on the podcast we welcome Dottoressa Arianna Salomon, a PhD candidate at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida, and a graduate of Università Ca' Foscari in Venice, Italy. This semester at FAU, Dott.ssa Salomon i

Looking for the best food in Puglia? From traditional Italian dishes to unique regional specialties, listen to this podcast episode to learn about typical food from Puglia.  Scott Maxwell, a Scottish expat in Puglia, leads us through a culinary journey of the regions most iconic cuisine. This is the Mediterranean Diet at its best, with fresh seafood, great local wines, and "ki

On this episode, we discuss Italian food holiday traditions with Robert Campana from "Stop Italian Sounding." We explore such topics as The Feast of the Seven Fishes, including its historical context and how it became a strong tradition in Italian-AMERICAN households, yet still  remains relatively unknown in Italy. We also dive into the annual debate over Pandoro vs Panettone,

Today I talk to Robert from "Stop Italian Sounding" about the ways that imitation Italian products infiltrate and confuse the marketplace, causing a very real economic impact on the producers of genuine Italian products in Italy.  I have talked about this topic on the podcast before, and written about it on the blog. But Robert has some first-hand experience on the difference