New challenge: going on a diet

I have purged the fridge. Emptied the pantry. Gifted neighbors with full jars of marmalade, hazelnut spread and precious oil-preserved Taggiasca olives. Monday marks the beginning of a new project. Project ME.

In the past few weeks I have eliminated refined sugar and alcohol. In the following 14 days I will have to deal with further detoxing. I will be eliminating foods that are slowing down my metabolism and are essentially being stored as fat because my body can't deal with them like it used to.
That means no more processed food.
No more salt.
No dairy.
No yeast.

Next after that, I will be embarking in a 5-day paleo shock, to be followed by a 40-day metabolism regime. The gym membership has been renewed. The Fitbit fully charged.
Everything has been carefully planned, and I am now ready.

Back from my sunset run, I took a "before" polaroid and glued it to the bathroom mirror.

Fortunately, shifting my eating habits during summer in Italy will be easy, given the abundance of this...

            

 

But it will also mean saying bye bye to this for a little while...

This doesn't mean I'll stop publishing articles and posts about recipes, restaurants and food tours, on the contrary. I will continue to write about my favorite food & wine related topics and share photos of beautiful, healthy Italian dishes. It will be the ultimate zen challenge!

{Just be prepared for the occasional rant, frustration and (hopefully) cheering related to my weight loss program}

Wish me luck!

Italy's most curious sagre

Italy believes strongly in preserving tradition. Monuments and works of art are the most obvious and notable examples. Often overlooked is a more specific and occasionally eccentric manifestation of cultural heritage, the sagre di paese, in essence a town festival that celebrates a specific local food. The Italian word sagra derives from...
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5 favorite pastry shops in Rome

I don't consider myself a 'sweets' person. If I have to choose between mortadella stuffed in pizza bianca and a slice of cake, I go straight for the pork sandwich without hesitation.

Yet, despite how well I've eaten – and how full I am – I will always consider having dessert at the end of a meal, especially if the company joyful and the savory portions on point.

Rome can count on a wide choice of artisanal pastry shops that consistently provide locals with morsels of sweetness.

Here is my shortlist of 5 favorite pastry shops in Rome: Continue Reading ➔

Italy Travel Tips Form a Local

Close to 50million tourists annually visit Italy, coming from all over the world. Italians know and profit from this, and are accustomed to travelers coming to their home land to admire la grande bellezza.

Locals are generally polite and patient (unless they're driving some sort of powered vehicle) and they will most likely go out of their way to help stranded stranieri, whether these be visitors or expatriates.

But there are however some things that foreigners should know when headed for the boot-shaped peninsula. We've singled out 15, between travel safety pointers, and general Italy travel common sense.

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Day trips along the Amalfi Coast

Picture yourself in a vintage fishing boat traveling slowly along the jagged Amalfi Coast. The boat stops at an attractive secret inlet. The engine is turned off, cicadas lazily buzz and small waves lap at the sides of the wooden hull of the boat. See yourself swimming in azure coves and deep blue grottos some of which can only be accessed by boat. Is that the captain singing a ballad? The restaurant on stilts beckons with the aroma of mamma's cooking...
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