When home doesn't feel like home...

So I'm officially back "home" again, and I can definately say it has been a very odd adjustment. Living in Italy for a month was the most incredible, life-changing experiance of my life, and I can not wait to return there.
Not to say I'm not happy to see my family, show them pictures and tell them all about my adventures, but I'm definately Calabria-sick.

The last few days were not the most health conscious, but in my defense they were days of travel and celebration, so give me some slack! ;) I'll be back to my healthy habits in no time!

Wednesday, July 24, 2008 was my last day in San Demetrio Corone.
It was a fantastic one, I woke up in the morning only an hour after going to bed- my friends (Italian and American) had a great night out, but it was quite the late one!
I had a breakfast of some cereal, granola and yogurt with a nectarine.
In the morning, I snacked on some cheese, a pretzel and some watermelon while we were making fresh pasta for our final cooking project! It took three whole hours and it was a wonderful experiance, but quite tiring!

The lunch that came together was amazing! Each group was assigned a different course. We started with bruschetta, then had the pasta con ceci (chickpeas) my group made, potatoes and peppers as well as a cheese/potato casserole, stuffed eggplant, marinated cucumbers, I was SO.STUFFED... and then they brought us out mini cannolis (I had one creme and one cicocollato) AND tiny cups of gelato. Phew. I have never eaten so much at lunch... but it was an incredible time. We said our goodbyes, got our certificates, and got our presents from Professor Laluna- home made olive oil! I'm so excited to use it =)



For dinner, we ate at Fusion for the last time. I had my favorite indulgent dish, tagliatelle con porcini- pasta in a creamy mushroom sauce. Mmm... it was definately worth every last bite!

We spent the night celebrating, drinking wine(and lots of beer!)and saying our last goodbyes to the incredible friends we made our month in Italia. We even celebrated the end of the night with two cakes from Stilla- the patisserie we had grown to love. I had a piece of each!

Waking up the next morning was hard because it was so early, but I grabbed a quick chocolate croissant and a nectarine for the road. Along the way we also grabbed some snacks to hold us until lunch. I grabbed olive oil crackers and peach tea.

For a mini lunch I had a caprese sandwich in the airport, and on the plane I spent the time snacking, I had an apple, some peanuts, plus the lunch they provided... and Danielle and I shared a couple pieces of chocolate!
Not the healthiest food, but it kept me feeling good during the trip.

Later that evening after arriving in the city and dropping off our bags we had some sushi and miso soup for a quick dinner.

The next two days in New York were exciting as always!
We grabbed breakfast at starbucks; a soy latte, some fresh fruit and an oat berry stella for me-


And then we had a treat stop mid-morning... the doughnut plant! These were sooo good-I had a couple bites of Danielle's coconut, and for myself I chose the vanilla bean/blackberry jam filled. These have no preservatives, are trans fat free and fresh made... it was a fun treat in the city!

During the day we walked around, and had a late lunch because of our big morning snack. We just grabbed an assortment of salads from the whole foods prep food bar... this was just what I wanted! Fresh, healthy and easy to grab!

That evening, after doing some MAJOR shopping at all the chef and restaurant supply stores on Bleeker (I got a new spatula, whisk, knives and an apron!) we stopped at my favorite restaurant in NYC for dinner- the drag queen capital of the world, Lucky Chengs! We had such a fun time relaxing, eating yummy food and watching the drag show! We even got dirty balloon animals made for us by John the balloon guy. I'm glad my mom and my sister find it so amusing, they were pretty raunchy! But all in good fun.
We all shared appetizers, and I had scallops for my entree-



And for dessert...

The famous birthday chocolate shoe! We DUG In... and ate more than half! I felt like a pig afterwards, but it's only once a year!

Sunday morning we slept in, had some fruit and 1/2 a muffin for breakfast at Starbucks, and for lunch we went to Blossom Cafe for a delicious vegan meal. To start, we all shared the cashew sauce covered ravioli (we each had one) and Danielle and I split a glass of fresh pomegranate juice. I was craving a big "burger" so I had to try their "bacon cheeseburger". WOW was it good! By far the best vegan burger I've ever tasted! With a spicy sauce, mushrooms, "bacon", and cheese on a soy burger, with a light refreshing salad... I couldn't have asked for a more perfect lunch in the city.


Ok, we just couldn't pass up dessert- so we all shared! We chose the lavendar berry custard pie and oh my oh my was it to die for! Fresh berries, creamy custard... I could have eaten another whole one myself!

During the afternoon we snacked some more- we stopped for smoothies at Booster Juice, I had a small banana one, and we each had a truffle from godiva!

I was SO excited about dinner and it did not disappoint! We stopped at Candle Cafe, which I have heard about from a bunch of bloggers, and was so eager to try! Everyone loved it. We started with the mezze platter, I had a little of everything, and then for my dinner I had the Seitan Timbale- seitan, couscous, avocado,kale, and a black bean sauce. Honestly one of the BEST meals I have ever eaten. Sooo good!


I feel a bit guilty admitting this, but I was SO into the vegan desserts yesterday I had 2 after dinner! I know, bad nutrition major... but sooo good! We started with dessert at candle, the special- chocolate chip bundt cake with chocolate soy ice cream. (Remember all my desserts this day were shared by 4 people!)
And then we stopped at babycakes for cookies... (I ate 1/2).


It was a great trip, and a nice refresher after being in Italy, a fun time with the family for sure.

My apologies!

Hi All!

I'm so sorry I have been off blogger for a few days, heres my super quick update because my computer really isn't working right at the moment:

I had an amazing last couple of days in Italy, complete with a huge last home-cooked italian lunch we all contributed to on Wednesday and a departure dinner at Fusion that evening, and I spent all yesterday traveling.

Today I am safetly back in the U.S. with my mom, sister and Danielle- last night we went out for amazing sushi, and today we have some fun plans to check out a couple nice places in the city and have reservations for our annual Lucky Cheng's birthday dinner!

I won't be eating very healthy these next couple of days... but it's my birthday trip, and I'll be back to my usual healthy eating on Sunday when I return back home. Hopefully a whole foods trip is in order. I can't wait to cook!

I'll be back soon (by Sunday!) with a description of my delicious eats from Tuesday-Saturday =)

Have a fabulous weekend!

Ho finito!

Ho finito con Italiano 101 e 102!
I just finished my exam and oral exam, I passed with an "A", and I just finished a delicious celebratory lunch with my best Calabrian girlfriends! It's raining here in Calabria, and although I'm not the biggest fan of rain, it's a nice cool change from the hot hot heat we've been having recently! It's the first time it's rained in the entire month we've been here.

Last night was a nice relaxing night, after gelato and our review we went to dinner and had delicious Pasta alla Norma with peppers, caprese salad, some bread, olives and fritatte. It was a refreshing dinner, perfect before studying for a bit before bed. No going out last night- we needed our sweet dreams before exams!

This morning I woke up in the mood for a sweet breakfast, so I had a couple mini pears before we left and a chocolate croissant from Bar Centrale- it hit the spot!

After my exam, I snacked on some almonds and fresh green grapes (I said goodbye to Cosmo, the fruttivendolo) before my oral exam.

Afterwards I met up with Danielle, Carolyn, Erika, Carolyn, Natalie, Natalie and Kate for a big lunch at Dante's! I had a small piece of bread with spicy pepperoncino sauce, and had little bites of everyone's dishes, they were all so good! For my entree I ordered one of my favoite dishes here so far- Gnoccheti Genovese. I finished every last scrumptious gnocchi, delizioso!

This afternoon, if the rain stops, I'll be going horseback riding. If not, I have the entire afternoon off to relax- no more work, I'm so relieved!

So how is everyone in America (and elsewhere)?

Molto cibo!

Yesterday was quite the evening... we went to make pizza with Fifina in the countryside! It was so much fun, she has a big brick oven built right into the side of her house, and we made over 15 pizzas! I had 4 tiny pieces, hot and fresh out of il forno, with eggplant and peppers (2), marinated zucchini, and olives and tomato. Delizioso! We also snacked on a few olives, and had HUGE chunks of cocomelo for dessert!

And then we were invited to the restaurant opening. I've got to admit, as a foodie it is VERY hard to pass up free food. So I just tried a couple bites of the restaurant's signature pasta and peppers, and had a couple glasses of free wine.
Then the dessert came.
Ohmigosh, it was THE most incredible dessert spread I've ever seen in my life! Every type of cake imaginable, a huge carved fruit platter, cookies...

As stuffed as I was, I really can't pass up dessert! I didn't eat the whole plate of course, but I had a bite of each! Chocolate mousse cake, rum cake, tiramisu, candied peach, cheesecake... and a bite of Danielle's flan, and a small piece of pineapple!

Worth every. single. bite. Italian desserts always are!

We were invited to yet ANOTHER party after the opening... so we stayed out most of the night having fun with our new friends we've made- the waiters and owners of Fusion pub! They're all so nice, and it's great to talk to them in Italian. We had such a fun time laughing and talking about food and drinking more free wine =)

This morning I was not too hungry when I woke up, tired because we were out so late, so I just had a bit of muesli with soymilk and a banana. I snacked on a fennel pretzel for a snack mid-morning, and for lunch I was CRAVING the Dante salad... so we went and had the Dante salad!

It was delicious as usual, I had that and a piece of bread and felt great, so afterwards I went on a walk with Danielle, and then came home to study... my final is tomorrow! Can you believe that?? I only have three more days...

I have an extra review class right now, so I'm going to grab a gelato while I'm waiting. Ci vediamo dopo! (Ok I won't really see you later... but it's my favorite Italian phrase!)

A gelato a day...

As i'm sitting here writing this, eating a gelato cone, I realized how much I'm going to miss the simple pleasures of Italia, like my afternoon gelatos or walks up the hills with friends...

Yesterday afternoon my interview was postponed, so (of course) I went out for a small gelato cone with Danielle. I talked to my mom on the phone for the first time in a week and realized it would be less than a week until I saw her! Time keeps flying by...

Dinner was delicious as always; a few of my favorites- penne in a creamy mushroom sauce, risotto stuffed peppers (I ate 1 1/2), grilled and fried vegetables (I had 2 servings of garlic grilled eggplant and zucchini!). Dessert was even MORE cocomelo... and then we got a sweet treat at Stilla, my favorite chocolate filled pastry.

Saturday was definately a day full of treats, but it was a relaxing one at that...my LAST sabato in San Demetrio! =( I stayed out for a while after dinner, but left early because I was SO tired from such a long day.

This morning I woke up well rested, had some muesli, coconut yogurt and a peach- my standard Calabria breakfast.

We went to the mercato in the morning, I got some presents, some fresh fruit and we stopped by the supermercato for a while as well.
We stopped at Dante's again for lunch- my friend Natalie and I shared a cheese plate antipasto, and I had potatoes and peppers for my entree.
This filled me up nice, I'll miss my lunches at Dante's!

This afternoon I snacked on some grapes and wheat crackers while studying and cleaning, before coming out to try and do my interview which I STILL have not been able to do, but Rosa's a busy girl so hopefully I'll catch her tonight.

Right now, after I finish my post and my gelato, we're off to make pizza again, and then we have an invitation to a restaurant opening... so I'm going to try to not eat too much pizza so I have room for free samples!

I love all the food I've been eating in Italy, but I am a little excited to get back to eating regular dinners back at home... the portions here are small, but the amount they expect you to eat is ridiculous! Still, it's almost always worth it with the amazing dishes I've been eating! =)

Andiamo al mare!

I spent the most beautiful day at the beach today. It was absolutely gorgeous out, warm with a cool breeze, I spent the day reading, relaxing and enjoying the beauty of the Ionian sea for the last time in Italia...

Yesterday my weekend started early when we got let out of class early, so I went out to lunch at Dante's with my friend Danielle, where we got out favorite Insalata Dante, and had some bread with spicy olive oil as well.

We did some work, spent some time at Fusion talking to one of the waiters for our interview assignment... in a little bit I'll be interviewing Rosa, the chef at Fusion! I'm nervous because she's such a fantastic chef, but excited at the same time to hear what she has to say!

Afterwards we had to stop for our afternoon gelato, and then we were off to the mall for the evening.
I picked up some nice things, a new dress, some dark italian chocolate for presents, some gourmet espresso and a mini espresso maker!
I grabbed a cottage cheese and an apple from the supermercato to have as a snack to hold me over during the art show.

The art show was nice but I was super hungry by the time we got to the pizza place for dinner! The pizza was absolutely fantastic- I ate a LOT, but the pieces were super thin and totally worth it! I had one margherita, two eggplant/zucchini/pepper/mushroom, and one olive/caper piece. We also had a couple glasses of Peroni, because nothing goes better with Italian pizza than Italian beer!

We stayed out late at fusion, so I was tired and not very hungry, but I had some new whole grain cereal I bought with some soy milk and a small white plum for breakfast.

When we got to the beach a few hours later I had an herbed pretzel, which held me over until Danielle and I stopped by a little beach side restaurant for delicious fresh lunches! We had pesto pasta with fresh shrimp, and it really was the best beachside lunch! The pesto was fresh made, the pasta was perfectly cooked and the shrimp was right from the mare.

We also had some afternoon snacks- we stopped for frozen mochas, and had HUGE chunks of watermelon- nothing's better on the beach than a big piece of cocomelo! (So of course I had a couple of pieces...)

After a lovely day, we returned home, showered, and I'm having a few almonds to hold me until dinner and a pool party we have to go to later!

I truly cannot believe this is my last weekend in Calabria. The experience has been truly lifechanging, I'm savoring every last minute, every last bite here in beautiful San Demetrio Corone =)

My two eurocents from Italia...

Alright, I guess theres no better time than now, in light of all of the vegan/not vegan talk going on in the blogging world, to state my own opinion on the matter.

I have always been very up front with my food choices, and you have all seen my progression from a too-strict pescetarian, to a nutrition major trying to gain weight on a vegetarian diet, which I succesfully accomplished. Before coming to Italy, I had roughly made the decision to progress towards becoming a vegan.

Honestly, I'm sick of labels. It doesn't matter whether you're a vegan, vegetarian, omnivore, or carnivore! I feel as though eating healthy is doing what is right for YOU and no one else. If you feel the need to eat meat, great, eat meat. If you don't, don't. As long as you do it in a healthy way (i.e. less red meat, more lean meats or getting enough protein and fats as a vegan) I'm all for what makes each individual feel the healthiest.

Personally, I feel the healthiest when I abstain from most animal products, and eat as organically and naturally as possible.

Being in Italy, I realized that being vegan might not be the right choice for me.
I never, in a million years though that Italy would change my opinion on food so drasrtically. But I thought about it, and I forced myself to realize what I have always known is true.
I LOVE food. It truly is my passion. I love all sorts of foods. I love Italian food, I love Indian food, I love mexican food, middle eastern food, and I love vegan food.
I love good, healthy food that makes you feel good and tastes incredible.
I love fresh fruits and vegetables, bread right from the oven, vegan cupcakes and cookies, but I also LOVE fresh cheeses and really don't think I could live without gelato every now and again =)

I don't want to restrict myself because I feel the need to label myself as "vegan" or "vegetarian". All those who choose to live by those strict dietary restrictions and still maintain a healthy, balanced diet good for you. That is incredibly admirable, and I wish I could say I could do that without the occasional slipup.

But I have spent years coming to the point I am with food. I struggled for a very long time with food restriction, eating too much and then eating too little.
I am at the point now where I am at a comfortable relationship with food. I try not to eat too much or too little, eating when I'm hungry and stopping when I'm full. I'll have treats almost every day if they're small, and yes, I have splurge days every once in a while. But most of all I strive for a balance in the way I eat, I feel the best this way.

I have had no stomach problems here in Italy, even with my switch back to eating some dairy, and some fish. In fact, I have honestly never felt better.
This surprised me at first, and then I realized- it's because I'm finally eating the way I should be eating. I feel incredible. Walking every where, doing yoga, eating fresh, natural foods without preservatives or additives has made me feel better than I ever have. I don't have intense cravings (ok, except for the occasional gelato urge), I don't feel the need to snack on junk, I feel good after every meal.
I want to carry the pratice of eating mostly fresh, unprocessed foods back home with me because I am sure that is what has made the difference in the way I feel.
Being a vegetarian back home, I feel like I relied to much on some "fake" products, and need to focus on more natural ingredients because that is what my body truly needs.

I think for myself, eating a primarily vegan diet, yet without certain restrictions such as the occasional caprese salad, chocolate mousse or fresh caught fish is what makes me feel the best, and is the way I plan to continue living.
I'm not going to go ahead and start cooking up steaks or eating cheese at every meal, but I have discovered that not putting restrictions on myself has made me happier and healthier than ever. I look good, I feel good, and that's all that matters. Life is too short to not have the occasional cone of gelato or margherita pizza.