In this episode, we will discuss the major differences in eating habits between Italians and Americans.
Italian food is often known as one of the most delicious cuisines on the planet. It’s hard to find people who don’t appreciate a great bowl or pasta or a perfect piece of pizza. It might seem like you know everything there is to know about Italian food, but unless you’ve spent a lot of time in Italy, chances are good that you only know the American version of things. There are many differences between Italian and American diets, in the way that we eat, shop for meals, and even the way we think about food.
I was born and raised in Italy and I love to offer a new perspective on these two very different cultures and how we can learn from each other.
We will discuss:
1) Meals vs snacking
2) Italian Markets & Grocery Stores
3) Quality
4) How Italians Eat
5) What Do Italians Eat?
6) Seasons
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Welcome to the love holistic living podcast your road map to heal and align mind body and soul and become intuitive through food pleasure and spirituality with your host and Italian Friend Sara Galo child friends today we’re going to be talking about 18 habits Italians versus Americans and you are going to love this
Episode as well as my passion about this topic because as you know I was born and raised in Italy and then I’ve been in the states for the past eight years and I can tell you that I’ve had so many ups and downs and we are going to share some
Stories today all right let’s begin as I just share with you I lived a life around the table whether it was the kitchen table the dining table with family friends relatives and as you know in Italy the family stays together so I grew up in the same Village you know and
All my family like the uncles and aunts and grandparents are all there and they’ve been there for Generations so it feels very tight the community is very strong and I can’t tell you like how many memories I have if I look back it’s kind of like a movie right so take the
Camera and shoot a video just around the kitchen table that’s where everything happened whether it was the Sunday lunch everyday lunch dinners baptisms weddings whatever that was celebration birthday parties we were all sitting down down around the table I still have a picture now that I remember of my eth birthday
So I turned eight and I still remember that like I had like invited about letd say 12 to 14 friends from elementary school and we were all sitting down eating at the dining table obviously it was winter time cuz my birthday is in December so you can’t go really outside and play
Like it was snowing and it was cold so I just still remember even at birthday parties with kids like we’re all sitting and eating so that’s what my memories you know that’s the vision that all my memories are filled with this love and Community around food and I want to
Share this with you I want to give you this gift today because one of the hardest thing for me coming into coming to the States was adapting to a completely different culture like it was a shock to my system and believe me when I tell you that I’m
Really good with changes adapt I’m adaptable so I travel the world and I adapted to leaving with different like people cuz I was like couch surfing I was volunteering so I had to adapt to different situations different families I’m very adaptable but when I came to
Live to the US I was like this is a shock to my system because people don’t worship food the same way people don’t have the same passion and also people look at food like it’s just fuel it’s not important like it’s a grab and go and even when
I’m invited by friends even like whether it’s a it’s a dinner whether it’s a celebration it’s different like people don’t sit around the table people don’t really take the time to to talk with each other and sit for like a couple of hours even which is really different from my
Upbringing and another thing that I’ve noticed is when people are like come for dinner like they’re like can you bring something and by all means I love to cook you all know that so not a big deal but that is also another difference because in Italy when when you’re
Invited by an Italian you don’t bring anything maybe you can break like a bottle of wine right like or some fresh flowers or some chocolates you know just just to say like thank you but you don’t bring the meal because we treat you like the king and queen of that moment in
Time right so you’re our guest and we cook everything for you and when I say we cook everything it’s like first dish second Co meal fruit dessert and all of that now here that was kind of like a shock I was like okay not a big deal
With like this potl style Gathering my it’s just different and another thing that I laugh now is when people invited me and there was just a salad for dinner and I was like what is this they’re like we’re having din dinner and I was like I
Had to go home and eat a second dinner because if you invite me to dinner that that’s my meal but a salad is not going to fulfill me so I I went home and had like a different dinner not a big deal but it was just different I was trying
To understand from a different perspective right like how are you eating a salad like I’m hungry right um another thing that happened to me that it’s um pretty funny and this is all the fun stories as when I was you know with friends and we made this Curry
So we all made this meal together which was sounded like a crazy recipe that took hours to cook and we ate it we were all happy and then literally 30 minutes later people were like let’s order pizza I’m still hungry and that is something that doesn’t happen in Italy like this
Free flow of eating whenever you want which I actually personally don’t think it’s that good for you because it’s throwing your metabolism out of whack and um yeah and people were like what was so interesting was that they had the healthy meal and then it was like I’m
Giving myself the permission to done and stuff my face with this American Pizza I don’t believe Pizza is junk food if you buy and go to the real Italian place to make the authentic pizza but it was just bizarre to me I was like oh okay I’m guess I’m learning something new or
Another story and then I’m going to go into the differences is um that one time or many times I would say that people would grab their plate and go and eat on the floor and I’m not saying potl style in a park that’s totally fine but when you’re
Invited to a home the act of having a meal and then grabbing it and not sitting with people but just going and sitting like on the couch on the floor like you know on another part of the living room for me that was another shock that
Um it just not part of my culture right like it’s and it it felt totally different and it didn’t feel good I was like I’m not judging here and I’m so glad that these people think that this is gathering but to me I I want to live
My life according to the Italian way which is gathering around the table I really really cherish that in my heart so different funny stories and memories of what I’ve seen throughout the years but let’s get right into the main differences between Italians and Americans and how can those
Help you to understand how to regulate your metabolism because that’s the the thread of the season one is weight and metabolism and a healthy body so the first thing that I’ve noticed is me meal versus snacking I think I’ve just mentioned it through the stories but Italians cherish their meal times so
It’s kind of like ingrained in our mindset that there are specific time of the day where you and when you eat and that is really good for the metabolism to have that rhythm of three meals a day it kind of sets the tone it brings the body into safety because the body knows
That at that time you’re going to have something to eat so it can relax and it can actually lose weight faster just side note here and we don’t eat outside of those meal times like we don’t wake up one day and be like I’m having lunch
At 4 p.m. it’s one thing if you’re in Spain and that is 4 p.m. it’s lunchtime and 12:00 a.m. it’s dinner time I’m talking about ital Italians here we get up and have a very small breakfast like light for us is considered like cappuccino and c and
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Or like bread with Gem and a cappuccino or just Espress so some tea and like dry cookies not American Cookies guys they’re full of sugar these I don’t think you’ve ever tried them but they’re very um low in calories and in sugar and um that’s usually what we have as well
It’s very light or yogurt and granola then we go into lunchtime and we have pasta rato lasagna something with carbs because remember that lunchtime is the biggest and main meal of the day that’s when your metabolism is at its peak goes actually with the sun the sun it’s the highest
Point of the sun is the 12 p.m Mark so that’s your metabolism it goes the same way same route and then we have a lighter dinner now it is different in summertime and I know you guys have seen seen a lot of Italians eating pizza at
Night that’s a talk for a different time because in summertime then we change a little bit of their routine due to the hot weather but in America it’s all about snacking and I’ve noticed this through my kids school routine that snacking is kind of taught since a very
Young age like oh let’s have lunch and it’s 11:00 a.m. and I’m like yeah but it’s like a snack and there’s another snack and the lunch bag that they give I I look at it and then I realized that it’s not sustainable it’s not enough for
A kid and just to give you a perspective in Italy kids and myself included in elementary school we have the bell ringing at 12: p.m. and then we are all taken to like the Cen or the gym you know sometimes people schools use the
Gym to set up tables and then we sit at a table with our teachers and our classmates and we’re served hot warm meals like a restaurant style and it takes about an hour and then we have another half an hour to play before we go back to the classroom so we are
Teaching kids at a very young engage to nourish themselves to sit down to take the time and to take that time to digest the food which is not taught in America and that’s not your fault all I’m here to say it’s not your fault it’s a society here that doesn’t really give anybody
The time to digest 30 minutes break 20 minutes break to have lunch that’s not enough you’re still in fight ORF flight mode you at least need 20 many minutes to regulate and bring down the nervous system from maybe like the tasks that you’ve done let’s just say that you were
In meetings all day and they were heavy meetings really you know all I’m trying to say is think about what you can do at your best what can you do to take the time to bring the nervous system to a state of not fight or fly and that will
Regulate the metabolism and to have three meals a day think about that now the second difference that I see is the Italian Markets and grocery stores so very big differences because Scrat that the second difference that I see is the Italian Markets and grocery stores versus the American ones I can’t tell
You how frustrated I am that there’s no one grocery store that has everything that I I need I go to four different grocery stores here in California to get the ingredients that I need because they’re all missing something and or they don’t have the high quality that I
Need or they are super crazy expensive and I don’t think that’s really helpful for anybody especially like busy working parents and family to have to not have a good grocery store that has everything and I know people love Trader Joe but I can’t find everything that I need at
Trader Joe’s I go to Grocery Outlet but I also go to Whole Foods and my favorite is Sprouts so do your best but in Italy we have everything and it’s high quality and it is at a reasonable price again not your fault but do your best to go
And find the high quality ingredient s at your favorite local store that is also not costing you the whole paycheck because as a single parent I know how hard that is to keep healthy meals on the table on a budget but I also don’t compromise that for me and the kids
Because it’s going to cost your health at some point and if there is one thing that I’ve learned at a very young age is to not compromise my physical emotional and spiritual health with po food choices so do your best guys third is quality which I kind of mention it in
The second difference high quality food is extremely important for the body to process and it’s sad to say that in America I pay almost $8 if not more for a mozzarella from Italy like a good cheese when in Italy I pay one Euro um which is about $2 like a little bit
Double but um or even less maybe I don’t know the conversion perfectly but you get what I’m trying to say and if there is one thing again that I don’t compromise is the high quality food I try to buy organic as much as I can and or Follow The Dirty Dozen
Because for example there are foods that are sprayed with pesticides in America that are highly toxic like strawberries and grapes and blueberries you know the berries um and I have a list um with me that I share in my Facebook group but all I’m trying to say is do your best
Your body is going to pay at some point so do what you can to limit the processed foods to limit the high caloric drinks that are not even healthy drinks and I keep myself very protected from all of the process foods that’s in America I just
Don’t like it like I’m like that doesn’t even taste normal to me and another thing that I see is that there is processed food everywhere like gas stations Home Depot and I don’t think that’s healthy either if you’re trying to heal your relationship with food and
You go to Home Depot and you see Mars Bars which were my weaknesses it’s really really difficult so that’s another thing that I personally don’t appreciate about America that the processed food is too available but again you can’t change it so the best way is for me to have snacks that I
Prepare or healthy snacks around me at all times that I like and enjoy and I like the taste and I know that they’re healthy or I know that when I go to the Post Office maybe there isise that my favorite smoothie coffee shop or bar and
Then I get a smoothie at healthy ones so I kind of research a lot now moving forward number four is the house you eat is as important as the what you eat so how Italians eat is again around the table is Again by sitting down say b a
Petito and enjoying that meal fully with all the senses now I’m not saying we’re perfect but I’m seeing all the times on a daily basis people that eat in the car like their burrito they’re driving maybe they’re like running through appointment and I’m not saying that I don’t have
Those days but it’s limited to literally it could be once a month or less that’s not my normal habit again it’s not perfectionism it’s about finding a balanced lifestyle and if you can limit the consumption of food on the go and I know this is against your culture like
America is on the go but if you can learn to appreciate and worship the time of meals with yourself with your family then that’s a gift itself because again it’s going to regulate your nervous system which is going to regulate your metabolism and one thing
That is important the how is we eat with family and Community it builds a sense of relationship and that is so good for your gut your gut is impacted by what you eat but also by your feelings and if you’re eating in a stressful environment
I am sorry to tell you you’re not going to digest that food so do again your best to maybe change to every dinner you know we’re sitting down at the table not in front of the TV not on the go you’re not grabbing dinner and sitting by
Yourself I’m sitting with you or having a conversation a healthy conversation not a toxic conversation when you’re eating that’s not good and do do your best I always sit with my kids even at breakfast if I’m not hungry I sit with them so that they finish their meal and
They have a full belly and they feel like someone’s there with them keeping them company now moving forward is what do Italians eat number five interesting topic because it’s going against everything that you’re hearing here in America so in America you hear you have to have protein is that all meals and
And collagen and protein shakes and this and this and that and I’m like you don’t hear that in Italy we eat carbs you all know that I’m not saying you have to start eating carbs I am just saying we have our capuccino and croissant we have our pasta
Ravioli risato with salads or or side dishes of veggies our espresso to close the meal and at dinner time we can have a frittata we can have a salad we can have soup we have paninis now all I’m here to say is that we don’t fear food
As much as Americans do we eat with pleasure and when you eat with pleasure when you allow yourself to fully give yourself that nourishment without depriving yourself with healthy Superfood Bar that tastes like crap and I’ve tried them all or some of them I’m like how can you even eat this it feels
Like you’re eating hay then it’s not good for your soul and the one thing that I’ve learned from Italians is being an apologetic Unapologetic about consuming high quality treats even if it’s a gelato every day in summertime even if it’s a croissant every morning they are an apologetic of having that
Pleasure in the morning and they look at you like why are you not having this why would you deprive yourself from this and I know we all want to be healthy but remember healthy doesn’t mean extreme healthy does not mean your plate is always green that is a big one because
You can eat kale every day but if you’re sad and if you’re bored and if you’re not enjoying that then you’re not going to digest it so think about the concept of pleasure and now let’s move on to the next one and last for today which is eating seasonally following the
Season this is something that I’ve learned growing up that we have a rhythm to the year with winter time and like have your foods and stews and potatoes and panon Pand and lots of treats and then we go into more of a cleansing time in springtime and lots of chocolate during
Easter time now then summer time is watermelon time and melons and berries and gelato and salads and then we enter the season of autumn with a lot of pumpkin season um pumpkin ravioli but also chestnuts and again then it happens all over again so what I love is that we don’t eat
Chestnuts in summertime and I think that’s a cultural Miss over here because people eat whatever they want at whatever season they’re in and that’s not really helpful in giving you the Rhythm the Cadence of the which is going to help you to enjoy food even more
Because if you have chestnuts or let me just say this watermelon all year round you’re going to get bored of it I get bored so I like the seasons and I know I live in California which doesn’t have a lot of Seasons but I do my best to have citrus
Fruits in winter time watermelon in summertime and smoothies in summertime and and pumpkin season in Autumn and asparagus and art jokes and all of that like I do follow the season as Bast as I can so I hope this was insightful and that gave you more of an understanding of what’s not your
Fault and also what you can change and how to better their relationship with food and how to also help your nervous system and your metabolism in getting regulated and thank you again for following and listening to the love holistic living podcast with your friend Zara Garo