Why I Will Get Fat in Italy

First of all, Aj, if you are reading this, I'm totally copying your blog post subject, just switching up the country a bit. Hehehe.

If you have been following my first two weeks in Italy, you may have noticed the rather strange lack of food-related pictures in my social media and blogosphere presence. "What's this?", you may ask, "Is Trula starving to death in Italy, the land of food?".

Of course, I have been doing anything but starving to death, and in fact food is such an important part of my life that I have been refraining from posting about it so that I could dedicate a whole blog post to it. Quick warning: while I chalk it up as devoting a whole post to food because it is special, it is also because I have a lot to say about it. Just letting you know that you're in for a long haul here. There will be pictures, there will be descriptions, there might be salivation, there will be weird sentences that make you question my validity a bit, but if you've gotten this far you might as well plough ahead. Also, all of my generalizations and experiences truly are my generalizations and my observations of my experience, and I'm sure other people have experienced otherwise. If you have experienced something completely different, I would love to hear about it so that we can piece together a quirky picture of Italy. Grazie.

While I am not one to promote stereotypes, the whole hype about Italy's food is 100% spot on. I have very, very quickly become a stranger to the "slightly picky eater" part of me, and I will try nearly anything. Now why are my eating preferences fading away so quickly? Because almost everything that I put in my mouth is delicious. Whether I though I would like it or not, or whether I had tried it and hated it before is completely irrelevant. There are literally no consequences for trying anything and everything since the odds are ever in my favor that it will be great. I'm pretty sure my brain is actually re-wiring it's opinion on trying new foods with each bite that I take.

So good food is one thing, but why exactly will I get fat in Italy?
Before I left I read of Italians and their food that while the food certainly may be rich, carbo-loaded, or something we may generally think of as unhealthy, the Italian portions are much smaller and thus it actually balances out. For example, while they may eat gelato an alarming number of times per week, the scoops are small. Or while there may be pasta for every meal, it is a much smaller plateful than Americans are used to.
I am so sorry to all of the people on the internet that wrote these things, but they are wrong. So wrong. Indescribably wrong.

Let me walk you through a recent(although isn't everything pretty recent? I mean, I've only been here for two weeks) lunch with my host family and extended family.
        We are all sitting at the table, when a large basket of different breads, along with many spreads, meats, and fish are brought out. Of course I have no idea what most of the stuff is, but everyone is swooping it up so I have to try it before it's all gone. At this point I'm no longer hungry. Not full yet, but not hungry either.
        Next, homemade gnocchi smothered in red sauce is brought out, and of course it is delicious. I take a smaller portion than everyone else, but I am still quite full when I am finished. At this point I assume this is the end of the meal.

The freshly rolled and cut gnocchi, courtesy of my host mom.

        Just as the internet writers were dreadfully wrong, so was I. I had barely finished my last bite of gnocchi when a large dish of eggplant parmesan was brought out. And of course, I'm here to experience Italy, and what better way than through the food, so I have to try it. By the end of eggplant parmesan I am absolutely stuffed and very grateful that the meal is over because I am convinced that I would not be able to eat another bite.

The eggplant parmesan in all of it's tomato-saucy, cheesy glory.

        I think at this point you might guess that again, of course I was wrong. Dessert was brought out, which was a delectable chocolate thing(I'm sorry, I really have no idea what it was) which was like chocolate fudge, but much less heavy and less sweet. Still dense and very chocolate-y, though. It was explained to me that it was made with water instead of milk, so that may be why I found it less heavy.

        After dessert I really, truly did think that the meal was over. I mean, usually dessert signifies the end of a meal, right? But of course I was wrong, and ten minutes later a towering platter of fried fish was brought out. It smelled delicious, and absolutely was delicious, but it was all I could to to eat two pieces when everyone else ate far, far more.

Of course this type of thing is not an every-day ordeal, but it's not uncommon either. Far more ordinary are daily happenings such as,

         "Hai fame, Trula?"(are you hungry?)

         "No, non ho fame, grazie"(no, I'm not hungry, thanks)

         3 minutes later..............

         Here, eat this delicious pastry which is huge and rich and definitely filling!

The wonderful pastry in question...the filling was something along the lines of butter+cream+sugar, but.......

Or another one that happened recently,

        "Trula hai fame? Do you want a cupcake?"

        "No, non ho fame. We literally just ate lunch."

        "Ok then, let's go to the Gelateria and eat delicious gelato!" 

I got my host dad to hold my gelato so that I could get a decent picture...and yes, that chocolatey stuff is most definitely large amounts of Nutella. They have the container of gelato, and every 5 scoops or so, they pour more molten Nutella on the top of the gelato container so that each scoop has a ridiculous amount of pure Nutella in it. Heavenly! 

As you might be able to tell judging by the last two pictures, Italy has been very kind(or should I say dangerous) to my sweet tooth. Italians are not afraid of sugar, and it is all too easy to get a sweet snack. Speaking of which, on to breakfast!

Before I left for Italy, the one meal that I knew would be very different was breakfast. This is absolutely true, but I am quickly adjusting to it and I love it.

Since Nutella is so popular in Italy(it originates from Italy), let's explain this using Nutella. If you're anything like me, you like to read food packaging, and you might have noticed that funny little illustration and description on the back of a Nutella jar that says something along the lines of "Make Nutella part of a delicious and balanced breakfast!" and it pictures Nutella on toast, some fruit, and I think coffee? Anywho, in California I scoffed at this, as chocolate on toast seems like anything but a balanced breakfast. But as soon as I walked into the kitchen on my first morning in Italy, I discovered that Italian breakfast is very nearly the back-of-the-nutella-jar-breakfast, just Italian style (which is so much better!)

Breakfast in my house consists of some sort of bread-like-thing. Often this is Pinza, a locally made bread which is reasonably dense and slightly sweet, sometimes it is Brioche, which is what Italians call Croissants (confusing, I know), and sometimes it is other random sweet breads. Also small cookies. Anyway, upon these sweet bread canvases we spread Nutella or jam, creating a delicious if not completely balanced bite for breakfast. Breakfast is served along side tea, and sometimes we eat yogurt as well. Breakfast is without a doubt smaller than in the US, and I was a bit concerned as to how that would work out for me, but in just two weeks I have absolutely learned to love it! Like I said, my sweet tooth is happy :).

Pinza Triestina....the perfect breakfast!

Of course Nutella! Also it's in glass jars here instead of plastic. How sophisticated.

Apple jam....delicious on Pinza.

Brioche...when I bought this one, (for €1) it was warm, and I know I'm not in France but it was without a doubt one of the best that I have ever tried (although for my family: the ones in Laos were pretty darn good......).

Yes, there is a lot of pasta. Of course the pizza is amazing. I am absolutely in love with Italian food and I look forward to enjoying every bite while I am here. I'm sure that I've forgotten something that I wanted to say in regards to food, but that's what future blog posts are about, right?
Ciao, and enjoy the delicious food wherever you may be!