Italian meals are healthy, simple and delicious. Staple ingredients in Italy include fish, beans, pasta, bread, gnocchi, rice, and hard, grating cheese. These are used in combination with herbs, root vegetables, flowers, seeds and fruits.
Number one on our list of the best traditional foods in Italy has to be pizza. Everyone knows what pizza is, it needs no introduction, but what you probably know as pizza isn't quite the same as in Italy.
Authentic Italian food is often prepared with carefully selected fresh produce. Staples such as tomatoes, onions, garlic, and seafood are rich sources of vitamins and Omega-3 fatty acids. In fact, Omega 3's may help fight inflammation, lower cholesterol, improve your risk factors for heart disease, and much more.
Celebrating the ritual of eating is not the only reason why Italy is on top of the health charts. Fresh and nutritious ingredients such as fish, vegetables, nuts, seeds and olive oil and less red meat consumption have an enormous impact on your well-being. This leads to greater health benefits.
Italian pasta typically has strict government quality standards and control around it, and is made with 100% durum wheat, called semolina flour, or semola di grano duro in Italian. This means that not only is the pasta higher in protein, but more importantly it stands up to the rigours of cooking well.
Often described as a 'philosophy', cucina povera actually originated out of necessity – historically, this was the only way that many Italians could afford to cook. Cucina povera recipes are fundamentally frugal, with an emphasis on not wasting food, making more out of less and savouring every ingredient.
When it comes to health, you can choose either, but the type of pizza or pasta you compare will determine which is healthier. A tomato-based pasta is preferable to pizza or cream-based pasta. Thin crust, veggie-loaded pizzas contain less flour and more vegetables, making them an excellent choice.
Breakfast in Italy: what to expect
Homemade breakfast in Italy is usually a straightforward affair. Traditional breakfast drinks in Italian households are coffee, tea and cocoa milk for the kids and the main breakfast foods are bread with butter and jam, biscuits and cereals.
A typical Italian diet consists of three meals in a day. The most common foods in the Italian diet include pasta, cheese, vegetables, olive oil, meats, and wine. Italians give a lot of importance to fresh ingredients. They use seasonal ingredients to prepare meals.
The dough is made by wheat flour that provides complex carbs with a slow acting energy source; Mozzarella is a fresh cheese and is made of proteins and calcium, important minerals to preserve bones health; Olive oil contains mono-unsaturate fats that are a powerful natural weapon against cholesterol.
Italians eat the most pasta worldwide – about 60 pounds of pasta per person per year. Most Italians eat pasta every day but they keep their portions in check. A portion in Italy is about a cup and the meal includes a small portion of meat and a large portion of vegetables and salad.
In the 'health' department, Greek is in fact superior to all cuisines when considering nutritional and health benefits which lead to longevity as confirmed in many scientific studies. With fewer sauces and more vegetables than Italian, the Greek cuisine is very attractive to vegetarians as well.
Although Italy is known for its pizza and pasta, it is the healthiest country in the world because of its food. Meals are both healthy and delicious, and you can still lose weight following an Italian diet. Healthy fats, fresh veggies, and, yes, wonderful pasta all contribute to the country's low obesity rates.
Authentic Italian food uses fresh, seasonal produce in its dishes. This keeps things natural, and only quality ingredients make it into your meal. Plump tomatoes, crunchy asparagus, and aromatic basil help create those flavors for which Italian food is famous. Tender zucchini deserves its place on your plate too.
In general, the poor ate more of foods low to the ground, such as turnips, garlic, onions and carrots, while nobility dined on "higher" foods such as artichokes, peaches, pheasant, and pears.
Because many Neapolitans were poor, working families, they required inexpensive, quick food. Pizza became a common staple for its low expense and convenience of cooking and eating and featured a number of tasty toppings, including todays tomatoes, cheese, oil, anchovies, and garlic.
The simple answer is that it is consistent with the traditional culture of avoiding the heat of the day. Also, since the workday is divided in half by a long pausa, people don't finish work until around 7:30 or 8:00.
According to Eva, the answer is that they use a different type of flour – Italian bread and pasta are made of durum wheat flour which doesn't spike your blood sugar levels as much and therefore it doesn't significantly contribute to weight gain as much as regular refined white flour would, for example.
They often cook with fresh, simple ingredients and eat seasonally. In this way, Italians eat very healthily and intuitively. The rarely diet or cut out foods; they will happily order dessert after multiple other courses when out to dinner at restaurants. Most Italian families eat a big family lunch every Sunday.
A typical dinner at an Italian home is usually pasta, meat, and vegetables, and takes place around 8 p.m. Going out for dinner in Italy is a pretty big thing to do, or eat, for that matter: Several courses, wine, and a long time chatting and lingering are all part of the event.