Food and Growing Up Italian

Posted By Marlene on 2008-08-31 19:33

I grew up in a traditional Italian-American household where food and mealtime translated into love and family! On Sundays and holidays in particular, I remember the wonderful smells of fresh basil, garlic, onions and homemade everything from pasta, to pizza to spinach pies, to tomato sauce (gravy, as it is referred to!). Everything was fresh, grown mostly in gardens and made in family kitchens!

My grandfather who lived with my family until he passed away made homemade wine in our basement. And we had a second kitchen in the basement with a gas stove for my mother and my aunts to cook roasted peppers and a big lasagna that did not fit in the upstairs kitchen.

During the summers, we had "weekend parties" that lasted all day into the night with my cousins and my aunts bringing all their homemade dishes and desserts so that everyone (sometimes numbering 40 people or more)could share in the Italian regional cuisine of our clan. I never heard a complaint about running out of anything or someone being too tired to clean up and do the dishes!!

FOOD was central to our happy family gatherings! Food brought us together and kept us nourished and happy!

I am proud to be a second generation Italian American who grew up understanding the wonders of  foods that are tirelessly prepared from "scratch",  from pure, natural ingredients with a labor of love.

I am so thankful to have been introduced to the many cooks, chefs in the macrobiotic community since my cancer because they taught me the benefits of a  vegetarian lifestyle based on the principles that surrounded me during my youth-fresh, organic, homemade and with LOVE.

I encourage anyone reading this who is an Italian-American to share their stories of food and eating with others!

1 Comments:

Feedback & Article

Posted By on 2008-08-31 22:20

Great insight into the old generations of Italian families. Unfortunately, people tend to forget how important it is to eat together. Not only does it increase family communication but it also has been known to boost cognitive thinking. Later in life, it is those hearty family meal sitdowns that produce positive outcomes for personal development.

I found an interesting excerpt from the Men's Health website and thought I would share it with you...

"Now put it all together. Keeping healthy foods in the fridge and leaving bad foods at the grocery store, planning your meals every week, eating 5 meals a day, and limiting starches to 3 a day. Here's one more for you. If you aren't already, eat something almost as soon as you wake up. University of Massachusetts researchers recently discovered that men who don't eat in the a.m. are 4.5 times more likely to be obese than those who make it an everyday habit "

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