I had a pasta disaster last night — but it had a happy ending.
I had just put the finishing touches on my garden pasta delight — pasta mixed with fresh garden tomatoes, basil, garlic and extra virgin olive oil. I gave John his plate and sent him out to the pool. Then I dished up my own plate, turned to go out the door, and my delicious pasta masterpiece slid off the plate and splashed all over the floor.
I had recently bought some bright and cheery plastic plates to use for garden dining. I was excited about using them because they are really very pretty. But little did I know, their surface is also very slippery.
There was no pasta left, because I’d only made enough for two people. So I ended up with a plate of salad, steamed broccoli, and garden pasta topping — and a new weight loss remedy that really works: Prepare your delightful dish and then just make sure all the pasta ends up on the floor.
I had a bite of John’s pasta — just to make sure it was as good as I thought it would be. And in the end I didn’t go hungry, because we also had some amazing Gilroy Garlic and Jack Cheese Rustic Bread that I’d bought on sale at Whole Foods. (What a deal. Only $1.49!)
As the Sufi poet saint Rumi once wrote: “Some disasters prevent other disasters from happening.”
I didn’t overeat last night. Which left me with no reason to cry over spilt pasta.
How many times have you promised yourself to lose weight — only to break that promise?
And how did it make you feel to break your word with yourself?
A colleague, Matthew Cossolotto, author of the new ebook “The Power of Making a Promise: Make A Promise. Keep Your Word. Change Your Life,” recently commented on a line in the 2010 movie, The Karate Kid.
In that movie, one of the young characters promises to attend the main character’s Kung Fu tournament, but her father forbids it. He later relents when he learns that she made a promise, saying, “In our family, we don’t break promises.”
How seriously do you take your promises? Do you make those promises lightly? Do you keep promises with others but not with yourself?
Cossolotto points out that a real promise leaves no room for failure. It’s about true commitment, like in a real marriage. It’s about keeping your word with yourself. I will quote what Matthew says about turning mere “goals” into promises:
“A promise is like a goal on steroids. It’s a powerful way to get unstuck, to break free from disempowering habits and mindsets and jumpstart your personal change journey.”
Real commitment to losing weight means following through, no matter what. It means caring more about yourself than about the fleeting pleasure of a cupcake in the middle of the afternoon or a bag of chips in the evening.
And the great thing is that it isn’t that hard. The force of the commitment itself overpowers lower urges, especially if you couple it with deciding to eat only healthy food in proper proportions so that you body isn’t crying for nutrition, which it will if you eat junk.
To learn about a healthy way of eating and living that keeps Italians slender even while enjoying foods such as pasta, go to http://WeightLossItalianStyle.com.
Have you tried illy issimo, the little canned coffees that allow you to enjoy a quality Italian coffee wherever you go?
If not, you can find them at Whole Foods, numerous Target locations, gourmet grocery stores, and even Duane Reade if you happen to be in Manhattan.
The company asked if I would try three of their canned coffees and give my thoughts on them.
I kid you not — I opened a can of “caffe” — their espresso-style coffee drink – took a sip and almost fell off my chair, because I immediately felt transported back to Florence in the summer of 2003, when I lived there.
I drink lattes nearly every day where I live in California, but there’s a difference between American coffee and the real Italian thing. Illy issimo uses 100 percent Arabica coffee, as opposed to Robusta, which gives it a richer, stronger flavor, with a lower caffeine content.
Now, these canned coffees are meant to be drunk chilled. I drank my “caffe” room temperature, which is probably why it reminded me of how my coffee tasted when I used to sit for hours at Ugo’s Florentine cafe trying to read the newspaper in Italian. I actually like it room temperature!
The “caffe”comes in small, 6.8 fluid ounce cans with only 50 calories — and that’s for the one that includes sugar. They also make a sugarless version.
I also tried the cappuccino, which was smooth and sweet. Actually, it was deliziozo! It’s something I would use on a special occasion, because I try to avoid sugar whenever possible, and this 8.45 fluid ounce can has 18 grams of it.
Granted, coffee does taste better with sugar. But I wonder if illy issimo made a cappuccino without it, if there might be enough people like me who would drink it? (Perhaps they are trying to stick as close to the Italian experience as possible, and probably most Italians would put a little sugar in their cappuccino.)
The latte macchiato was also smooth, strong flavored and very sweet. Again, deliziozo! I gave some to my parents, thinking they would love it, but they thought it was a little too sweet.
All of the coffees get a thumbs up from me, but if you’re watching your weight, I’d go for the espresso for the greatest Italian experience with the least amount of calories.
By the way, like most things Italian, illy issimo coffees are made from natural ingredients. They’re great to take in an ice chest for summer picnics.
Do you know that when I lived in Japan, they had vending machines all over the city filled with these kinds of small cans of coffee and tea? It was always such a pleasure to find them wherever I went.
Too bad we don’t have that concept here. Maybe someone could come up with it. Maybe illy issimo?
Oh, and those clever Japanese — the cans of coffee in the vending machines were chilled in summer and hot in winter.
I assume illy issimo coffees could be heated in the can for your winter enjoyment, although I’m not exactly sure the best way to do that.
For now, enjoy them cold!
If you want to follow illy issimo on facebook and twitter, go to the following:
Now is the time of year to enjoy a delicious Italian specialty – zucchini flowers.
These are the delicate, yellowy-orange flowers from which a zucchini grows. They come 3-4 inches long, and if you’re lucky you’ll find them at your farmers market right now.
An Italian friend brought several to me from his garden this morning. I’m going to fry them up. Normally I stay away from fried foods, but for zucchini flowers I’ll make an acception because they’re light. And my friend only had four of them!
Ingredients: 4 zucchini flowers, 2 eggs, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese, 2 tablespoons beer, olive or vegetable oil, salt and pepper to taste.
Directions: Break 2 eggs in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons flour and mix thoroughly until there aren’t any lumps. Add a tablespoon of grated parmesan. Now beat the 2 tablespoons of beer plus salt and pepper to taste into the flour mixture.
Heat a small pool of oil in a skillet. (Enough to cover the bottom and then some.) With fingers, gently dip individual zucchini flowers in the flower mixture and coat them. Drop in hot oil. Lower the heat and cook about 10 minutes on either side, til golden and delicious-looking.
They make an amazing appetizer or side dish, but I’m going to make them the center of my meal! Good with a small glass of beer.
A little spring cleaning can make your weight loss go easier. I’m not talking about going through your closet but rather, going through your pantry and cupboards — and the refrigerator.
As delicious springtime/summertime produce comes on the market, make it your goal this week to toss out all the processed food and junk food on your shelves — all the things with preservatives and additives that unbalance your system. That would include anything with items on the label that you can’t pronounce.
It’s time to get fresh!
If you can’t stand to throw these old standbys away, package them up and donate them to your favorite charity or food kitchen. Walk or ride your bike. If you must take the car, go for a walk afterwards.
In fact, take a walk around your favorite farmers market and pick out a rainbow of colored fruits and vegetables to take home and restock your kitchen.
Teach yourself to buy, cook, and eat fresh ingredients only. If you need some pointers on how to make delicious pastas, salads, desserts and more, you’ll find them in my Weight Loss, Italian Style! System at http://www.WeightLossItalianStyle.com/products.html
Did you know that Italian women get more exercise than American women just by virtue of living an Italian lifestyle?
They burn off calories by walking and going up and down stairs. They get weight-bearing exercise just by shopping and lugging home their groceries.
When you “go Italian” in your own hometown, you can get a handle on love handles. And you can say good bye to the one kind of sandwich you never want to have around — “sandwiches beneath the behind,” as my teachers on the Isle of Elba called them — those saddlebags of fat that drip out of the bottom of your bathing suit.
Remember, Italians only care about three things — beauty, food, and love (and, OK, sex) — so they know about this. Falling in love with movement all’Italiana is the way to make staying in shape seem effortless. There’s beauty in moving your body. Think of it as the cultivation of grace.
When I used to work in the restaurant business, we always talked about saving steps in order to prevent job burnout. But in weight loss, Italian style, the more steps, the better! Moving your feet is a great way to burn off your meals.
But while we’re on the subject of food, you might want to check out my own version of “Sandwiches Beneath the Behind” in my recipe book, “Recipes to Drool Over.” These delicious sunny-weather sandwiches will get you in the mood for a springtime picnic. And they won’t cause those unsightly sandwiches-beneath-the-behind, because they’re light and made with only the freshest ingredients.
And, if you walk or bike to the market to get the ingredients, all the better!
Two-thirds of Americans are overweight at this time. The World Health Organization estimates that by 2015 the figure will be more like 80 percent.
How can you avoid becoming one of the statistics or pull yourself out of the pool if you’re already there?
Not by going on some awful diet, which I’m sure you’ve already tried. Not much fun, was it? And what happened when you went off the diet? If you’re like more than 90 percent of people who lose weight, you probably gained it back.
That’s because in the long run, dieting doesn’t work. Lifestyle changes do.
The sad reality is that in America at least, life revolves around cars. Personally, I love cars, because I lived for 20 years in big cities around the world where it was inconvenient to have one, so I relied on public transportation. Cars are convenient, but if you live in yours, you’re probably not giving yourself enough opportunities for to keep your body healthy, not to mention fit and toned.
If you’ve never lived as an adult without a car, you may not have a clue how much exercise you get when you don’t have one. I’m not saying get rid of your car. I’m saying start moving your body!
Think of what you’re doing as moving, not just exercising, because what you do should move you emotionally, not just physically. Movement needn’t be a chore. It can be a pleasure — a passion, even. It ought to be fun!
You can start by taking a walk in your neighborhood every day. Spring’s a good time to start that. It’s a huge pleasure to be witness to the changing of the seasons, particularly as winter gives way to spring and flowers start showing off their glory.
And, might I suggest that you consider adding something new to your repertoire, like, say, a dance class?
Now don’t faint. It’s just a suggestion, and you don’t have to do anything right away. Just start thinking about some fun kind of movement that can make your spring and summer more exciting than what you’re experiencing right now.
One of the first things foreigners notice when they visit Italy is the sense of movement and life happening all around them.
People get up early and move throughout the day. They walk after dinner, and the piazzas buzz with activity after sundown.
Italians know how to move! Vitality is in their jeans. (Not just their genes.)
Next to their eating habits, the number one reason why Italians are slimmer than Americans is because of the amount of exercise they get in their everyday lives.
If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you need to bring that sense of vitality into your own life and move like they do. Now, you could drop the weight by starving yourself, taking drugs, sweating to the point of dehydration, or destroying lean muscle mass, but these methods are drastic and dangerous.
The best way I know of is to modify your eating habits and get more life-enhancing exercise. And I don’t mean just until you lose the weight. I’m talking about a permanent lifestyle change. Not some flash-in-the-pan weight loss for the holidays or your summer vacation.
We want results as lasting and eternal as the city of Rome.
If you haven’t done so already, you can start by walking. Just make a commitment to walk each and every day, rain or shine.
The National Weight Loss Registry has found that most people who are successful at losing weight and keeping it off start out by walking on a regular basis.
I had a funny experience this Easter morning, which reminded me about something related to the weight loss journey — or any other important journey for that matter.
I had decided that I wanted to go to my childhood church to hear the beautiful Easter hymns — in particular, the one they play at the end.
I probably hadn’t been to this church since the day I was confirmed many moons ago. In fact, the church didn’t even exist on the same property. But I’d had in my head for the past several days that I wanted to hear the big, bold, magnificient “Alleluia!” recessional, which comes at the conclusion of the service.
The church had beautiful flowers throughout, parts of the sermon were moving, and anticipation was building up to the crescendo and my much-awaited song. The other hymns went by and finally the moment came for ”mine” to start playing, when the pastor suddenly announced, “You know, I think we’ll skip that and go on to the Hallelujah Chorus.”
My jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe it! It was Easter Sunday, and I picked the one church on the planet that decided not to play the Alleluia recessional?
There was a time in my life when this sort of thing might have depresssed me. But it was so blatantly ironic, I just laughed. And then I went home and called up the lyrics on the Internet and then called up the song so I could hear it on YouTube.
In this world we have to be resourceful. Life is a play of light and shadow. One can’t exist without the other, and knowing that, we can’t let every little thing get us down.
Remember that if you’re trying to lose weight. Obstacles will get thrown in your path. Your job is to skirt around them like a martial artist. Or pick yourself up if they flatten you.
The message of all the great beings is that we must constantly resurrect ourselves. As Bodhi Dharma, the father of Kung-fu said, “Fall down seven times, get up eight.”
You can take your time, but you eventually you have to get up and get back in the game.
Did you know that Italian women get more exercise than American women just by virtue of living an Italian lifestyle?