Italian Cusine vs Britannic Cusine

Hello friends! Today I want to talk about my passion for travel and for foreign countries — especially how they eat. Thanks to a study holiday in London a few weeks ago, I discovered so many beautiful things about this capital, and also the nutritional differences between my Mediterranean diet and theirs.

Breakfast

Italian breakfast vs English breakfast

Let's start with breakfast: the traditional English breakfast (the Full English) is really different from mine. It's made of eggs (scrambled, with butter, sunny-side up, fried or poached), white toast or cereal, bacon, sausage, fries in a few cases, sautéed mushrooms, grilled tomatoes, beans in sauce and black pudding — a breakfast that reaches 1200 kcal in one sitting!

So we're talking about a calorie count I would usually reach in a whole day! Used to a cappuccino and a good croissant, I was quite amazed — if I ate breakfast like that every day, I'd put on weight in no time (and you know, girls watch their size), and my body would struggle with all that sugar and fat.

Lunch

Italian lunch vs British lunch

I usually have lunch with very good fresh pasta prepared at Bottega Torciano, with a fresh tomato sauce or an excellent Caprese — slices of fresh tomato and mozzarella — dressed with our fantastic olive oil, following my healthy Mediterranean diet.

But when it came to dining in London, choosing lunch was much harder: international influence has brought a huge variety of cuisines — I could pick between French, Italian, the classic English, but also Chinese, Thai and more. Fast food places are also more and more common, following the typical American trend. It was fascinating to see how different these cuisines were, though none really matched the balance of the Mediterranean diet: some leave out a whole food group, others overdo it.

Dinner

Italian dinner vs British dinner

As for dinner, while we Italians are used to eating a first or a second course, the English always have that same multiethnic choice, or the classic takeaway — like the famous fish and chips, a paper cone holding a portion of fries and fried fish, very famous and part of British tradition.

If you decide to follow the Mediterranean diet like me, it's better not to eat fried food too often, since it's high in fat and, over time, hard on the circulatory system. Choose a slice of white meat or fish and plenty of vegetables instead — much easier for our bodies to digest.

Lessons from Britain

The experience in Britain

It made me understand how important my choice to follow the Mediterranean diet really is. As tempting and appealing as other cuisines are, I decided to enjoy them now and then while sticking to fresh pasta with healthy condiments — like the fresh pasta from Bottega Torciano or the extra virgin olive oil from Tenuta Torciano — and above all not to overdo it with sugar and fat, because I like to eat well and healthy.

If you want to know more about Mediterranean cuisine and how to cook it, visit www.torciano.com or www.bottegatorciano.com. Bye! See you soon!