Those Italians, they really have it down.

Life, that is.

After 2 weeks of bopping around, I’ve never felt more strongly about it.

I checked a few places, just to be sure.

Sardinia -> Corsica -> Florence -> Taromina, Sicily -> Rome, to be exact.

From island to city to cliff dwelling life, it’s confirmed.

Their lifestyle, their food, and their pace of life is intoxicating.

Yes, there is a lot of pizza and pasta going on.

And wine.

And cappucinos.

And gelato.

{duh}

And amazing vegetable & fish preparations if you ever let yourself get past the first section of the menu. But more about healthy traveling strategies and tips later.

But they don’t eat their food like Americans. We know that part.

How many times have you heard the comparisons? That Italians actually enjoy their food, and take the time to eat and relax and catch up with each other.

They sip, they savor. Then they sip some more. And a little bit more.

Lunch suddenly becomes a little bit more fun.

Think about it. Eating is the best part of the day.

Why rush it?

Those smartie Italians.

There is no {pasta to the face} going on. That’s how they pick out the tourists.

When it comes down to it, Italians just value food. They respect it, embrace it, and don’t settle for anything less than the best, on all accounts. And the best just means real food. It’s simple. Uncomplicated.

How do I know?

Because they can make sauteed spinach taste as good as a side dish of pasta.

Yes, I’m serious.

I even tried it before the wine the second time around, to be sure. And if that’s not proof, I don’t know what it. Really, it’s so good.

When the food is fresh and top notch in quality, there is no need to cover it up with heavy seasonings or spices.

My kind of cooking.

All you low-fat freaks {tsk, tsk}, hold on to your panties.

My favorite dish from this last trip–Spinachi Italiano is made with butter AND parmesan cheese.

And before you stop reading right now, I’ll have you know that I fully approve of it from a nutrition perspective.

Butter is a very traditional, high heat safe and very stable cooking fat. The amount you need is very small to get a lot of flavor. And the fat in it helps you absorb all the great vitamins and minerals in your food much better.

What is bad is all the imitations out there {“heart healthy spreads”, margarine & canola oil based products = bad news}.

And besides, butter is just good.

And if your spinach tastes good, guess what? You’ll want to eat more of it.Kids and little ones included. Stop making eating vegetables the least enjoyable part of the meal. Eating healthy can suddenly becomes much more enjoyable.

So much so, you’re more likely to want to continue doing so. A healthy lifestyle, in other words, can be easier with a better and more positive association to eating vegetables and healthy foods.

So what if there is some butter and cheese in your veggies?

I can’t think of a better use.

Sarah’s Spinaci Italiano

Ingredients:

Fresh spinach (1-4 heads) (1 head makes 2 very small side portions)

organic butter (preferably)

organic parmesan cheese (preferably)

Directions:

1. Cut stems away in the bunch:

2. Wash spinach leaves and drain. Melt 1 (more generous) pat of butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add spinach in batches and toss lightly until it wilts:

3. Remove pan from heat. Drain excess liquid through a colander (similar to pasta) and place spinach back in the pan. Add another small pat of butter, pepper and sea salt and stir together. Add the cheese last, to sprinkle on top:

4. Spinaci is traditionally served hot, but I like it better when it’s cooled for 5-10 minutes (or even cold).

Not down with dairy? Try garlic, olive oil and red pepper flakes for a different twist, or use some nutritional yeast and olive oil in it’s place