About Italian Food: Dieting...

If you can't see this email, click here

Italian Food Italian Food Quick/Easy Recipes Le Basi Classic Recipes From Kyle Phillips, your Guide to Italian Food Yes, it's that time of year again. The Christmas Holidays are by now over, as is Carnevale, and Easter is still a ways off... It's that time of the year when I look at myself in the mirror, think ahead to June, when the kids will be clamoring to go to the beach, and blanch. Unless I do something, I will be a frightening sight. Fortunately, there are lots of Italian foods that are not fattening! Such as? Insalata. When I say Italian food can be slimming, I often get a "who are you trying to kid?" look. But there is much more to Italian cooking than mounts of pasta, and if you visit a good local market, you're certain to find a stand with all sorts of wild salad greens, from pungently bitter rucola to sweet valeriana, and boxes with mixtures already made up to suit clients' preferences. The standard Italian dressing for this sort of a salad is very simple: good extravirgin olive oil, wine vinegar, and a little salt. No pepper. And it's quite nice. Add a ball of mozzarella or some fiocchi di latte (milk flakes, or cottage cheese) and you have a light lunch. Good for loosing weight, especially if you go easy on the olive oil and limit your bread intake to a single slice, with which you mop up the drippings. Or? Pesce, or Fish. Fresh fish is low in saturated fats, and though there are some exceptions it also tends to be lean. In short, it's healthy, especially if you concentrate on fish towards the bottom of the food ladder (eating too much of those at the top, such as swordfish, can lead to mercury poisoning). What are we talking about? Sea Bass, Seabream, Dentex (Dorade in French), and the little guys, for example sardines. Very healthy, and very good. A few ideas: Baked Royal Dorade Delightful fish, baked with tomatoes and potatoes. Spigola, or Sea Bass, Al Forno Spigola is a very fine fish, and when it's really fresh, just baking it brings out its best. Sogliola alla Mugnaia The French call the Mugnaia technique Meunière, and it's one of the finest ways to prepare sole or other smaller fish, including flounder and trout. Sarde a Beccafico These are open-faced sardines, split and spread with a tasty filling. Takes some work, but is well worth the effort. More Fish: La Galleria Del Pesce, Shots From Italian Fish Markets, and: How to Select Fresh Fish (With Pictures!) Meat, Even Not stews, of course, but rather scallops or cutlets, which are generally quickly cooked and generally lightly seasoned. While there are some richer recipes, and we'll begin with one, many are perfectly suited to keeping the pounds away. Braciole alla Fiorentina No, this isn't dieting food. Rather, frugal traditional cooking, from the days when the cutlets were tiny, and smothered in tomato sauce, which people mopped up with their bread, thus satisfying their hunger. It's very nice with larger cutlets too. Piccata di Vitello al Prezzemolo Veal piccata is a Milanese specialty that calls for thinly sliced veal, but can also be made with chicken or turkey breast. Quick, tasty, and zesty. Scaloppine al Marsala Every trattoria in Rome offers veal or chicken scallops cooked in a Marsala sauce. Petti di Pollo alla Senape Mustard (the yellow kind) isn't that common in Italy, but is nice with these chicken breasts. Elsewhere On About: Slimming Recipes In Keeping With The Theme, a few more slimming or otherwise healthy recipes from other sites on About's Food Channel Slimming Soups Several ideas from Jennifer McGavin, our Guide to German food. Chicken, Kale and White Bean Stew A use for Kale I hadn't thought of, from Fiona Haynes, our Guide to lowfat cooking. A Macrobiotic Squash and Root Vegetable Casserole Tasty, and with spices that are also curative and tonifying. From Jen Hoy, Guide to Whole Foods. Healthy Apple Pie Healthy Pie sounds like a contradiction in terms, but Kimberley Eggleston's pie is much healthier than what my grandmother used to make. While we're on the subject of dieting: Six Dieting Mistakes to Avoid (some I hadn't thought of), and: How to Walk for Weight Control -- All sorts of good advice on getting it foo and keeping it off. Moving in a very different direction, I have put up an Italian Food at About.Com page on Facebook. I'm still feeling my way along, but if you want to join or have suggestions, please do! As always, the featured articles below are a menu of sorts. Italian Food Ads Italian Food Diet Menus Recipes Italian Cuisine Italian Menu Italian Pizza Featured Articles Fava Bean Puree with Wild Chicory Pasta Stars in an Asparagus and Mint Soup Spinach Frittata Baked Stuffed Apples To drink with the Above? Gavi Grappa, Distilleries, and Alcohol   More from About.com Managing Dog Behavior Problems Understanding common dog behavior problems like barking, biting, and chewing is key to handling them appropriately. More > Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds Keep yourself, and your family, happy and healthy this fall with these tips. More > This newsletter is written by: Kyle Phillips Italian Food Guide Email Me | My Blog | My Forum   Sign up for more free newsletters on your favorite topics You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About Italian Food newsletter. If you wish to change your email address or unsubscribe, please click here. About respects your privacy: Our Privacy Policy Contact Information: 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2010 About.com   If You're NOT Dieting Lasagne Con la Ricotta Brasato al Barolo Zuppa Inglese Advertisement