Screw Atkins and South Beach...Go on the Italian Diet!

Ok, so it's pretty interesting being a Filipino in the country of Italia. One of my favorite things about that fusion is the change in my diet. I've totally exchanged rice for pasta and soy sauce for olive oil. I've always loved to cook, but I feel like I've taken it to a whole 'nother level here in Rome. It's a lot less convenient for me to go out to eat so I find myself trying to cook something. It seems like every guy here knows at least a little about cooking so I have a lot of teachers. I'll talk a little about my 3 favorite foods: spaghetti carbonara (shown to the left), suppli, and pizza. Carbonara is like my go to meal, meaning if I have nothing else to make, carbonara is the way to go. It's a really simple sauce that combines pancetta (good bacon), onions, parmesan or romano cheese, olive oil, lots of black pepper, and the key ingredient...a beaten egg. The egg is never really cooked but it cooked by the heat of the spaghetti and other ingredients.

Now on to Suppli. If I were to use a piece of food that represented me it would be this. Suppli is a fried rice ball that has tomatoes and mozzarella cheese in it. Something fried and something that has rice (dude I'm asian) has all the elements of MMmmm written all over it.

Pizza is not so much a surprise choice, but not any pizza my friend. Pizza in Rome is nice and thin and is crispy almost like a cracker. My favorite pizza type is capriciossa which has sausage, mushrooms, artichokes, and an egg sunny side up in the middle.

Ok, so I've realize I've eaten a ton of food while here in Rome. I eat so much more than I do while in the States, to the point where all my Italian friends are madly impressed. I take after my best friend Hall. But here's the kicker. Since being in Italy (with the only exercise I really get is walking...no soccer yet, no surfing, no running *sad face*) I've lost 5 lbs. Take that!