Saturday, February 8, 2014

My First Post

A Foodinista's Journey to getting healthy...

So it took me awhile to think about what I wanted to write. This is the first time I ever had a blog. So what would I talk about? What could I write that would keep people wanting to come back? Well, I love to eat, cook, and travel. I also love feeding people good food. So, I figured, why not try a way to combine all of those things I love into one, and get myself and others to want to be healthy? And that is where the journey beings…

I grew up in an Italian family. Everyone who grew up in an Italian family, especially with parents or grandparents that still spoke Italian and didn’t completely “Americanize” themselves, knows that food is life. Everything revolves around food. Even if you’re not Italian, just watching a show like the Sopranos or a movie like Goodfellas, and you can see everyone gathered at the dining room table, and what are they doing? Eating. As a kid, I remember sitting with my grandmother at the kitchen table while she cooked. I would watch, listen, and learn. I think that is where I got my love for cooking….and eating of course! Every Saturday we would gather at her house and share a big meal. My mom is one of 4 kids and there are 6 of us grandkids. Some how we all managed to fit at one table. We would share our week with each other…we’d laugh, we’d yell (a.k.a discuss loudly), and of course we’d EAT! No matter who would stop by, my grandmother just had to feed them. It didn’t matter if they were family or someone doing work at the house. They had to eat something. If they didn't she either would be offended or think something was wrong with them. Food was also the cure to everything. If you didn't feel well, some kind of food was the cure.

When I was growing up, you had to be home for dinner...bring a friend if you want, but your "culo" better be at the table when it was dinner time to mangia...no excuses. I am so glad I had that though. When I have kids, I plan to do the same. It was such an important part of my growing up. We could talk about our day and spend time together. I still have my parents over for dinner a couple times a week to this day. I would go to my friends' house...who my grandmother would refer to as the "Ameri-cons" (her accent LOL) and hardly any of them would sit and eat together. They thought it was weird that my family had dinner together...and I thought it was just as weird that they didn't. A lot of them would sit in front of the TV eating cereal, waffles, or some other quick meal they just threw together. Though most of my Italian friends...or friends of other backgrounds that weren't so Americanized...would sit and eat togehter like my family. Please don't take that as insult...I am not judging or saying one way is right or wrong...it is just what I observed growing up, and I am glad we did it the way we did.

Then I met my husband's family. They are Dominican...and then I realized that Italians are not the only ones who's lives revolve around food. It turns out Latinos are the same way! So now started "the 2 dinner Saturdays and holidays", because if I didn't eat at my grandmother's house, something was wrong, and if I turned down food at my in-law's, something was wrong. As my husband and I dated, and even after we got married, we did a decent amount of travelling. We went to Punta Cana, on a few cruises, and back to Punta Cana. Yes, I love the beach and I love exploring...but one of my favorite things about travelling is trying all the delicious new foods!

However, I made a decision to get back to eating foods that are better for my body, after looking at the pictures of my vacation. I wasn't happy with what I was looking at. If it makes sense, I love myself and I have a husband who thinks I am beautiful, but I started to see the weight gain in my face and I didn't like what I was seeing. I am tired of losing and gaining...losing and gaining...I want to make some changes to lose the weight and KEEP IT OFF. But I don't want to do some crazy diet...I want to change my lifestyle. I also do not want to be a size 0...let me make it clear that I want to be a "thick" girl, but I want to ditch the muffin top LOL. I want to be able to put a healthy twist on the foods I love, and of course control portions. I also realized I need to stop ruining my good meals. For instance, I would eat a delicious, healthy dinner, and then ruin it by eating McDonald's french fries at 10 o'clock at night! That is not good! I know how hard it is to stay on track...and so I want to try to inspire others to get healthy too! If I can do it, anyone can. Well that gives you just a piece of my background. Please keep reading my posts and I will tell you more about myself and take you on "my journey to healthy"!

4 comments:

  1. Hey Aubrey: I tried the Eggplant Pizza for the Super Bowl and I loved it. Thanks so much for the great recipe. Don't tell my nutritionist but I added Turkey Pepperoni :+). I also added red onions, green peppers and sliced mushrooms.

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  2. Do you have a recipe for Vegetable Lasagna? Thx

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