Food in Florence during Lent
Today marks the first day of the Lenten season, which for Christians signifies a time of sacrifice. It is known as Ash Wednesday, or Il Mercoledi delle Ceneri in Italian. Each year, many Christians (attempt to) give up something for the 40-day period that would be considered a sacrifice in their daily life. Most people go on diets or do without sweets. Some stop drinking for 40 days. Another general “rule” during Lent is to go without meat on Ash Wednesday and each Friday. All of this got me thinking about special diets in Italy and how to avoid eating meat or filling up on delicious sweets throughout the day.
In general, Italy is a healthy country in terms of eating right and not overdoing it. As compared to us curvier North Americans who tent to eat many processed foods, Italy’s food culture consists of more fresh fruits and vegetables, less steroids and chemicals and natural meats and cheeses. Plus Italians eat in smaller portions and use less sauce and butter, and more herbs and olive oil.
Sweets are generally eaten in the morning for breakfast and sometimes after dinner for dessert. One way to cut out sweets would be to find fresh fruit from the nearest stand in the street instead of getting that brioche con crema with your morning café. And after dinner, try replacing the cheesecake with an orange or some berries – a typical Italian dessert in many homes anyway.
To avoid meat dishes, there are the obvious choices that we tend to stick to in the States such as spaghetti, cheese pizza, or fish-fry Fridays. Obviously the quality of those dishes increases greatly in Italia (minus the fish in Florence – would not suggest trying it), however there are still wiser choices you can make, and even a few vegetarian restaurants to check out during your stay here in Florence.
Vegetarian:
Brac
Ristorante il Vegetariano
Sushi:
Fushion Bar at Gallery Hotel
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By Admin Apartments Florence (3/9/2011 9:52:45 AM, in Holidays in Florence, read 554 times)
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