Would you let your waistline determine where to live??
Shiny strands of pasta, covered in a dusting of parmesan cheese; the fresh crunch of a wonderful baguette, or the overpowering smell of a typical ripe french cheese; the sound of waves washing up on an ocean shore while you lounge in the shade enjoying a serving of crispy fried squid rings…
Italy
On a regular basis we daydream about moving to another country; one that is less crowded then Holland, with more good food, fresh produce, a better food culture and more sunshine too! O and let’s not forget more space. Yes, I think that would be my number one demand; more space….
Lovely France
But then reality sinks in and I think about the food in Italy, France or Greece.. Abundant food, gorgeous food, fresh, local and full of flavor.. Even thinking about it now makes my mouth starts to water. I pause for a minute and look down at my ‘lovehandles’… Hmmm, what would actually happen when we lived in one of those countries? Would I lose all control and start to eat until I weight 300 pounds? Or will all that abundance make me more in control? Don’t they tell you that the people in the southern countries are healthier? Eat more healthy olive oil (o fattening!) and consume more anti-oxidants from wine and such?
Vibrant markets in Italy
I slump back down in my seat and start to really think this through… Would I seriously let my waistline determine the location of our home? Would I be so silly as to let that influence any decision making process? You have to know that my weight is something of an eternal struggle to control. It’s not something I obsess about but it is also something I am not really happy about. I eat too much, workout too little and therefore have gained too many kilo’s. It’s a fairly simple calculation that will tip the balance either way and in my case it is definitely going the wrong way. I am also a firm believer of the fact that diets don’t work. Let’s rephrase that; they DO work but they do not teach you the value of good food or how to properly nourish your body without gaining excess pounds. They only make you lose weight and gain it back quicker then you think. So no diets for me.
So I try to eat healthy and limit the intake of gorgeously smelly cheeses or whole fat products, but I can’t resist for very long. So I fall back into old habits. We snack too much when watching all those cooking shows on tv and at certain times I am too busy to even think about doing sports.
When we visited Italy for the first time last year I totally fell in love with the country, the people and the food. And to be honest if someone would offer me the opportunity to live there I would immediately jump at the chance and worry about my waistline later. It might, in fact, work out fine as I imagine our new life in Italy to be more outdoors then it is in rainy old Holland, so more fresh air, better food and maybe a little more natural exercise?
Worlds best icecream in San Gimignano
Not so very long ago; there was no food culture to speak of in Holland, people just ate whatever was seasonal (or whatever was cheapest in the supermarket) and didn’t worry too much about it. That is slowly changing with more and more people becoming aware of the importance of good food, the use of our natural resources and how to maintain them well for the future generations to come. Food – right now – is very fashionable. Almost to the point of extreme. Cooking shows are popping up, food festivals and little fancy shops that sell outrageously expensive exotic ingredients.
And on the other extreme end; here in my town (or our part anyway) there are only supermarkets and fairly mediocre stuff to be found. No specialty stores, no good meat to be found, not even a vegetable store or a bakery!! I mean; seriously…. how did that happen? If we want anything special we have to go to Amsterdam, where there is plenty of good things to be found. But that means traffic jams, hours of time that we don’t always have. Definitely not an ideal situation by any means.
And that’s one of the things I love about countries like Italy, France or Greece. Food there has always been part of their culture; everyone knows it’s important and they take pride in their own regional cuisine. Ofcourse I am looking at it from the outside and things might be different if you live in one of those countries.
And how did we even get to this topic in the first place? Well, I can tell you the answer to that, as one day, not so very long ago we at the Cold Coffee Club #coldcoffeeclub on twitter were discussing the fact that moving to another country might not be so good for your waistline. At which point a new writing assignment was mere moments away and born before we could actually think of the amount of work involved we signed up for this new challenge. Still in the spirit of Plate to Page! Joining in this challenge we have set ourselves are Jamie, Mona, Astrid, Jenn, Ilva and some are even sharing this topic with the challenge for Paperchef, which I will be posting about SOON… (making it tomorrow!)
Fresh baguette every morning…
Appetizer
Asian
Bread
Breakfast
Desserts & other sweets
Healthy
Simone.
I love your ‘waistline’ post.
I feel that we are kindred spirits on s many levels.
Almost ready to let mine fly……..
But meshing it with #paperchef …. should be interesting!
Móna xxx
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Simone (junglefrog) — June 6th, 2011 at 23:03
Can’t wait to read yours! I didn’t have time to do paperchef before so figured I’d make it two separate posts… Making paperchef tomorrow…
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A beautiful post! So well-written. as long as you know how to eat correctly and respect your body, you can live pretty much anywhere. Of course, I’d have to live in a country which offers me the foods I like, but landscapes, atmosphere and people are be very important too…
Cheers,
Rosa
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Hmmm..this is a tricky one. I totally understand your situation (especially about living in an area without access to fresh food). In the end you need to weigh up what’s important to you and your partner. Would you consider moving to another part of Holland? (I know that sounds easier than it really is!) A great post Simone! It really makes you think!
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Love this post Simone. I’m more on the sweet side so never consider about my waistline when eating but when come to cooked food I would always try to eat more on the healthy way.
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Ah, Simone, I can see that you are moving into another realm with your words and your writing and it makes me proud! Wonderful post! JP and I keep coming back to the idea of living in Italy again and food is a huge part of that decision. Yes, I do think it is easier to eat well and not overeat in a country of abundance! But I would love to have YOU in France with me! Wonderful photos that illustrate your post beautifully! xoxo
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Simone (junglefrog) — June 8th, 2011 at 10:58
Thanks Jamie! I’m trying to put a little more thought in my writing so I am glad you noticed.. I would love to live in France too but it’s unlikely to happen soon..
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Interesting food for thought (excuse the pun)! I moved to Tuscany from Australia 6 years ago and have definitely gained a few inches on my waistline. Since living in an Italian household I’ve changed my eating habits greatly and taken up some Italian habits like eating a plate of pasta a day or the occasional cake for breakfast (!), and that my regular habits (cold milk and cereal or salad on my plate with everything else) have often been ridiculed by amused Italians.
What’s interesting is that when I get friends from home visiting they always ask why are Italians in such good shape after eating so much pasta etc while Australia is fast becoming one of the world’s most obese countries. One thing that came to mind is that here I find we cook at home and eat in more often than not – going out for dinner is something Italians do less frequently than in Australia (and I think that’s because one, their mum’s do it better at home and two, the restaurant selection is the same food you would get at home anyway). In any case, it’s a very interesting topic that I have been wondering about myself for a while – thanks for sharing!
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Simone (junglefrog) — June 8th, 2011 at 10:57
Thanks Emiko for sharing that info! I agree and I also think that a lot of it is due to the fact that Italians use fresh ingredients and people become obese (it’s becoming nr one health hazard in Holland too) because of all the fastfood and too much unhealthy fats.
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Lovely lovely Simone! Grass is always greener on the other side or so they say. I have to admit I never actually moved to Germany because of the food but over the years have come to love living here …. because of the food. I actually should take part in this session!
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Simone (junglefrog) — June 8th, 2011 at 10:58
You should Meeta… and you still can!
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Wow wish i could write like you. I have no idea about Holland food.But I think were ever we live we will be still looking or hoping that we were some where else. I look to the Indians living in UK and tell my hubby wow if yo live there you wont be homesick for Indian food as you get everything there, then I hear from my sis who lives in US were she gets everything but she tell me she would far more live some where in Europe which is cosier and space that she has in US. What is that proverb grass is greener in neighbours garden
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Love it! Gorgeous selection of pics to go with your words
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Simone, This is a true story. I spent 8 days in Paris, came back to the U.S. thinner and I ate anything I wanted, bread, pastries, wine, etc. I spent 16 days in Italy and same thing, came home much thinner, so did my husband. So whatever you do, do not move to America, because there is something here that fattens people up, even people like me that eat healthy. (I recently shed some weight and am a good size now, but it’s lot of effort).
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Oh is that Venice I see? Such fond memories of that city…
Where I grew up there wasn’t much emphasis on access to fresh local high quality ingredients, but every time I go back home I also see things changing – and I view it as a very good thing
Love your post, and your perspective!
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Simone (junglefrog) — June 8th, 2011 at 11:36
It’s not actually Venice Jenn. I still have that on my wish list of placed to visit (before it sinks into the ocean..) It was mmm, forgot the name to be honest… But it was pretty..
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Simone, first time here through Paperchef, must say you have an impressive space!..very lovely pictures.
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Hi Simone
I read your post (and all the ones post P2P) in transit or in a mad rush somewhere, on the BB. Love your pics and your interpretation of the topic. These wonderful culinary specific zones are awesome- we can always visit; home is where the heart is. The waist and the heart can be happy anywhere I think.
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