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heading to Italy and want to stay mostly paleo...


CharDoll

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Ciao!

I've been to Italy before, in fact I've lived there, and I definitely subsided mostly on pizza, pasta, panini and gelato... I will be there for three weeks in July by which time I will have been w30/w9/paleo for 1 year, with no desire to go back to old ways of eating.

I guess I'm mostly concerned about what to do without my daily sweet potato in the morning. We are staying in different places, the easiest will be when we stay in apartments (then I can cook breakfast and dinner), but will also be at family/friend homes and b&bs. I'm going to search for the sweet potatoes in the different outdoor markets in rome and if i find then, stock up for the 3 weeks.

Does anyone have any other suggestions or experiences? I will choose certain indulgences, but I definitely don't want to feel gross and bloated the whole time I'm there! When eating at family homes, I'm worried about being rude if I don't eat bread and pasta...

Aiutatemi! (Help me!)

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Since you're familiar with the local eateries....delicious eggplant, and grilled vegetables of every kind in Rome.  Tuscany has a greater variety of vegetable dishes.   I'm at the point of no return with sweet potatoes.

 

I've eaten at family home dinner situations in Venice.  If I didn't eat the tripe they would have been highly offended.  I had to throw it in my napkin and hide it until I left.   I have no idea how you're going to eat the courses without hurting feelings.  They watched me very closely to see if I was enjoying it.   I really did not, but when in Rome......

 

9583127-italian-restaurant-with-a-tradit

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On at least staying gluten-free, I have a friend with celiac disease who visited Italy recently. Her daughter also has celiac disease and stayed for months as an exchange student. Both had no problem keeping gluten-free while there. Apparently being gluten-free is pretty common in Italy.  Be ready to say 'senze glutine' (gluten-free) at people's homes and in restaurants.

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Look what the NYTimes has today! They must be listening. http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/06/29/travel/gluten-free-dining-in-italy.html

It's a sign! Great article. Haha. I also asked my cousin in Torino if I could find almond milk or coconut milk and she said that there were lots of people with allergies in Italy. She also said she is diabetic or pre diabetic so tries to follow a diet similar to paleo (once I explained what people was). So hopefully when I stay with her, they'll be sensitive to my desire to skip the bread and pasta.

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Btw. Last night I dreamt about haggling at different market stands for a price better than 4,50€/pound for sweet potatoes. Hahaha. I must really love my sweet potatoes if I'm dreaming about searching for them in Italy.

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If I could think of a bread that I would actually pine for, it would Italy's.   It's baked to perfection and their espressos....oh my.  I could live on their bread, pasta and coffee.   Their pizzas aren't bad either.    I would probably throw caution to the wind and go for it.

 

Understood and appreciated that you're not going to do that.   Just ask for some tripe wherever you go and believe you me, you won't want to eat anything after a few bites of that.  It's an appetite killer and I can't go on....it gives me a gag reflex just thinking about it.

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On at least staying gluten-free, I have a friend with celiac disease who visited Italy recently. Her daughter also has celiac disease and stayed for months as an exchange student. Both had no problem keeping gluten-free while there. Apparently being gluten-free is pretty common in Italy. Be ready to say 'senze glutine' (gluten-free) at people's homes and in restaurants.

Do you have any suggestions for my need for sweet potatoes? They really even me out for the day when I eat them at breakfast. Any good comparable things? Would white potatoes work as well?

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  • 2 years later...

I was seeking guidance on this topic also searching the forum. One of the things I am worried about in the morning are eggs. From what I gather most breakfast doesn't really exist in Italy. We are staying at all hotels so I have no ability to cook.  Our breakfast is included at all hotels and I am assuming will be mostly fruit and pastries. Breakfast starts my day and hope I can find something of substance. There is no way I am not going to Italy and not enjoying some bread and wine but want to try to keep mostly on track. With EVOO being so fresh and made there does anyone know cooking habits at restaurants? Do they soak in butter or just the freshness of the ingredients lend to more clean cooking. Perhaps I'm being optimistic! I plan on traveling with some nuts and bars and although I don't eat those regularly in the states figured it was better than eating a baguette when I'm hungry!  Any Italy travel advice would be appreciated. 

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 5/7/2017 at 3:01 AM, Llong915 said:

I was seeking guidance on this topic also searching the forum. One of the things I am worried about in the morning are eggs. From what I gather most breakfast doesn't really exist in Italy. We are staying at all hotels so I have no ability to cook.  Our breakfast is included at all hotels and I am assuming will be mostly fruit and pastries. Breakfast starts my day and hope I can find something of substance. There is no way I am not going to Italy and not enjoying some bread and wine but want to try to keep mostly on track. With EVOO being so fresh and made there does anyone know cooking habits at restaurants? Do they soak in butter or just the freshness of the ingredients lend to more clean cooking. Perhaps I'm being optimistic! I plan on traveling with some nuts and bars and although I don't eat those regularly in the states figured it was better than eating a baguette when I'm hungry!  Any Italy travel advice would be appreciated. 

A lot of hotels offer an American breakfast, sometimes for an extra charge, which will include eggs and sausage or bacon.  Most regular hotel breakfasts had a variety of cured meats, prosciutto or ham, and sometimes boiled eggs in addition to the pastries and fruits.  

I'm sure it depends on where you go, but we didn't see a lot of butter while we were there, everything was prepared with olive oil.  The few times I ordered a salad, it was served with no dressing, just a bottle of olive oil and a bottle of vinegar, so that will be easy for you!  And honestly, the bread was not that amazing for me, but the pasta was out of this world.  If you are going to splurge on some gluten, I'd save it for the pasta! ;)  Enjoy your trip!

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On 5/7/2017 at 3:01 AM, Llong915 said:

Do they soak in butter or just the freshness of the ingredients lend to more clean cooking.

I know on Whole30 we do ghee not butter, but the way you phrased this seems a little skewed against fat?

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On 5/7/2017 at 5:01 AM, Llong915 said:

I was seeking guidance on this topic also searching the forum. One of the things I am worried about in the morning are eggs. From what I gather most breakfast doesn't really exist in Italy. We are staying at all hotels so I have no ability to cook.  Our breakfast is included at all hotels and I am assuming will be mostly fruit and pastries. Breakfast starts my day and hope I can find something of substance. There is no way I am not going to Italy and not enjoying some bread and wine but want to try to keep mostly on track. With EVOO being so fresh and made there does anyone know cooking habits at restaurants? Do they soak in butter or just the freshness of the ingredients lend to more clean cooking. Perhaps I'm being optimistic! I plan on traveling with some nuts and bars and although I don't eat those regularly in the states figured it was better than eating a baguette when I'm hungry!  Any Italy travel advice would be appreciated. 

Disclaimer: I don't believe there's such a thing as "clean eating" but if there were, I wouldn't include bars in it and nuts would be on probation. Personally (but I have no problems with gluten) I would take freshly made bread over nuts and bars any time.

It's a trip to Italy! Why not--mindfully--explore and experience the cuisine? To me, that's part of "food freedom."

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