Italia, ti amo!

Oh bella Italia! Mamma mia, I get such a nice, warm feeling when I think of Italy. Don’t tell anyone, but I haven’t really experienced all of Italy yet. During Fashion Week, I’ll happily walk around beautiful Milan, but I can’t yet call myself a real Italy connoisseur. What I am a connoisseur of is, of course, Italian cuisine. Si! Italians have brought their delicious food all over the world: you can eat pico bello Italian food in New York and also in the Netherlands. And we’ll take it! Lots of cheese, pasta and pizza, which means lots of carbs! How then do the Italians stay so thin?

Enjoyment is key! Italians love food. They love vegetables, fruit and healthy fats like the famous, local olive oil. They eat pasta in small portions and their main courses are balanced in terms of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Furthermore, Italians make everything fresh, from scratch, including tomato sauce. Packaged food? Never. And last but not least: the love that they have for eating is intense. Eating is a necessary for life so you should enjoy it. We tend to forget that sometimes. We spend so much time counting calories and standing on the scale. We are too obsessed. And if we do indulge, it’s followed by guilt… Not okay!

So my advice for this summer: do as the Italians do! Eat more mindfully by enjoying smaller portions, show off in the kitchen and make everything fresh and healthy. I’m crazy about light and healthy meals, so I’ve thought up a healthy pizza recipe that is easily digested. By living the Italian food philosophy, you can eat your way through the summer and… Enjoy! Bellissimo!

Preparation: approx. 20 minutes
Supplies: Oven

Ingredients (makes 9 pizzas)
1 zucchini
Black olives, pitted
6 regular or oyster mushrooms
5 slices organic turkey or chicken filet
9 tsp tomato paste
1 tbsp mustard
Himalayan salt and black pepper

Method
Preheat your oven to 200°C. Slice the zucchini diagonally into three thick slices and then slice each of the three slices horizontally into three slices. Lay the slices on a baking sheet. Slice the olives, mushrooms and turkey or chicken filet in halves. Divide the turkey or chicken, the tomato paste, olives and mushrooms in that order over the zucchini slices and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast the pizzas for 7-15 minutes in the oven, serve them on a nice plate and finish them with a bit of mustard on top. That’s it!

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