Meats

The reason that the Mediterranean diet is so healthy is that meat portions are not the mammoth Paul Bunyanesque servings that we Americans have come to equate with value. A “steak as big as the plate,” our typical portion for one, could feed an Italian family for a week. I remember the first time I bought two American-sized steaks from my Roman butcher; he could not believe that they were for just two people. Naturally he looked forward to the repeat business of the crazy American signora. To his disappointment, I gradually became converted to pasta as a primo, or first course, and a small meat or fish dish as a secondo. Upon returning to America I stuck with this moderate eating style and stayed within my household budget as well!