Italian Cuisine: The Healthy Way to Grow
Introducing healthy, Italian cuisine into the lives of children from early age can dictate the path they choose to follow throughout adolescence and into adulthood. Encouraging the whole family to be "on the same page," makes life simpler, but also, more nutritious. Read on.
Feeding your kids what you like to eat will not only make your life simpler, but it’s also probably the best way to establish good eating habits—which, by the way, is a great excuse to make sure that your entire family is eating healthy, nutritious food. Instead of making special meals for your children, encourage them to eat whatever you are preparing for the rest of your family. Don't make them eat all of anything; instead urge them to try a bit of everything. When babies are encouraged to enjoy the same foods that the adults do, they very quickly come to like foods and preparations that you might have considered too exotic or “sophisticated” for a young palate. In Italy, for instance, it’s a wonderful surprise to see a toddler enjoying tiny spoonfuls of the same pasta e fagioli or lasagne that the rest of the family is savoring. So, if you love Italian food, the good news is you really can’t begin too soon to introduce your child to the joys of Italian cuisine - and it’s a great way to help them develop life - long habits of healthy, joyful eating.
In Italy, the basic habits for feeding very young children (from six months to a year or so) have remained the same for generations: Vegetables and legumes—including beans, lentils, and chickpeas—as well as grains, such as rice and farro, are the essential ingredients of Italian baby food, or pappa. Though bottled baby food (called omogeneizzati) is available in supermarkets in Italy, most often pappa is made at home in a food processor. Ideally, it is made from a mixture of boiled vegetables and/or boiled meats.
By the time children are a year old, they crave foods they can chew and hold in their own hands. In Italy, as soon as a child can possibly eat them, raw fruits and vegetables are introduced into their diet, as well as bread and natural cheeses—such as, mozzarella and high - protein cheeses like parmigiano, grana and even aged pecorino. Italians trust that all their traditional foods and delicacies are nutritious and appropriate for their kids—Parma ham and other lean prosciutti crudi are particularly favored by Italian parents because they are rich in proteins, highly digestible, and irresistible to most children—and no cooking is involved! And, as soon as they can manage a fork, children happily devour spaghetti and other “adult” types of pasta. Gradually progressing from pasta in broths to pasta topped with pureed vegetables, and then to pasta prepared in all its wondrous varieties of sauces and forms, many Italian children are ready to join the global al dente club by the time they are three!
Many toddler’s go through a stage of refusing to eat—often during the transition between baby food and solid, adult food. There are various theories about why toddlers go on these “hunger strikes”, but certainly their desire to establish independence and autonomy by feeding themselves rather than being spoon fed plays a role in this. One great way to reassure yourself that your child is getting the protein and nutrition they need during these difficult periods is to always have a homemade meat - or vegetable-based brodo (broth or stock) on hand to which pasta can be added. Tiny Italians love the enormous variety of short cuts like ditalini, pennette, farfalline and other shapes. The pasta should be of good quality durum wheat; of course, fresh handmade pasta, made with or without eggs, is especially healthy and delicious. The universal love of pasta by children is a lucky thing considering how nutritious and rich in protein and minerals it is.
If you cook a beef- or poultry-based stock, the tender boiled meat can be cut in tiny pieces and served with just some good extra-virgin olive oil. In Italy, parents routinely add extra-virgin olive oil and parmigiano to their babies’ pappa; the idea that these two elements are essential for the well being of babies and children is deeply rooted in the Italian mentality—and modern nutrition experts would concur. Also, introducing your toddler to parmigiano cheese is a great way to ensure he/she develops a taste for this natural, high-protein food. Beginning this practice in early childhood will just about guarantee that your child will prefer this nutritious food instead of overly processed and less healthy cheeses (such as American cheese) later in life.
When your child is old enough to hold food in his own hands, a grilled taleggio cheese sandwich - with some thin slices of grilled eggplant - is sure to be a big hit. You can make a special pasta treat for your child simply by adding cream (or light cream cheese diluted with a bit of warm water) to a prepared Pesto Sauce. Use whatever pasta cut your children like best—such as, spaghetti or any of the short cuts, like penne or farfalle. Another easy-to-prepare and healthy treat is homemade mashed potatoes (made with whole milk) with fontina or Emmenthaler cheese mixed in. You can use any cheese that melts well - kids love to see the strands of melted cheese emerging out of the mashed potatoes when they raise the fork to their mouth.
Many Italian soups, pasta, and rice recipes provide all the basic nutritional requirements for a growing child in a single dish: proteins, carbohydrates, fats, and vitamins and minerals. In Italy, by the time a child is three or four, he is beginning to eat basically the same things as the adults—and he is encouraged to do so. The question about whether children should be included in the pleasures of adult dining and “haute cuisine” may be open for debate in many countries, but, in Italy, it is believed that they certainly should be. Most Italians treasure their earliest memories of family feasts and, and are eager for the chance to impart the experience to their children. The idea of depriving kids of piaceri della tavola ("the pleasures of the table") - such as, limiting them to only raw or organic food, steam cooking, or insipid sauces and bland flavors - is believed to be just as misguided as bombarding them with junk food and soft drinks.
If the essential aspects of the Mediterranean diet begin early in life and are maintained through adolescence, chances are good your child will enjoy a long life of epicurean delights and good health as well. In Italy, processed snacks practically didn’t exist until twenty or thirty years ago; when a child was hungry between meals, he would eat a piece of fruit, or bread, maybe with some butter, olive oil or some chocolate. Cookies were made at home, and offered sparingly. Still today, it’s common to see babies in strollers holding a piece of fruit or bread in their hands - not a bag of chips. It seems that in Italy, there is much less trust in advertised and processed food than in many other industrialized countries.
A few bits of traditional wisdom about what foods to avoid giving your child may be helpful: Though kids are notoriously crazy about fried foods, this way of preparing food should be very limited; herbs - such as basil, oregano, parsely, and thyme - are perfectly fine for kids, but spices - such as, chili and curry - should be avoided; and, overly cooked and braised sauces and meats should be eaten only occasionally.
In honor of children the world over, the last note on food for kids must go to sweets, or dolci as they’re called in Italy, where they are not regarded as taboo in the way that many new - generation parents elsewhere often do. Sweets and sugary confections are offered judiciously by parents - and always have been. Such desserts as tiramisu, torte (cakes) and panna cotta are reserved for special occasions; and when eaten after a completely satisfying and glorious feast, only a modest portion is desired. The most beloved dessert in Italy - by children and adults alike - undoubtedly is gelato (Italian ice cream). It’s well known that gelato is a kind of national passion, but what may come as a surprise is that, in Italy, gelato is considered one of the healthiest foods of all - it’s made with milk, not cream, with much less sugar, and using fresh, wholesome, natural ingredients. It’s served in relatively small cups or cones - there’s no “super-sizing” — in local gelateria (ice cream shops) all over the country. When enjoyed in the modest portions in which it is typically served, it can almost be considered a health food!
