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Joanne Sgro
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Mangia - A Healthy Approach to Cooking and Life

So you’ve been trying to eat healthy but you still cannot resist your favorite Italian foods. I completely understand. I am 100% Italian and grew up learning how to cook from my mother, also named Joanne (after 32 hours of labor, my father insisted my name be after my mother) and my grandmother who lived two blocks away, Michelina (Mickey).

Grandmom would dip her Italian toast with butter in her coffee in the morning and already be planning out the evening meal. “What are we going to have?” she would ask implying dinner. We could usually have pretty much have anything, with a bountiful Italian vegetable garden in the backyard and a smaller herb garden with aromatic fresh basil, parsley, mint, etc.

I remember many of my grandmother’s elaborate meals were usually made with healthy, homegrown vegetables and not preservative laden foods. Now, the trend is to go back to basics and eat natural, organic ingredients. My grandmother was ahead of her time. I like to refer to her as the “Green, Italian Martha Stewart”.

For example you did not throw out vegetable peels, fruit rinds or coffee grounds. You immediately instead, threw it in the rose garden.

We value and respect the experiences of all of our HerWriters, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.

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