038 salviamo il vaso di fiore

Something is going on in Rome today, but I don't know what. There was very little traffic today, and then when I passed the Vatican Museums, there was no line, meaning they are closed. ICCROM is definitely open, but it seems that most businesses are closed. Interesting. I thought it might be church related, but it's just the feast day of St. Peter & Paul, doesn't seem likely. Nothing on the Repubblica webpage either.

On my box of cornflakes this morning, I was looking at the Italian food pyramid. Here it is in comparison to the FDA food pyramid.

Italy.
Sweets/Desserts: 1 serving
Meat/Fish/Beans: 1-2 servings
Milk/Yogurt/Cheese: 2-3 servings
Oils/Fats: 3-4 servings
Bread/Pasta/Rice: 4-5 servings
Fruits/Veggies: 5-6 servings

FDA.
Fats/Oils/Sweets: "Use sparingly"
Meat/Fish/Beans: 2-4 servings
Milk/Yogurt: 2-3 servings
Fruits: 2-3 servings
Vegetables: 3-5 servings
Bread/Cereal/Rice/Pasta: 6-11 servings

Pretty funny stuff to compare and contrast. The US recommends about twice as many bread/rice/pasta carbs as Italy. And Italy just goes ahead and tells you to get your 1 serving of dessert in each day because EVERYONE NEEDS ICE CREAM! And Italy tells you to get in your 3-4 servings of oils/fats (read: olive oil), while you should only use these sparingly in the US. And it's definitely not a surprise that the US is supposed to eat twice as much meat as Italy (and everywhere else in the world).

(Soapbox time: cut down on your meat intake! It's good for you and good for the planet!)

I'm still a little under the weather today but feeling better. I expect to be 100% by the weekend. I'm thinking about going to the beach.