Guest Blogger: Karissa Martin
copyright 2011 Art of Living,PrimaMedia,Inc
Liz Gilbert is suffocating in her marriage and her life in the opening of Eat Pray Love (2010). She “just wanted to slip quietly out the back door, and then not stop until [she] reached Greenland.” Her life was basically perfect, but she just didn’t feel anything anymore. She talks to a toothless medicine man in Bali while working on an article, takes a look at her life, and she decides that it’s time to get a divorce. After a quick fling with a younger man, David (James Franco), Liz decides to travel the world and find herself. She jumped from her painful divorce right to David, and she barely even had time to take a breath.
First stop: Italy (or eat). The beauty and the food envelop Liz and make her feel warm and a little happy again. With the help of her new Swedish acquaintance and an Italian tutor, Liz starts to feel comfortable and almost like she’s at home in Italy. After eating a lot of amazing food, embracing her new, bigger pants, and spending time with her new Italian family, Liz decides it’s time to move onto the next phase of her journey: pray.
India is the next stop, and it is all about meditation and prayer. After some “selfless, devotional work” and a nervous breakdown in the meditation room, Liz meets Richard from Texas. He becomes her mentor of sorts and encourages her, even when it may look like mockery. He knew that deep down she had “the capacity to somehow love the whole world.” Among other advice, Richard ordered her to stay in India until she forgave herself, and that’s exactly what she did.
Final stop: Bali. Liz makes her way back to Ketut, the toothless medicine man, and he doesn’t recognize her after her complete transformation. She was a sad, old woman, but now she is radiant. After nearly hitting Liz in his car, the beautiful Brazilian Felipe (Javier Bardem) starts falling for her. They both had a divorce in their pasts, and they understand what the other went through. Liz feels herself losing her internal balance while she’s falling in love with him, and she breaks it off with Felipe. She doesn’t know if she can keep herself happy and focused and love him, too.
Liz learned a lesson on her journey: “If you’re brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting…and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher and if you are prepared, most of all, to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself, then the truth will not be withheld from you.”
Through the laughter and the tears, the pangs of hunger may present themselves. If you don’t want to have to buy bigger pants like Liz, go for the healthier version of fettuccini alfredo to whet your appetite. You can eat alongside Liz while she’s in Italy, minus the guilt of eating fattening foods. Your eyes and stomach will be thoroughly satisfied after the delicious, light dish.
Healthy and Light Fettuccini Alfredo
Excerpted from The Basic Art of Italian Cooking by Maria Liberati tm BLOG at www.marialiberati.com, copyright 2011 art of living,PrimaMedia,Inc/Maria Liberati
Ingredients
1 lb whole wheat fettuccini alfredo
1 lb chicken tenders(or chicken-soy based substitute)
2 heads of broccoli
2 tbsps butter
1 pint of fat free half-and-half
1 cup pecorino romano cheese
Method
1. Boil water and add fettuccini. Cook until al dente
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then sauté in olive oil. Once cooked, drain the oil, add the butter and half-and-half. Pour everything over the fettuccini.
3. Steam the broccoli for 4 minutes and add to the mixture once the pasta is cooked. Add black pepper to taste.
For more recipes, get your copy of the award winning book The Basic Art of Italian Cooking: Holidays & Special Occasions-2nd edition
No comments:
Post a Comment