Slow Down and Savor: How the Mediterranean Way Can Reconnect You with Life

In this inspiring conversation, Michael sits down with Anita Heidema and Chef Dario Tomaselli — the dynamic duo behind the O’Live Your Life Mediterranean movement. Together, they explore how food, culture, and intentional living can transform the way we experience our daily lives. From the emotional power of gathering around a table to the deeper meaning behind Mediterranean wellness, this episode blends storytelling, wisdom, and heart. Whether you’re looking to reconnect with your roots, reinvent your lifestyle, or simply slow down and savor the moment, this episode offers a seat at the table.

Takeaways:

1. The Mediterranean lifestyle emphasizes connection and intentional living, transcending mere dietary habits.
2. Gathering around the table fosters emotional connections, creating cherished memories that enhance our daily experiences.
3. Living intentionally allows us to savor life's moments, transforming mundane routines into meaningful rituals.
4. Food is a conduit for connection, serving as a bridge between individuals and their shared experiences.
5. Adopting Mediterranean principles can counteract the fast-paced modern life, leading to improved well-being and joy.
6. Cultivating a lifestyle centered on presence and community can significantly enrich our relationships and personal satisfaction.

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Episode Transcript

(00:01):
There's a moment, if you'veever grown up inside Mediterranean
culture, that you know it well.
The sound of plates clicking,the smell of garlic warming in the
olive oil, the laughter thatrises and falls like a song.
The way the meal becomes amemory before you've even finished
it.
I grew up in an Italianculture from the time I was 11 years
old.
And what I learned early isMediterranean life isn't about the

(00:23):
food.
It's about the way you liveand while you're eating it.
And today we're talking to twopeople who have built an entire movement
around that truth.
And we're going to share thosesecrets of living the Mediterranean
life with you.
So stay tuned.
I'm your host, Michael Hurst.
Welcome to one more thingbefore you go.

(00:53):
Today's guests are the kingand the queen of the Mediterranean
lifestyle, Anita Idyma, andchef Dario Tomaselli, co host of
the Olive youe Life podcastand creators of the Olive youe Life
Mediterranean movement.
It's a great movement.
We're going to talk about it.
Their story is not about recipes.
It's about reinvention.
It's about choosing a lifewhere connection matters more than

(01:15):
speed, presence matters morethan productivity.
And the table becomes theheartbeat of the home like it should
be.
After decades in the fast,disconnected, hustle driven worlds,
they chose a different story.
One that rooted in food asmemory, travel as transformation
and connection as a creative act.
And as someone who grew upinside Italian culture where the

(01:36):
table was sacred, whereconversations lasted longer after
the dessert, where food wassimply the doorway into family identity
and belonging, thisconversation filled with feels like
coming home.
Anita and Dario Bonjourno,welcome to the show.

(01:57):
I, I, I, I love what you guysdo and what you present.
I think that this is going tobe, everybody should really pay attention
because we're going to tellthem a lot.
We're going to tell them a lot.
Thank you for having us.
This is great.
Wow.
You are absolutely incredible.
I mean, I don't think I'veever had such a beautiful intro.
Holy.
Well done.

(02:17):
You earned it.
You earned it.
You earned it.
I, I binged watched your stuff.
See, and so I thought, hey,yeah, I just have to do these people,
right?
You just have to.
Well, today I think, yeah, Iwould like, I would like to kind
of explore a couple of things,you know, like, I have a question
right off the bat, if I don'tmind, just for everybody out here,
everybody watching, everybodylistening, how is the Mediterranean

(02:40):
lifestyle a way of being andnot just way of eating?
It's a Way of living.
And everyone thinks of it as adiet, and it's not a diet.
We keep on saying that.
It's interesting.
We were down in Calabria.
We were doing some work forthe European Union for olive oil.
And we were speaking tosomebody there that was the head
of the consortium.

(03:00):
He was the president of theconsortium of Extra Virgin Olive
Oil DOP of Calabria.
And he was talking about theMediterranean diet.
And we're like, no, it's not a diet.
Where did this come from?
And do you know where it came from?
I do know.
So he told us that in the second.
Was the Second World War.
Second World War, there was ageneral that came over on the boat

(03:22):
and from the United States, Ibelieve, or it was North America.
And he saw these Italians, andthey were so healthy.
These.
These people that were in the.
In the war, they were in thefields, they were eating from the
land.
So they ended up dubbing itthe Mediterranean diet.
Coming to Italy and comingfrom that area.

(03:43):
So then it's sort of expandingbecause, of course, people got a
hold of it.
Oh, this is a good buzzword.
I think we're gonna use this one.
But, I mean, I don't know howmany times you say it.
Did your grandmother ever callit, oh, we're gonna have a diet today
when you're in Italy?
No, she will probably kick meout of the house if I would talk
about diet.
Because Michael, you know,bet, you know.
Well, I mean, you grew uparound it.

(04:05):
You know, the way it is.
It's about culture.
It's about living andconnecting around the table.
There is a saying, actually,that we use often in Italy.
Atavola, no sin vecchia at thetable, no one gets old.
And that's what it's all about.
That's what it's all about.

(04:25):
It's really the connection,the moment, the real feeling.
No distractions.
You know, we even tell ourkids when they come, when it comes
for visits, it's just.
It's us.
It's the moment, one on one,where we really spend all the time
together.
And not cell phone, no television.
You sit at the table.

(04:45):
It's a way of living.
Yeah, I agree with that.
I think in today's lifestyle,especially in the instantaneous gratification
that everybody is seeking andthe fact that your phone is an extension
of you pretty much now, it'sdifficult for somebody to recognize
that we have to take themoment, the time.
Life can change in an instant,and you miss those moments and you

(05:09):
can never get them back.
We've actually had that in ourinternational dinner club.
And we tell people to puttheir phones in a box.
Yes.
Put it totally away from whereyou're in.
Because even if it's aroundyou, you are thinking about it and
you're not fully present inthe moment.
Right.
So it's best to just put it ina box and say, okay, enough already.

(05:32):
I agree with that.
And even you go back to the Mediterranean.
I did not know that.
Believe it or not, I neverthought about where the origination
came from.
But yeah, it's not a diet.
It is a lifestyle.
Why do you think that thiskind of a lifestyle can become or
is a counterculture movement,so to speak?

(05:52):
Because in a world that'sobsessed with what you just said,
the hustle, the speed, theburnout, the everything along that
line, you know, we have tokind of re.
Educate people to understandthat life is more than what's sitting
in front of you on the phone.
I think of it as a NorthAmerican culture myself, personally,
because I have a familybackground from the Netherlands.

(06:14):
And even in the Netherlands,there was a slower pace of living.
You had more time off, you hadmore holiday, you had time to sit
at the table, and it was so,so important.
And it's not just about the food.
It's about the lifestyle.
And you think that you have tohustle to get there.
So as also a business coach, Ifind that my clients, they just want
to do things with speed.

(06:35):
But if you don't slow down,relax the brain to really get present
in your moment, get presentwith the people around you, you lose
yourself and you get on thatspinning wheel, I call that hamster
wheel.
And you keep on doing it overand over again.
And everyone loves to go toItaly or the Mediterranean as an
example, but they're notreally taking that back home.

(06:57):
They're living in that moment.
And they say, oh, I love it.
It's so wonderful.
But then they come back andthey get caught up in that hamster
wheel again without realizingthat, really, a lot of times I want
to say you slow down to speedup, but it kind of brings you more
better health, betterhappiness when you're connected with
people and people areforgetting that, and it seems to
be more in North America.

(07:19):
What's your Italian perspective?
Well, my Italian perspectiveis very simple.
You know, it's.
It's really living life forwhat it is you're living today.
Because today there is notgoing to be another today.
Tomorrow it's done.
Okay?
Just think about that.
And you know, the funniestthing is When I.
When I came to North Americaand I was already fairly older, and

(07:43):
one of the first thing Iremember when I arrived, I noticed
and everybody was running allthe time and they had this stress
on their eyes and they wereeating standing up.
And I remember saying to myfriend, I said, why is everybody
running?
Or they gotta go to work, theygotta do this.
Oh, my goodness.
In Italy, we don't.

(08:04):
We run to come home or we runto go to see our friends for an EP
hour.
It's the moment of reallyliving because it's so important
and fundamental.
Food is always il filoconductore, what we call it the conduit,
okay?
It's what really connects us.

(08:25):
It's what really brings usjoy, okay?
And that's, you know, we sayfood is medicine, but connection
is your prescription, okay?
So when you think about thosethings, you really realize the importance.
You know what, when we gettogether with our kids, when we get

(08:46):
together with our friends,when we take our guests to one of
our retreat, it's thosemoments that are impactful.
You don't think about anything else.
You think about the moment.
You don't need that picture toremind you of that because you just
lived it.
And that is the most powerfulthing that I almost forgotten when

(09:10):
I came here.
And then with Anita, I alwayssay I reconnect with my culture through
Anita's eyes.
That's a very important part.
And this is why we came upwith for Live youe Life, because
that was an experience for meagain, to rediscover my culture and

(09:35):
the simplicity of what theMediterranean lifestyle is all about.
And that's what we call it, isthat message in a bottle.
I think even the first time wemet too was a crazy thing that got
us to come to this moment.
So anyway, that's all right.
I was going to say we jumpedon in a few minutes ago, but I'd

(09:56):
like to start with your origin story.
I mean, you both came fromhigh pressure world that you found
each other.
You built a life centeredaround slowing down taste, you know,
tasting deeply and living intentionally.
Like you just said.
Tell us about you guys.
How, how did you meet and how.
How'd you come about?
Well, the.
The meeting started kind of interesting.

(10:17):
I guess we'll go all the way back.
Yeah, anyway, we gotta go allthe way back.
So back to the beginning.
It's.
It's a juicy story.
So our kids are best friends,actually, and we met them and we
met each other when they wentto kindergarten.
And then we went through 20years, 18 years without realizing

(10:39):
that we were a couple.
We were friends and had beento all the ball games with the kids,
but we always talked about thechildren and what they were doing
and what was happening.
We never talked about eachother or our interest to even know
who we were or what happened.
And it wasn't until that wewere both unfortunately divorced
or fortunately.

(10:59):
I don't know if we.
Yeah, I guess it could be four.
It was a part of life.
Yeah.
That we came together and.
And realized it.
So that's why we always are sograteful every day that we have the
chance.
And, you know, it was foodthat really connected us.
I mean, that first risottothat Dario made for me.
Oh, mamma mia.
So I came.
I came from a family that mymom, she had.

(11:22):
I was doing yoga when I was 6.
She was buying organic when Iwas a kid, so food was around more
health.
Whereas Dario brought a newperspective to what food was, and
it was about that soul of flavor.
And I also was brought up withItalians when I was younger, and
I was babysat by them.
But what the real turningpoint in us creating our business

(11:45):
to move forward with whatwe've got now is we stopped connecting.
We got busy again.
And Dario was cooking aroundthe world, doing different things.
That year, I was speaking inIndia, in London.
You were all over the place.
I was all over the place.
And we were like, wow, we'redoing it again.
We are going.

(12:06):
We're getting caught up inthat busyness, and we don't want
that to happen.
So Dario happened to becooking in a master castle in Italy,
in Elba, was it, or.
Yeah.
And we sat down and we said,we got to figure out something, and
it was something that came toour mind.
And I'm going to get a littlebit of numbers off.
But it was a study that wasdone, and it said 63%.

(12:28):
I think it was 63% said thatthey're spending more on medicine
than on food.
And 87 were saying they wereconnecting less and less every year.
And that was in 2018.
And we're like, wow, that's insane.
And we put all our thoughtprocesses together.
We said, we need to create abusiness that speaks to something
that we both do in our hearts,in our minds, and making something

(12:52):
that is going to be differentand that's going to be what we've
lived through, that we can beable to share with other people.
And I think that's brilliant,because, you know, it is, again,
that you recognize.
At least you recognize thefact that you Were getting back into
that pace that the world seemsto be going at and said, hey, we
need to stop for a moment andtake a breath.

(13:14):
And the old cliche, stop thesmell of roses.
Yeah, kind of a thing.
And really understand what'sin front of you.
And it's kind of an Italianversion of When Harry Met Sally.
Hey, there we go.
Well, you know, we gotta dothat restaurant scene.
It's funny.
It's funny because, you know,as you just said that, you know,

(13:35):
it brings me back, real back.
And I was 13 years old and,you know, as a young kid, you know,
running around, we were in alittle square on my town.
And you know, the old guys, inthe afternoon, after they take a

(13:56):
little nap, they play cards, okay?
And I'm running around, allthe kids are running around.
And this old gentleman, hisname was Settimo, I never forget.
And he stops me as I'm running around.
He grabs me and his eyes, andthey were glossy, full of love.

(14:19):
And he looked at me and hesays, oh, my God, if I could always
go.
If I could only go back, Iwould travel the world and see all
the beautiful thing.
And I'm looking at him then he's.
He's kind of reminiscingthings that he wish he would have
done.

(14:40):
And to this day, it's right inmy head.
I can see the moment.
I can feel it more than youcan even imagine the things that
happen in my life.
And it's when finally wereconnected together and we start
really understanding thepurpose of us being together, then

(15:06):
I really appreciate that everymoment is to be counted.
Food is what makes us happy.
Food is food.
Cooking food, it's not a chore.
It's just an action of being together.
It's like a moment that youcan discuss every single thing.

(15:27):
Then you.
Your day went by.
How was your day?
You know, how many times yousee people coming home and we talk
about it?
You know, most of the time wejust did an interview on a TV show.
How many times you see, youknow, I'm giving you a classical
couple, husband and wife, twochildren, and they rush home, rushing

(15:48):
home and figure out, oh, wegot to grab this, we got to grab
that, because the kids need to eat.
All sports activity.
And then they get home, kidsin front of a TV or in front of a
computer or whatever they are,and they continue be on a phone,
on a computer because theystill have things to do.

(16:10):
There is always things to doin life.
But those moments, thosemoments of all four of you be Together
cooking a wonderful meal thatyou know is good for you.
Connect with your kids aboutthe day.
It's the things you used to do.
When we were kids.
I mean, my grandmother, whichI grew up with, we all had a chore,

(16:34):
and the chore was all aroundthat table.
What we were going to do, wewere going to sit down, we were going
to talk, and we were going tohave those moments then.
They are incredible.
Food is memory.
Your life is a memory.
Then you can move it over andover and over again.
Well, yeah, that's a brilliantstory because my memories go back,

(16:57):
and I have a very tumultuouschildhood up till I was 11 years
old.
And when I say 11, it'sbecause that's when I met Roberto
and when my sister married himand introduced me to this whole new
world that I just embraced,passionately embraced and to such
a point that I really startedunderstanding things.

(17:17):
And, you know, Anita, you eating
his
meal that he prepared tookyour heart.
I cook my wife that meal, andI've cooked for her just about every
day since then.
And we make our own pasta, wemake our own bread.

(17:39):
We make.
It's an act of love.
It's not an act.
It's not a chore.
It's like, oh, I mean, weenjoy doing this.
You know, we enjoy runningpasta through the machine.
We enjoy cutting it.
We enjoy cooking it.
We enjoy the lemon and thebasil and, you know, everything that
goes with it.
And.
And we create memories everyday with every meal.

(18:02):
So I agree with that.
It allows us to experiencelife like it should be experienced.
So.
Yes.
Beautiful.
Beautiful story.
You know, Well, I think alsowhen you.
When you.
When you rush, you're reacting.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
When you slow down, you'rebecoming a little more creative.

(18:25):
Okay.
So I think it's.
I think it's those things, andthey're very important.
You know, you slow down a bit,you realize, and you're being more
creative.
You be.
You becoming more meaningfulabout your actions, and that.
That is important when you'recreating a meal.
If you rush a meal, it's a.
It's a rush meal.
It's.
It's not gonna taste good.

(18:46):
Food takes time.
In Italy, we say slow food.
Yeah.
Fast cars.
That's why I love it.
Fast cars.
No, you know, I agree with that.
I think that we.
You know, the thing that Ilearned as well as I grew up is the
fact that, again, when youstop and the food connects us in

(19:10):
such a way that it allows usto have a conversation not just about
the Food and the experience ofthe food.
But as you said earlier, itcreates the memory, it creates the
visual, it creates the smell,the taste.
And you say, oh, yeah, Iremember this.
I remember that.
You know, when I startedlearning how to cook, I started learning
how to cook at a very youngage from these Italian.
From Giovanni.
Giovanni taught me pizza andbread and, you know, everything related

(19:33):
to that.
Renata taught me pasta andragu cooked from the morning.
Not the stuff in the jar.
We don't do the stuff in thejar that you buy off the shelf.
It's cooked in the morning.
We smash the potatoes.
Potatoes, excuse me, the tomatoes.
You smash tomatoes and youcook it from the morning for five

(19:53):
hours, and then that's whenit's done and it's cooked with love.
And it takes time and you canpermeate the house with it.
So two days later you'regoing, do you remember what we just
cooked the other day?
You remember that?
That was so good.
It's a positive thing.
I think it opens a doorwayinto something much deeper.
And I know that you've saidthat before, and I think even just

(20:16):
talking about it right there,I think that the Mediterranean lifestyle,
is this something that weshould embrace from a consistent
level?
In America, we've got 30minute lunch, two 15 minute breaks
during the daytime, or 10minutes, if that, but everybody has
30 minutes for lunch.
My wife has 30 minutes whereshe has to either shove food down

(20:37):
her mouth or go down and orderit, where it has to be prepared very
quickly, and then she has toreally slam it, slam the food, and
then go back to work.
Well, I know that, and correctme if I'm wrong, but from the conversations
that I've had in theMediterranean lifestyle, she knows
that from being home.
I'm always having to tell her,slow down, slow down.

(21:00):
37 years later, I'm stillsaying, slow down, Diane, because
she's done and I'm still eating.
It starts with small habits ata time, though, right?
Exactly.
One thing that she starts, andmaybe she.
That lunch time, maybe.
Can she eat at a desk andstill, like, take that time a little

(21:21):
bit more while she's working?
She can eat as opposed to rush.
And I think she does.
She does a little bit of that.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
But you think about productive productibility.
Look at my Italian Israelis.
My worst language, Jeremy.
But you think about beingproductive as a company.

(21:44):
Yeah.
You know, if you, you know,and I often say, if you take care
of your body, your mind isgonna be more practical and you become
more efficient instead.
What we do the other way around.
We rush, rush, rush, rush.
This brain is a computer.

(22:05):
What happen if you overloadinga computer?
It crash.
Yeah, well, we are just a manual
computer, much more advanced computer.
And we need to understand, andwe need to understand the importance.
You know, Anita said, and shealways said in some of her presentations,
you need to slow down, tospeed up.

(22:25):
And she's right.
I mean you cannot, you cannotgo so fast because you're done is
done.
Yeah, it goes back to life canchange in an instant.
You never know what's going to happen.
You know, it's interestingbecause if you look at the, even
the lifestyles, when we talkabout Mediterranean lifestyle in

(22:46):
Italy, France, I don't knowhow it is in England, but I know
in Italy, France and Spain,you know, you take a nice hour, hour
and a half for lunch, forexample, and you, and you're supposed
to, you're supposed to enjoy,you're supposed to eat your meal,
have a cup of coffeeafterwards, relax, have a conversation,
enjoy outside.
That's why you see so manytables sitting outside the restaurant

(23:08):
so that you can enjoy theatmosphere and the air and the blue
sky and the trees and thebushes and, and watch people watch
instead of this 30 minutething that's part of the Mediterranean
lifestyle.
I think in, in Anita, I thinkin something I was watching you,
it says something about itbeing an emotional intelligence and

(23:29):
help us understand thatbecause I mean, I heard it, but I
think we should have a betterunderstanding of ourselves through
ritual and connection andpresence and in that kind of a philosophy.
Can we talk about that?
Well, it's all about mindsetand it's so important to develop
those habits in theMediterranean and do them step by
step because you don't want tooverload yourself.

(23:51):
But if you think differentlyand you know, when you're talking
about the lunches that theytake, do you know, a few hours later
they end up going again foraperitivo at 5 o', clock, right?
So happy hour is always a given.
So everyone from work goesthere, but they're more productive
in what they're doing becausethey're having that sense of community.
If we're talking work wise,right, they're having that sense

(24:13):
of community and what they'recreating and being able to build
those connections for, forwork and networking and having that
happy attitude which alsoaffects the brain.
I really believe that you needto slow that down a little bit to
understand what it is.
And in the Mediterranean itjust comes naturally in all those
countries and how they'reCreating it.

(24:34):
So it's slowing down andreally thinking about and being intentional
on how you're going to becreating your life.
That's so important.
Well, I got a story for you.
He loves his story.
Love stories.
I'm full of story.
So our really good friendAndrea and Daniela live in this village

(24:56):
in north of Arezzo, okay.
In Tuscany, between Siena and Florence.
And just pay attention tothis, how impactful this is.
So is in a village calledMonte San Savino, is in a Chianti
Valley, Valdiana.
And they are the mostwonderful family you've ever met

(25:22):
in your life.
Andrea is from Milano, where Iam from.
And Daniela, she is from MonteSan Savino.
So a village girl and a cityhustle and bustle guy.
So when Andrea moved to MonteSan Sevino, he says, I'm never going
to live again.
This is it.
But at the beginning hecouldn't understand how even in Italy,

(25:44):
how they were just more relaxed.
So every year when we gothere, they have actors and actors
and actors of olive trees.
So of course they get togetherand they do the harvest of olador.
So anomaly takes a week to two weeks.

(26:06):
Okay?
But it's an event.
It's hard work, Trust me, it'shard work.
Everyone then is purchasingolive oil.
You must understand the work,the expense
that goes in at night time.
The biggest thing is this.
So the grandmother, thematriarch, she wakes up at 4 o' clock

(26:29):
in the morning to prepare themeal for lunch.
So and then at 7 o' clockeverybody get together at the house.
We all have a coffee and werelax and off we go.
We start working around the field.
At one o', clock, stop.

(26:49):
And then there is big tableand limoncello wine, all the stuff
she cooked.
And we just live there for onehour or two, laughing, telling story.
And off we go again untilfive, six o' clock at night, okay?

(27:11):
And then back again.
She's got another big meal going.
But my point is.
Hi, Geckos.
Bumps.
Talking about is, is thosereally important moments that you
will never forget.
That is memory.
And the most powerful thingabout this is this.

(27:32):
Daniela's mom, she's Italian 100%.
Matter of fact, she doesn't even.
She speaks dialect from Val di Chiana
and Anita and her and I don'tspeak any Italian.
Well, very small amount.
Communicate for hours.
Oh, you Italians, you talkwith your hands.
It's easy.
And the thing is, that's theimpact I'm trying to share.

(27:58):
When they leave Ichera, theycry because it's almost like it's
an extension of a mother,which she barely understand, but
she understands.
But you understand everythingon that table.
There is the moment on.
Everybody's really embracing.
Nobody's judging you, nobodycares what do you do, but they care

(28:18):
how you do.
Yeah.
That is the most important.
We've brought people thatwe've got on our retreats.
And so we will do parmigiano, Reggiano.
We'll do balsamic, balsamic vinegar.
We'll go to the high end restaurants.
Michelin star experiences thatare just unbelievable.
And our clients always saytheir best experience when we do

(28:41):
a barbecue at their place.
Yeah.
And.
And they're like, they love it sometimes.
We've had karaoke, we've hadbands, but everyone's dancing, they're
having great food and theyjust love it.
And that's what the essence ofthe Mediterranean is.
And that's why we love doingour retreats.

(29:02):
Because you get to feel whatit's like to be an Italian.
It's not, as Dario says,another bucket of rocks.
Because, yes, Italy isbeautiful, Spain's beautiful, and
Portugal, Greece, you know,but it's that essence of what it
is.
And when you can feel that inyour bones and take that home with
you, as opposed to turning itoff and going, okay, I'm back in

(29:22):
North America.
Wherever you're living, it'staking that in the essence of yourself.
Right.
Well, I look at you, Michael.
I mean, you, you, you stillremember those moments.
Absolutely.
Share with you.
So those memories are right there.
They don't go away becausethere's such a pressure.
Memories that impact you onyour marriage, on your life, on the

(29:47):
way you take care of yourself.
All better than medicine.
Yep, absolutely.
Absolutely.
I mean, my memory, some of my,I would say a very large portion
of my memory, especiallygrowing up before, even before I
met Diane and we had ourgirls, were a lot of that essence,

(30:11):
a lot of the.
They, they.
We became family.
You know, it was not blood,but we were family.
And when I walked away fromthere, it was family.
And they go back each andevery time I. Whoops, one second
here, I picked the wrong thing.
Oops.

(30:38):
Is Italian's good.
There we go.
Very good.
There we go.
You're showing me up here.
You know, that's not really.
You really.
You know what?
He's fooling us.
He actually is fluent Italian now.
There we go.
It's one of these things thatas I grew up, it was comceriche,
Michael.

(30:59):
Everything was.
How do you say, how do yousay, how do you say so it was easy
to learn because of that.
Now I've forgotten a lot of itbecause, you know, obviously, our
lives have moved on.
We moved away from Colorado.
Roberto comes out about maybetwice a year, and, you know, this
kind of thing.
Although he's going to go backto Rome, which, I mean to.
He's going to move to Puglia,which I'm kind of disappointed about,

(31:21):
but, you know, anyway, we'regetting off track.
Off track, off track.
Are you gonna come when we getour place?
You gotta come with us.
You gotta come with us, Michael.
You're making me yearn.
My wife and I want to come toItaly so badly.
It is a goal, and I'm notgonna say it's on our bucket list.

(31:43):
It is a goal for us to be ableto get there, and so we're going
to get there.
When we do get there, firstplace I'm going to come is you guys.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I love it.
You gotta come.
And, you know, and.
And we love to share.
You know, Michael, it's hardto explain because I really.

(32:06):
Born and raised there.
I rediscover my.
My country.
I rediscover the love for my land.
I rediscover the love for.
For my culture.
We are there two or threetimes a year.
And I think the most importantthing we think about life, we think

(32:27):
about work.
One of the foundation, themost important foundation about such
a thing.
Even as my chef, myself, as achef in the kitchen, you know, I've
been a chef for over 40 years.
One of the first thing.
One of the first staple offoundation that I always had is culture.
If the culture is right,everything works.

(32:50):
Yes, everything works.
So it's really setting up theculture with your wife and your kids
and your.
Your workspace, your friends,your network of people, if that is
good.
This is what the Mediterraneanlifestyle is all about.
Starting with the right culture.
That.

(33:10):
That.
That is a.
That is a brilliantintroduction to the lifestyle of
itself.
I think the world view behindnot just the meals, you know, and
as I said earlier, I'mgrateful for my introduction into
it, but it is the culture, andI'm excited that we can open doors
for others to experience itthrough you, through what you've
learned, your experiences.

(33:31):
The fact that.
What I appreciate about youguys is the fact that you present
it from living it, not justsaying, oh, here, do this.
You're not just a.
A tour guide, you know, going,okay, do this, do this, do this.
Okay, next group of peoplecome in, do this, do this, do this.

(33:52):
You give an Experience.
And the experience is, as yousaid earlier, are something that
goes with us.
It reaches our soul.
And for us to be able to takethat with us in our soul, the hope
is that whoever comes backthen continues with that because
it's still embedded in their soul.
And it's a seed that grows andthat seed will then getting more

(34:12):
excited to say, I think I likethis way better than this way.
Every day you have a chance toturn left or right.
That's right.
To make that decision.
You know, many times we'll puta backpack on and we'll walk to the
grocery store.
And people around here arelike, that's crazy.
But we've made that decisionto why not be active naturally, right?
And that's, that's one of the principles.

(34:34):
You know, as you get older,you get more fearful to do things.
Well, we say, no, no, no,let's go try that.
Let's do something.
We traveled for two years.
We were in each other'spockets for two years, traveling
around.
We had fun with it.
Explore and try different things.
You know, we've gone to placesin Italy and around the world that
Dario had been to before.

(34:54):
And I look at it from the eyesof a North American, like, wow, have
you not seen how great this is?
And we've done our hiddenvideos and we've done our hidden
gems and things to see in Italy.
And Dario is as theperspective of being an Italian and
myself as a North American,just, you know, I was b. I was like

(35:15):
similar to you.
I was babysat by Italian families.
And so, you know, I had alittle bit of a background in the
Italian culture and what had happened.
And it's interesting, I wrotea book 11 years ago now that came
bestseller, but it was a bookthat's a bit different.
It's about you read onechapter a night and then you go to
sleep and you dream about whatit brings to you.

(35:36):
So I've got some words andsome things that are tied into it.
And this is before I met Dario.
And so it's a fictional selfhelp book, but what it does is it.
It's from the perspective ofan Italian immigrant.
So her parents are immigratingfrom Italy.
And this is before Dario and Ieven got together.
And the mindset around thatand how you could sleep and read

(35:59):
one chapter a night.
So it's almost like there'sbeen this path that has brought us
towards this and brought ustogether to share.
And that's why we think it'sso important or we know it's so important,
because when you engrossyourself in it and really intentionally
think, okay, how can I dothings differently?
But not give up.
You're actually adding to your life.

(36:20):
You're savoring those moments.
You're trying things a littlebit differently.
You're living more inspired.
Right?
Like cooking is an example.
I mean, not only is it fun todo, just changing that thought, it's
not a chore.
Do do it once a week, try andexpend it twice a week.
You're going to be so muchhealthier for it because you're cooking

(36:40):
your own food.
There's such a relax in yourbody when you're focusing on and
in your brain, the endorphins, everything.
You relax yourself in thatmoment and then connect that much
better.
If you can just start smallwith each one of these things, it
just starts to get addictive.
And you want to live this waybecause it's just so much happier

(37:00):
and healthier than.
Than not really.
It's just.
It's just one of those.
It's just one of those things.
Then you really understand.
And you know, I said often,Michael, people focus more on the
type of fuel they put intotheir car than the fuel to put into
their body.

(37:21):
How crazy is that?
If you really pay attention tothe fuel you put into.
Into your body, your engine oflife will last forever.
You're like a diesel car.
They will go forever.
So that is the important.
Understand the purpose of living.

(37:41):
Like why we say it's not a diet.
Why do we say it's not a diet?
Because it's not.
You eat, drink, flavor, savoreverything in balance.
In balance, you know, and alsoin season.
I mean, right now we're in adeep winter.
Of course you're not gonnahave a tomato salad.

(38:04):
Not in season.
It depends on where you live, but.
Depends where you live.
Absolutely.
But you gotta understand andrespect on what do you have.
There is so many beautifulnutritional meals you can make and
fairly simple.
Because it's going to be simple.
Because it become complicated, you.
You become intimidated, youdon't want to do it anymore.

(38:25):
And we always say, even whenwe do master classes or classes or
culinary classes, we alwayssay food is simple.
Food is really simple.
And everybody has a palate.
It's like everybody's got a muscle.
If you go to the gym, youbecome stronger.
If you keep tasting, youbecome better.
It doesn't mean because I'm achef, then I have a better palate

(38:48):
than Anita.
Matter of fact, it's the otherway around.
She has a Better palate.
No, that's not true.
It is, trust me.
She's got a better palate thanI have.
Why is that?
Because I've been tasting foodfor so many years.
Then I do have a refined palate.
But it's a palate that hasbeen worked out.

(39:09):
It's almost like your musclejust exploded.
She can pick things.
Then I wouldn't even think.
And one of the biggest thingwe always talk about is tell me exactly
how you feel.
You don't have to love everything.
One of our kids, for example,Morgan, she has the most defined

(39:32):
palate.
She will tell you texture,flavor, and things into a dish more
than anybody.
And sometimes we, we can'tfool her.
Like, very simple, because sheknows exactly that if she doesn't
like something, she knowsexactly what is in it.
And, and I said you should.
You're in her own business.
I mean, you should be there.

(39:53):
She's a super taster.
She's a super.
So I, I think what you'veactually taught me was to really
express myself, because I wasalways told it was always cooking
around, being healthy and eatwhat's on your plate, show respect.
And Dario will say to me,okay, what is it?
He wants me to explain, but ofcourse he wants to understand my
taste buds and what I want sohe can create and stuff.

(40:14):
Which is so kind of you.
Yes, it's already pre made forme and in thoughts in mind and what
I prefer, but, you know, it'sso important and opening up those
senses really adds a lot toyour life as well.
Yeah, I think it does.
It is.
Do you guys ever watch?
Have you seen.
I don't know if it's.
You guys are in.
Where are you exactly?
Are you in Italy?

(40:34):
No, we're in Toronto.
Toronto.
So are you familiar withSomebody feed Phil?
Yeah, our favorite show.
We love it.
Yes, our favorite show.
His favorite word.
His favorite words are Justtry it.
I love him favorite words.
Just try it.
Just try it.
You might like it.
Just try it.
Just might like it.

(40:55):
He does the best.
Yeah, so.
So, yes, I understand that.
And the fact that, you know,as a chef, the way you cook, I mean,
I learned the same thing.
That's how I learned how tocook as well.
I'm not a chef chef like you,but I'm a home chef.
But I, I take chef.
I take my cooking very seriously.
Because to me, I told youearlier, it's a. I feel from my.

(41:16):
From my soul.
It's an act of love.
When I fix something for mywife, my family, my Friends, my,
you know, anybody that'scoming to our house, I feel that
I want them to enjoy the meal.
I want them to relax.
I want them to savor each partof the meal and what they liked,
what they didn't like about it.
And I'm like you, if youdidn't like something, tell me so

(41:39):
that it helps me to refine, ithelps me to move forward with learning
more and maybe find a new wayof doing something that I hadn't
done before.
But I think that's all part ofitself in the Mediterranean living.
Not just Mediterranean diet,because it's not just a diet.
It's not just a trend.
It's an actual way of lifewhere you interact with the people

(42:00):
around you at such a pointthat you communicate and you talk.
So not only do you eat, youhave conversations.
You talk, but you haveconversations, which I think is more
important.
You know, I think.
I mean, we could talk, like,forever and ever and ever.
We can.
But to bring.

(42:21):
To bring my own experience,you know, growing up inside that
Italian culture, from the timethat I did, you know, I learned,
like you just said, table waswhere life happened.
It wasn't about the food.
It wasn't about the conversation.
It was the ritual, the belonging.
I felt like a family, as Isaid to you earlier.
And I think you bring that toyour work and you express that to

(42:41):
those people that come to you,your clients and the people that
you teach, Right?
Yeah.
Well, it starts reallyoriginally from culinary, and that's
where the first part of thebusiness came, was teaching people
to cook.
But it's expanded to so much more.
And one of the programs thatwe did was called the International
Dinner Club.
And we were encouraging peopleto come together.

(43:02):
Do you remember those.
Those fun dinner nights thatpeople used to do where they would,
you know, one person wouldbring the.
The.
The appetizer, next personwould bring the dessert.
Yeah, it was a potluck sort of thing.
But they would created atheme, so we would have theme for
different countries.
And so we did years for that.
But we were encouraging people to.
To call up their friends again.
Hey, let's put this.

(43:24):
I mean, unfortunately, Daridoesn't believe in the calendar,
but in North American culture,you need the calendar.
Let's put this in the calendar.
Right.
And have it for this day.
Once a month we do this, andit's one of those things that's getting
forgotten, and we're justgetting so caught in the busyness
and.
And the rest of it.
But being at that time table,the importance of having that.
Putting away the phone, youknow, talking to people, come up

(43:46):
with.
With conversation.
We would put stories in thereabout the country and say, did you
know.
You know, did you know thatactually Spain is the highest place
that sells olive oil?
They're.
They're the largest producer.
Really.
Yeah.
But they would be littlethings of conversation and.
And people would create thisdinner and they would have, like,

(44:07):
board games around it, or theywould have it.
They'd have music, or they'dhave different things that they create
around these different dinner parties.
And that was bringing them alltogether and bringing them to the
table.
I think back to when the kidswere young.
I always forced them to cometo the table.
And I would always say tothem, what are the three things that
were positive that happened today?

(44:27):
And what were the three thingsthat weren't?
Because the positive is great.
But we also want to hear aboutthe situations they went through
that they didn't.
And it was brought on thatconversation around the table and
so important.
What a healthy opportunity forfamily to communicate so that they're.
They're not resenting orholding something in that really
needs to be said and.
And get to share the positivesas well as the.

(44:49):
The bad stuff.
So.
And not be afraid to do that.
So.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Well done.
Well done.
Well, that, you know, theMediterranean lifestyle is kind of
like the pace of the day wesaid earlier in the conversation
is the rhythm of the morningsand the evenings and the four food
and the culture and kind of that.
And I like how you had pointedout and I told you I binge watched

(45:12):
your stuff.
I really did binge watch your stuff.
So I'm trying to remember allthe stuff I.
But, you know, it's kind ofthe way work fits into life, not
the other way around.
You know, it's the idea thatjoy isn't a reward, it's a daily
practice.
Can you share some wisdomabout that?
Like how the Mediterraneanlifestyle kind of shapes the way
we should move through life in relationships?

(45:36):
Well, it's based around.
So we've kind of summarized itbased around eight principles.
Just have people kind ofunderstanding what that is.
And really we have a programthat we do that that gets people
started with the three.
The first is eating withinbalance, because when you eat within
balance, it's much healthier.
Then we talk about connection.

(45:56):
That is really, really important.
And that's something thatneeds to be shared and to be able
to gather people together.
That's really, reallyimportant and brings that joy.
Then we talk.
The third one is having Thingsthat are stress free.
When you think about anythingyou're doing in life, whether it
is connecting, whether it iscooking or sitting at the table,
everyone has developed thisstress around what that is.

(46:17):
It's relaxing and allowingthat to be stress free, which is
really important.
And we have these eightprinciples that bring that joy to
your life and just relaxingwith it all.
When we say these, theseprinciples, it just sounds like it's
a structured kind of thing.
No, it's not.
You know, we don't want tospeak to that.
We want to speak to just beingable to add that to bring in some

(46:38):
inspiration to your life.
If you're sitting in front ofthe TV every night, maybe get out
for a walk, call up a friend,get together with them, play some
cards.
You know, people run intothese roadblocks all the time.
And if you think about it, inthe Mediterranean, that's what they
do.
They.
They'll get up in the morning,they have conversations with each
other, like you said.

(46:58):
They have their reposo in Italy.
There's siesta in France and Spain.
You know, it's having that.
That downtime, so they havethe energy again to eat dinner late,
which I still think is a bitcrazy, but they do.
They have the larger meal andthey'll have a lighter dinner later
on.
So is rituals.
Is ritual of your life.

(47:19):
And you know, we talk aboutthe eight principles, which are very
important, but like Anita wassaying, you start with the three
first.
Okay.
So you really are.
I hate to use the word, butit's probably the best word to program
yourself to understandingthere is more.
Okay.
Life is just too quick, so youneed to slow down and focus on.

(47:43):
It's not that Groundhog Day.
That's right.
Where it goes over and overthe same all the time.
It's putting more into it.
That's right.
Everything comes from here,and it gets transferred to there.
Once the connection is done,everything goes.
And I think, you know, it'sfrom here to here to here.

(48:04):
Your stomach.
Okay.
And really understand theimportance of really being purposely
present.
Yeah.
And that is.
That is the most importantthing we want to share to people
because.
Not take anyone for granted.
No, taking anyone for granted.
And we say it because we live that.

(48:25):
We really did live that.
We had a previous marriage,then didn't work out, and we fell
into the hamster wheel.
And like Anita was saying,when we got back together, we wanted
to make sure that we reallypurposely spend that time together.

(48:47):
And these, those littleritual, you know, in the morning,
me leaving a note For Anita,you know, and I leave it in Italian
because as a perf.
Purpose.
Purposeful.
It's a really tough one.
Meaning for me.
And ever.
And it's.
And it's a principal thing.
I'll tell you.
It's a thing.
I get up in the morning, Itake a shower, and I think the note

(49:09):
I'm gonna leave.
And I've kept all those notes,so I have books and books full of
these notes.
Think about it over 10 years.
And then.
And then, you know, when youget up in the morning, you know,
we have our coffee together.
Like, it's.
It's.
It's the time.
Then we need the time together.
We go for walks.
We.
We.
We want to learn new things together.

(49:31):
And.
And that is.
That is the important thing.
And this, a principle willgive you a bit of a base of what
is your journey or whatjourney you want to take.
And some people found thatvery useful.
I mean, most of our clientsthat continuously come with us on

(49:52):
our retreat, they.
They live by it.
They live by.
Because you really help them.
Well, I think.
I mean, it's important tounderstand that it.
And we can go back to what wesaid in the beginning of this show,
that the med.
It's a Mediterranean lifestyle.
It's not a Mediterranean diet.
That's just kind of a bonus.
The food is a bonus to theMediterranean lifestyle.

(50:15):
Yes.
Conduit.
And it's not about the table.
It's about life and itsurrounds us.
The fact that we touched on.
You touched on a few minutesago about the ritual, I think that
once the ritual, once youstart doing it becomes a ritual.
The ritual then becomes ahabit as well as a ritual.
And then it becomes natural sothat you.

(50:36):
You don't just expect it, you just
automatically do it, likebrushing your teeth every day.
Right.
You just do it.
You know it.
Right.
You just do it.
You just do it.
You.
You just know that you'regoing to get up.
And if you get up a little,somebody gets up later than the other,
you're kind of going, well,damn, I got to get up and get my
tea ready so I can kind of.
Cause Diane's already sittingback on the back porch kind of a

(50:59):
thing.
But it's.
And when you.
When you start practicing anddoing it, then when you don't do
it, you miss it.
Oh, you do.
Oh, so true.
Yep.
You don't do it.
You miss it.
We've traveled to other places.
Like, we go back to Colorado,and we have family back in Colorado
still.
And we'll go Back there.
And we'll stay in a hotel andwe don't have the opportunity to
go sit out on the back patioand watch the sun come up.

(51:21):
And we feel like we're missing something.
You know, we.
We go down and have breakfast,but the breakfast is in.
I'm pointing, like you can see it.
Sorry.
You see me doing this.
We'll just visualize it.
We'll just pretend it's, youknow, you go down and you get into
the dining room, you know, andthey don't have a place to go.

(51:41):
Sit outside where you canenjoy outside and watch the sun come
up kind of thing.
And we miss it.
You find out you miss it.
And same thing with theafternoon park, the evening walks.
We take an evening walk allthe time, and it's just in the community.
We walk around the block twoor three times and enjoy that.
I think it's community builtthrough repetition, rhythm, and shared
presence.
And it shapes our identity andour belonging.

(52:04):
Do you agree?
Yeah, totally agree.
And you know what?
Like I said, we love to haveour coffee in the morning.
We have our certain ritualsthat happen.
But it's interesting becausewe, as I mentioned earlier on, we
traveled for two yearsstraight, and we had to create those
rituals in different placesthat we went.
So it was really interestingthat you can create them to give

(52:26):
you that experience.
Now, it might not be the sameway that you've created them at home,
but there is a way of beingable to do that.
I totally agree.
And being spontaneous.
I mean, the fun part, youknow, Anita is it's.
I want to say she's moreorganized than I am.
I am more wild and crazy in myown way.

(52:48):
Thank God she's here, let'sput it that way.
The Dutch hat and the Italian hat,
otherwise we'll be in serious trouble.
But the idea is, you know,kind of go to things then you want
to experience, you know, aquick story.
We were in Costa Rica for twoor three months, and we wanted to

(53:12):
get some fish.
And I said, you know what?
We need to get the local.
Promote the local producer.
Let's go to the fishmongersand grab some fish.
So we got our backpack, wewalk towards the beach, and we see
the little.
Little stream that comes downfrom, I guess, from the side of the

(53:35):
beach.
Okay, we go there, we pick upsome tuna, we pick out some grouper,
the fish market.
Fish market.
Put on a backpack, walk backto the beach, to our place.
Well, now this little streamhas became a river.
Like the water is right up tohere for You, Dario.

(53:56):
I had to swim, actually, so Ihad to take everything and swim them
because they were high tide.
I said, well, that's okay.
I mean, we got fish here.
We're going to go home, we'regoing to cook it.
So we get back to our houseand get the thing out.
We're all excited.
And our neighbors says.
So we said, oh, my God.
We were walking back from thefishmonger and.

(54:17):
And we got the fish, but thenthe high tide.
They said, you didn't walk by,didn't you?
I said, yeah.
And he just said, oh, I swamright through it.
And you're laughing.
And he said, you guys are nuts.
There is crocodiles there.
We were like a buffet on thebeach for them with ice and fish
dripping and us swimming.

(54:41):
The crocodiles are going, lunch.
You have to laugh at it.
You gotta laugh at it.
And he says, well, that wasnot our day, okay?
I mean, the breathe and weenjoy it.
It's doing thing with purpose.
That's what he's all about.
Doing things with purpose.
That's as brilliant.
Doing things with purpose.
I think that we all have tounderstand that we should do things
with purpose on a daily basis.

(55:02):
That's cool.
Although you almost becamelunch, so.
No, I know.
Instead of cooking somebodyhappy, regardless, we
lived it and we have a storyto tell.
Well, that's.
That's great.
Do you think, I mean, storieslike that, obviously, that they,
they.
They can resonate across usand across generations and across
pop cultures.

(55:23):
And you created somethingaround food of which you were almost
part of being of that.
Yeah, yeah.
It's a great memory.
It's a great memory.
You know what?
It came out to be a good thingbecause as we were walking back with
the great fish that was there,we ended up doing a cooking event.
So we did Italian cuisine withtheir local products and.
And we ended up doing this popup at this restaurant, and I think

(55:46):
we sold it like in half anhour once we announced was a really
fun experience.
That's pretty cool.
That's pretty.
Yeah.
I'm jealous.
You guys.
You guys get to do.
I'm jealous.
I'm just jealous.
I'm happy.
I'm happy.
Anybody can do it.
I believe you know that.
That's the other thing.
You know what, Michael?
We do believe that anybody cando it.
Many, many years ago, beforewe work together, we probably never

(56:09):
thought.
We change our way of thinkingbecause of experiences.
You know, you have to falldown and understand how to get up.
You know, everybody's going tofall down.
We all fall down, we all hurt ourselves.
But how quickly and howpurposely you get up and how you

(56:30):
make sure you're not going tofall down again.
So that is the thing.
So we, you know, we arefortunate, I am fortunate to have
this wonderful lady beside me.
Then she been teach me thingsthat I never really knew and I, and
I share with her a part of mylife, my culture or whatever it is.

(56:51):
And we're loving every man and we're
loving every moment of it and,and we want to remember I said at
the beginning the message inthe bottle.
Yeah.
We often say when we met eachother again, they said our love,
our passion, our belief.
We wish we could bottle them,put a lid on it and give it for free
to everyone because everybodydeserved that bottle to, to really

(57:15):
have a purposeful life.
So that's what we.
In their own way.
In their own way, which is a really.
I mean, I kind of think you do that.
You offer retreats, you offercooking classes, recipes and a free
book, which is brilliant, bythe way.
Let's tell people how they canget, get, get a hold of you and can
experience all of what we justtalked about.

(57:36):
There we go.
Oh, how you were asking us a question.
I did.
Let's talk about.
Oh my goodness, I didn't hear that.
Yeah.
So the best way to get a holdof us is probably, I'd say that the
three secrets to theMediterranean lifestyle.
And it's a three day programthat takes you through the journey
of what that is just to helpbuild that, that rhythm in your life,

(57:58):
to build those habits andunderstand a bit more.
Then on our instagram page@oliveyourlife now we have a lot
of daily inspiration that's in there.
You know, get back in thekitchen, get back at the table, enjoy
life, get together withfriends, you know, look at, you know,
your spouse differently.
Getting inspired with lifeagain, that's so important.

(58:19):
So on Instagram, there we havethat as well.
And then we have our ebook.
So if you go to our website,probably the [e-mail]
you'll see the Instagram pageup there.
You've got the three secretsthat you could do, but there's also
a link to the ebook, the freeebook that we have to offer.
And our retreats unfortunatelyare sold out this year.

(58:41):
So we had Puglia in, we havePuglia in April and we have Tuscany
again.
The Amalfi coast is going tocome up for next year, we're hoping,
but they're sold out for this year.
But we're opening up again for2027, so.
So if you're interested, comeon over and contact us and we can
give you more details.
We always have a chair for youto sit at a table, which is
a brilliant thing to do,especially at the table.

(59:03):
We always have a sit.
Come and join us.
Yes.
I'll make sure that all of usin the notes that in the show notes,
everybody can get in touchwith you, that they.
With just a magic click andit'll take them right to your yes,
yes, yes.
Recipe if they want to, ifthey want to learn some of the recipes,
some of the techniques.
Cooking videos.
Cooking videos.

(59:23):
And there is a bunch of stuffthere for, for you to start.
You know, it's one step at a
time until I learned to walk again.
One step at a time.
Everything in life is one stepat a time, right?
Yeah, I got to hear that story.
You know, it, it's.
I, I was told by doctors I'dbe in a wheelchair for the rest of

(59:43):
my life because I got injured.
I got hit by a suspect.
He pinned me between his carand my patrol car.
And I sat in there for fouryears and till my daughter said,
I want you to walk me down the aisle.
And I said, I think I can dothat and stop feeling sorry for myself
and participate in life again.
And I had to learn to walkagain three times.

(01:00:05):
I have two hip replacement,two knees replaced, a foot surgery
and two shoulder surgeries.
So I had to learn to re walk and.
Yeah.
And the thing that I learnedthe most out of that whole ordeal
was that family and friendsare more valuable than anything else

(01:00:27):
you have in your life.
The cornerstone of life.
Yes.
So I fall back on that eachand every time and again.
It's always one.
When I was starting to get upafter my first surgery and to walk
Caitlyn down the aisle aftermy first surgery, it was tough, but
we did it.
It was slow, but we did it.

(01:00:48):
And like the doctor said, it'sone step at a time.
So we should all remember lifeis one step at a time.
Yeah.
Beautiful.
What a beautiful way.
What a beautiful analogy.
And you know what?
You are the classical exampleof say, you know, if you put your
mind and soul into it and youhave a belief in a purpose, nothing

(01:01:11):
can stop you.
Well done.
Well done.
I will say that theMediterranean lifestyle helped me
as well because the hospital,it's interesting because they gave
me the menu and I said, noneof this is going to work.
Giovanni, come out and makeyou something.

(01:01:32):
It was great.
No, what I Had was.
Is they hooked me up with thechef down in the cafeteria, and she
come up and we had aconversation, and I said, I don't
eat this, I don't eat this,but I can eat this and I can eat
this.
And she says, okay.
And then when I went backsubsequent times, she went, oh, you're
back.
I've got your menu.

(01:01:53):
And.
Oh, my gosh.
Yeah, worked out really well,actually, so
it was pretty cool.
Anyway, I could talk for hourswith you guys.
You're gonna have to come back.
We just, we just continue tospread this.
But for now, words of witness.
Here's one more thing beforewe go.
So before we go, words ofwisdom for someone listening right
now who feels disconnected,rushed or hungry for meaning, what's

(01:02:17):
one simple Mediterraneanpractice they can bring into their
life today, not just at thetable, but in a way they, that they
can, they can live throughthis way like we do.
To me, it's connection.
To me, it's connection.
So I think it is reach out tosomebody, whether it's someone that's
in your home every day thatyou haven't given that extra time
with, to put that phone away,really talk and connect or pick up

(01:02:39):
the phone and call somebody,somebody you haven't in a while.
And to me, that's really important.
It's the essence of what theMediterranean lifestyle is, is connecting
with more people and, andwhat's involved in that.
So pick up the phone or makethat full intention to somebody that's
in the home with you or.
I love that.
You know, I, I, I, I.
We always say one thing, youknow, cook together to stay together.

(01:03:03):
That's brilliant.
Both of those are brilliant.
Brilliant, brilliant.
I love it.
We use it all the time, youknow, and we.
Too much fun in the kitchen.
And we joke around all thetime and say, cook together to stay
together.
So it's important to havethose moments of really, really feel.
I mean, food is medicine, foodis happiness, food is memory.

(01:03:27):
And, and that are the mostimportant thing that can give us
longevity.
That's what we got to think about.
I'm going to put that on a bignote, and I'm going to stick it on
my refrigerator so we can lookat it every day.
Because those in themselvesare good.
Are brilliant words of wisdom.
Yeah, Perfect.
Anita and Dario Val.

(01:03:47):
Bene.
Grazie.
It's been an amazing.
Thank you so much.
Amazing, amazing journeythrough Mediterranean lifestyle,
culture and food.
And three of my favoritethings, all of those.
So again, I'll make sureeverything's in the show.
Notes people so they can getto touch with you and find your free
book and ciao for now.
Ciao for now.

(01:04:08):
Maybe they're chi
Today, Anita and Darioreminded us that the Mediterranean
lifestyle isn't about what'son your plate.
It's about what's in your life.
It's about slowing down so youcan actually taste your days.
It's about choosing connectionover convenience.
It's about remembering thatthe table is one of the last places

(01:04:31):
where we truly see each other.
And for me, growing up insidein Italian culture taught me that
life happens between thebites, between the stories, between
the moments we choose to savor.
And maybe, just maybe, theMediterranean way of living isn't
something we learn.
It's something we alwaysreturn to.
So that's a wrap for today.

(01:04:52):
I hope you found inspiration,motivation and a very new perspective
to take with you.
If you enjoyed thisconversation, be sure to like subscribe
and follow us and stay connected.
You can find us on Apple,Spotify or your favorite listening
platform and you can head overto YouTube and catch the full video
version.
So have a great day, have agreat week and thank you for being
part of our community.

(01:05:13):
And until next time, I'mcohearst and this is One more Thing
before you Go.
Thanks for listening to thisepisode of
One More Thing before you Go.
Check out [e-mail] you
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