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My husband, Giancarlo, and I love salads:
the crunch of fresh vegetables, lively col-
orful leaves, and punchy dressings. They
sharpen our minds and give us energy
yet still fill us up without leaving us slug-
gish and tired. For years, Giancarlo, an
Italian, was mainly a pasta man, but then
he learned he has diabetes; he had to lose
weight, give up sugar, and eat fewer carbo-
hydrates. This meant less pasta, and
no more cappuccino with sugar, cake,
or cookies. Then, just weeks later, he
was told he is intolerant to gluten. Poor
Giancarlo! He had to give up conventional
pasta, bread, and pizza—all the things a
traditional Italian man loves. On the bright
side, no one told him he shouldn’t eat veg-
etables, so he can eat salad!
Months later, we found out that our
son, Giorgio, is also gluten intolerant;
he had been experiencing headaches,
migraines, and moments when he was
so tired and weak he couldn’t get up. So
now we are pretty much gluten free as
a family, and vegetables take center stage.
At our home in England, we grow plenty
of our own, and try to buy local and
organic when possible.
Salad is fresh, rich in nutrients, usu-
ally low in sugar, and often gluten free.
The word “salad” comes from herbe salato,
meaning “salted leaves,” referring to a
bowl of dressed leaves, and dates back
