With soccer season upon us in the US, there’s never been a better time to celebrate Italian culture and heritage with your junior league team than right now. If enjoying the best Italian food on the Front Range isn’t enough of a reason to come down to Pinocchio’s Italian Eatery in Brighton, CO, here’s a few things you might not know about sports and healthy mediterranean cuisine.

Don’t Shy Away From Carbs

As soccer is a high energy sport, it’s critical to eat enough carbohydrates as they are one of the simplest types of food energies you can eat. From the moment they hit your system, your body will have a quick burst speed and strength at its disposal. When an athlete is out on the field, these fast-access energy reserves are essential for delivering optimum performance. As beneficial as they are, not all carbohydrates are created equal. Sugary snacks and junk food have lots of carbohydrates, but are very low in nutritional value. On the positive side of the carb spectrum, pasta is loaded with the best type of carbohydrates for athletes to give them a quick release of energy that young athletes need to be their best.

Essentials for Muscle Regeneration

Our muscles are made of protein. High intensity sports like soccer generate a huge amount of wear and tear on our muscles and create tiny micro-tears in every part of the body used during exercise. This is also true for vulnerable joints like knees, heels, and shoulders. Only by getting plenty of sleep and eating sufficient protein can young athletes repair these tears overnight. Every time the body fixes itself in this cycle, muscles grow a little stronger. Chicken and steak dishes are loaded with protein and will help your soccer players and other young athletes recover quickly so they’ll be ready for the next game.

Keeping Italian Food Healthy for the Whole Family

It may seem obvious, but getting enough calories is absolutely essential for athletes, especially young athletes. Young people are already burning through a lot of calories every day just growing up. So no matter what sport your kids are into, make certain that they are well fed. Keeping wholesome Italian snacks like caprese salad, grilled veggies, or olives around your home is a good way to encourage healthy eating habits. Of course, at Pinocchio’s, no one ever leaves hungry so if you find yourself short on time, but want to make sure your young athletes are getting enough to eat, drop by any time.

So before the big game, or to celebrate an important win, come into Pinocchio’s and huddle up over the best Italian food in and around Brighton. Treat your players to the nutrition they deserve in a comfortable atmosphere. Nothing goes with soccer like Italian food and nothing says Italian food like Pinocchio’s.  We hope to see you and your whole team at our tables soon!

It’s back to school season (already!) and it’s important to note in this busy season that going back to school is a big shift for kids and parents. After adjusting to summer fun and travel, adjusting back to a rigid school and after-school activity schedule can make even the most prepared among us a bit stressed. Make sure to take the time to celebrate and relax with your family during this time. At Pinocchio’s, we know that nothing makes a whole family smile like authentic Italian cuisine to bring them all together.

A regular, weekly night set aside for a family dinner can help add some regular comfort to the back to school season. Between homework, after-school activities, and sports it’s all too easy to lose track of each other. Catch up over our delicious eggplant parmesan and the best breadsticks in Brighton, Colorado.  By the time you finish up with one of our signature desserts the worries of your working and studying lives will seem much further away. Plus, you can take the stress out of your family dinner when you let Pinocchio’s clear the dishes!

Struggling to talk about something other than school and work? For a change in topic of dinner conversation, here are a few things your family might not know about Italian cuisine:

1. Olive Oil: Every liter of olive oil is refined from at least seven liters of olives. It is such a nutritious and valuable commodity that it fueled the economy of the Roman Empire for hundreds of years. It’s good for heart and digestive health and can improve such cognitive functions like memory.

2. Lasagna: The origins of lasagna are much debated, but the dish probably first appeared in ancient Greece and is based on a word that translates to “pot” or “dish.” While filled layers of unleavened bread became instantly popular in the ancient world, lasagna as we know it today didn’t achieve its current form until the tomato was introduced to Italy in the late 1400’s.

3. Tiramisu: This familiar coffee-flavored dessert made from lady fingers (a type of sweet biscuit), egg yolks, and mascarpone cheese, is not all that old. It first appeared in cookbooks in the 1960s but legend notes that it was invented by a Grand Duke in the 17th century.

Dining together is a great way to catch up on family news and relax after a stressful week at work and school. We look forward to welcoming you and your family to our table. Call today for reservation.

* Worried about heavy Italian food for your kids at the start of the new school season? Kids (and parents) love spaghetti, lasagna, and ravioli, but traditional pasta dishes are often full of gluten. Pinocchio’s re-imagining of these traditional recipes make no compromises on flavor and offer a healthy alternative your family will love. With kids going back to school it’s important to give them every opportunity to shine. Health of the body and the mind begins with a nutritious, low gluten diet. We hope you’ll let us help ensure that your young scholars are getting into the right study and eating habits this Fall.

 

Let’s talk about bread. Considered a staple item in many pantries around the world, bread can tell you a lot about a person. For example, if they are eating an unleavened bread called Matzo, they are probably Jewish and it is during a Jewish holiday called Passover. Or perhaps they correct your usage of the term ‘naan’ for flatbread at an Indian restaurant, when you may be eating a similar, but different flatbread called ‘chapati.’

As bread plays an important role in Italian cuisine (like at Pinocchio’s), from the typical Italian breadsticks served with almost every dinner to the elaborate panettone (a sweet bread with candied fruit pieces inside) that is made for special occasions like New Year and Christmas, we love to learn about the variety of bread types from around the world.

Here is just a sampling of bread from around the world, including several types of Italian bread you’ll find at Pinocchio’s:

Chapati (India)

Chapati is a thin, wheat bread that is unleavened and typically used to wrap around and pick up other pieces of your meal (like chicken or veggies). The main difference between chapati and naan bread is that chapati is unleavened while naan is leavened (meaning it includes the use of yeast).

Ciabatta (Italy)

Ciabatta is known as a classic Italian bread. It is an elongated loaf of white or wheat bread that is flattened slightly, has a harder crust, and a porous texture inside. Did you know that the ciabatta was Italy’s response to the popularity of the French baguette for sandwiches?

Crumpet (United Kingdom)

A crumpet is thick, circular, and spongy. Crumpets are different from English muffins, which also are small and circular, but are much more porous and thinner than a crumpet. Both are delicious when sliced, toasted, and slathered in butter (or your choice of jam).

Focaccia (Italy)

Known to many people as similar to pizza dough, focaccia bread is a thick yeasted bread rolled out by hand, salted and seasoned with olive oil and herbs, then baked to produce a lush bread. While focaccia bread can be used when making pizza, it also can be used as sandwich bread or simply a meal addition by itself.

Hushpuppy (United States)

Imagine a delicious and savory cornbread with your dinner. Now imagine it balled up and deep fried! This is a hushpuppy: simply a deep fried corn dough ball. Hushpuppies are popular in southern US states and actually originated with Native American cuisine in the area.

Melonpan (Japan)

Melonpan, also known as melon buns, are sweet buns of enriched flour dough baked with a thin layer of cookie dough on top that crackles over the surface. Popular across Asia, melonpans haven’t gained much attention around the rest of the world, possibly because they are harder to make and can be quite dry in the center than other sweet breads.

Pane Carasau (Italy)

Technically from Sardinia, pane carasau is an incredibly thin, crispy flatbread traditionally baked twice and used by shepherds on long trips away from home.