Christina Cooks: Back to the Cutting Board

The chestnut has been a food source for thousands of years. We will travel to Pratalecchia in Tuscany to visit an ancient town that has produced chestnuts for hundreds of years. We'll harvest and cook with this amazing ancient food as our ancestors did.

Everyone wants to slow down. With so many obligations, is that an option? A former NY police officer jumped off the chaotic carousel, landing in a small town in Italy, where he lives a life of balance. He talks philosophy while preparing his favorite dish

In Italian-American households, nothing is more important than Sunday gravy or tomato sauce. We visit a Tuscan vineyard and discover the truest tradition for making this luscious, cherished gravy...or sauce steeped in love and family.

Eating like an Italian means holding a deep respect for food, tradition, cooking and the art of the enjoyed meal. We talk with Italian-American businessmen and visit with family business in Umbria valuing family over everything, producing organic products.

Conscious eating is a mindset in which we understand the impact of our food choices and how to choose food to serve the purpose of our lives. In Rome, we work with a chef who's adapted iconic Italian dishes to become kinder to human health and the planet.

Compassion and kindness are things we can never have too much of; in and out of the kitchen, cooking without harm, so we produce less cruelty and pollution. We travel to Florence, Italy, to cook with a chef who uses astrology and instinct.

Italy generates more than a third of its electricity from renewable sources and has surpassed a European Union goal to recycle 65% of urban waste by 2025. We meet a food entrepreneur/sustainability expert at a local market and cook together.

To say that our modern society is stressed is an understatement. But how to manage when it's part of life, literally keeps us up at night at a cost to our wellness? The food we choose to help us relax our bodies physically to manage stress is essential

This deeply personal episode takes the idea of cooking and eating together to a new level. In a home kitchen in Tuscany, with my friend Sandro, we produce dinner from seasonal, local ingredients with the idea of nourishing our loved ones.

Most experts agree we should eat locally. But does that mean no imported foods like Italian olive oil? Flour from another state? Sugar from tropical climes? We meet an urban farmer in Philadelphia dedicated to creating access to fresh food for everyone.

Zero Waste: avoiding/eliminating waste. To stem pollution, we can adapt our lifestyles to step lighter on our planet. Shop in local farm markets; avoid plastic; reduce food waste. We visit Italian brothers who honor tradition by producing heirloom farro.

Sustainable living works to reduce the use of Earth's natural resources, reducing our ecological footprint in our homes, transportation, energy use, and food choices. Going green respects Mother Nature and slows the effects of pollution on our planet.

If climate change seems abstract, think of it as pollution. Our food choices make an impact. Choosing more plants, reducing animal food, etc. An organic, biodynamic balsamic vinegar producer shows us what's possible with a strong will.