As you should already know, I follow the donut craze in the U.S. almost religiously. So when I was in historic Worthington for some dinner, I had to stop in after for some donuts as a late night snack!! Peace, Love and Little Donuts in Worthington, Ohio is a smaller shop, but fits perfectly with the theme of tiny donuts. The theme of the shop is a psychedelic 60s vibe with hippies and peace signs decorating the walls. It instantly makes you pumped up for some donuts!!

And you should be pretty excited for the choices of donuts that they have to offer! Their fancy flavors, also known as "Funkadelic", include about 30 different kinds, from blueberry pancake to salted pretzel. I chose to get half a dozen Funkadelic donuts. The six included: lemon blueberry, maple bacon (a classic that I always have to try for comparison purposes), Oreo, cookie dough and apple pie. 

After sleeping off my jet lag and getting back into the routine of normal life again, I've had some time to reflect on my food journey! The last stop on my trip was a leadership summit that was focused on the solutions to food sustainability, and it was a humbling experience to listen & learn about what all of that meant.

I was lucky enough to hear from keynote speakers like Stephen Ritz, Ray Patel and Anthony Bourdain, all of whom had amazing perspectives on what food means and what it brings to the world.

The goal of the summit was to get me -along with 2,000 other students from around the world- thinking about how we can make our food supply last longer, while considering our well being. We were split into teams of ten, and each team had to solve a problem concerning food. The goal was to create a solution that could be turned into a prototype, so that the rest of the summit could see past the idea and determine whether or not the solution was creative enough to fit the needs of the problem.

Along the way, we were given opportunities to hear lectures, both thematic and leadership based, to help further our thinking skillls and character. I learned a lot about myself based on the workshops I participated in, and came up with many new ideas to start applying once I got back home.

My group's problem was finding fresh produce in urban areas, or any general area not likely to have fresh food available. Our solution (in short) was a compostable bin- The Green Machine- found in common places where trash cans are, that dispenses both soil and seed to its consumers.

Although my team's idea didn't win, it was still a really cool process to see our prototype come together in such a short amount of time. We all had to form a common ground and figure out what worked and what didn't, which seemed different than most school projects- possibly because it actually applied to real life!

This summit sparked lots of ideas for me, and I'm thinking of perhaps implementing some in this blog, because my writing reflects who I am and I want to make a change with my ideas! So what better way to do that then through my food blog? Stay tuned for some details following in the next few months as I plan out and execute my idea :)

Sunday brunch after a morning at church are some of my favorite Sundays, and today was no exception! My family always enjoys a good brunch, and today we decided to try the new Cap City Diner in Dublin, Ohio. We love Cameron Mitchell restaurants and our meal today was proof of why we keep coming back!! 

Cap City offers brunch on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 am - 3 pm and I would highly recommend trying brunch as a meal over anything because they do brunch so well! Cap City is a laid back sophisticated themed diner that serves upscale American cuisine and I love every part of the restaurant.

Waking up today for a beautiful day in Milan was something I've looked forward to during this trip, & my first day was fantastic!!

Our first stop was at a recylcable plastic factory with a cool product by family owned company BIOPAP. They make compostable packaging for all types of food, making a huge difference in places such as restaurants, food trucks, the workplace, grocery stores and much more. Although it hasn't reached the United States, they hope to expand in the next two years (2019).

*unfortunately I couldn't take pictures while in the factory :(

Next we rode to the center of Milano, where Duermo Cathedral is located, for a few hours to explore the city.

The cathedral was absolutely gorgeous, and it had a great amount of architecture that made it so amazing to look at.

For lunch, I had classic spaghetti with meatballs and a couple slices of bread. We took our lunch to go, and sat at the square outside the cathedral to enjoy the view and the people around us. It was a nice way to immerse ourselves with the culture and soak up our surroundings.

Finally, we made it to our leadership summit!! EF (Education First) did a great job opening up the summit with an introduction night & food truck festival for dinner.

I chose oven fired pizza with a cannoli, which was one of the best meals I've had on this trip (which sets the bar super high for the rest of the food at the summit).

J got to meet my group today and we did fun activities to learn more about each other. If our project happens to win over the next two days, we will have our solution to food sustainability in the Nobel Lorriet Museum in Stockholm, Sweeden! I am super excited for this opportunity & am excited to see what my group can do to feed the world :)

Today highlighted a very unexpected surprise: a mini trip to Cannes, France!! As we prepared to take a drive to Milan, Italy, we decicded to stop in Cannes for a quick swim in the Mediterranean and a stroll down the boardwalk for some lunch.

When we arrived, the sky was blue, the water was crystal clear, and the sand was sinking between my toes. It was such a beautiful day and could not have been more perfect for a few hours in Cannes.

Along the boardwalk were stands with sandwiches, crêpes, smoothies, ice cream and fresh fruit. I chose a caprese sandwich and a fresh cup of mangoes. My sandwich was one of the best I've had on this trip and the mangoes were so refreshing for the hot day we had while on the beach! It was a great last lunch to end my time in France.