Maybe in my first life I lived in Italy? Or was it Greece? Could’ve been Spain…

Who knows?! All I do know is my tastebuds are from the Mediterranean.

I love me some fresh vegetables (especially tomatoes), wine (especially red), seafood, bread, wine, basil, cheese, all the vegetables and did I mention wine???

Oh and of course olive oil.

In fact I buy the industrial size at the store even though I live alone. Why you ask? Because I obviously do more with olive oil than dip my crusty bread in it at dinner. It’s a beauty staple for both my hair and skin too boo.

So when I got invited to an extra virgin olive oil tasting with Lou DiPalo and Redoro Frantoi Veneti di Grezzana, I was beyond excited.

I already knew this monounsaturated fat was great for helping lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes etc. However there were three things that I didn’t know about this vitamin, nutrient and antioxidant rich oil.

I love learning new things, so here are a few RAD life lessons we can learn about the toil of olive oil.

Resilience Is Key

If you noticed a price increase in your favorite olive oil in 2015, don’t worry, you weren’t losing your mind. Olive oil prices spiked 20% in 2015, after drought and disease devastated a big part of Europe’s olive crop. The 2014/2015 harvest was the worst in 20 years, however this Mediterranean staple is making a comeback and is on the up and up this year.

I love this because it makes me think of how life can be sometimes. Every year is different, there are ups and downs in life. This is inevitable. But it is resilience that keeps us moving forward.

“Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you’ve lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that’s good.”  – Elizabeth Edwards

It Is Always Darkest Before The Dawn

The vampire of oils, olive oil doesn’t like light (or heat). Therefore it’s best when it’s stored in dark glass or tin containers, and should be kept in a cool dark place. If not deterioration is guaranteed.  In regard to heat, extra-virgin olive oil can remain stable up to about 410F degrees (or more depending on how filtered it is). However some of the flavor will be lost when heated. So save your more expensive oils for finishing your dishes. When it comes to flavor,  a drizzle of a good oil will go a long way, so splurge a little on premium oils like Redoro.

In regard to life, learning this makes me think of how some of our darkest days bring out the best in us. So if you’re facing a challenging time in your life right now, remember, it is in darkness that we become more refined. Hang in there!

“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” – Aristotle Onassis

Be A Chameleon

Like I said earlier, I don’t only consume a lot of olive oil, I slather it everywhere. In my hair and on my skin especially. For example when my curls are extra frizzy I will heat up about 1/4 a cup and use it as a deep conditioning treatment. Or I’ll fill an applicator bottle with olive oil and a bit of lavender for a soothing scalp massage before bed. And for my skin, nothing takes off makeup better. I haven’t bought overpriced makeup remover in years! One oil, so many functions.

One life, so many differences. This is something I’ve been embracing in my personality and in my relationships. People are complicated, such a cliche I know. But when we really start to embrace our differences we will find that the common denominator should always be love.

“Where there is love there is life.” – Mahatma Ghandi

Photos courtesy of Flavor Your Life. Photographer: Farooq Alihassan

While these thoughts are my own this post was inspired by a program brought to the United States by Flavor Your Life – the campaign funded by The European Union and a consortium of European olive oil growers. 

How do you use olive oil? Let me know below.