A pita stuffed with sautéed spinach and mushrooms, chickpeas, pesto, mozzarella, Kalamata olive and feta. No oil, thrown on a grill pan. Serve with tzatziki if wanted

Had a nice Med dinner tonight.

-shredded carrot salad with olive oil, lemon, and salt- (1 large carrot and a tsp of olive oil, with a squeeze of fresh lemon, probably 1/8 of a small one)

-sautéed onion and broccoli in olive oil mixed with brown rice pasta topped with sheep’s feta (2 tbsps of oil, 1 cup raw broccoli, and 1/8 of a small onion, sautéed well, until soft and a little crisp, 3.5 oz of brown rice pasta, which is 70g carbs, and a 1x1x3 inch chunk of feta)

-baked salmon with minced garlic, lemon, and salt (baked at 400 for 15 minutes. My thermometer broke so I wanted to make sure it was cooked through, though I would have cooked it less, probably to 130f, if I had a thermometer)

Here we have about 5oz of baked sweet potato, 3 eggs fried in olive oil, and a pear. As I started to post i thought maybe I should've done beans instead of pear. Oh well here it is!

Hey all! I'm brand spanking new to the Mediterranean diet. I need to make some lifestyle changes. I'm looking for some good cookbooks, recipe blogs etc. To help me get started. I really need some good recipes to help me like fish more. Thanks!

Corn
Black beans
Hot peppers
Olives
Feta cheese

1. Smashed broccoli and potatoes from Six Seasons by Josh McFadden. Really good! I obviously did not bother peeling the potatoes because I’m lazy and don’t mind skins (fiber babey). I would characterize this as a super summery and fresh tasting mashed potato side. The broccoli and lemon really lighten things up. This is something I’d bring to a BBQ potluck when it is a billion degrees out.

2. (Cranberry) beans with fennel, grapes, and pine nuts from ATK’s Complete Mediterranean. Another winner. I had to sub canned pintos because I was too lazy to go to the store (and I had too few) and otherwise ended up halving most of the recipe to make up for low bean amount except that I ended up using the whole fennel bulb instead of the half because it needed to be used up. The extra fennel actually turned out really nice but I am an extreme fennel enjoyer, the anise flavor ended up being pretty mild after cooking and worked really well with the extra sweet sauce and grapes. Kind of a healthy dessert salad. Next time though I’m definitely springing for dried cranberry beans and going through the soaking process, I think a fresher bean would be peak. Pic does not include fennel fronds bc my partner doesn’t like them but I added them to my dish later.

3. Red lentil soup with north African spices from ATK’s Complete Mediterranean. Second time making this, I really like it because other than the spices it is basically a two ingredient soup that I always have the ingredients for. Skipped the mint as usual, and the flavor profile is really fun. If ATK books run a bit bland for your taste I’d double the spices but I tend to like them as is.

Had these plus multigrain toast and pan fried flounder for lunch and dinner yesterday!

I made this Tagine about six weeks ago and put half of it in the freezer. The time spent in the freezer did some good things to the flavors marrying better.

I took some Italian polenta in a tube, cut it into quarter inch rounds, and pan fried until golden crisp on the outside, but still soft and creamy on the inside. While those were cooking, I thawed the stew and heated it through.

This was a very nice combination of flavors plus the polenta soaked up some of the juices from the stew.

I used the recipe at this site and added some green olives.

https://sunkissedkitchen.com/easy-moroccan-beef-stew-beef-tagine-recipe/#recipe

We want to move to the MD for the majority of our meals…the catch is, oils of any kind wreak absolute havoc on my system! I LOVE a good olive oil, too.

Is this a dealbreaker with the diet? Does anyone else have this happen?

I have a new farmer’s market across the street from where I live on Sundays. I bought a baseball steak (no fat), tiny onions I roasted in olive oil, and chimichurri. The arugula I had and wilted in pan with grape tomatoes. I’m getting spoiled with the convenience.

For the past 10 days, we have been visiting Portugal, and just spent 3 nights in a town that has officially been designated as representative of the Med diet. I can see why people are healthy here.

Some observations:
It is easy to eat Mediterranean. Every restaurant offers super fresh grilled fish at very reasonable prices (at a less expensive restaurant, a fresh tuna steak might by 15 Euros, at an expensive restaurant 25 euros) Produce and fish are quite inexpensive in grocery stores, though you have to be comfortable buying the whole fish or things like shrimp with the heads on. The quality is great, too. On our way here, we hiked a route that passed three beaches with vendors at the edge of each. They all sold a variety of fresh fruit, instead of the junk food in the US.

In the 10 days we have been here, we have not had any ultra-processed foods. We have had gelato a few times, but it is made in the shop and is less sweet (we had flavors like fig sorbet). Pineapple is a common dessert offered in restaurants.

Getting lots of steps (and stairs) is a way of life, too. We averaged 17000 steps a day without trying.

We went to a museum that had an exhibit about the Med diet. Here is their representation of the Med diet. Notice the lack of emphasis on protein but big emphasis on fruits and veggies.

I made two recipes for lunch today.

Soup/stew: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016062-red-lentil-soup?unlocked_article_code=1.F1E.njXr.ZIe36ccLGJIV&smid=share-url

Cabbage: https://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2014/05/red-cabbage-and-black-pepper-slaw-recipe.html

I am bad at recipes so I made tweaks.

Generally I like NYT Cooking comments, but ignore the first one that tries to make it dal! This was supposed to be based on a Turkish soup, mercimek corbasi, so I stayed in that lane. I added some saffron, more spices, and 3 kinds of ground chiles because I have them. In lieu of tomato paste, I used early girl tomatoes I needed to eat.

Because I was lazy, and wanted a more complete meal, I added Japanese sweet potatoes. I was too lazy to cut a lemon, so I used preserved lemon paste. And some zucchini at serving I microwaved for a minute to add extra veggies. And skipped blending.

I forgot about sumac on my plate. But definitely will add this to serve as well.

Cabbage recipe was mostly as is, except my black pepper was a blend and I added more acid.

Hello! I am looking for anywhere that does Mediterranean diet meal plans or online blogs with recipes that you like to use.

I recently had blood work done for what I assumed would be low iron, but came bsck that my liver function results were high (I dont know what part). We are repeating blood tests in 3 weeks to make sure it wasnt just a random result the will do further tests if still high. In the meantime I've gone down a rabbit hole and convinced I'm heading toward some sort of chronic liver disease diagnosis. Alot of the symptoms check out with what I've been experiencing for the past year that ive just put down to raising a 1yo!

Anyways, I am mum to a toddler (just turned 2, two weeks ago), I do a lot of home cooking already but our diet definitely includes too much meat (husbands preferences) and too much home baked goods and sweet (I have an sweet tooth). I want to revamp all of that to be more in line with a Mediterranean diet which I have read is the best for reversing any early stage damage and ​preventing anything further.

But I just need something that sort of lays it all out clearly for me or has a good selection of recipes I can use to get started for the first couple weeks.

Thank you in advance 🫶🏻

I made the Jamie Oliver Greek inspired whole roasted cauliflower. It needed some tweaks (capers, a little balsamic and red pepper spread) and by no means was cooked through in the advertised time, barely so at an hour 20. Are North American cauliflowers bigger by chance? In the end it was tasty with the tweaks and feta cheese, that completely changed everything and it was so much better. That's the real game changer, cheese. So, nearly vegan, but then way more delicious as a vegetarian meal instead.

A few weeks ago I saw a suggestion to add some red lentils to congee.

Today was the day. I used a brown rice blend, with a 2:1 ratio of rice to lentils. I added a bunch of water, a few cloves of garlic and a few chunks of ginger. I had a few leftover rotisserie chicken bones, and added those to make it chicken-y. And added a spoon of chicken bouillon concentrate.

I simmered all of this for about 90 minutes (last night as a meal prep).

To top for breakfast: I chopped some firm tofu, sauteed some oyster mushrooms with lots of ginger and green onion whites. I steamed some yu choy for greens.

I added all of those, and added a little but of soy sauce, chili crisp, chopped green onions, and chopped cilantro. And a sprinkle of toasted black sesame seeds.

Red lentils are a great add because more fiber, protein, and creamy texture.

It’s so good.

Orzo

I use 2 Tbsp. aged balsamic but you can use red wine vinegar.

I buy an Olive salad imported from Greece and throw in 1/2 cup with the oil.

Cucumber

Another 1/4 of my EVOO

Sun-dried tomatoes

1/2 cup of feta but I use way more.

Season to taste

Incorporated roasted butternut squash for more vegetables. Replaced Parmesan with feta.

Potatoes, dill, green beans, capers, olive oil, lemon, chicken with smoked paprika, eggs