Mediterranean Diet How to Use the Recipes

The recipes for the 7-day meal plan were chosen to represent a typical week on the Mediterranean island of Crete. You should be able to find all the ingredients in most supermarkets.


Olive Oil: You will notice that some of the recipes call for up to a cup of extra virgin olive oil. When I was researching on the island I found some recipes with up to two cups of olive oil. Yet the inhabitants had the lowest rates of heart disease in the world! A diet high in the right types of fats is not only delicious, but healthy! I recommend trying the recipes and seeing how you feel. Since most of what you will be eating on the Mediterranean diet is low calorie vegetables, and because healthy fats help you feel full, you will probably find yourself eating less and losing weight.

Calories: There is no calorie counting in the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean way is about celebrating food, family and community. Counting calories is a large part of what has made many of us in the U.S. “crazy” around food. Giving it up returns us to truly enjoying what we eat. For these reasons there are no calories listed for the recipes.

Breakfast: The breakfast suggestions we have included follow the basic guidelines of eating Mediterranean and are quick and simple for the person on the run. Most of the breakfast ideas are so simple that we don’t give specific recipes. What you want to stay away from is highly processed foods such as sugary cereals, bagels, doughnuts, and heavily sweetened (and fattened) coffee drinks

Coffee: Coffee is enjoyed throughout the Mediterranean. For most, coffee is a healthy drink as long as lots of sugar and processed creams are not added

Herbal Teas: Mountain Teas: One time while I was in Crete I caught a cold. I wanted to get some kind of cold medicine so I headed down to the local market. When I told the clerk my symptoms he pulled a bag of dried herbs from under the counter and told me to make a tea out of it. It turned out to be an herb called “diktamos”. I made the tea, went to bed, and woke up the next morning feeling much better. There is a long history in Crete of medicinal teas, which are used for everything from digestion to mental clarity, as well as their antimicrobial and antiviral properties.



Here are a few examples of teas that are enjoyed in the Mediterranean:

Mint Tea - Helps with digestion, coughs, and bad breath. Mint tea may also help with mental clarity and relaxation.

Green Tea - Packed with antioxidants, green tea has been shown to decrease the risk of congestive heart failure, lower blood pressure, and stabilize blood sugar levels in diabetics. Potentially helpful in reducing cancer cell growth, reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s, and increasing brain function.

Chamomile Tea – Decreases anxiety, reduces inflammation, and may help to fight off cancer.

Oregano Tea - Helps with digestion, especially after heavy meals.

Wine: The inhabitants of Crete are famous for their consumption of red wine and a moonshine drink called “Raki”. Wine is consumed every day, usually with lunch and dinner. It is almost always consumed with food. As with most everything else, the wine is organic and local. It also has none of the sulfites and additives that are in most wines bought in stores. Any type of alcohol will increase your “good” HDL cholesterol, but there is a substance in red wine (Resveratrol) that may also help decrease the “bad” LDL and reduce blood clots. Obviously, if you have any issues with alcohol, then we don’t recommend you start drinking. If you do like wine, then you should drink it in small amounts (no more than a glass or two) with a meal.

Desserts: The dessert of choice in Crete is fresh fruit. Occasionally there is baklava (a very small amount) or a cookie (made with extra virgin olive oil), but the majority of the time it’s an apple, orange, or grapefruit.

Salads: Salads are eaten often on the Island of Crete either as a main meal, side dish, or a snack. Feel free to add or substitute a salad for any of the meals in the 7-Day Mediterranean Diet Meal P7lan. Below is my take on a traditional Greek salad, and a few of my favorite dressings which you can use on a simple salad. These dressings are very flavorful. Consider adding them to your repertoire and use instead of store bought dressings.

Crunchy Greek Salad 
2 large carrots, cut into small pieces
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 large cucumber, peeled and sliced
1 tomato, cut into bite-sized pieces
3-4 sprigs parsley, stems removed
1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
4 ounces feta cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Mix all vegetables in a bowl with olive oil and lemon juice.
2. Top with crumbled feta cheese. Toss with salad

Serves 4 as main dish salad
Serves 6 as side salad

Dressings:

Dijon Balsamic Vinaigrette

1 cup extra virgin olive oil 

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar 

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 teaspoon oregano 

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and whisk for about 2 minutes until mixture begins to thicken. 

2. Pour dressing into a jar. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving

Lemon Parmesan Dressing

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon dried dill

2 cloves garlic, pressed through garlic press

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl and whisk for about 2 minutes until mixture begins to thicken. 

2. Pour dressing into a jar. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving

Lunch and Dinner 

In Crete, the same meal is usually eaten both at lunch and dinner. My suggestion is to cook a recipe for dinner and then have the leftovers for lunch the next day.

 If, when you look through the recipes, you see something that doesn’t appeal to you, I recommend two possibilities: 1) Give it a try anyway. Recipes from Crete are quite different than what you are probably used to. You might find you like what you think you won’t! 2) Feel free to substitute. We have given you recipes for 3 extra meals. You can substitute these for meals on the plan if you like. Or, if there is a recipe you really enjoyed, you can always make it again!