The following sections highlight where people in the Mediterranean get their food and why these strategies are so important.
Focusing on farming
In addition to creating travel-worthy beaches, a moderate climate of wet winters and hot summers makes many of the areas along the Mediterranean ideal for agriculture. As a result, people living in the Mediterranean area can grow their own food in gardens and small farms, and many do so. A few areas have this type of climate (similar to the climate of southern coastal California), which makes growing specialized foods like olives and fig trees easier, thus providing ingredients for some of the signature recipes from this region.
Many people in the Mediterranean also abundantly use fresh herbs, spices, onions, and garlic to provide big flavor to their cooking. Table 1-2 is a partial list of common foods grown on the Mediterranean coast; it can give you a glimpse of what fresh ingredients the recipes in Parts 3 and 4 use.
TABLE 1-2 Foods Commonly Grown in the Mediterranean
Eating seasonally
As a side effect of eating what they grow locally (see the preceding section), folks in the Mediterranean also eat seasonally; after all, you can’t eat what you can’t grow. Eating in-season food makes an impact for the following reasons:
❯❯ Seasonal abundance makes you cook more creatively. If you have a plentiful amount of, say, green beans, you want to utilize them in any way possible. Finding different, tasty ways to prepare green beans as a side dish or as part of an entree requires more of a thought process, and more care goes into the food itself.
❯❯ You eat an increased variety of produce throughout the year. On one hand, you may eat a lot of one food while it’s in season, but when that season’s over, you’ll switch to other foods associated with the new time of year. Relying on produce available year-round at the grocery store means you can easily get stuck in a rut of eating the same standbys throughout the year.
We know that eating seasonally isn’t feasible for many people in certain climates. Don’t worry! We cover how you can adopt more of these ideas in Chapter 5.
Fishing the Mediterranean Sea
People in the Mediterranean area rely on the nearby sea as a food source. Fish appear in many common traditional recipes, providing a wealth of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. You can add seafood to a few weekly meals and reap the same benefits. The least expensive seafood in the Mediterranean region includes sardines, anchovies, mackerel, squid, and octopus. Mid-priced fish and shellfish include tuna, trout, clams, and mussels. For a pricey, special-occasion meal, options include lobster and red mullet.
During the 1960s, before the area was overfished, a variety of seafood was available in the Mediterranean. Unfortunately, fish stocks today are significantly low in the Mediterranean due to overfishing, and many important species, such as tuna, are threatened.
The Mediterranean diet includes a specific balance of foods that’s high in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants and contains the perfect balance of fatty acids. Alas, you can’t just eat your way to Mediterranean health. Living a healthy lifestyle means you have to look at all aspects of your life. Along with the food plan is a way of life that includes regular physical activity and time for rest, community, and fun; for the folks on the Mediterranean coast, this combination seems to have created that ever-elusive life balance.
To tie all the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle concepts together, Oldways Preservation and Exchange Trust came up with the Mediterranean Food Guide Pyramid based on the dietary traditions of Crete, other parts of Greece, and southern Italy around 1960, when chronic diseases such as heart disease and cancer were low. As you can see in Figure 1-1, the focus is on eating a diet rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and seafood; eating less meat; and choosing healthy fats such as olive oil. Note also the importance of fun activities, time shared with family and friends, and a passion for life. The following sections examine each aspect so that you can find it, too.
Illustration by Liz Kurtzman
FIGURE 1-1: The Mediterranean Food Guide Pyramid.
Focusing on healthy fats
Although Mediterranean residents don’t consume a lowfat diet, their dietary pattern is considered heart-healthy. How can that be? Not all fats are created equal. People in the Mediterranean consume more of the healthier types of fats (monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids) and less of the omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids and saturated fats other cultures tend to overload on. Instead of focusing on total fat intake, these folks maintain a healthier ratio of these different groups of fats than you see in the United States; they consume about 35 percent of their total daily calories from fat, but less than 8 percent of their calories come from saturated fats. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the average intake of saturated fats in the United States is 11 percent of daily calories. You can find out more about the details of this fat ratio in Chapter 2.
To start rebalancing your fat ratio, limit your use of fats such as butter and lard in cooking and use more olive oils or avocadoes for spreads.
Don’t say “cheese”: Using dairy in moderation
You may think of the Mediterranean as a cheese-eater’s heaven, but the truth is that the Mediterranean areas we focus on don’t consume a lot of cheese. Dairy is consumed on a daily basis in the Mediterranean diet, and cheese (along with yogurt) is a common source of calcium; however, moderation is the key (isn’t it always?).
Incorporate two to three servings of full-fat dairy products daily. One serving may include an eight-ounce glass of milk, eight ounces of yogurt, or an ounce of cheese. (We discuss full-fat dairy versus lowfat dairy in more detail in Chapter 5.)
Eating primarily plant-based foods
One of the most important concepts of the Mediterranean diet pattern is consuming tons of plant foods such as fruits, veggies, legumes, and whole grains. People in the Mediterranean commonly eat five to ten servings of fruits and vegetables each day, which often means having two to three vegetable servings with each meal. Other daily staples include legumes such as beans, lentils, and peas, and whole grains such as bulgur wheat or barley.
Foods in these categories are naturally low in calories and high in nutrients, which makes weight- and health-management easy. Begin by finding ways to incorporate more unprocessed plant foods in your diet on a daily basis; Chapter 21 can help.
Punching up the flavor with fresh herbs and spices
Fresh herbs and spices not only add tremendous flavor to food but also have many hidden health benefits, which we cover in Chapter 6. If you already use ample herbs and spices in your own cooking, you’re