All over the world, there are many delicious foods. And each of them comes from different regions. That is the reason why it has various attractions. So does Mediterranean food. If you want to know more about it, these parts in this post can help you. After reading this information, we think you will try to make and eat them as soon as possible.
The Mediterranean Food Overview
Do you know that the Mediterranean is an area that has a diversity of distinct cuisines? It consists of food cultures from many countries such as Greek, Provençal, Levantine, Ottoman, Italian, Maghrebi, etc. On the other hand, the ideas of these foods come from a book by Elizabeth David – A Book of Mediterranean Food (1950). Until now, it was made by the methods of preparation and cooking of the Mediterranean Basin.
Even though it has many core factors, almost all of them were denied by other writers. Therefore, it is just known as Mediterranean food because its tastes and cooking are pretty similar. The most popular point of these foods is they usually care much about the benefits for health. If you also pay attention to their recipes, they use many healthy ingredients like olive oil, vegetables, grains, wheat, fruits, etc. And we will also introduce to you some in this post.
And this thing comes from the traditional healthy and positive living habit in many countries, including Spain, Italy, France, Greece, etc. – the countries bordering the Mediterranean sea. This is also the main reason for many people to apply these recipes in the diet. However, they still need to change much about the ingredients and way to prepare and cook them. Come to the next part, we will explain more clearly.
How to Use Mediterranean Food in Diet
You know that making a portion of food like Mediterranean food is extremely difficult. And you still have to ensure it is healthy and fewer calories enough to help you lose weight is more complicated. So here are two steps you can follow to make your Mediterranean food more diet.
Make Serving More Similar to Mediterranean Food Style
- Using many types of starchy foods (pasta, bread, etc.)
- Don’t skip fish.
- Reduce the amount of meat.
- It contains more vegetables and fruit.
- Create a habit to use plant and vegetable oil instead of animal oil (olive oil, grape oil, etc.)
These are five things you need to pay attention to if you want to cook food, like how people in the Mediterranean region cook. Don’t worry. It will still ensure enough energy and healthy for your life. Now, go to the next step to complete your new diet.
Make Your Mediterranean Food More Suitable for Diet
- Choose suitable starchy foods for each meal. There are many types for you to alternate: rice, bread, pasta, potatoes, wholegrain, etc.
- Including at least five portions of plenty of vegetables and fruit for each day.
- Eat more fish, eggs, pulses, beans, and other proteins.
- Still need meat in some meal to supply enough protein from animals in addition to vegetal.
- Though you use a healthier oil, you also ought to use it with a small amount.
- Try to combine with some dairy ingredients or alternative ones. Remember to prioritize lower-sugar and lower-fat choices.
- Practice drinking much water in a day – from 6 to 8 glasses per day because it will help your body metabolite more effectively. From that, you can lose weight better and faster but still be safe and healthy.
We know that creating a new habit is not an easy thing. But try your best for it because the result you can receive will not make you disappointed. Change a little day by day, and it will become an essential part of your life soon.
5 Mediterranean Food Recipes Ought to Be Tried Once
You should not miss these five delicious and nutritious dishes with a reasonably simple way below:
1. Horiátiki Salata (Authentic Greek Salad)
This first recipe is highly suitable for diet. Because it contains a lot of vegetables and fewer spices, so you can use it for your diet menu without changing too much. Here is for you.
Prepare ingredients:
- Three medium tomatoes
- One big cucumber
- 1/4 red onion
- 1/4 red bell pepper
- Ten kalamata olives
- 6 ounces feta cheese
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- A little red wine vinegar or lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- Salt
- Pepper
Ready to make it:
- Wash all ingredients first.
- Cut in quarters all tomatoes.
- Peel and slice cucumber.
- Cut the red onion into strips.
- Cut red bell pepper into thinner strips.
- Add all vegetables to a bowl (or anything you use to hold them).
- Pour a little olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar, salt, pepper, and feta cheese until it is tasty for you.
2. Potato Omelet – Spain (Tortilla Española)
This food is a potato cake. If you like a potato but don’t want to eat it traditionally, such as frying, you should try this recipe once.
Prepare ingredients:
- Four potatoes
- 3/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil (a flavorful green oil will be better)
- One onion
- Ten eggs
- Salt
- Pepper
Ready to make it:
- Peel and slice potatoes into thick enough.
- Slice onion in rounds with the smake thickness as potatoes.
- Add olive oil into your pan and heat it at medium heat.
- Put sliced potatoes and fry until they are all ripe golden evenly. Remember to turn them in every few minutes.
- Then add onions into that.
- Taste with a little salt and pepper. And let them there until they are all tender.
- Take out and wait for the cooler.
- Then, mix them with eggs. You can also taste one more time.
- Now put that mixture into the pan with extra potatoes and eggs. Cook them until they begin to set on the bottom.
- After, put the food with the pan on the top shelf of the oven. An ideal temperature is 350 degrees F in a few minutes.
- If it is cooked completely, you can enjoy it.
3. Morocco Eggs Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce (Shakshuka)
You don’t want to eat eggs normally like before. You want to find out a new way to cook food with eggs. Why don’t you try this one?
Prepare ingredients:
- Two tbsp of extra virgin olive oil
- One onion
- Three cloves garlic
- One red pepper
- One jalapeno pepper
- Four tomatoes
- One tsp of cumin
- One tsp of smoked paprika
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano
- Four to six eggs
- Salt
- Pepper
Ready to make it:
- First of all, you need to preliminary process of ingredients.
- Chop the onion, cloves garlic, red pepper, jalapeno, tomatoes, and oregano.
- Using a pan to heat oil.
- After that, saute onion, garlic, red pepper, and jalapeno pepper.
- Add cumin, tomatoes, and smoked paprika. And just simmer it in about 15 to 20 minutes to help it thicken.
- Taste the sauce with salt and pepper and stir with oregano.
- Crack eggs and put them on the top of the mixture.
- Wait for them to begin to set and stir all to mix
- Now, you can try your food.
4. Crete (Shrimp with Feta and Tomatoes)
Here is a new way for you to make food with shrimp. It looks pretty simple but highly eye-catching and tasty. Let’s try it with us.
Prepare ingredients:
- One large onion
- One red pepper
- Two cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
- Two fresh tomatoes
- 1 pound medium-sized shrimp
- 1/2 pound feta
- Salt
- Pepper
Ready to make it:
- Slice the onion and red pepper thinly.
- Then minced all cloves of garlic.
- About tomatoes and feta, cut them into small cubes.
- The most important part is to wash, remove shells and devein all shrimp carefully.
- Sauté pepper and onion with olive oil in about 5 minutes.
- Add tomatoes cube into that and simmer in about 15 minutes.
- The next one is shrimp. And you will also cook it in about 10 minutes and let the stove at medium heat.
- Five last minutes, adding the feta.
- Finally, taste it again with salt and pepper to be good for you.
5. Cinnamon Walnut Apple Cake Baked with Olive Oil (From Greek Island of Crete)
You love sweet cakes, right? So, will you try a type of cake from the Mediterranean? It is here for you. Let’s start to make the cinnamon walnut apple cake baked.
Prepare ingredients:
- Four eggs
- 1 cup of brown sugar – 2 tablespoons for apples
- 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 cup of milk
- 2 1/2 cups of wheat flour
- 2 tsp of baking powder
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- Four apples, peeled, halved, cored, and thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup of raisins
- 1 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
- 3 tbsp of sesame seeds
Ready to make it:
- The first step you cannot forget is to preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Now, rinse apples with water, peel, halve and slice them thinly.
- Crack and beat eggs in about 13 minutes with a hand mixer. (10 first minutes just beat them alone, three last minutes add a little olive oil before whipping)
- After that, add some main ingredients to a cake: wheat flour, milk, baking powder, and vanilla.
- Mix all of them (you can use the hand mixer to beat in about 2 minutes)
- Take another bowl. You will mix sliced apples, brown sugar, raisins, walnuts, and cinnamon.
- Put half of the mixture of cake flour in the baker, then add the mixture of apples on the top, at last put another layer of cake flour on it.
- Sprinkle some sesame seeds on the face.
- Bake it in about 45 to 50 minutes. You can check it by using a knife until it comes out clean, like how you do with other cakes.
Conclusion
These are all we know about Mediterranean food. We think that if you want to change to a healthier life, you should start with your meals. And the Mediterranean food is a not bad choice for you to try.
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