How to Start an Authentic Mediterranean Diet

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How to start an authentic Mediterranean diet… as a busy mom… in America.

It is important to note that this diet does not reflect the entire Mediterranean region. When I say authentic, I’m talking about adopting the lifestyle and nutrition principles followed on the island of Crete, most of Greece and the southern region of Italy.

While diet is a huge factor to their health and longevity, which has recently gained popularity due to the discovery of the Blue Zones, but their health is also due to many lifestyle factors including, physical activity, low stress, rich social interactions, a local whole-food diet, and low disease incidence. If you’re geeked out about learning how other cultures live, their nutrition, and lifestyles like I do, then you should check out the documentary, Secrets of the Blue Zones on Netflix!

While all of this sounds good… how do I implement it while working a full-time job, having two kids, staying on a budget, dealing with stress, and well, not in these regions of the world, but instead America. Land of fast food.

Don’t get me wrong we have amazing things here, but healthy convenience food is not one of them. Many times, I find myself rushing home from work to pick up the boys from daycare and swinging through the nearest McDonalds or ordering a pizza just due to the stress of coming home and trying to prepare something after a long day.

So how did I make the switch to a mediterranean diet, despite my environment of convenience foods. Well, in this post I outline the steps I took to start a mediterranean diet.

Diet Guidelines

Why the Mediterranean Diet?

The Mediterranean diet has been classed as the number one best diet of all. It has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, certain cancers, depression, and in older adults, a decreased risk of frailty, along with better mental and physical function (1).

What to Eat

This diet focuses on Extra Virgin Olive Oil as the primary source of fat, cheese, and yogurt as the dairy sources, and an abundance of fresh vegetables, which have been locally grown and prioritized based on seasonality. Fresh food is often the dessert, with some sweets that contain added sugar and honey are consumed only a few times a week. Fish and poultry are in two to three meals a week and red meat is saved for a special occasion. Lastly, wine (Cannonau red wine, being the best) is consumed in low to moderate amounts with meals.

Meal Timing

Meal sizes are important too. Typically, the first meal of the day is something light, such as a piece of whole wheat bread, toasted with a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and some sliced tomatoes, served with Greek coffee. Around 10:30 to 11 is a mid-morning snack, typically a piece of fruit or maybe some unsweetened Greek yogurt with fresh fruit or walnuts and honey. Lunch is the biggest meal of the day, followed by an optional coffee in the afternoon. Dinner is a light meal as well. Maybe a smaller version of lunch, an omelet (nope, eggs are not only for breakfast), or a traditional Greek salad served with whole wheat bread. If you desire, dessert could be some fruit or the occasional sweet treat, but typically saved for special occasions.

How Did I Get Started?

It came down to accepting that the Mediterranean Diet is not a diet, it is a lifestyle. I know, I know, it’s cliche, but hear me out.

In order to become fully emersed in this way of eating, I knew I would have to adopt the time of eating, as outlined above, and the other key principles, such as eating with friends and movement throughout the day, that aid in their overall health outside of nutrition, for me and my family to get the full affect.

Nutrition

I started by adopting the principles found in this absolutely amazing book! The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook for Beginners by Elena Paravantes.

Her book is exactly what I needed to get started! Truly no wonder she has received such highly-rated reviews, such as:

*TOP MEDITERRANEAN DIET COOKBOOKS 2024: The Spruce Eats *ONE OF THE BEST MEDITERRANEAN DIET COOKBOOKS: Delish *BEST MEDITERRANEAN DIET COOKBOOK FOR NEWBIES: Runner’s World *BEST MEDITERRANEAN DIET COOKBOOK FOR BEGINNERS 2023: Mashed

Her book focuses on the true authentic Mediterranean diet based on the Crete diet and lifestyle. Elena is the founder of OliveTomato.com, an amazing site where you can find authentic Mediterranean diet recipes, lifestyle tips, and easy guides to help you get started.

After reading her book and continuing to educate myself on the topic through other research, these are the steps I took to start a Mediterranean diet in America.

Removed the distractions
Planned out the week
Picked out a few recipes
Made a grocery list
Shopped!
Meal prepped
Get creative
Give yourself grace

Remove the Distractions (Step 1)

This concept is pretty straightforward. Try to eliminate the items in your home that will cause temptation. This is really anything that doesn’t align with your new focus, but within reason. I did not get rid of every drink, pantry item, or condiments that I already had. One, I think that is wasteful and two, especially with kids, you don’t know when you are in a pinch and need to use that already bought box of mac n cheese.

Transitioning to this way of eating is gradual, so don’t feel like you have to get rid of everything and start over. I focused on those items such as ice cream bars and chips that I knew I would be tempted to snack on.

Plan out the week, pick out a few recipes & make grocery list (Step 2, 3 & 4)

Steps 2, 3, and 4 are approached concurrently. As you look at your week, start to think about what meals would best fit your schedule based on their effort and your allotted time. From the list approach, that I describe below, you can create your grocery list while selecting recipes to try.

Make a list

In the beginning, especially, I selected meal that were comprised of some of the items I already had on hand (ie. pasta in the pantry, or tomato paste, rice, etc.)

What helped me the most was listing out every item I had on hand. Even the smallest of things, such as how much of each seasoning I had left. Once I had my list fully written down, I could easily determine what I needed from the store to fulfill the recipe. I would then check mark the item from the on-hand inventory list, indicating that I would be using that in an upcoming recipe, while writing down what was needed on a separate grocery list.

Take a look at your schedule for the week ahead

A very important step when determining what recipes to choose from is understanding what you have going on throughout the week. For example, I know that my son has soccer on Thursday night. So, I plan a simple meal to make that night or plan on cooking a meal prior to that night that I can just heat up. I can plug and play where I think recipes will fit my schedule best based on their effort and what I have going on. This approach has lessened my stress around the infamous question “What’s for dinner?”

Make grocery list

While you are running through your week ahead and some of the recipes you want to try, you should end up with a list of ingredients you do have and a list of things you need. The list with what you need, is the one you will take when you go shopping. *TIP! keep both list once you are finished shopping. It makes a great reference when it comes time to cook, so you can remember what you have on-hand.

Shopping (Step 5)

Biggest advice is to keep this simple! I have fallen victim to going to multiple grocery stores to get food and household items. I would end up going to Costco just to find myself at another store for non-bulk items. It is already a big change to adjust your way of eating, don’t add multiple grocery trips on top of it. It quickly can become confusing.

Stock up on the things you will consume a lot of. Veggies, feta, extra virgin olive oil and whole wheat bread. That way you can avoid a mid-week trip, especially if other people in your family are eating this way as well.

If a recipe calls for an uncommon ingredient, Google search for where you can find it. I didn’t have to do this much because a lot of the recipes contain foods that we have at the local grocery store (ie. onions, garlic, tomatoes, etc.) but I did have to do this when I wanted to make my first cup of Greek coffee, a Briki or hunt down Sardinia Cannonau wine.

Find in season fruits and vegetables! This will help manage cost and is actually the preferred way of eating for the Mediterranean diet.

Frozen fruit and vegetables work too! Once, I had multiple recipes that required spinach. Instead of buying three bags of spinach, that would possibly go bad quickly, I got the frozen spinach, and it worked great! Just make sure there is no added preservatives. This helped keep everything cost effective.

Meal Prep (Step 6)

Again, the biggest help here is going to be- keep it simple!

If you have frozen veggies or fruits, then they will already be cut up. This is especially helpful for a pan meal like, Briami (sheet pan roasted vegetables). Having peppers and onion in a frozen mix, along with frozen sliced zucchini, helped me quickly prepare this meal and switch to spending time with my kids after work, instead of in the kitchen preparing dinner.

If you aren’t a fan of frozen veggies, or want another time saving hack, then I suggest cutting up your produce ahead of time and storing in the refrigerator. This will allow you to throw the meals together much faster.

Get Creative (Step 7)

While I try to follow the recipes to a T, in the beginning that wasn’t much of the case. This goes back to using what you have on hand. I followed the key principles for this diet, but I made some simple swaps based on what I had. This helps in the beginning while getting accustomed to eating this way and slowly stocking up your fridge and pantry to support it.

This also applies to the kiddos! I want the same health benefits for my children but know that some of the recipes they might not like. So, I do healthy alternatives for them that align with the principles but are foods they enjoy. It may not be the exact veggie from the book, but if they like other veggies more then I will find a way to use it instead.

Give Yourself Grace (Step 8)

There is a lot of information out there about the Mediterranean diet and what you can and can’t do. Give yourself grace. I know for myself I am a busy mom with a full-time job and to simply put it- shit happens. Things come up that are unexpected, and like I said before, we are not surrounded by these types of foods or restaurants that necessarily cook this way- at least I’m not. So, I have to go out buy it based off the meals I have tried to plan according to the week ahead, but sometimes that plan doesn’t happen. Instead understanding what the key principles are to this lifestyle and trying to find foods that fit those nutritional guidelines is what I am for. This really is a lifestyle, which we addressed, cliche, I know… but it is not an all or nothing mentality. Changing habits, learning to shop for and cook another way, and adopting a new way of life is something that takes time.

The information provided on this blog is for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always seek the guidance of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking it because of something you read on this blog. The blog’s content is based on personal experiences and research, but it may not apply to your individual health needs. The author and the blog take no responsibility for any potential health issues or adverse effects arising from the use of the information provided.

Sources:

A practical guide to the Mediterranean diet – Harvard Health