Table Of ContentMediterranean Diet Cookbook for
Beginners:
Weight Loss Easily with 100 Simple, Healthy and
Flavorful Recipes + 2 Weeks Meal Plan
Sophia Mancini
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1- The Rations
Chapter 2 -The Program
Chapter 3- Breakfast
Chapter 4- Salads & Soups
Chapter 5- Sides
Chapter 6- Pizza and Pasta
Chapter 7-Seafoods
Chapter 8- Meaty Meals
Chapter 9-Vegetarian Plates
Chapter 10-Desserts
Chapter 11 – 2 Weeks Meal Plan
Conclusion:
Introduction
What’s in mind when thinking of Mediterranean cuisines are
huge feasts with multiple courses of Grecian lamb chops high
in saturated fats, elaborate Italian pasta with loaves of white
bread rich in starchy carbohydrates, and bottomless bottles of
wine. However, these typical dishes and drinks do not
generally suit the healthy dietary program promoted as the
Mediterranean Diet .
The authentic Mediterranean Diet essentially characterizes the
high consumption of fresh and wholesome foods; reduced
consumption of starchy or refined carbohydrates, high-calorie
proteins, and processed food products; and, moderate intake of
wine. Yet, more than the core principle of eating healthy and
delectable foods is engaging in daily physical exercises,
conviviality, and sharing meals with others. These composite
dietary activities augment to nurture a deeper appreciation for
the pleasures of healthy eating and happy living.
Altogether, these vital elements of the regimen confer a
myriad of short- term and long-term health benefits that
provide profound effects across your physical, emotional, and
psychological health. In all likelihood, the Mediterranean Diet
is the healthiest dietary program you will ever adopt.
Over the short term , you will certainly reap the regimen’s
rewards of a pronounced enhancement in your general
wellness within a 6 to 12-month span by:
Rapidly Reducing Body Bulks and Bulges – The most
efficient, effective, and easiest way to shed off excess weight
is to cut down on carbohydrate consumption, for which the
regimen espouses. While the diet regulates your carbohydrate
intake, your insulin levels decrease and stimulate sodium
retention. In turn, this leads to a diuretic effect, which induces
to drain excess fluids from your body, resulting in rapid weight
reduction.
Besides, the diet is rich in healthy unsaturated fats, like olive
oil (which is native to the Mediterranean regions) and omega-3
fatty acids (from the bountiful fresh produce of the
Mediterranean Sea). For this reason, your body forces to break
down these fats in the absence of substantial amounts of
refined carbohydrates. As a result, your body virtually
becomes a fat-burning machine!
Curbing Cravings & Abating Appetites – Performances of
physical activities, which are inherent to the regimen, can
trigger hunger pangs. However, your regular intakes of good
fats automatically suppress your sweet tooth and further
cravings for extra servings.
Without trying, you will oftentimes end up eating only the
ideal calorie amounts. Hence physical exercises, together with
the declining levels of your appetite, will both complement the
process of reducing unwanted body weight.
Optimizing Optimistic Outlooks – Because the dietary style
prompts you to eat wholesome foods, the regimen will not
only make you feel better mentally and physically, it will also
uplift your overall moods and emotions. Research, needless to
say, shows that consuming more fruits and vegetables,
especially fresh raw fruits and dark leafy greens, results in
lesser stress and depression symptoms, better moods, and
more satisfaction in life.
Over the long term , you will surely see reduced health risks
and issues since this diet is famous for its reputed potentials of
modifying the following critical symptoms of the dangerous
metabolic syndrome :
Low Levels of High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL) High Levels
of Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) High Levels of
Triglycerides (TG)
High Blood Pressure Levels
High Blood Sugar and Insulin Levels
Obesity or Destructive Abdominal Fats Buildup
Generally, metabolic syndrome causes outsets of chronic heart
diseases (CHD), abnormal cholesterol behaviors in the blood,
high blood pressure, blood clotting or stroke, dementia, stress,
insulin resistance, and Type-II diabetes mellitus. The
Mediterranean diet alters or reverses effectively all these
symptoms by:
Qualifying Quantitative HDL & Qualitative LDL –
Lipoproteins are responsible for conveying fatty cholesterols
along your bloodstreams. On one hand, HDL—known as the
‘good cholesterol’ —transports fats away from your body
towards your liver, where it may reuse or excrete them. On the
other hand, LDL—or the ‘bad cholesterol’ —carries fats from
your liver towards different parts of the body. With a diet rich
in healthy fats, HDL levels increase while LDL levels
decrease. In other words, increased quantities of HDL enhance
the breaking down of fats while degraded qualities of LDL
limit the distribution of bad cholesterol in your body. As it is
the case, it gives rise to normalized cholesterol levels that
prevent risks of heart ailments and stroke.
Trimming Triglycerides – Incurring a high triglycerides-to-
HDL ratio is a common indicator of CHD risks. Triglycerides
are fat molecules in the blood. In most cases, blood
triglyceride levels tend to shoot up, especially with a low-fat
diet. Since the diet increases HDL levels with its rich intakes
of healthy fats, it follows that the triglycerides-to-HDL ratio
decreases.
Hampering Hypertension – Hypertension , also termed as
high blood pressure, is a primary risk factor for several health
issues like CHD, kidney failure, stroke or decreased oxygen
levels in the brain, dementia, and many more. Medical studies
on diet show that a reduction in blood pressure is directly
proportionate to the reduction of starchy carbohydrate intake.
Disabling Diabetes Development – A reduced carbohydrate
intake also decreases blood sugar and insulin levels that
prevent the onset of pre- diabetes and Type-II diabetes mellitus
conditions. Type-II diabetes mellitus
characterizes high blood sugar levels, for which your body
cannot lower down on its own. This is due to insulin
resistance, when your body no longer produces enough insulin
to keep blood sugar levels in their normal range.
Overcoming Obesity – The recommended fruits and veggies
of the regimen are rich in dietary fibers, which enable your
body to digest foods gradually. Not only will this result in
regulating insulin spikes, or the secretion of insulin, but it will
also prevent drastic upswings of blood sugar levels, as well as
destroying the buildup of destructive fats stored in your
abdominal cavity. In this case, the diet prevents obesity and
maintains your healthy weight.
Curtailing Cancer Cell Conceptions – The diet restricts a
large consumption of processed and red meats, which increase
your risks for developing cancer cells. Similar to other cells in
your body, tumor cells also produce energy. They flourish by
typically taking up glucose from starchy carbohydrates to burn
at much faster rates than the other cells in your body. They
only weaken and cease thriving with a decreased glucose
supply and an abundance of unsaturated fats around.
Boosting Brainpower & Cognitive Capabilities – Balanced
cholesterol and enhanced blood sugar levels imply optimum
blood vessel health. Additionally, the essential antioxidants of
the diet can prevent brain and body cells from undergoing the
destructive process of oxidative stress — which is the release
of free radicals that lead to cellular degeneration. As such,
healthy blood vessels are able to supply significant amounts of
oxygen in the brain, and thereby reduce the risk of acquiring
Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and other forms of
mental deterioration and neurodegenerative disorder.
Leading Lively Lifestyles & Longevity – The regimen
secures a balanced macronutrient requirement of fats, fiber,
carbohydrates, and proteins to provide an ideal daily calorie
intake, which is essential to your general health. This stable
macronutrient composition reduces your risk of
developing signs of frailty or muscle weakness by roughly
70%. More significantly, since it also reduces the chance of
developing life-threatening diseases, you are virtually reducing
your mortality risk by about 20% at any age!
For these reasons, the majority, if not all, of the principal
scientific/medical organizations, including nutritionists and
dietitians, encourage people to adopt the healthy, yet
inexpensive, Mediterranean Diet. Of course, enforcing sudden
new changes to your current regimen will rarely be easy,
especially if you divert from the convenience of takeout food
items or preparing processed foods.
Nevertheless, for its bountiful benefits—from steadily losing
weight to general healthcare and towards a pleasurable way of
eating that would never leave you feeling deprived—the
Mediterranean Diet is a way of life worth trying.
On top of becoming a true Mediterranean bon vivant,
sensuously savor the best and healthiest of foods and drinks!
Toe the line of the Blue Zone lifestyle of slowing down while
spending the time to enjoy and love life.
Taking everything in light but not taking too much of a good
thing will make you an even more happy and fulfilled being.
The Mediterranean Diet is all about going back to your healthy
self by eating and living well in order to alter your life for the
better, forever!
PART-I: CORE CONCEPTS
The popular Mediterranean Diet was never a creation of the
whims and caprices of weight-loss plans, neither was it
developed from rocket science or nutritionists and dietitians.
Fact is that the Mediterranean Diet has evolved naturally over
the centuries as a regional and traditional eating style of the
people living around the Mediterranean Sea, particularly in the
Blue Zone locales (regions where life expediencies of the
inhabitants are higher than the norm) of Ikaria in Greece and
the southern Italian island of Sardinia.
Despite limited medical services, 30% of Ikarians live into
their 90s, with 50% lower rates of CHD, 20% lower rates of
cancer, and 0% without dementia. Sardinia boasts of the most
number of centenarians, and adjudged as ‘the place where
people live the longest in the world.’
There actually has been no official mode for following the
regimen. Nevertheless, the Mediterranean Diet is a simple
concept. Typically, it derives a nutritional model consisting
chiefly of the traditional food staples of the Mediterranean
people and common local food products grown and produced
organically in the Mediterranean basin.
The food selection, consumed either cooked or raw, bursts a
variety of colors, flavors, and textures. It includes primarily
olive oil, fresh or dried fruits and vegetables, whole grains and
cereals, nuts and seeds, various legumes, and a host of
seasonings, condiments, herbs, and spices, with less salt and
sugar.
The diet also allows moderate amounts of low-fat dairy and
meat products, fish and seafood, and limited servings of red
and processed meats, and sweets. In practice, a daily glass of
wine or an infusion of herbal tea chases the slow and sensuous
digestion of these foods.
However, the Mediterranean Diet encompasses more than just
healthy eating and consuming foods in a manner that gratifies
the senses. By its entirety, the regimen is a revered culture that
promotes a ritualistic and holistic approach to epicurean values
and better living. It involves a deep devotion to the enduring
cultural lifestyles in the Mediterranean region with strong
emphases on indulging constantly in various physical
activities, rest and recreation, family support, social
engagements and interactions, and food sharing- or partaking
of communal festive meals.
Many outsiders of the diet wonder what vital roles these
extracurricular aspects of the regimen pursue to serve.
Essentially, these added elements are the cornerstones of the
Mediterranean social customs that will enhance the religious
practice of the regimen and cultivate a finer understanding of
healthy living and enjoying life.
As the cliché goes, ‘You are what you eat!’ Hence, one should
not even think of the Mediterranean Diet as a passing fad or a
quick fix cleansing regimen. With the ways on which most
people perceive the term ‘diet’ nowadays, they often equate it
to something borne of limitation that helps to lose weight.
However, the etymology of the term comes from the Greek
word, ‘diaita,’ which means ‘a way of living.’
Indeed, the Mediterranean Diet could not be farther from that,
as it is more like a healthier way of living. It is a well-balanced
approach to eating that is never limiting. Within and around
the Mediterranean, as well as working with the regimen, food
is celebrated! The genuine Mediterranean way is truly
celebrating food with family, friends, and fellowmen!
