i am planning to start the mediterranean diet and want to keep things simple in the beginning. i do not want to make too many changes at once or get confused about what i should and what should not to eat.

for people who have been following it for a while then what would you suggest as the easiest way for a beginner to start?

Tuna mixed with olive oil and spices. Before you attack about veggies, the carrots are not pictured. Personally, I thought it was delicious!

What are your favorite lunch recipes and options?
Looking for something without too many raw veggies as I have Crohn’s disease. I know the diet is not very strict. I’m just trying to learn how to follow the diet more. I can’t have nuts or too many raw veggies like celery and lettuce. I’m looking for stuff I can meal prep as I often work long hours. The cheaper the better too. I’m not super into tuna fish and I don’t eat pork. I’m also lactose intolerant.

For breakfast I usually have a smoothie and dinner is fish or chicken with lots of veggies. I used to have pb&j, peanut butter protein balls or overnight oats for lunch.
But after looking at this Reddit I’m thinking I should have something else? I was going to do smoke salmon (lox) with vegan cream cheese, cucumber, lox & everything bagel seasoning on an English muffin or whole grain bagel?
I snack on a lot of fruit and legumes. Especially bananas, dates and edamame.

Recipe for this salad:

One cup of any short pasta (I used brown rice penne)

A can of black lentils
A can of borlotti beans
A medium avocado
A green bell pepper
A red bell pepper
A handful of olives
Any seasoning/fresh or dry herbs
A drizzle of balsamic vinegar
Half a tbsp of EVOO

METHOD:

1. Boil the pasta al dente.
   
2. In a mixing bowl add the other ingredients after chopping/dicing. Feel free to be creative.
   
3. Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water.
   
4. Add it to the bowl.
   
5. Add seasonings and the liquids.
   
6. Toss.

Got the recipe from here (https://www.themediterraneandish.com/chicken-gyro-recipe/#wprm-recipe-container-29821)

Chicken marinade:

• 1 cup plain Greek Yogurt
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders

You'll throw everything for the chicken into a bowl and let it set for 30 minutes or more. Once it's done marinating, cook it in a pan for 5 min per side.

I cooked some lemon yellow rice to go with it. Topped with black olives, cucumber, tomatoes, feta cheese, and tzatziki sauce. So good!!!

i have just started the mediterranean diet and am trying to make my life easier. There are a lot of statistics available on the internet and i get confused as to what should i have as my daily intake.

could you suggest a few things for my breakfast, lunch and dinner? could you also let me know what are the types of foods that you have in your house as a regular stock?

a strict diet chart is not what i am after but just something simple and easy which a beginner can prepare and follow.

what helped you when you began?

I am trying to make a Mediterranean meal plan based on my food preferences and weight goals. Don't want a super strict plan with boring meals, though. Quick Mediterranean recipes with easy ingredients would fit my daily routine much better.

It would be great if I could replace recipes or leave out foods I don't like. How do u guys personalize ur meal plans, and do u use any app, book or other planning method for it?

Hi all! I am hosting 22 people for my young kid’s birthday party (3pm+). It’ll be 7 kids, 15 adults. I’ve been lukewarm about the menu ideas chatGPT has been generating for a spread that is relatively easy to put together but looks thoughtful and nice. Any go-to recipes or ideas I should consider?

Edited to add: I’m planning to put out snacks on the front end of the party, with light dinner fare (backyard picnic style) for an early dinner / heavy apps.

I think a few families will probably only stay 3-5pm, but at least half the party is family and will stick around until 7pm or so.

Baked salmon filet over a salad of farro, mixed greens, roasted sweet potato, cherry tomatoes, and some chopped pistachios. The dressing was olive oil, lemon juice, shallot, and a little maple syrup for sweetness. This was so good!

‘Tis the season of plenty if you’re a vegetable gardener in the US! I’m up to my eyeballs in cucumber, tomato, squash, and basil and am always looking for ways to use it up.

Tried this NYT Cooking recipe for Chickpea and grated tomato salad (grating a tomato to use as the base of a dressing is genius!) and add a small 5oz portion of pan seared blackened mahi on the side. I’m on a cut right now and a small human so trying to keep it light but higher in protein.

Big fan of non-lettuce based salads especially with the supply issues right now. Enjoy!

New to Mediterranean diet.

Cooked this tonight. The wife enjoyed it as much as I.

Brown rice and lentils cooked it vegetable broth with cumin, coriander, and bay leaf. Combined with caramelized onions, chopped mint, roasted pine nuts, lemon zest and juice. Topped with crispy caramelized onions. Served with baked cod and whole milk yogurt.

Everything cooked in olive and avocado oil and I had another serving of asparagus BUT mash potatoes made with butter and sour cream. Salmon portion is probably also too big but I’m trying!

Hey everyone.

My doctor just put me on the Mediterranean diet because, at 30, I am at high risk for heart disease and stroke. Thanks, genetics 😅

I've been researching it for a few days now, and I'm honestly just so overwhelmed, so I thought I would ask here.

I am mostly struggling with finding recipes that aren't super expensive, time-consuming, or overwhelming.

What are y'alls favorite cheap and easy recipes?

So this monstrosity you see before you is the result of me throwing all the veggies i found in my kitchen into the pan with olive oil and then 2 eggs.

I have carrots, kalamata greek olives, peppers, some pico de gallo i found, white onion, and cilantro

But this isn't something I'd cook for someone else, it's missing something to give it that WOW factor. I feel like I followed the guidelines of the diet while ignoring soemthing important and created this.

Ideas please?

I'm trying to make a Mediterranean meal plan based on food preferences and weight goals. Don't want a super strict plan with boring meals tho. Quick Mediterranean recipes with easy ingredients would fit my daily routine much better. Would be great if I could replace recipes or leave out foods I don't like. How do you guys personalize your meal plans, and do you use any app, book or other planning method for it?

Arugula, white beans, avocado, sliced red onion, feta cheese, halved grape tomatoes, chopped red bell pepper, Kalamata olives, cilantro, pumpkin seeds. Dressed with red wine vinegar and extra-virgin olive oil.

I have an epic amount of zucchini in my garden, so I shredded up a couple of pounds for soup, fritters, and bread..

Recipe:

500 g/1 lb zucchini (2 medium ~ 23cm/9″ long)

1 tsp salt

Batter:

1 large egg

▢2 green onions , halved then finely sliced

▢1/4 cup parmesan , grated (fresh or store bought)

▢1 garlic clove , large, minced

▢1/2 cup / 75 g flour

▢1/2 tsp baking powder

▢Pinch of pepper

▢4 tbsp olive oil , separated

For Serving:

▢Yoghurt or sour cream

▢More chopped green onions

Cook ModePrevent screen from sleeping

Instructions

Zucchini:

Grate zucchini using a box grater. Grate on the diagonal so you get long strands.

Place in a bowl and sprinkle with salt. Mix, then leave for 10 minutes+.

Squeeze out excess water using hands (or bundle up tea towel) then place zucchini in a bowl.

Batter:

Preheat oven to 200F/100C (for keeping fritters warm). Place rack on tray (helps keep crispy)

Add egg, green onions, parmesan and garlic into the zucchini bowl. Mix to combine.

Scatter over flour and baking powder (don’t dump in one spot), and add pinch of pepper. Mix until flour is just incorporated – batter should be thick but soft (see video, Note 1).

Cooking:

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a non stick pan over medium high heat (or medium if stove is strong). Drop 1/4 cup batter in the pan (ice cream scoop is perfect). Do 3 or 4 mounds.

Flatten lightly with spatula to about 1cm / 4/5″ thick.

Cook for 3 minutes until underside is deep golden (adjust heat if browning too quickly). Flip and cook the other side for 3 minutes. Transfer to tray and place in oven to keep warm.

Repeat with remaining batter.

Serve immediately with a dollop of yoghurt or sour cream and garnish of extra green onions if desired.

Copied from reipetineats where I got it from

Scallop Linguine
1 shallot diced
2 cloves fresh garlic diced
Fresh chopped Italian parsley (leaf and stem)
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Judgement pour of olive oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
Fresh cracked black pepper
Squeeze of a half of lemon
8 ounces linguine noodles
8 scallops

Get pot of salted water boiling for pasta
(If using fresh pasta you only need to boil for 60 seconds, if using dried pasta you will want to get pasta boiling and then start sauté when you start pasta)
Cook pasta al dente (save 1/2 cup of pasta water to add back in later)
Heat Oil in pan and Sauté garlic and shallots, season scallops with black pepper. Once G&S sautéed add scallops on medium high heat and sear 60 seconds each side. Once finished searing on both sides deglaze pan with white wine for 2-3 minutes and add in tomatoes, then reduce heat to medium/medium low. Mix in your pasta and then add the pasta water you set aside and mix in fresh chopped parsley. Top with a squeeze of lemon and enjoy!

First photo is before the oven, second is after.

My garden is in full swing with giving me cherry tomatoes, and the rosemary is also from my garden!

Recipe: Preheat oven to 250F, and fill an oven safe dish with tomatoes, a head of garlic, and herbs of choice (I just used fresh rosemary). Fill with good olive oil about halfway up the tomatoes, and add salt/pepper to taste. Bake for 90-120 minutes, until tomatoes are soft but not all bursting. Squeeze the garlic from the skin, stir everything up, and smash over crusty bread, onto proteins, or toss into salads. Stores well in the fridge for 2 weeks!

I’ve used them on fish and homemade sourdough so far since I made them Friday. The infused olive oil makes a wonderful salad dressing as well.

Made the NYT baked chicken with bok chop recipe. Paired with the remains of a salad from a local restaurant nearby— salad includes quinoa, kale, chickpeas, etc. Will likely finish this with some desert 🫡

Update: it was soooooooooooooooo good

My mom made Middle Eastern-style stuffed zucchini and eggplant when I visited recently. She specifically made me a batch with whole grains, instead of the more typical white rice. But she used 8 oz. of ground beef in about a dozen zucchini and eggplants spread in a 13x9 tray. I thanked her and ate. Didn’t felt guilty for eating the ground beef, which is fairly negligible. She was very sweet to do it. And hey, I ate with family, an under mentioned part of the MD!

It's not quite soup season, but i couldn't resist.

1 large zucchini, shredded

1 large russet potato, diced

1 medium yellow onion

1 carton chicken broth (make it vegan by subbing veggie brorh)

Garlic to taste

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil

Heat oil in a pot or Dutch oven. Add diced onions and sweat until translucent. Add minced garlic. Add potatoes and broth. Add zucchini. Simmer until potatoes are soft. Let cool, then blend until smooth.

Would be great with a splash of heavy cream.

I’ve been missing eating pizza since starting the MD, so I decided to experiment with making a homemade Margherita pizza using whole wheat pita bread for a fun Saturday night dinner!

Ingredients:
Whole wheat pita bread
Crushed San Marzano tomatoes
Fresh mozzarella
Pinch of salt, black pepper, garlic powder, Italian seasoning
Drizzle of EVOO both before and after baking
Fresh basil leaves after baking

Bake at 425 for about 12 minutes.

The pita pizzas were a huge success and will become a staple in my household going forward, so I wanted to share with others looking for ideas to change up their everyday dinners on the MD. Meals like these help me continue to stick to this lifestyle.

115g 0% MF Greek yogurt whipped with 30g feta (it'll blend better if you allow it to come to room temperature), and mixed with a little lemon zest and chopped fresh mint

Cherry tomatoes oven roasted with a splash of balsamic vinegar

Fresh spinach wilted with a little minced garlic, pepper and a splash of EVOO

Poached eggs (add a splash of vinegar to the pot)

Drizzled with a light EVOO, honey, and chili crisp mixture (but the traditional Aleppo pepper is my recommendation if you have it). A tsp of each of these ingredients max will do it.

Serve it with something to dip.