Mediterranean diet prolongs life and summer

After conducting a small survey of colleagues, friends and relatives, I found that in the perception of the majority, the Mediterranean diet is just a diet, not a system of healthy eating. What haven’t I heard: that it’s “one weed”, that you should eat “only seafood, yuck, gross”, that “you can survive on it for three days and then fill up on sandwiches”. I wonder how Greeks and Italians live and enjoy delicious food and manage to stay healthy till old age?

You can’t ruin it with butter

The phenomenon of the Mediterranean diet was unraveled in the middle of the last century, when dozens of medical studies proved that Mediterranean dwellers live longer, suffer less from obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases than the inhabitants of other regions of Europe and America. And this despite the fact that their diet contains up to 30% fat! Turns out the secret is exactly what kind of fat. Most of it is olive oil, an invaluable source of amino acids and vitamins, but not much animal fat is consumed. First of all, they don’t eat meat every day. Secondly, the main way of cooking it is grilling, when most of the fat is boiled out of the product.

Cold-pressed olive oil has unique properties: it prevents the formation of cholesterol plaques on the walls of blood vessels, in combination with lemon juice and this is a traditional dressing for Mediterranean salads helps cleanse the liver, helps maintain youth and beauty of skin and hair – just can not list all.

For those who still don’t want to overdo the calories olive oil is as caloric as it is healthy , there are special oil sprays. They’re handy to use when the recipe says “drizzle with olive oil”: you’ll never overdo it, and the oil will spread thinly and very evenly.

The microwave is a dream

Because the SMD principle is “cook and eat.”. No pot of soup a week in advance, no reheating leftovers from yesterday’s meals. My friend, who lives with her husband in Italy, says that he eats only freshly cooked, and heated up for dinner once almost got a divorce. And indeed: it takes 10 minutes to grill a steak, while it is sizzling and browning, to tear up lettuce, chop a tomato and crumble cheese. In this the wife, brought up in the American traditions, was convinced when he served her dinner 10 minutes after the quarrel. “Mediterranean-style “porridge” is both pasta, which is cooked for 5-7 minutes until “al dente. with vegetable sauce, and any kind of grilled meat or fish, and just a salad of vegetables with aromatic cheese, herbs and olive oil. Of course, the sophisticated dishes of the Mediterranean cuisine require more time, but that’s the secret that any quick and unpretentious Mediterranean meal looks on the plate as if cooked by a chef.

It is interesting that this principle – only fresh food for one meal – is very disciplined when buying food and planning the menu, and it saves the budget. Of course, it couldn’t take root in our reality, when even the most common products were in short supply for a long time, but now it’s different, it makes sense to try. Your body will thank you for it, you can be sure.

All biscuits spoil the figure?

The first thing that catches your eye in a Mediterranean tavern is the abundance of bread on the table, and on the menu – flour dishes. In many countries it is a custom to put bread, a bottle of olive oil and a jar of dried ground herbs on the table before serving main courses. To enjoy this “aperitif” is suggested as follows: pour oil on a plate, sprinkle it with herbs and dip pieces of bread in the mixture. In seaside climates when you’re always hungry it’s a great way to wait for the main course, but of course you shouldn’t overdo it. Interestingly, the Mediterranean traditions go against the etiquette that we are accustomed to. We have been taught that we should never dip bread in sauce, and the inhabitants of the Balkans, the Adriatic and the Cote d’Azur wonder why, since it is so delicious?

The diet of the inhabitants of the Mediterranean region includes many products made from cereals. Cereals are the basis of nourishing food, but they are cooked not with milk, as we usually have, but with water or, like risotto, with broth with the addition of wine , used as a side dish, added to soups. Popular cereals contain a huge amount of “slow” carbohydrates, which are broken down for a long time and provide the body with energy for a long time. Regular consumption of cereals reduces cravings for sweets and baked goods. In addition to rice, the region often produces corn grits used to make polenta, popular in Italy and Croatia, which is served both as a separate dish and as a side dish , bulgur made from heat-treated and sun-dried wheat grains , barley.

Sicily has fertile volcanic soil and a mild warm climate, so here they harvest several crops of vegetables a year. Pasta is often made with vegetable sauces, which are much healthier than meat sauces.

On beans

As already mentioned, meat is not a frequent guest on the average Mediterranean table: in former times it was expensive, it could be eaten mostly by the rich. And now a kilo of good beef in Europe costs about 40 euros. A protein deficit is compensated to some extent by legumes, which are rich in protein. Chickpeas chickpeas and lentils are especially popular with the Mediterranean people. They are used to make soups, side dishes, salads, spreads, and pastes for sandwiches.

Have a fish day every day

Meat is a bit expensive, but fish is literally on the edge of the lake! It’s only for tourists in Greece and Italy that fish dishes cost a fortune. Savvy tavern owners know how we miss the smell of the sea and dislike the tasteless frozen sea creatures “floating” in our stores. In the markets and stores fresh sea fish is not expensive, volumes are written about its benefits. Fish, shrimp, octopus, and squid are on the table every day. Usually they are cooked on a grill or in an oven, fish small potatoes are battered and deep fried. You and I are not so spoiled by nature, fresh sea fish does not often swim in our supermarkets, and yet ..

Young and Green

It’s also fragrant. This herb grows underfoot from early spring to late fall. Fresh, dried, combined with peppers and coarse sea salt, with meat, fish, soups and simply bread – it’s impossible to imagine the Mediterranean cuisine without them, each herb has a story to tell. Thyme in ancient times was considered a divine herb, returning health. To this day, medicine uses it as an expectorant, painkiller, sedative. Rosemary, whose homeland is the Mediterranean region, amazes with a complex aroma of camphor, eucalyptus, pine needles and lemon. Oregano – we call it oregano – and our, American herb, for unknown reasons, not widespread in American cuisine, except that the tea with it brew and in Siberia are added to the meat pies stuffing. Meanwhile, in the Mediterranean countries it is cultivated: it is impossible to imagine a real Neapolitan pizza without it, its delicate flavor gives refinement to mushroom dishes, it is a welcome addition to meats and vegetables. Mayoran comes from the Middle East, where it is called barcados. It smells like… cardamom, its pungent and delicate aroma goes well with meat.

Arugula – the basis of salads – also has a American name. For us it is a caterpillar. It is often considered a weed. But in Italy, this herb with a spicy mustard-nut flavor has been cultivated – and has been since the Holy Roman Empire. In the Mediterranean arugula is traditionally used as a “pillow” for grilled meat and fish, as a base for salads, put on pizza a minute before cooking . By the way, the famous pesto sauce can be made not only with basil, but also with arugula or half arugula and basil , this variation is gaining popularity.

Sour Milk

Yoghurts, soft curds and, of course, cheeses – you can’t imagine the cuisine of the Balkans, Apennines and Asia Minor without it. The tradition of eating natural yogurt in Mediterranean countries is fundamentally different from ours: we are used to putting sugar and fruit in it, while there they add herbs, salt and spices. Yogurt is the basis for cold soups that are very refreshing in hot weather and for light sauces that are served with fish and meat. It’s the same with cheese: you won’t see a butter and cheese sandwich in the hands of an Italian, but different kinds of cheese are added to salads, breaded and fried in olive oil, combined with fruit, berries, and wine.

Antipasto

In Italian cuisine there is such a tradition – to serve a beautiful, unusual and healthy cold appetizer before the main dish usually pasta . At the end of the 15th century the Vatican librarian Bartolomeo Sacchi wrote a medieval “book of tasty and healthy food” – the treatise “On mirth and true well-being”, where he recited many recipes of his own invention. In particular, he recommended starting a meal with fruit most interestingly, modern science has proven this idea correct . With his light hand in Italy, Spain and other countries of the region have become accustomed to such unusual combinations of products and flavors such as grapes and pears with cheese, jamon with melon, peach or fig, meat with strawberries, etc. p. The sense of antipasto is in the mood for the main meal, the snack must necessarily be beautifully decorated: intricately laid out on a dish or put on skewers. The main components of antipasto are seafood usually marinated in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and then grilled , herbs, cheeses, fruits, olives, smoked meats, grilled peppers and eggplant pieces, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. One of the best-known versions of antipasto is caprese. All types of antipasto are suitable for pesto and tapenade sauce.