Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan: Healthy Food Recipes Ideas
The Mediterranean diet meal plan is not your regular meal plan. For centuries, it was practiced and developed by many people to cut calories. And over time, it was developed into something more exciting and appreciable.
The Mediterranean diet meal plan is ideal if you are planning to eat less meat and more vegetables. This is consists of healthy foods that will benefit our heart.
We know that heart disease is one of the leading causes of death. With the Mediterranean diet recipe, it lowers our chance of getting it and reduces mortality from these health conditions. Other illnesses that it has prevented are the risk of getting cancers, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
Also, another benefit of it is getting away from symptoms of type 2 diabetes. This emerging health condition is alarming for most people around the world. For many, it is a silent killer disease, and you will surprise you are one of those with type 2 diabetes.
Type 2 diabetes and heart diseases are somehow related. And if not addressed properly, you will be shocked by the complications.
So how will you prevent these life-threatening health conditions?
The Mediterranean diet mainly contains fruits and vegetables that offer the calories you need for a day. It offers less meat but a good source of protein and healthy fats. So you do not need to worry about not getting enough of the necessary nutrients.
There are several ways how you can prepare it. You can try it eating as your breakfast, lunch and dinner. And don’t forget to make it as your snack too. Here are some recipes ideas.
Say Hello to Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan
There are various ways on how to take it daily. But my favorite is serving it with pancakes.
Here is how to prepare it:
Your ingredients are Greek yogurt, egg, whole wheat-based pancake mix and fat-free milk.
- Get a bowl and mix the 1 and a half cups of low-fat Greek yogurt, 1 large egg and 1 cup pancake mix.
- Then add a quarter of fat-free milk while mixing.
- Get a pan and make 5 servings of pancakes.
For the syrup, you can use 2 tablespoons of maple syrup or organic honey, a cup of fat-free milk with a cup of fresh strawberries.
Another option you can have if you want to enjoy the Mediterranean recipe, you can have 2 slices of whole grain bread with two tablespoons of nut butter and half sliced of banana. Make sure your nut butter has no added fats or oil. But you can also replace your nut butter with 2 eggs and your banana with 1/3 avocado, sliced.
If you are such in a hurry, you can do the latter option and start your day with a healthy Mediterranean diet for breakfast.
Make your Meal more Exciting
After a hearty breakfast, continue it to your lunch or dinner perhaps. Unlike breakfast, your Mediterranean recipe for lunch is more exciting. And of course, lots of ingredients.
How to prepare:
Get a bowl and combined the following ingredients:
7.5 ounces of canned chickpeas, boiled for 2 minutes, rinsed and drained well
2 teaspoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of black olives, sliced
1 and ½ teaspoons of white vinegar
¼ teaspoon black pepper, ground
a quarter cup of white onions, chopped
¼ cup of green pepper, chopped
- Mix these ingredients well to make a salsa or sauce.
- Get romaine lettuce leaves.
- Chop some romaine leaves to make 2 cups.
- Then you can add the salsa to your romaine leaves.
Now, if you are a bread lover, we have something for you. In this Mediterranean recipe, you will need to have a breast part of chicken or turkey. Just make sure no skin included. Then, get 2 slices of whole wheat bread with half avocado, sliced already. Prepared the 5 artichokes and red pepper according to the spike of spicy flavor you want. After that, make side dishes from baby carrots and grapes for more exciting taste. Serve with your favorite wine.
Twist it with Greek Yogurt
But, if you want something else and craving for yogurt-based, we are handling to you this recipe. You can have this for dinner.
How to prepare: Get a mixing bowl and combined half cup of Greek yogurt with half sliced cucumber, half minced garlic glove, a pinch of salt and pepper. Then get a whole wheat bread or pita and spread the Greek yogurt paste. Add some side dishes of vegetables you desired.
Then you can use this as a dip with your favorite cook dish.
Making the Mediterranean Diet Meal Plan with Egg
If you are missing the egg, we have something special for you as well. Mediterranean diet with egg is one of my favorites. I cooked an egg with 2 cups of spinach and placed it over a bowl of red rice. I enjoy this with a pinch of salt and pepper. I also prep some salmon or tuna fish, boiled or in canned but preheated before mixing with my dinner. A simple yet easy way to suffice my cravings.
You can also prepare a creamy soup egg with tomato and roasted nuts or seeds. Add some herbs, spices and hummus for more fiber and other nutrients. Make sure you will not use leftovers for this instead follow and use vegan recipes.
Your Mediterranean Diet Smoothie
During the summer season, everybody is looking for refreshments. And one way to cool the temperature is to make a smoothie.
Our Mediterranean diet includes a smoothie, and you will satisfy with this one.
Your ingredients are fresh pineapple and oranges and Greek yogurt.
How to prepare: Get half fresh orange, squeezed, and 2 cups pineapple, sliced. In a blender, put the pineapples, 6 ounces of Greek yogurt and add fresh orange juice. Drop some ice cubes, as you desired of how cold your smoothie can be.
This smoothie is a good pair with pasta, beans and veggies on the side. Add a few chopped and cooked shrimp on top of it so you will have every reason for it. Drizzle some lemon to your pasta for aroma.
What can we say?
Indeed, the Mediterranean diet is one particular diet that we can have if going into a vegetarian lifestyle. As you have it already, you can have different choices of cooking. Especially your options for meals are less meat and more on vegetables and fruit. So I guess you can have it in a salad for dinners. Then your dessert varieties are more on fruits, less sugar and high in fiber. Try also to replace with potatoes your source of carbohydrates.
For many years I am doing it, I make my own recipes. I just mix and match the ingredients and enjoy all the healthy food in my diet. No questions asked, I look for healthy ingredients, substitutes on what is not available in the market and blend it according to my tastes. I pick a quick list of grilled or baked diets instead of processed seafood. This is because I can add extra flavors to it.
For a week, that is how I successfully manage my Mediterranean diet.