Mediterranean foods are colorful and healthy, making them perfect for a healthy lifestyle. You can follow Mediterranean diet meals to have balanced eating plans.
They are colorful and fresh, a nice break from junk food and high-calorie meals.
What is the Mediterranean diet? It covers the typical foods of Mediterranean countries, such as Greece and Italy.
Mediterranean countries have unique meal traditions but mostly consist of colorful vegetables, seeds, cheese, nuts, some fruits, fish, and poultry in moderation.
You can cook various dishes with this composition. Here are 20 recipes you should try at home.
Marinated chicken kebabs are savory and juicy, with a little hint of citrusy. They only need light pan-searing with olive oil. Pick lean cuts such as skinless chicken breast. Eat the kebabs with healthy side dishes, like quinoa and broccoli.
This salad is colorful and fulfilling, with a lot of vitamins and fiber. The tabouli and feta add great flavor profile to the tomatoes, cucumbers, scallions, and olives. Adding garlic, lemon juice, and olive oil make the Mediterranean elements stronger.
Buddha bowl is one of the best meals for a Mediterranean diet plan. It is practical, fulfilling, nutritious, and very eye-pleasing. This bowl consists of quinoa, chickpeas, cucumbers, pickled veggies, olives, and dates. Lemon vinaigrette adds a refreshing zest.
Fattoush salad is a Middle Eastern bread salad, usually served with baked pita cuts and citrus dressing. This simple recipe is a great way to spend all the leftover veggies and stale pita. Cut the pita, smear with olive oil, and bake in the oven until crispy.
This gluten-free salad uses lightly cooked cauliflower rice, which is better for people with sensitive digestion. The refreshing salad has cucumbers, black olives, avocados, garlic, Dijon mustard, and mint. You can add proteins such as fish, prawns, or chickpeas.
This simple but colorful summer salad consists of cucumbers, tomatoes, and onions. What makes it special is the homemade lemon-garlic dressing. You can add black olives and crumbled feta for extra flavors.
Salmon filets are popular for Mediterranean diet recipes. This recipe is recommended by the Weight Watchers, consisting of salmon filets, Spanish chorizo, and cherry tomatoes. The cooking process is less than 15 minutes. Add some lettuces or new potatoes for the main meal.
This salad gives you refreshing red and green colors in a bowl. Kale, strawberries, cucumbers, lettuces, and beet leaves give a lot of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Add crushed garlic and olive oil for the Mediterranean flair.
This rustic stew is great comfort food, perfect to use your summer vegetable supplies. Zucchinis, potatoes, tomatoes, bell peppers, and onion are a perfect healthy combination. You can make a large batch and refrigerate the rest for the next meal.
Ratatouille is a rustic rural dish, which makes it perfect for a simple pot cooking. Throw tomatoes, eggplants, zucchinis, and onions into a pot. Spice them up with tomato sauce, oregano, basil, and olive oil.
Kale and broccoli are already healthy, but you can improve them further by adding fruits and nuts. This simple salad adds macadamia nuts and cranberries into the bowl. You can add chopped carrots, with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to mix everything well.
Fish is a great protein source for various Mediterranean food recipes. This grouper dish is light but fulfilling. Sear the fish lightly until it is cooked enough yet still flaky. Add capers, lemon zest, and parsley to improve the flavor.
Pesto is featured heavily in Mediterranean dishes, including this salad. Artichoke, olives, onions, and quinoa produce fulfilling qualities. Lemon zest, pesto, and crumbled feta are the ultimate Mediterranean elements that improve the salad.
Horiatiki Salata is a traditional Greek salad that does not use lettuce. The ingredients are just tomatoes, cucumbers, olives, and onions. The traditional serving style is with a block of feta cheese and olive oil drizzle.
This Mediterranean-style rice dish is bright and colorful. The main ingredients consist of tomatoes, chickpeas, bell peppers, tomato paste, and Basmati rice. You can replace the rice with brown rice for more fiber.
Use gluten-free pasta to create a light but fulfilling vegetarian dish. This recipe uses garbanzo beans, tomatoes, chopped spinach, and rosemary as the main ingredients. You can add crumbled feta to the mix. If you are a vegan, substitute the feta to vegan cheese.
Za’atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend that consists of sumac, thyme, sesame seeds, and marjoram. It is available in jars at stores, and the rich flavor works great with chicken or lamb. This recipe uses turnips, onions, and pepper in the mix, but you can replace turnips with potatoes.
Avgolemono is a Greek lemon-egg sauce that is added into rice or soup. This soup recipe results in a zesty, creamy texture. You can add rice, celery, onions, and garlic into the soup. It is great comfort food for a rainy day.
Couscous salad has is colorful and fulfilling, especially with colorful fresh vegetables. Cucumbers, tomatoes, and bell peppers are enough to make a delightful feast. Use plain couscous to make this salad instead of the flavored ones.
Homemade baba ghanoush brings Lebanese delight into your kitchen. This mashed roasted eggplant is enriched with tomatoes, lemon juice, parsley, onions, garlic, and olive oil. This dish is more like a dip, which you can enjoy with pita chips or garlic bread.
Mediterranean diet meals are vibrant healthy foods that you can enjoy every day.
Make sure to balance the nutrition by picking colorful vegetables and rich protein sources whenever you cook Mediterranean food.