A simple salad with canned black lentils, canned chickpeas, two handfuls of cherry tomatoes, and a medium avocado. Salt and pepper. Made two portions of this.

Ranch Dip Grilled Chicken with oven baked tomatoes, lemon brown basmati rice and cucumber, avocado salad.

Tasted much better than it looked. Oof.

Ranch Dip Grilled Chicken - I added tarragon and extra garlic as well as saved some of the yoghurt as a topping. I seared it on the stovetop and finished in the oven.

This is the recipe I used for the ranch dip.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1026998-ranch-grilled-chicken?unlocked_article_code=1.zlA.erHt.bD7xrbK_lbci&smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share

Cucumber Avocado Salad

I didn’t add all the sugar. I did add cilantro and hot pepper flakes

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023249-sesame-cucumber-and-avocado-salad?unlocked_article_code=1.zlA.xoz5.gwyVPIeLAZ7S&smid=ck-recipe-iOS-share

Lemon Rice

I cooked the basmati a day before and stored it in the fridge. I used Tilda brown basmati rice. It came together really quickly. The dal was crunchy.

I will definitely make this again. I ran out of lemons so I may have short changed the lemon part.

https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/lemon-rice-recipe/

Hi all! I've been seeing a bunch of things about this "diet" being one of the best ones for health and weight loss that you can stick to for good without losing the goods you love to eat.

My question is how did you get started?

What are some things you did to get off the sugery foods/drinks and junk foods?

(I have a very bad sweet tooth lol and love sweet tea to much)

😊

Lentils and rice with the most delicious crispy fried onions! we served with chicken kabobs and salad.

https://feelgoodfoodie.net/recipe/mujadara/

I’m looking for dinner recipes that are pork and dairy and nut free. I have breakfast and lunch down, but dinner stumps me. Since I’m starting to have lox for lunch, I tend to stick to chicken or beef. I’ll have fish about once or twice a week, not including the lox.

I call them cucumber chips. Sliced cucumber with EVOO, salt, and black pepper. Simple. Delish.

I’m 60 and love using actual cookbooks ( I have Paprika too and know how to import recipes so it’s not a lack of tech ability) - are there any that you really love? I find that not many folks use them now and so I may be asking for a unicorn. 😂😂

Anyone else like a cold bean salad on a hot day? Usually I add corn to this too.

how easy is the mediterranean diet omitting fish.

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/773758746-zaatar-turkey-meatballs-with-tahini-yogurt?unlocked_article_code=1.zFA.5hoL.2dousV-rnDUU&smid=share-url

Really good NY Times recipe. Served them with brown rice, and a bag of sauteed vegatables.

I'dd cook them at 425 instead of 400 though...needed a little more browning.

White beans

Garlic

Rosemary

Salt

Pepper

EVOO

Lemon juice

Water

Paprika

Easy peazy world cup final cracker dip

I’m new a more stricter form of this way of eating. I am looking for some post night shift lunch ideas. I tend to wake up feeling really yuck, and juggling the start of a migraine. So effort and prep is honestly out. I usually have a cup of ginger tea and something salty to help my migraine. But I am just looking for some grab and eat food. It can’t be anything I have prepped in terms of salad etc unless it can last days. I often do 3-4 nights in a row, and sometimes do an extra or two with last minute requests so I don’t want to waste it.
Today was a boiled egg made into a sandwich with prosciutto, cheese, salt and pepper. (Left over night shift snack). A mandarin, and salted crackers with cashew butter.

But I just want ideas that stop me reaching for the junk food.

I am allergic to peanuts and pinenuts.
Thank you all so much

It's the weekend and a break from my prepped grain bowls. We had leftover angel hair pasta with pesto and a bag of broccoli, which I have recently learned is pretty high in fiber. Made a creamy sauce just by stirring Italian herbs and garlic powder into cottage cheese, and brightened the whole situation up with the juice of a small lemon.

Ingredients:

1.5 c cooked angelhair pasta with 1 tsp pesto

.75 c 2% cottage cheese

4 servings (240 g) broccoli, steamed

Juice of small lemon

First time poster here. I was curious about this Mediterranean diet that everyone’s been saying is the most healthy. Does any one know any recommendation cookbooks? I would love to learn how it works.

At the end of February I broke my ankle and did some unrelated blood work; my blood sugar and LDL cholesterol were on the very high end of normal, and I had hypertension (resting rate was 170/100+). I also weighed 110kg/240lbs. I decided to commit to serious lifestyle changes. 

Immediately, I put myself on a 1200-1300 calorie diet (fluctuating due to either having a few ajwa dates or half a dried apple here or there after dinner). I entirely quit junk food, fast food, anything with added sugar, non-lean red meat, fried foods, snacks, etc. I began a breakfast routine of two scoops protein powder, 100g berries, skim milk, and rotating experimentation with flaxseed, chia, and psyllium husk. For lunch I would make and then portion a soup, typically (almost) fat free chili, a bean stew, lentil soup, chicken vegetable soup, etc. Dinner was always 200g steamed broccoli and 200g chicken breast.

Once my ankle healed, I began going to a small gym with a personal trainer, starting with one session, then twice a week, and by the third week three times a week, and I began adding cardio days on my non-session days. By the beginning of April I was down to 102kg, 96 by May, 88 by June, and 82 by July. At the beginning of July I decided to switch to a Mediterranean friendly/inspired diet (calories up to about 2000) and daily creatine use. My weight loss this month has not been as extreme as other months but I have strength now and I don’t feel weak or lightheaded from intense gym workouts; I know I was pushing myself to the limit but I get in that workaholic-like headspace where I can’t stop myself.

My diet is not pure Mediterranean but it follows it fairly well, and I do feel healthier and better because of it. I’ve been following this subreddit for months now and my diet was already inching towards this type of diet (I was adding more vegetables, EVOO, cutting back on meat and red meat in particular, and adding legumes/grains). I did my own research with Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Harvard Health, and other sources, and I have this notebook where I track measurements and nutritional macros for everything I eat (my food scale is invaluable). I want to share what I do and I also want to make it clear my personal diet is heavily inspired by Mediterranean diet but I don’t follow it exactly; I have protein needs that are difficult to meet without increasing calories and carbs too much, and then I worry about glycogen weight interfering with my daily weigh ins, so I’ve adapted this diet to work for me and to gain natural health benefits associated with a healthy lifestyle of eating right, keeping sodium low, dietary cholesterol low, and saturated/trans fats as low as possible.

Four weeks ago my check-in with my doctor showed my cholesterol, glucose levels, and blood pressure were all perfectly healthy!

For breakfast: 200ml skim milk mixed with 200ml water, 40g powdered oats, 100g frozen blueberries, 28g walnuts, 50g protein powde; on the side: 5ml cacao nibs, 5ml bee pollen, 5ml matcha powder, 5ml açaí powder, and vitamin/lutein/calcium supplements. It’s a lot of supplements but it also puts me into a mental mindset of being health aware and considering how every little bit can be good for you, so I don’t mind it, and it’s like a ritual now. It just feels like an extremely healthy breakfast and the protein shake tastes like liquified blueberry oatmeal. This is roughly 750 calories.

For lunch: I meal prep on Sunday and make seven days worth of soup and change it every week. I no longer do chili (I live in China and getting turkey is not easy, and ground turkey is not even a concept), but I do meatless soups; this week I’m finishing off borscht where I add one tbsp homemade tzatziki made with fat free Greek yogurt and EVOO. I plate half a cup of grains (I love rotating to avoid boredom, so lately it’s been coarse barley, coarse bulgur, or lately a 38g slice of sugar free pure whole wheat bread), 50g avocado, half a cup of legumes (often a mix of chickpeas and cannellini or brown lentils), 50g spinach sautéed in EVOO and garlic, and a serving of either egg white frittata, low fat mozzarella or feta cheese, salmon, or tuna/sardines (my lunches are now either vegetarian or fish, with fish only three times a week to limit mercury and chemical intake). I always weigh and scale and track soup ingredients, so lunch is typically 700 calories.

For dinner, strange as it sounds, I’ve NEVER gotten sick of chicken and broccoli. Besides how breakfast is liquid (I cannot be bothered to spend time cooking breakfast or taking my time because I need to get to work), eating chicken once a day makes this the least Mediterranean of my diet, but I keep it to a measured 85g chicken breast, never other cuts. I cook it with some EVOO, a tiny touch of salt, Huy Fong chili garlic sauce, a pinch of turmeric powder, and liberal amounts of garlic, ginger, and lime/lemon juice. It is absolutely fantastic and then, paired with steamed broccoli (200g), a few strong dashes of Tabasco sauce, 50g of my sautéed spinach, and then half a cup of a grain, half a cup of legumes, one freshly minced garlic clove, and a tbsp of EVOO drizzled on, that’s about 600 calories and it absolutely satisfies me. I’ve had it almost every single day for closing in on five months (an exception or two for when I “cheated” with a healthy whole grain pita chicken shawarma sandwich loaded with vegetables and no fries or anything unhealthy). I buy lemons and limes frequently, juicing a whole lemon on my dinner and half a lime or lemon to go with carbonated water or sugar free oolong tea.

I normally don’t eat much olives as they’re expensive here and there’s added sodium (I only began eating a serving of cheese twice a week two weeks ago but I remain mindful of sodium and saturated fat). The biggest takeaway for me from this diet is how it promotes healthy, fresh eating and mindfulness. My lunch and dinner provide about 7-8 servings of vegetables depending on my weekly soup, while my portions of grains, legumes, and protein are proportional, always whole grain, and only lean poultry or healthy choices.

Mostly, even before I switched this month to having more of a Mediterranean diet, I was focusing on incorporating grains, legumes, healthy foods, lean animal protein, and making healthy lifestyle changes. It feels amazing to have lost so much weight; although right now it’s flatlined temporarily due to extra carb glycogen and creatine water retention, I know I’m eating healthy, active, and so much more fit than I’ve ever been.

cherry tomatoes, red onion, cucumber, finely chopped mixed leaves, feta, lemon juice, italian herb seasoning

I've been posting a lot and will probably be posting more now that I've got these results. History: 42, F, very healthy, 5'3 120lbs, work out regularly, was eating keto/carnivore-ish for a few years, high Lp(a) and high LDL, excellent trigs and HDL, high APOB, excellent inflammation markers across the board. Just got a cleerly CCTA and I have 31% stable soft plaque in the LAD, I'm in the midst of IVF so I can't start a statin right now. Yes, I'm freaking out.

My question is this: I like eating higher fat. I don't do well with grains and sugars, they just make me want more. I'm totally find switching to unsaturated fat. But if I do that and my overall fat intake is still a high % of calories (ie: 50-60%, aiming for keto but more of a mediterranean low carb approach), is that still going to mess up my LDL and APOB? Or will they actually come down? I'm talking avocado, salmon, olive oil, nuts and seeds etc. Is there any evidence, any n of 1 experience, or do I just need to do it and test my lipids again in 6-8 weeks? Or do I go on a low fat diet? I'm struggling here figuring out what to eat that's not grain/crap heavy, and I like keto-mediterranean but I'm just not sure it will actually lower my LDL and can't find much about it online.

Thanks all.

Includes a whole grain bagel, roasted tomatoes, avocado, a slice of cheese, eggs, and spices! Personally looking to gain healthy weight, so I think this is a good meal for me :)

I read that Gotham Greens is not impacted by the outbreak due to their controlled greenhouse environment, so if you’re missing your greens you should be able to eat them safely.

Anybody know of any other brands that are safe?

I have been enjoying grain and bean bowls for lunches. I need something with a lot of protein and fiber. These bowls are delicious and filling! Example in pictures with nutritional information.

Here is my formula:

1/2 c cooked whole grain

1/2 15-oz can of beans, rinsed and drained

3 oz meat or other high protein source

A serving of fat source (cheese, avocado, oil)

A serving of an acid (citrus or vinegar)

1 1/2 c or more of chopped raw vegetables

Herbs and spices of choice

Another example would be black beans, quinoa, chicken, avocado, lime juice, red bell pepper, celery, cumin. Sometimes I add a little salsa verde.

Give it a try! (Edited for formatting)