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Mediterranean Diet

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Med diet is southern mediterranean. Not Milan.

The Mediterranean diet is a modern nutritional recommendation inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of southern Italy, Greece, and Spain[1][2] The principal aspects of this diet include proportionally high consumption of olive oil, legumes, unrefined cereals, fruits and vegetables, moderate to high consumption of fish, moderate consumption of dairy products (mostly as cheese and yogurt), moderate wine consumption, and low consumption of meat and meat products.[3]

But moderate does not mean non-existent.

Duck Breast

Ingredients: serves 4
  • – 1 lb (450g) duck breast
  • – 1 tbsp (15ml) balsamic vinegar
  • – 1 onion
  • – 2 carrots
  • – 2 zucchine
  • – 1 tbsp (15ml) extra virgin olive oil
  • – salt and pepper

On November 17, 2010, UNESCO recognized this diet pattern as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Italy, Greece, Spain and Morocco.[4]

Despite its name, this diet is not typical of all Mediterranean cuisine. In Northern Italy, for instance, lard and butter are commonly used in cooking, and olive oil is reserved for dressing salads and cooked vegetables.[5] In North Africa, wine is traditionally avoided by Muslims. In both North Africa and the Middle East, sheep’s tail fat and rendered butter (samna) are the traditional staple fats, with some exceptions.[6]

Sicily

A Sicilian Mediterranean Diet example:

  • A brioche or croissant for breakfast OR 1 slice of bread, toast, or cereals for breakfast with honey or jam
  • A portion of fruit 2 times per day (as snacks)
  • A portion of vegetables 2 times per day
  • A portion of fish 3 times a week
  • No more than 2 eggs per week
  • No Fast food
  • Eat legumes more than once a week
  • Eat pasta or rice at least 5 times a week – only for lunch (not allowed for dinner)
  • Use olive oil as dressing (to replace saturated fats)
  • Do not consume too much alcohol
  • Eat less than 150g of meat two times in a week

The most commonly understood version of the Mediterranean diet was presented, amongst others, by Dr Walter Willett of Harvard University‘s School of Public Health from the mid-1990s on.[7][8][9][10][11][12] Based on “food patterns typical of Crete, much of the rest of Greece, and southern Italy in the early 1960s”, this diet, in addition to “regular physical activity,” emphasizes “abundant plant foods, fresh fruit as the typical daily dessert, olive oil as the principal source of fat, dairy products (principally cheese and yogurt), and fish and poultry consumed in low to moderate amounts, zero to four eggs consumed weekly, red meat consumed in low amounts, and wine consumed in low to moderate amounts”. Total fat in this diet is 25% to 35% of calories, with saturated fat at 8% or less of calories.[13]

Olive oil is particularly characteristic of the Mediterranean diet. It contains a very high level of monounsaturated fats, most notably oleic acid, which epidemiological studies suggest may be linked to a reduction in coronary heart disease risk.[14] There is also evidence that the antioxidants in olive oil improve cholesterol regulation and LDL cholesterol reduction, and that it has other anti-inflammatory and anti-hypertensive effects.[15]

Cook books. Sicily.

The Heart of Sicily: Recipes and Reminiscences of Regaleali, a Country Estate by Anna Tasca Lanza. Photography by Franco Zecchin. Many cookbooks tempt, inform, and inspire. A few capture the essence of a place, but rarely does a cookbook communicate the very soul of a place. In more than 200 pages and over 100 photographs, the late Anna Tasca Lanza’s telling of life at Regaleali, the vast country estate that has belonged to her family since 1830, is so vivid that you feel her sitting next to you, talking and turning the pages as if it were a photo album. Read more.

Gangivecchio’s Sicilian Kitchen (La Cucina Siciliana di Gangivecchio) by Wanda Tornabene, Giovanna Tornabene and Michele Evans. So much has been written, produced, and marketed in recent years about the glories of northern Italian cooking that people have ignored the accomplishments of the cooks of southern Italy, especially those of the island of Sicily. Giovanna Tornabene opened a restaurant in her home in the scenic Madonie Mountains of Sicily in 1978 because it seemed the only way to hold on to her family’s centuries-old estate. Read more.