Devine RD - 30-Minute Vegiterranean Cookbook: Healthy Vegetarian Recipes for the Mediterranean Diet

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Interior and Designer: Erin Yeung
Art Producer: Tom Hood
Editors: Gleni Bartels, Anna Pulley
Production Manager: Matthew Burnett
Production Editor: Jose Olivera

Photography 2021, Annie Martin, .
courtesy Heba Salama Photography.

ISBN: 978-1-64876-906-1
eBook: 978-1-64876-907-8
R0

For my parents, who gave me the great gifts of travel,
education, experience, and a love of food.

Contents

I fell in love with Mediterranean cuisine when living abroad in Spain my junior year of college. I found that fresh flavors, colorful vegetable presentations, and simple, honest dishes were at the heart of not only Spanish cuisine but dishes throughout the Mediterranean region. This experience inspired me as I started my personal culinary journey, first as a chef and owner of a catering business, and later as a registered dietitian. As a chef, I offered a wide array of vegetarian and vegan options using locally sourced fresh ingredients to promote health or meet dietary needs. Allowing my clients to discover (and myself to experiment with) how wonderfully rich and full of flavor whole-food vegetable-based meals could be was one of the greatest rewards of my job.

I have followed a plant-based Mediterranean way of eating for most of my adult life, and although I do include seafood and sustainable, high-quality animal products in my personal diet, my family also enjoys many meatless meals. My middle son asked me one day if I would get a headache if I didnt eat a big salad every day, much like people do when they stop drinking coffee. My response was, I dont know, Ive never tried it! Making colorful vegetables the focus of every meal not only provides a variety of complex and fresh flavors but also keeps me feeling energized and focused through busy days.

The Mediterranean diet, which is more of a lifestyle than a traditional diet, has rightfully earned worldwide recognition in recent years as one of the best ways of eating to improve health and increase vitality. Aside from the many health benefitshealthy weight maintenance, a lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and lower blood pressureMediterranean cuisine tastes so good. Its focus on fresh and simple flavors allows quality ingredients to shine. In this book, were adding a twist. As you might have guessed from the name, the Vegiterranean diet focuses on a plant-based and meat-free version of recipes that are part of the traditional Mediterranean diet. Eliminating meat from these meals gives veggies, whole grains, and legumes a chance to take the spotlight while offering all of the same benefits (and more) of this way of eating. Whether you are a seasoned vegetarian looking to vary your meals or increase nutrients or you are just testing the waters and trying a vegetarian diet a few days a week, this Vegiterranean diet will be a flavorful, fun, and nutritious way to get started. And did I mention convenient? All of the recipes are designed to be respectful of your busy schedule and take 30 minutes or less to prepare.

To start things off, Ill go over the basic principles behind the Vegiterranean diet and show you time-saving, nutrition-boosting, and flavor-enhancing ways to implement them into your busy lifestyle. Then, well get to the good stuff: the recipes. The dishes are full of regional flavors and use a wide variety of herbs, spices, and whole foods to allow you to explore the best of what Vegiterranean cuisine has to offer. I hope that youll discover that great-tasting, homecooked, healthy food is just a half an hour away.

Welcome to the Vegiterranean diet. The delicious recipes in this book use whole, fresh ingredients and go from prep to table in 30 minutes or less. In these pages, health and deliciousness meet practicality; what could be better? This chapter will explore the sustainable principles behind the vegetarian approach to the Mediterranean diet. You dont have to be an experienced chef or spend hours in the kitchen each week. By stocking your pantry with a few key ingredients, having some basic kitchen tools on hand, and putting yourself in a Mediterranean frame of mind, youll be able to create a wide variety of crowd-pleasing dishes in a flash.

The Vegiterranean Diet 101

The traditional Mediterranean diet has been recommended by health professionals for years because of its many health benefits. Studies have repeatedly confirmed the correlation between the lifestyle and good health of the people in the Mediterranean, including Italy, Greece, Spain, France, Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, and Morocco. In 2018, a study of almost 26,000 American women following a Mediterranean diet for over 12 years found a 28 percent reduction in risk for cardiovascular disease. Other clinical trials have demonstrated that Mediterranean dietswhich entail eating more plant-based foods (vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, and legumes); healthy fats (olive oil); moderate amounts of fish and poultry; and small amounts of dairy products, red meat, and sweetsreduce abdominal fat, lower cholesterol, improve heart health, lower blood pressure, and help lower blood sugars.