I used to have a terrible diet, rich in processed foods, red meat and sugar and with little vegetables and whole grains. Worse, I grazed all day, pinching instead of sitting down for meals.
In July 2019, I made a radical change, cutting all meats (except fish) and adopting a Mediterranean diet full of many colorful fruits and vegetables, whole grains, healthy fats, seafood and occasional dairy.
Read the 12 things that surprised me the most since I started the diet.
The variety is endless, so it doesn’t seem restrictive
I never thought I would be the type of person who finds vegetables interesting, but now I understand.
I am so excited and excited to plan, prepare and eat my meals in a way I never had before starting the Mediterranean diet.
Moving was much easier than I expected, because there is nothing boring or restrictive about eating this way – it never feels like deprivation.
I discovered all these incredible and delicious flavor combinations that I have never known. For example, I am obsessed with golden and red beets with feta, spinach and quinoa at the moment.
It is a constant learning process, and I have never been such an anxious student, experimenting with different herbs and spices on fish and vegetables to see which ones work best. Last week, I discovered that harissa rosa makes the zucchini practically dance in my mouth.
My meals are also much more balanced, so I don’t need to have a snack as before.
I don’t miss red meat
I used to eat a lot of red meat.
Owen Franken / Getty Images
I loved steaks, cheeseburgers, bacon and even raw red meat – one of my favorite dishes in restaurants was steak tartare.
I thought I would really fight without him, but, surprisingly, I don’t miss that. I also realized that my body was not made for red meat and that bloating and severe stomach cramps do not need to accompany every meal I eat.
This was one of the almost instantaneous benefits I realized when I started following a Mediterranean diet. I had no more stomach pains after each meal and the waist was no longer a source of great discomfort.
But I really had to increase my intake of vegetables, like lentils and chickpeas, as well as eating fish and eggs a few times a week, to ensure that I am getting enough protein in my diet.
It’s easy to order or have meals at home
It is easy to find favorable Mediterranean options in the take-out menus.
Jennifer Barton for Insider
It is true that preparing a dish, even a salad, takes more effort than opening a bag of chips. But I managed to find some great and easy meals on the Mediterranean diet.
I grew up in New York, so food delivery is practically part of my DNA, and I’m happy to report that when I’m lazy or wanting to deliver, it’s as easy to order friendly options for the Mediterranean diet as it is to go for hamburgers or pizza.
A vegetarian moussaka is the warmest homemade food on a cold winter day.
In addition, you can find pre-cooked (or frozen) quinoa, lentils, brown rice and more, so if you’re in a hurry, you can have a healthy meal in minutes just by mixing a few ingredients and heating them up.
It can be a cheap alternative
Seafood, fish, avocados and certain types of olive oil can be expensive. Fortunately, it is very easy to make economic exchanges and still follow a Mediterranean diet.
Tuna, beans and canned vegetables, as well as frozen fish, are cheaper alternatives. In addition, making your own sauces, like hummus, is easier and tastier than most supermarket alternatives.
In addition, you can batch cook and freeze meals to save money and help them last longer.
You can also spend a lot on this food, especially if you go to local delis
One of the reasons why it is so easy to follow a Mediterranean diet is that it is so available today.
A few blocks from my house, there are two café-delicatessens that offer everything from baba ghanoush and homemade hummus to cabinets and basic items from the fridge, such as quinoa, feta cheese, fresh fish and Halloumi. They also sell ready-made salads, grilled vegetable dishes, soups and more.
It’s totally delicious, but it’s also expensive.
Making your own dishes is infinitely cheaper, but it’s good to know that you can get all the essentials when you want – or run out and have a healthy snack when you just don’t have time to cook.
I discovered so many new ways to make vegetables exciting
Vegetables can be exciting if you know how to prepare them.
Jennifer Barton for Insider
I never understood how pleasant it can be to eat a plate of rainbow food, but now I understand. Every meal I eat is full of yellows, oranges, reds, greens, purples.
One of the reasons I never appreciated the full potential of vegetables is that I didn’t realize how versatile they were. I would eat them mostly raw, chopped and tossed in a salad, or rather roasted. And I often had leftovers from my weekly vegetable box that I wasn’t sure what to do.
Now I spend my days doing all kinds of exciting things with vegetables – charring, mashing, grilling, kneading, mixing them in soups, stuffing them, steaming them and using them as toppings.
Instead of just mashing potatoes, I now turn butter beans or pureed cannellini beans. Beet puree has become a favorite dish when I want an alternative to hummus. And green pepper – which I don’t really like raw – has become my first choice for an omelet filling.
There is not only a Mediterranean diet
I think one of the biggest misconceptions I had about the Mediterranean diet before I started following it was that it was very limited.
I hadn’t really liked the wide geographic variety of foods available that were super easy to cook, wonderfully tasty and all fell under the “Mediterranean” umbrella.
Although the Mediterranean diet can be Greek, French, Spanish and Italian, it is also Turkish, Lebanese, Israeli and Moroccan. For example, Chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s cookbooks are a delicious introduction to the wide variety of Mediterranean cuisine.
I learned so many new ingredients and herbs that really helped me expand my culinary repertoire and add a lot of flavor to the dishes, without excess salt.
You can get sick of fish – I definitely did
I like fish, but eating it every day can be boring.
Rachel Askinasi / Business Insider
If you’re on a Mediterranean diet, you can expect to eat a few servings of poultry or fish a week because, along with eggs, it can be a great way to add a little protein to your diet.
I stopped eating white meat, but I love fish, eggs and seafood.
Some portions of fish like tuna, salmon, mackerel or sardines are recommended in the Mediterranean diet, but last summer, after getting into the salmon routine with vegetables every day – because it is so easy to cook – I definitely hit a wall.
I was feeling bored and uninspired by fish. There is really too much salmon.
I tried to cook fish in several ways: steaming, on the grill, in frying, turning it into pâté. That helped, but in the end, I had to take a break for a few weeks and get my protein from eggs, chickpeas and lentils.
My kids and husband also love it
One of the biggest bonuses of this diet is how much my family is enjoying it.
My husband used to be a voracious meat eater, but he didn’t complain when I presented him with portobello steaks and mashed beans the other night. In fact, he loved it.
My kids – under 10 – already know more about fruits, vegetables and whole grains than I had in my 20s, and have tasted everything from golden beets to passion fruit.
They are also very excited to prepare dishes with me, so they are benefiting from learning all about the cooking process and where these foods come from.
Olive oil is now my favorite ingredient
I use several different types of olive oil every week.
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Heavy salad dressings, packed with cream, mayonnaise, salt and many artificial ingredients, used to be a requirement for me if I was going to eat lettuce or spinach.
Now, I am completely obsessed with olive oil and am happy to make different types of sauces with it – pour a little apple cider vinegar, add a mustard spoon, combine with sage leaves.
I use the cheapest type for cooking and extra virgin olive oil as a base for sauce and fish marinade.
I even have varieties of garlic and pepper, which are amazing to sprinkle with roasted eggs or vegetables.
My skin has improved since I started the diet
My skin used to be angry, inflamed and painful.
I have rosacea, redness, dryness and acne, an ugly combination that led me to protect myself from photos and hold my babies in front of my face to cover my red cheeks and recurrent outbreaks.
The Mediterranean diet is full of anti-inflammatory foods – fish rich in omega-3, green vegetables, nuts, fruits and olive oil – and although I didn’t start eating that way for my skin, I was impressed with the results.
My skin has improved significantly in the last year and a half. It is really calmed down and sometimes, very occasionally, it even gets that touch of a healthy glow inside.
It helped me discover the love of cooking
The main reason I am a convert to the Mediterranean diet is that it makes me feel good, inside and out.
I have a healthier and happier relationship with food now. I like to know what I’m feeding myself and my family, and I like to cook in a way that I’ve never done before.
As someone who never learned to cook while growing up, I never thought that cutting vegetables or spreading herbs in a pot would be one of the activities that I enjoy doing with my family.
Making this lifestyle change has not only expanded my repertoire of ingredients and dishes, but has helped me discover the simple pleasures that cooking and eating well can bring.
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