My Lifestyle of a Mediterranean Diet

You probably read about it, and have even seen it on television, but you will never know unless you live in these parts of the world.

The Mediterranean Diet is the most pleasing, and simple diet anyone can take on in their daily menus. Do not be fooled by what you think is the correct Mediterranean Diet.

My Lifestyle of a Mediterranean Diet

What I have to offer you, will open your eyes and mind to the real and most sure way of eating. As a South African who did not know much about the Mediterranean Diet, I mastered most of the menus and made it part of my lifestyle.

Olive oil, olives, lots of fresh green salads, fish, homemade smoked, dried meat, red wine, walnuts nuts, daily outdoors life, green cabbage, called Collard greens, and fresh garlic have awesome benefits.

The herbal spices picked close to the mountains, like mint, sage, rosemary, and thyme, and not forget the wild asparagus which is harvested in April. It is a bitter-tasting vegetable. Eat in nature and enjoy a simple way of life.

The walnut nuts are great to eat after cracked out of a shell, and when made into a sweet liqueur it is a good appetizer.

Olives are harvested from November until January; you can fry the olives for a few minutes, cover the bottom of the pan with some cooking oil, or some olive oil, and try it.

If you like, try roasting the olives add some potatoes, onions, or carrots, and have a good variety of vegetables. The green salads are made from lettuce, and other green leafy lettuce called Zucenica, grown in their backyards.

The fresh purple and sweet-tasting onions are chopped into medium-sized pieces, with some garlic, finely chopped or grated, olive oil, and salt.

This adds a creamy taste to the fresh green salad. Cimunica is a name in the Croatian language used for the early shoots of Collard greens the crispy green leaves of green cabbage.

Smoked and dried meat is a traditional method and has been in the tradition for many years. The dried meat is often cooked with green cabbage (Collard greens), and potatoes.

Just boiled and eaten, the flavours of the smoked, dried meat, such as the head of the pig, a delicacy to the Croatian tradition and home-dried-made sausages are slightly fatty, and an easy-to-prepare meal. Try some of these recipes for a true Mediterranean Diet; you will not go wrong with these simple cooking ideas.

Beef Goulash

Buy one-kilogram beef, slightly fatty, or lean, and ask your local butcher to sell you beef for a goulash.

One finely chopped Kapula, a name for the purple sweet onions.

One clove of garlic, peeled and chopped.

Two red tomatoes, skinned and cut into pieces.

Six carrots, cleaned and cubed.

Add some salt and pepper to taste.

Chop up a stem of Rosemary.

Two bay leaves for the best flavour.

Two fresh green peppers, seeded, cored, and chopped into small pieces.

Eight potatoes are peeled and chopped into little pieces so that all the ingredients can cook well together.

Add canned peas or frozen peas toward the end of the cooking.

Add the meat to some water covering the bottom of the pot.

Method:

Allow the meat to simmer for ten to fifteen minutes thereafter add all the ingredients, including the spices and cook until tender.

An occasional stir is required.

A perfect goulash with thick sauce for the family and the healthiest too with no oil added.

You can cook chicken or lamb in the same way.

Barley and Chicken Wings:

Partially boil half a kilogram of barley.

Leave aside after boiling, while preparing the chicken wings.

Fry the onions until lightly brown.

Add the tomatoes or tomato puree.

Add some vegetables, like carrots, potatoes, red peppers, chickpeas, or Brussels sprouts, try being creative when making this meal. Add a variety of vegetables. Juice one lemon and add a teaspoon of sugar for a tangy taste.

Mix the ingredients, making a sauce from all the little additions; you can also add Worcestershire sauce, to give it a slightly spicy taste.

Note, that the local people here do not eat spicy foods, but I am used to eating spicy foods and enjoy my meals better with some spice. Add olive oil when cooking or sunflower oil, just to cover the base of the pot.

Add the chicken wing casserole to the barley and put it into an oven dish straight into the oven at one hundred and eighty degrees Celsius. Allow cooking until barley is soft stirring the mixture every twenty minutes to avoid the meal from drying out.

You need to keep the sauce, so do not forget about it in the oven. The Collard greens are boiled with potatoes, until soft and olive oil is added to the ingredients, with some salt to taste, and finely chopped fresh garlic.

Kale is also eaten in the same way, as one of the most popular green vegetables in Croatia. Kiwi fruit is eaten for breakfast, with yoghurt, or a fruit salad is prepared with the addition of other fruit such as apples, or a Rock Melon, a very juicy melon.

Sometimes walnuts are added for the extra bite. Citrus fruits, such as oranges and mandarins are eaten to prevent colds and flu and are also good for the skin.

Fish is eaten on Wednesdays and Fridays as most Catholics and, is popular among other cuisines of Mediterranean foods.

The tiny fish are lightly spiced, dipped into flour and fried crispy, eaten with boiled vegetables such as Collard greens and potatoes. The whole fish is eaten. A peasant way of eating as most of you may think is such a healthy way.

Most of the above-mentioned meals are cooked at home, only traditional foods are prepared at restaurants.

A Croatian traditional meal called Menestra is cooked with a variety of smoked dried meats, with green cabbage (Collard greens) and potatoes a popular meal in most regions.

Another Menestra is prepared with dried beans instead of green cabbage, or Collard greens, and with the same kind of dried meat.

Sarma, a special meal cooked over each Near Year. In this recipe-soaked Cabbage leaves from vinegar are used or you can boil the leaves in salted water, the mince is wrapped with these cabbage leaves and cooked in a sauce, also known as Stuffed Cabbage Leaves.

Stuffed Cabbage Leaves:

The ingredients required for this recipe are as follows:

Four large cabbages leave

Quarter cup butter

Half a kilogram of lean mince

Two medium-sized onions chopped

One and a quarter tablespoons tomato paste

One and a quarter tablespoons water

Pinch of grated nutmeg

Salt and pepper

Cook the cabbage leaves in a large pan of salted water for five minutes, drain and cool. The hard stem should be removed, from the base of the leaf. Melt the butter in the pan and add the onion.

Fry the onions until brown and the cabbage leaves are slightly fried, do not brown the cabbage leaves. Add the mince and fry for five minutes. Stir in the tomato paste the water, nutmeg, salt, and pepper.

Cool slightly, divide the filling between cabbage leaves, fold sides over and roll up. Place stuffed cabbages in a greased oven-proof dish, the join side must be faced down. Bake in the oven for fifty minutes or until cooked, serve while hot.

In m opinion eating a well-balanced diet does keep you fit and healthy on terms.