The Mediterranean Diet: Fruits and Veggies!
Welcome to my second blog in the Mediterranean diet series. Today we will be focusing on fruits and veggies, a major component of the Mediterranean diet.
Did you know that you should aim to make HALF of your plate fruits and vegetables at each meal (https://www.myplate.gov/) ?? Take a look at your plates over the next week, how do they compare to these recommendations?
You should also aim to eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, try to eat the rainbow! Why? Because the different colors of fruits and vegetables are provided by various vitamins and minerals and even phytochemicals that all have different health benefits.
Why eat so many fruits and vegetables?? Because they have so many health benefits:
Weight loss
Fruits and veggies are great sources of fiber and water that help keep you full
Fruits and veggies are low in calories
Filling up on fruits and veggies makes you less likely to eat higher calorie foods and have less cravings
Gut health
The water and fiber in fruits and veggies help you go!
Fruits and veggies help you build a healthy gut microbiome (future blog posts will be devoted to the gut microbiome!)
Decreased risk of type 2 diabetes
Diets excessive in refined carbohydrates and saturated fats increase your risk of diabetes, filling up on fruits and veggies make you less likely to fill up on these other foods
Fruits and veggies help you maintain a healthy weight which lowers your risk of diabetes
The fiber in fruits and veggies helps stabilize your blood sugars
Decreased risk of cancer
People that consume diets high in fruits and vegetables have a lower risk of almost all cancers
Longevity
People that follow diets high in fruits and vegetables live longer!
Anti-inflammatory
Fruits and vegetables may decrease inflammation throughout the body that can lead to a variety of diseases
How are fruits and vegetables incorporated into the Mediterranean diet? Vegetables are included in every meal, even breakfast! In fact, most countries around the world, with the exclusion of the United States, regularly include vegetables with breakfast.
A common Mediterranean breakfast includes toasted bread with sliced tomatoes drizzled with olive oil. Lunch and dinner is started with either a broth based vegetable soup or salad, depending on the time of year. Then cooked vegetables are included with a lean protein at both lunch and dinner.
Lastly, most meals are finished off with a serving of fruit for dessert.
Gazpacho is one of my favorite Mediterranean dishes for summer time and a great way to incorporate a ton of veggies in a low calorie and refreshing cold soup.
Gazpacho recipe:
8 tomatoes
2 cucumbers
1 green bell pepper
4 gloves garlic
1 slice bread
¼ cup olive oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Roughly chop tomatoes, cucumbers, bell pepper and garlic.
Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth (you may have to blend in batches)
Chill in refrigerator at least 1 hour and serve cold.
Garnish with chopped hard boiled egg, sliced avocado, and sliced cucumber.
What did you think of this week’s post? How does your plate compare with the recommendations? Did you try the gazpacho recipe? Go ahead and let me know by commenting on the blog!
