Dipping Into The Mediterranean

So we’re dieting again in our household, continuing our endless cycle of eating, drinking and being merry contrasted with -for the time being – none of the above.

We’ve tried most of the diets out there and have had some luck on all of them. I really enjoyed the low-carb ones until I somehow got sick of eating bacon every day. We usually fall back on the counting calories method, which is a pretty guaranteed diet if you do the math properly. You can eat whatever you want provided it’s only a tiny amount per meal, which I find is about what you can fit in the palm of your hand.

I’ve begun thinking, though, about trying the Mediterranean diet, which basically is not a diet per se but a whole way of eating. This means adding more fruits, nuts, veggies, olive oil, legumes – which is Mediterranean for beans, peas, lentils and the like – whole grains and seafood to your diet. Obviously this is a diet coming from the Mediterranean region of Europe, and I can’t help but visualize fashionable people lazing around outside on a sun-splashed veranda with a glass of wine, munching on nuts and olives, and eating stuff fresh out of the sea.

Of course, this plan works a lot better if you actually live near the Mediterranean where all that fresh stuff can be readily found. But we are nothing if not adaptable, so I’m thinking of adapting the Mediterranean plan to a Mountain/Med plan.

It starts with eating nothing for breakfast because you want to save those calories for later when you will really need them. Have some coffee to get the ol’ metabolism up and running. If you must have something, eat a piece of fruit and quit whining.

Lunch is some seafood such as canned tuna, which I detest and will just dump down the garbage disposal so right there I’ve saved a bunch of calories. I’ll pair that with a piece of whole grain bread and maybe a salad or a veggie.

As the evening approaches, I will skip the obligatory glass or two of wine because I don’t really like wine unless I’m lazing around on a sun-splashed veranda and start with a couple of martinis because this way I can go on and get some olives into my system. I figure olive oil is just the squeezings of olives, so I’m just skipping the middle man. Plus, as an added bonus, while they are not a vegetable they count as a fruit! (Remember, a minimum of three olives per martini is suggested to get the full feel of the Mediterranean region.) Pair these with a handful of nuts as a snack to fulfill your nut quota of the plan, or you can switch if up and substitute a handful of beans if you prefer. 

Depending on how many, um, olives you have consumed, you may want to skip supper and hit the hay, thereby again avoiding those pesky calories that accumulate down there in the stomach region. If, on the other hand, you are still sober … er, awake and hungry, I suggest grilling an octopus or two because they were very tasty the last time I was anywhere near the Mediterranean.

If you can’t find fresh octopus – and they’re pretty scarce in the mountainous regions of the planet, unlike say, the famed mountain oysters – you can substitute some fish or shrimp. If there is no fresh fish at your local fishmonger or grocery store equivalent, then I would recommend a nice fish stick or two. (I’m a big malt vinegar fan on those puppies, but F makes a mean homemade tartar sauce that is also highly recommended but you will have to contact her personally for that recipe.) Then throw in another salad or some other veggies on the side and there you have it. 

Will you still be hungry at the end of the day? Of course. It’s a diet, you knucklehead. You’re supposed to be hungry. 

But then you are allowed a couple more olives for a bedtime snack.