For those of you reading this, you may or may not know that I recently switched my lifestyle to a Mediterranean-inspired diet after facing some pretty eye opening blood work numbers (hello familial hypercholesterolemia).
Making the switch has been fairly easy for me, and so far pretty sustainable. There have been a handful of situations where I had limited options (like a baseball game or a birthday party), so all I could do was make the best choices I could with what was available.
Right now, I am focusing on eliminating processed foods, refined sugars, and dramatically decreasing my intake of red meats. Instead, I'm focusing on listening to my true hunger cues and eating until 80% full, chewing my food until it's the consistency of applesauce, and focusing on consuming whole foods.
I am slowly trying to eat less dairy (Greek yogurt and feta excluded...but I try to eat traditional sheep's milk feta, not cows milk), and I typically don't eat breakfast until 10-11 am because I loosely am practicing intermittent fasting as well.
Here's an inside look at what I ate my first week as a mother of 2 on a Mediterranean diet!
Monday:
Brunch: Roasted potatoes and bell peppers with 2 over easy eggs
Dinner: Air fryer salmon over Greek salad
- Salmon can be thawed quickly and made in the oven or air fryer in less than 20 minutes from start to finish!
Tuesday:
Brunch: Roasted sweet potatoes and broccoli with 2 over easy eggs
- Tip: prepare extra veggies to eat throughout the week
Dinner: Spicy baked shrimp with Thomas Keller zucchini (I like it prepared this way) and a fresh tomato salsa
- This shrimp's marinade can be prepared ahead of time (like while the kids nap) and set in the fridge until it's ready to be cooked!
Dessert: Mixed berries
Wednesday:
Breakfast: Leftover roasted veggies with 2 over easy eggs
Snack: mixed roasted nuts with greek yogurt and berries
Dinner: Leftover shrimp and zucchini
Thursday:
Breakfast: Roasted veggies with 2 over easy eggs
- Sound familiar? It is. This is my current hyperfixation breakfast meal and I love it. I struggle to get enough veggies throughout the day so loading up during breakfast is a great way for me to ensure I'm eating plenty!
Snack: Mixed berries
Dinner: Greek chicken bowls with quinoa, Greek salad, and feta
Friday:
Brunch: You guessed it...roasted veggies with 2 over easy eggs!
Dinner: Mediterranean bowls - quinoa, roasted vegetables, Greek salad, roasted chickpeas, topped with jalapeno cilantro sauce
- This can be literally whatever you have around thrown into a bowl! Adding chickpeas helps me get extra fiber and feel full.
Saturday:
Brunch: Don't want what I eat every day? Try Greek yogurt with an in-season fruit of your choice and some walnuts! Not sweet enough? Add some local honey!
- When eating Greek yogurt (or yogurt in general), opt for plain whole milk yogurt! Flavored yogurts have a lot of unnecessary added artificial sugars!
Dinner: Air fryer salmon over mixed greens
- Watch for sugars and inflammatory oils in your dressings! My favorite homemade dressing is olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and lemon pepper! That's it. There's no recipe. Just taste as you go!
Sunday:
Brunch: My hyperfixation meal
Snack: Mixed nuts and freeze dried fruit
- I think of this as my homemade trail mix, since I'm not typically a huge fan of nuts (other than cashews...but I'm working on it). I mix together cashews, pistachios, and almonds in a bag with freeze dried strawberries! A little salty and sweet work well for me.
Dinner: Greek chicken over mixed greens
For me, starting a new diet/lifestyle typically results in me eating the same things over and over again as I learn and adjust! But so far I am loving the fresh flavors and new recipes I have been trying!
