What We’ll Cover:

• What the Mediterranean diet is and how it can help your health
• Simple food swaps you can make today
• Easy Mediterranean-inspired meal ideas

What is the Mediterranean diet?

The Mediterranean diet is not a strict or restrictive diet plan. It’s a flexible, colourful way of eating based on the traditional habits of people living in countries like Italy and Greece. 

Instead of taking things away, it focuses on the delicious, fresh foods you can add to your plate. This eating style focuses on whole foods and normally includes:

• High intake of fruit and vegetables
• High intake of pulses, beans, legumes
• Regular intake of nuts, seeds, olive oil
• High intake of wholegrain pasta, bread
• Regular fish intake
• Restrict intake of alcohol, usually red wine at meal time
• Low red meat intake, low saturated fat intake

Studies suggest that following the Mediterranean diet can lower the risk of heart disease and stroke by 30%.

What Roczen recommends

When you’re managing your weight and improving your health, what you eat plays a huge part. To look after your health, we recommend adding:

• Fruits and vegetables - choosing lots of different colours gives you a wide variety of vitamins and nutrients. Learn how to ‘eat the rainbow’ here. 
• Legumes (beans, peas, pulses) - eating three servings of legumes a week increases your fibre. This keeps your gut healthy and can help you feel fuller for longer
• Olive oil - using olive oil as part of your diet can help lower your risk of heart disease
• Meats and fish - swapping from red and processed meat to fish and poultry reduces your intake of less healthy fats
• Wholegrain carbohydrates - choosing brown bread, rice and oats gives you a steady, slow release of energy across the day

Tips to follow the Mediterranean diet

Small, simple swaps can make a big difference to your health. Try these practical tips:

• Swap one portion of meat with beans, lentils or soy products for a source of protein
• Use olive oil as your main cooking oil or for salad dressings
• Try grilling or roasting meats and fish rather than frying them
• Choose lean cuts of meat and remove any visible fat and skin
• Opt for brown rice, bread and pasta
• Leave skins on potatoes or try sweet potatoes instead
• Snack on a small handful of nuts, or add seeds to salads, stews or yoghurt
• Experiment with lemon, herbs, spices and pepper instead of salt

Mediterranean inspired meal ideas

Summary

The Mediterranean diet is a style of eating which focuses on fresh, colourful, whole foods. It focuses on what you can add to your diet- such as plants, healthy oils and wholegrains- to build better health.