Mediterranean Diet New Year Menu Resolutions
So you’ve decided on some New Year’s diet resolutions that include tasty, healthy Mediterranean Diet foods. It’s best to start out on the right foot by forsaking the old, traditional New Year foods and instead sticking to delicious Mediterranean New Year diet recipes. Luckily, there are some simple suggestions and recipes to help you start on the right track!
First of all, there’s at least one traditional New Year food you can leave on the menu – black eyed peas are appropriate under the Mediterranean Diet and relatively simple to cook. Collard greens, a popular lucky New Year food, are fine too, but remember to use rich olive oil for your cooking if you’re not steaming your vegetables. Give up the champagne and instead use wonderfully rich red wine for your New Year toast.
For another tasty vegetable side, make pomegranate glazed green beans with sliced portobellos:
Ingredients:
3 cups green beans, cut
1 large or 2 medium portobello mushrooms, cut into cubes
Olive oil
Sea salt and pepper to taste
Trader Joe’s (or any other) Pomegranate Glaze, or balsamic vinegar
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Stir in green beans and portobellos and season with salt and pepper, cooking until the veggies are crisp but somewhat tender. Drizzle the Pomegranate Glaze lightly over the mix and stir. Lower the heat slightly and cook to your preference.
Another tasty side dish is Winter Pesto:
Ingredients:
2 cups fresh herbs: basil, cilantro, mint, and parsley
1/2 cup walnuts, shelled
2 cloves garlic
1/4 to 1/2 cup olive oil
Sea salt
Process the nuts, herbs and garlic cloves in a food processor until well ground. Steadily add olive oil, pulsing the processor on and off as you do so, until the pesto is a paste. Add sea salt to taste. Store, covered, in the fridge for at least an hour for full flavor infusion, then serve and enjoy!
Fish is another popular lucky New Year food that is a staple of the Mediterranean Diet. Try something like this Mediterranean-style grilled salmon fillet as a main course:
Ingredients:
4 salmon fillets
4 tbsp chopped basil
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp minced garlic
2 tbsp lemon juice
Pepper, to taste
4 slices lemon (garnish)
4 green olives, chopped (garnish)
Prepare grill or broiler, positioning cooking rack 4-6 inches from the heat source. In a small bowl, mix the basil, parsley, minced garlic, and lemon juice. Spray salmon with cooking spray (olive oil based is good) and sprinkle with pepper to taste. Coat the salmon with the spice and lemon mixture, then place on the grill. Grill over high heat until the edges turn white; then turn over and place fillets on foil. Reduce the heat and grill until done. Place fillets on plates and garnish.
These New Year recipes will help get you started on the right track to losing weight the healthy way on the Mediterranean Diet. Enjoy!
