I have to admit, I like Thanksgiving even though here in Greece there is not much celebrating as it is not a holiday. Surprisingly though for me the holiday did not a have a special significance until I moved to Greece thirteen years ago. In the states we celebrated Thanksgiving but more likely with lamb or chicken and Greek style potatoes, rather than turkey and cranberry sauce. But in Greece things changed… Read more »
Sometimes Mediterranean inspired recipes appear in the least likely of places. We were visiting my in-laws and I found a cookbook from the 70’s called The Williamsburg Cookbook which includes recipes from Colonial Williamsburg’s taverns and restaurants. There are plenty of colonial recipes, but this recipe caught my eye: with the simple title Zucchini with Walnuts, the ingredients brought me straight to the Mediterranean. Read more »
When attending large food and nutrition expos like FNCE, one thing you notice is that the expo floor is huge. Especially in the U.S. you have hundreds of booths that represent companies, national boards and commissions and since it’s an expo for nutritionists there is a lot of free food and samples. Yes, we nutritionists like to eat. Read more »
I attended last week (as I do every year) the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, formerly known as the American Dietetic Association, as an active member and Past President of their international affiliate, it can get pretty busy. And this year I was also a presenter , my session focusing on working overseas.
The conference took place in Atlanta and needless to say I was looking forward to trying the food. Read more »
You know that delicious aroma that you get when you are sautéing or frying onions? Doesn’t it smell wonderful? Well this pie tastes like that! Only better.
As I’ve mentioned in the past, pites (pie for Greek) are a great vehicle to get a lot of vegetables in your diet, but it was also a way to make a meal out of nothing. Homemakers like my yiayia would make wonderful pies with just some dough and vegetables or wild greens they had in their garden. Read more »
Soutzoukakia are a -special occasion -food, something served when you have company or for a Sunday dinner. One of the reasons is that, well, this is meat and meat was not served every day, the second reason is that these meatballs are exceptional.
These are not just any old meatballs: Meatballs full of spice, drenched in thick tomato sauce satisfy that need, when you really want something rich. Read more »
A new study from English researchers published in the British Medical Journal Open, showed that people who consumed 5 or more servings of fruit and vegetables experienced a higher level of mental well-being. According to researchers, high mental well-being is more than the absence of symptoms or illness; it is a state in which people feel good and function well. Optimism, happiness, self-esteem, resilience and good relationships with others are all part of this state. Read more »
According to a new study presented at the annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes eating full fat cheese is associated with a reduced risk of diabetes by 23%… I like this study.
I often get this question about the amount of cheese consumed in the Mediterranean Greek diet: is it healthy? Don’t Greeks eat a lot of cheese?
Well yes, they do. In fact, depending on the source Greeks consume the most cheese per person in the world. Feta is probably responsible for this, as we eat it with almost every meal. Cheese is in essence the main source of protein in the traditional Greek diet, since the main course was usually vegetables or legumes. Read more »
Spaghetti, also known as makaronia in Greek is a bit different in Greece than it is from our neighbor Italy. Here, traditionally pasta is not cooked al dente, but rather cooked longer along with beef, chicken or even seafood.
A popular way it is cooked at home is with olive oil (or butter) and cheese.
By looking at the picture you may not see more than some pasta sprinkled with cheese, but there is a little secret here that makes this pasta addictive. Read more »