Mediterranean Diet Cookbook For Dummies [Paperback]

Meri Raffetto (Author), Wendy Jo Peterson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 8, 2011

Improve your health, lose weight, and prevent and fight disease

For decades, doctors and nutritional experts have observed and confirmed that Mediterranean countries have much lower occurrences of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, obesity, cancer, and diabetes in their citizens than northern European countries and the United States. The Mediterranean Diet For Dummies features expert advice on transitioning to this healthful lifestyle by providing meal planning tips, exercise regimens, and more than 150 recipes inspired by the cuisines of Italy, Greece, southern France, and Spain to improve your health, lose weight, and prevent and fight disease.

Rather than focusing on restricting certain foods and ingredients, the Mediterranean diet embraces a variety of food choices that promote freshness, whole grains, healthy fats, more vegetables and less meat, understanding proper portion control, and using items like wine and olive oil to create rich flavors. With The Mediterranean Diet For Dummies you'll find out how a delicious diet can reduce the long-term risk of obesity, heart disease, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases, and more.

• More than 150 tasty recipes
• Expert tips on meal planning, exercise regimens, and healthy lifestyle choices
• Prevent and fight diseases by eating delicious food

Whether you're just discovering the healthfulness of the Mediterranean diet or are looking for some new recipes to add to your repertoire, The Mediterranean Diet For Dummies has everything you need to start living a healthier life.

Related Title: For a quick introduction to this hot, diet phenomenon, try Mediterranean Diet In A Day For Dummies. Only available as an E-book, it is the fastest way to start the Mediterranean diet and lifestyle!

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Improve your health, lose weight, and prevent and fight disease

Rather than focusing on restricting certain foods and ingredients, the Mediterranean diet embraces a variety of food choices that won't make eating healthy feel like a sacrifice. Promoting freshness, whole grains, healthy fats, more vegetables and less meat, proper portion control, and using items such as wine and olive oil to create rich flavors, Mediterranean Diet Cookbook For Dummies shows you how a delicious diet can be healthy and tasty.

• Start exploring — discover how the Mediterranean lifestyle encompasses dietary habits, physical activity, stress management, and fun

• Here's to a healthier you — delve into the benefits of a Mediterranean diet and lifestyle, such as heart health, a reduced risk of cancer, and weight loss

• Before things heat up — get meal -planning strategies, cooking tips, guidelines for stocking your kitchen, and grocery-shopping ideas

• Start cookin' — from breakfasts and appetizers to dinners and desserts, find delicious recipes for any meal of the day

Open the book and find:

• The health benefits of the traditional Mediterranean diet

• Tips to make the switch to the Mediterranean diet

• More than 160 delicious recipes for every meal and occasion

• Timeless and contemporary Mediterranean dishes

• How to satisfy your sweet tooth and still stick to a healthy diet plan

• Ways to incorporate more plant-based foods in your diet

• Increase your omega-3 intake

Learn to:

• Make more than more than 160 delicious recipes inspired by the cuisines of Italy, Greece, Morocco, and Spain

• Create a healthy lifestyle with Mediterranean cooking

• Use ingredients like wine and olive oil to create rich and savory flavors

About the Author

Meri Raffetto, RD, is a registered dietitian and recognized professional in nutrition and wellness.

Wendy Jo Peterson, MS, RD, has more than 10 years of experience working to enhance the nutrition and wellness of her clients.

Product Details

• Paperback: 392 pages
• Publisher: For Dummies; 1 edition (November 8, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1118067789
• ISBN-13: 978-1118067789
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 0.8 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,577 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #97 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Diets & Weight Loss > Weight Loss

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, enjoyable introduction to a Mediterranean lifestyle and diet February 4, 2012

By Michael Lichter VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Quick Summary: Lively writing; engaging introduction to the principles of traditional-ish Greek/Southern Italian/Moroccan/Middle Eastern-ish living and cooking; no-more-than moderately difficult and time-consuming recipes with mostly easily-obtained ingredients; good variety of recipes, from breakfast suggestions to side dishes, entrees, and dessert; resulting dishes turn out a bit bland, but should be easy to spice up.

Caveats: I am an unsophisticated cook with no-better-than-average kitchen skills. I hate following recipes. If my wife and I both followed the same recipe, her version would look and taste 50% to 75% better than mine.

Comments: So far, I've made five dishes from this cookbook: Chicken in Paprika Sauce, Moroccan Couscous, Pork Chops with Tomatoes and Bell Peppers, Baked Apples with Raisins and Walnuts, and Pancetta and Spinach Frittata. This is not a huge sample to judge from, I know, but the dishes do include a breakfast, a chicken entree, a pork entree, a side dish, and a dessert.

What I've found is this:

First, I made five recipes! I've been receiving "Eating Well" magazine for two years and they have plenty of attractive and healthy recipes but I haven't tried even one. In this cookbook, the dishes are appealing enough, the recipes easy enough (not EASY, but easy ENOUGH), the ingredients common enough, and the prep time brief enough to pull me in. That's marvelous.

Second, the resulting dishes taste good but not great. Except for the Chicken in Paprika Sauce, which came out on the bitter side, and the Moroccan Couscous, which has a very vibrant, fruity flavor, the dishes came out a bit bland. This is almost certainly a matter of personal taste. It probably is also a reflection of my general cooking skills, the (so-so) quality of our cookware and oven, and the age of our spices -- some of which have been sitting in the rack for a decade or more (I know, I know). Finally, it probably reflects caution on the authors' part, not wanting to get overly spicy with American consumers. In any event, tweaking recipes to suit your personal/family tastes is a normal part of cooking, right?

Third, the authors clearly weighed nutrition, simplicity, authenticity, and flavor against each other when developing these recipes. The dishes are not all low-cal, but most are reasonably low, and none of them are excessively high (the authors include nutrition information for each recipe). Some recipes call for butter and fatty meats like pancetta, and most include olive oil, but all in moderation.

Bottom line: The authors convincingly advocate for their interpretation of Mediterranean cooking and the Mediterranean lifestyle. The recipes are easy, good, and fast enough, I suspect, for most Americans who actually cook their meals rather than picking them up from Doublemeat Palace, Pizza Planet, or the Kwik-E-Mart. Best for people who already know and love the taste of Greek and Middle Eastern food. Recommended.

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars OK - but not a favorite May 10, 2012

By J. Weber VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Well, it's a "Dummies" series, not advanced cooking, keep that in mind. Very sound explaination outlining the health benefits of a "mediterranean" diet. Or is it just a healthy diet? Recommended to consume medium to small size portions of chicken and fish, limited red meats, lots of vegetables, less fruit. Use healthy fats like avocado, extra virgin olive oil, nuts. Limited grains. Which is a great diet in my opinion, keeps you away from chemical and sugar laden boxed foods and encourages fresh food with minimum cooking. The recipes are basic, easy to prepare and tasty. I feel if you are newer to cooking, this book will be better received than for experienced cooks who could toss some of these recipes together with no cookbook necessary.

35 of 36 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Sound Source December 26, 2011

By Dale

Format:Paperback

After purchasing several other mediterranean cookbooks, I have found this book to be the best for several reasons: The taste of the food, the intent and research behind the ingredients, the ease and speed of the recipes, and the credentials of the authors. That is pretty much the litmus test for me and this and this book makes the cut. I highly recommend this for the person that is looking for a complete guide and doesn't want to spend countless hours and dollars on mediocre solutions.