The MediterrAsian Way: A Cookbook and Guide to Health, Weight Loss, and Longevity, Combining the Best Features of Mediterranean and Asian Diets [Hardcover]

Trudy Thelander (Author), Ric Watson (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 6, 2007

Indulge yourself with tasty and satisfying foods like pasta dishes, stir-fries, curries, risottos, noodle dishes, and sushi, all washed down with a glass of wine or beer. Stay active but don't bother with a formal exercise regimen, and set aside time every day to relax and unwind. You may find it hard to believe, but eating and living this way can help you stay lean and healthy, substantially reduce your risk of heart disease and cancer, and increase your chances of living longer. People from Mediterranean and Asian cultures have been living like this-and reaping the rewards-for more than 5,000 years.

Now, in this unique cookbook and guide, Ric Watson and his wife, Trudy Thelander, demonstrate just how easy it is to realize the benefits of the MediterrAsian way-benefits that numerous scientific studies have documented over the last half century. They explain the common features of Mediterranean and Asian lifestyles-abundant amounts of plant foods and fish, small amounts of red meat, moderate alcohol consumption, physical activity, and time set aside to relax-and show you step by step how to make them part of your life. When you eat the MediterrAsian way, there's no skimping on taste-or satisfaction. You'll feast on more than 150 delicious recipes, including favorites like Pasta Primavera, Thai Chicken Stir-Fry, and Ham, Mushroom, and Tomato Pizza. You'll savor the intriguing flavors of Vietnamese Shrimp and Vegetable Rice Paper Rolls, Moroccan Stew with Couscous, and Teriyaki Chicken Noodles. And if you're in the mood for a burger or hot dog, Watson and Thelander offer several deliciously healthy versions.

The book walks you through MediterrAsian food basics, shows you how to substitute daily activities for time at the gym, and explains how to take time out to enjoy life and relax. To help you plan your meals, it provides an easy-to-follow five-step MediterrAsian Balanced Meal System. There's even a fourteen-day MediterrAsian plan as well as example lifestyle scenarios to help you get into the swing of things. Complete with 50 tempting color food photographs, The MediterrAsian Way is all you need to enjoy the benefits of MediterrAsian living-starting today!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Watson and Thelander, creators of MediterrAsian.com, combine the sensible, down-to-earth principles of the Mediterranean diet with those of south and east Asia to create a blend that is about lifestyle as much as cuisine. Their concept is appealing, but the book is more wishful than convincing in delivery. It begins by "unlocking the secrets" of the two diets, examining both regions' nutritional pyramids and citing much research to bolster claims for their superiority, but many subsequent parts emphasize exercise, of both mind and body, with overly obvious suggestions like "dance to the beat" and "go for a scenic walk" for burning calories and "get a pet" and "visit the library" for combating stress. An outline of two weeks on the diet demonstrates Watson and Thelander's "MediterrAsian" balanced meals, heavy on grains and vegetables and sparing with meat and fats. This philosophy lends itself to one-dish meals, which many of the recipes are, from Lemony Tuna, Olive and Vegetable Pasta to Fragrant Chicken Curry. Unfortunately, few rise above their appearance of being stylistic approximations of such dishes as Grilled "Tuscan" Chicken or the inevitable "Greek" salad; the fused cuisine feels both more familiar and homogenous and less lively and life-changing in the way a new diet must be to achieve great results. B&w and color photos not seen by PW. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Much of this book is taken from the web site MediterrAsian.com, which Watson and Thelander created in 2004. Watson chronicles living through a horrific motorcycle accident that nearly killed him as a teenager in the 1980s; his recovery was spent living with an uncle and aunt in Britain who ate meals of pasta, beans, vegetables, rice, eggs, nuts, olive oil, and fruits. He then went to Australia, where he met Thelander, and together they started cooking and eating a diet of Mediterranean and Asian food. Their philosophy is not earth-shattering-eat wholesome food, be physically active, and make time for relaxation. Approximately half of the text is devoted to a discussion of this lifestyle, including suggestions for exercise and relaxation and sample menus. It appears that the authors are self-taught, but the book is sprinkled with results of scholarly studies, some of which are included in a bibliography. The rest of the work contains 150 recipes for pasta, stir-fries, pizza, soups, desserts, etc., which are simple and easy to prepare, with tomatoes, garlic, peppers, fish, chicken, and beans as the main ingredients. Recommended for libraries with patrons who are interested in a lifestyle not just a diet. --Christine Bulson, SUNY at Oneonta Lib. -- Library Journal, May 15, 2007

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (March 6, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470045582
• ISBN-13: 978-0470045589
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 1 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (51 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #66,369 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #36 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > European > Mediterranean
  • #97 in Books > Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Regional & International > Asian

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

91 of 93 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars More than just an extension of the website...it stands well on its own April 5, 2007

By Emily

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

As a fan of the Mediterrasian website and its recipes, I was eager to check out the accompanying book upon its release. While it's referred to on the website as an "extension of the website," it's definitely a book that can stand alone.

The book is wonderful for the recipes alone, but I also found the first half of the book, which provided some background information, reasoning and research behind the Mediterrasian lifestyle, to be interesting reading. It's presented in a non-stuffy, laid back and friendly way, and perfect for people who aren't necessarily looking for a "diet" or structured plan, but some simple ways to live well through food choices and lifestyle.

The Asian and Mediterranean inspired recipes are easy to follow in addition to being delicious. Also, it's a great cookbook for someone who doesn't eat a lot of red meat...it's chock full of seafood and poultry recipes.

Since purchasing this book, I've ordered additional copies for friends and family and will probably order more. Thanks, Ric and Trudy!

65 of 70 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Way of Living that's Better and Easier than a Diet or Exercise Plan July 28, 2007

By Literary Mom

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

It just makes sense. The most delicious food is the most healthful. A few years ago it dawned on me that all my favorite cuisines were either from the Mediterranean or Asian regions. I daydreamed about a "MediterrAsian" restaurant, thinking what a catchy name I had cleverly invented. Surely no one else would ever join such different styles of food together. Or would they? I plunked "mediterrasian" into a search engine and was transported to a place even better than my imaginary restaurant.

Ric and Trudy's website was like an oasis to me. All my life I had never had to worry about my weight, but that changed when I became pregnant at age 29. By the time I found their website, number two was on the way and my metabolism wasn't keeping up. Dieting was completely foreign to me, and being a foodie who loved cooking, I dreaded the idea of having to give up fats like cheese, olives and avocados, or carbs like pasta, potatoes, and fresh fruits. All the popular diet programs either consisted of calorie counting (i.e. small portions of reduced fat or non-fat foods) or of eliminating carbs and eating lots of protein. My dream diet was more along the lines of French Women Don't Get Fat meets Yan Can Cook, but I didn't know how to translate that to every day life, or if it would even be healthy. Joining a gym sounded about as appealing as going to the dentist. Formal exercise and sports were not this bookworm's cup of tea.

So when the Mediterrasian Way presented that third, balanced option, it simply felt right...and had the scientific basis to back it up--not just from recent times, but going back centuries. As I explored the extensive website, it was like coming home--from a nutritional and culinary perspective, it all resonated with my knowledge and experience, gleaned from both my own education and being raised by a health-conscious ethnically diverse cooking-oriented family. Not only did the theory make sense, but the authors had translated it into practical menus and recipes for every day living.

The emphasis on natural movement was something I had always intuited, so it was refreshing to see that validated by the longevity reported in studies of Mediterranean and Asian cultures based on an active (and simultaneously restful) lifestyle combined with healthful cooking. Granted, I couldn't achieve that level of movement with my nose in a book or up against a computer screen all day, but as a mother of little ones and a homemaker in a house with stairs, my once somewhat sedentary existence has been exchanged for a life made up of fairly rigorous hands-on tasks.

I was tempted to print out the whole website, but instead I emailed the authors, thanking them for creating such an amazing resource and suggesting they turn it into a book. Well, I wasn't the only one, so it came as no surprise when about a year later, Ric informed me they were doing just that. I was quite willing to pay to hold a printed and bound version of their website in my hands, but the book is actually much more than that. It's a chronological journey and explanation of The MediterrAsian Way, as well as a treasury of creative meal planning ideas and recipes with pages of mouthwatering full color photographs.

Like the way of life it outlines, the book is light enough to read in a day, but so rich in content that I keep returning to it to absorb the principles and implement the techniques. Because no foods are excluded, this style of cooking and eating lends itself to very versatile and flexible menus.

In a literary sense, it reads more like a guidebook than a textbook, perfect for the armchair traveler, but also meaningful to those of us who've been overseas and are delighted to revisit the flavors and lifestyle we tasted while abroad. Thanks to Ric and Trudy's excellent direction, I have found my MediterrAsian restaurant--right in my own kitchen.

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Book Review: The Mediterrasian Way September 26, 2008

By Kelly Jadon

Format:Hardcover

From: www.BasilAndSpice.com

Book Review: The Mediterrasian Way: A Cookbook and Guide to Health, Weight Loss, and Longevity, Combining the Best Features of Mediterranean and Asian Diets and Lifestyles

Authors Ric Watson and Trudy Thelander (Wiley '07)

Why is it that members of some specific cultures live long healthy lives? Seeking to answer this question, from Down Under comes a phenomenal first book by New Zealanders Ric Watson and Trudy Thelander--The Mediterrasian Way. It is a model of how to live healthily in the modern world using the time-tested cuisines and lifestyles of the Mediterraneans and Asians.

The Mediterrasian Way incorporates the most recent studies regarding nutrition, diet, exercise, and relaxation. Over 150 delicious recipes and beautiful photos of prepared dishes are included. A 14-day meal plan and the MediterrAsian.com website tie-in are also lifestyle change boosters.

Writing from his own experience, author Ric Watson explains how his tragic motorcycle accident altered his physical well being. The road to recovery was long and difficult, but by changing his diet from the standard meat and potatoes to traditional Mediterranean meals, he began to regain his health when doctors believed it was impossible.

The daughter of physicians, Trudy Thelander recalls her family relationship with her sister-in-law, a Chinese-Malaysian, who taught the author her own Asian cooking. Finding similarities between the two cultures, Ric and Trudy researched the basic elements of these 5,000 year old lifestyles. Both cultures include daily physical activity, a base diet of whole grain carbohydrates, fruits, beans, legumes, nuts, olive or vegetable oils, and vegetables. Both consume daily water, tea, and wine in moderation.

Further cutting-edge scientific research cited in their groundbreaking book includes The Seven Countries Study, The China Study, The Lyon Diet Heart Study, among others. The authors developed The MediterrAsian Balanced Meal System (MBMS) based on this background, showing how the Mediterranean or Asian meals are easily prepared, and allow for a greater volume of food with less caloric intake. More importantly, they demonstrate how the MBMS enhances the body's functioning with its use of vegetables, grains, legumes, fruits, and lean protein (poultry, seafood, soy products).

A best example is p. 95 of the book:

Western Style Meal: 1 quarter-pound burger with cheese, 1 large fry, 1 large soda, 1 ice cream sundae (1,679 calories)

Mediterranean Style Meal: Sicilian salmon and pasta with roasted red pepper, zucchini, basil, and pine nuts, 1 slice crusty whole grain bread drizzled with ˝ T extra virgin olive oil, large salad with tomatoes, olives, romaine, and red onion, served with olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette, 1 glass red wine, bowl of mixed berries served with a scoop of sorbet (860 calories)

Asian Style Meal: Bowl of fragrant broccoli and mushroom soup, rice paper roll stuffed with chicken breast, snow pea sprouts, and peppers and served with a soy-sesame dipping sauce, Cantonese shrimp, cashew nut, and mixed vegetable stir-fry served over steamed long-grain rice, 1 glass cold beer, fresh fruit salad with mango, lychees, and pineapple (810 calories)

Each meal is generous portions, includes a drink and even dessert. Amazingly, calorie counts for the Mediterranean and Asian meals are about half that of the Western meal.

Living and eating the Mediterrasian Way can help prevent alzheimer's, stroke, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, and heart disease. It can lead to weight loss, increased energy levels, and a strong immune system; in essence The Mediterrasian Way is the secret to a longer and more enjoyable life.

The reader of The Mediterrasian Way will not just be able to try new recipes, but will understand why it is important to eat these foods. This book is not a diet book, it is a way of life, and should be in every American home for reading, tasting, and experiencing.