Mediterranean Diet Weight Loss Ingredients
You’ll find that Mediterranean Diet weight loss is achieved simply by eating foods you already know are good for you. Along with 30 minutes of exercise a day, start stocking your kitchen with the following ingredients to boost your health and shed your extra weight. But please remember this — even if you eat the healthiest foods on the planet, consuming too many calories each day will cancel out your efforts.
- Olives and olive oil: Extra-virgin olive oil is highest in phytonutrients and healthy fats.
- Dairy: brie, chevre, corvo, feta, haloumi, labane, manchego, milk (sheep’s, goat’s, and buffalo’s ), Parmigiano-Reggiano, pecorino, ricotta, yogurt.
- Legumes: cannellini beans, chickpeas, fava beans, kidney beans, lentils, peas, pine nuts.
- Fresh fruit: apples, apricots, avocados, cherries, clementines, dates, figs, grapefruits, grapes, lemons, melons, mandarin oranges, nectarines, oranges, peaches, pears, pomegranates, strawberries, tangerines, tomatoes.
- Vegetables: artichokes, arugula, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celeriac, celery, chicory, collard greens, cucumbers, dandelion greens, eggplant, fennel, green beans, kale, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, nettles, okra, onions, peas, peppers, potatoes, pumpkin, purslane, radishes, rutabaga, scallions, shallots, spinach, sweet potatoes, turnips, zucchini.
- Whole grains: corn, barley, oats, rice, rye, wheat.
- Herbs & Spices: anise, basil, bay leaf, chiles, cloves, cumin, fennel, garlic, lavender, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, pepper, rosemary, sage, savory, sumac, tarragon, thyme.
- Eggs: chicken, duck, emu, ostrich, quail, turkey.
- Nuts & Seeds: almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, pistachios, sesame seeds, walnuts.
- Fish: abalone, clams, cockles, crab, eel, halibut, lobster, mackerel, mussels, octopus, oysters, salmon, sardines, sea bass, shrimp, squid, tilapia, tuna.
- Red wine (optional) women – maximum of 1 glass daily / men – 2 maximum.