{"id":10956,"date":"2022-01-31T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-31T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=10956"},"modified":"2022-01-30T22:42:07","modified_gmt":"2022-01-31T03:42:07","slug":"how-to-add-1-key-piece-of-the-mediterranean-diet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=10956","title":{"rendered":"How To Add 1 Key Piece of the Mediterranean Diet"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"MediterraneanIt’s well known that the Mediterranean dietary lifestyle is one of the healthiest on the planet. But it can be overwhelming to think about changing your entire food culture and habits to suit this approach.<\/p>\n

So, one way to get started is to just work on one element at a time. One of the key pieces of this dietary patter are legumes (a class of vegetables that includes beans, peas and lentils).\u00a0<\/p>\n

They’re so amazingly healthy for you, being low in fat, containing no cholesterol, and being high in folate, potassium, iron and magnesium. They also contain beneficial fats and soluble and insoluble fiber. A good source of protein, legumes can be a healthy substitute for meat, which has more fat and cholesterol.<\/span><\/p>\n

And all that’s great, you say, but … what do I actually do?\u00a0<\/div>\n
\u00a0<\/div>\n

Prep Work<\/h3>\n

\"WoodenThe most cost-friendly versions are dried beans and legumes. Just know that with the exceptions of black-eyed peas and lentils, many recipes will have you soak them in water to rehydrate them for quicker, more even cooking. But honestly, legumes are SO versatile, there are many ways to approach them.\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Slow soak.<\/strong> In a stockpot, cover 1 pound dried beans with 10 cups water. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hou or overnight.<\/li>\n
  • Quick soak.<\/strong>\u00a0In a stockpot, bring 1 pound of dried beans and 10 cups of water to a boil. Cover and set aside and let beans soak for one to four hours at room temperature.<\/li>\n
  • No soak.<\/strong>\u00a0This can require a longer cooking time, and gas-forming carbohydrate may be more present. Be sure you rinse the beans well before beginning to cook them.<\/li>\n
  • Pro tip.<\/strong> When I make my beans, I often soak them in a broth like chicken stock for an amazing flavor boost.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \u00a0<\/h3>\n

    Cooking tips<\/h3>\n

    Those dry beans are really going to soak up a lot of fluid.\u00a0 So cover them\u00a0with three times their volume of fresh water before you start cooking them. <\/p>\n

    Once they start simmering, you might want to lid the pot to avoid additional water loss. Just check in frequently to see if they’re soaking up all your fluid! If so, no worries, just add a bit more fluid.

    You can season with bay leaves, garlic, ginger, or other herbs such as rosemary. But if you’re adding something acidic like lemon juice, tomatoes, or vinegar, wait until the beans are already tender to add those. If these ingredients are added too early, they can make the beans tough and slow the cooking process.<\/span>

    They are done when you can mash them easily between your fingers or with a fork.\u00a0

    By the way, regarding cost, 1 pound of dried beans are super inexpensive and give you about 5 – 6 cups of cooked beans. This means you’re paying 0.15 cents\/serving. By contrast, if you buy a standard 15.5 ounce can of beans, it will give you only 1 2\/3 cups of beans, coming to about twice as expensive at 0.34 cents\/serving.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n

    Adding more legumes to your diet<\/h3>\n

    Consider these ways to incorporate more legumes into your meals and snacks:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Prepare soups, stews and casseroles that feature legumes.<\/li>\n
    • Use pureed beans as the basis for dips and spreads.<\/li>\n
    • Add chickpeas or black beans to salads. If you typically buy a salad at work and no beans are available, bring your own from home in a small container.<\/li>\n
    • Add cooked beans to meatballs or burgers.<\/li>\n
    • Snack on a handful of soy nuts rather than on chips or crackers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      If you can’t find a particular type of legume in the store, you can easily substitute one type of legume for another. For example, pinto and black beans are good substitutes for red kidney beans. And cannellini, lima beans and navy beans are easily interchangeable.<\/p>\n

      Experiment with what types of legumes you like best in your recipes to make your meals and snacks both nutritious and interesting.<\/p>\n

      \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      It’s well known that the Mediterranean dietary lifestyle is one of the healthiest on the planet. But it can be overwhelming to think about changing your entire food culture and … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":9828,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[585,380],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-heart-health","category-recipes"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Med-Diet-Foods.jpg?fit=2000%2C1500&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7Qv5g-2QI","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12084,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=12084","url_meta":{"origin":10956,"position":0},"title":"Mediterranean Diets Associated with Fewer Alzheimer\u2019s Plaques and Tangles","author":"Alex Stiegel","date":"March 20, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Here's a good rule of thumb: Do what healthy people do, and you'll get their results. The Mediterranean dietary lifestyle famously produces some of the healthiest people on the planet, and scientists at the American Academy of Neurology show that it's also associated with fewer plaques thought to cause Alzheimer\u2019s.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Alzheimers-Trees-Lancaster-University-e1678965579407-6qT1n0.jpeg?fit=1000%2C635&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Alzheimers-Trees-Lancaster-University-e1678965579407-6qT1n0.jpeg?fit=1000%2C635&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Alzheimers-Trees-Lancaster-University-e1678965579407-6qT1n0.jpeg?fit=1000%2C635&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/Alzheimers-Trees-Lancaster-University-e1678965579407-6qT1n0.jpeg?fit=1000%2C635&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2129,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=2129","url_meta":{"origin":10956,"position":1},"title":"Mayo Clinic Weighs in on the Mediterranean diet","author":"Will Clower","date":"March 21, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The Mediterranean diet has been in the news a lot lately, and now our mainstream health stake-holders are weighing in on the plan. Below is a brief summary put together by this group.\u00a0Bottom line?\u00a0The Mediterranean diet is a heart-healthy eating plan combining elements of Mediterranean-style cooking. Here's how to adopt\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.medcitynews.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/mayoclinic_logo.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1893,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=1893","url_meta":{"origin":10956,"position":2},"title":"Ask Will: Cholesterol","author":"Will Clower","date":"December 17, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Dear Will,\u00a0Our son had his blood tested last week and has high cholesterol\u2026so weird\u2026he is only 10.\u00a0\u00a0My wife is really good about providing a balanced, healthy diet to the kids (has a hard time with me) but he still appears to have some more specific dietary needs.\u00a0\u00a0The Mediterranean diet, from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Kid2BMaking_the_right_food_choice.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1917,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=1917","url_meta":{"origin":10956,"position":3},"title":"Americans diets are improving a bit (sort of)","author":"Will Clower","date":"November 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The good news is that our diets have improved steadily over the past decade. The bad news, however, is that there is a disparity in overall dietary quality between different socioeconomic, racial and ethnic groups, which continues to grow.Follow @willclowerThe study, conducted by a research team from the Harvard School\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-Yg3bu_Qf6UM\/VGN7zTuoZjI\/AAAAAAAAD_s\/sq8KRcQW1gY\/s320\/TraysOfProcessedFoodOnTable.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1932,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=1932","url_meta":{"origin":10956,"position":4},"title":"Med Diet not just for prevention, beats low fat diet on treatment","author":"Will Clower","date":"October 21, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"We've known for a long time that the Mediterranean diet is good for prevention, to prevent problems like diabetes ... and high blood pressure ... and heart disease ... and Metabolic syndrome ... and boring tasteless food ... from happening to you in the first place.\u00a0Follow @willclowerBut this study\u00a0shows that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.willclower.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/MedDietTable.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4748,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=4748","url_meta":{"origin":10956,"position":5},"title":"Mediterranean diet high in healthy fat NOT associated with weight gain","author":"Will Clower","date":"December 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Focus on low-fat diets and lack of differentiation between healthy and unhealthy fat has led to \u2018paradoxical policies\u2019 about healthy eating. Eating a non-calorie restricted Mediterranean diet high in vegetable fats such as olive oil or nuts does not lead to significant weight gain compared to a low-fat diet, according\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Articles","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?cat=494"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10956"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10956\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10957,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10956\/revisions\/10957"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/9828"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}