What Are The Weekly Meal Menu For Mediterranean Diet?

The Mediterranean diet is, in addition to the eating pattern typical of our ancestors, an excellent alternative when we seek to take care of our health or even lose weight. Therefore, in the weekly meal diet for this occasion, we leave a Mediterranean menu for all those who seek to eat healthier.

Foods Which Are In The Mediterranean Diet Part

There is no one Mediterranean diet since the foods that compensate for it will depend on the gastronomy of the countries of the Mediterranean basin. However, we gathered a series of common characteristics that we mention below:

• Low intake of saturated fats, such as those in butter, whole milk, and red meat.
• High consumption of monounsaturated fats, such as those in olive oil.
• A good balance between omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids.
• Low contribution of protein derived from red meat.
• High intake of antioxidants in fruits, vegetables, virgin olive oil, spices, and herbs.
• High fiber intake from vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts, and legumes.

In addition, a team of experts grouped the bioactive compounds present in the Mediterranean diet responsible for the health benefits. These include antioxidants, red, purple, and yellow pigments, vitamin E, and vitamin C.

Also part of this group is monounsaturated fats, omega 3 and omega 6, phytosterols abundant in legumes, vegetable oils, and nuts that lower LDL cholesterol. Other that are elements of the bioactives are probiotics.

Health Benefits Of The Mediterranean Diet

We talk about the Mediterranean diet, but it is more about a change in your habits than a strict diet. A new way of eating that will only bring good things to your body. And it is that studies such as PREDIMED (Prevention with Mediterranean Diet) have reached very interesting conclusions for the heart and brain.

Strengthen Your Heart

It reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases due to the unsaturated fatty acids that nuts or oily fish have combined with the nitrates from vegetables. The PREDIMED study points out, for example, that countries that consume a lot of fish, such as Spain and Japan, show low mortality from cardiovascular diseases.

Lower Cholesterol

Reduce the amount of ‘bad’ in the blood by eating abundant fish and vegetables and eliminating or eating less red meat.

Help Your Ideal Weight

The Mediterranean diet is very varied and low in calories. If you combine it with physical exercise, you can get closer to your ideal weight. Fighting against being overweight also removes many diseases that worsen with poor physical shape.

Good For Diabetes

Glucose levels in the body are regulated by the presence of complex carbohydrates on the menu, such as whole grains or high-fiber foods. A substudy of the PREDIMED project has also observed that people who eat whole grains have a higher insulin concentration in their blood—key factors for the prevention of type 2 diabetes.

Enhance Memory

The Mediterranean diet improves cognitive function with foods that enhance memory, such as nuts with their fatty acids or oily fish.

Avoid Mental Deterioration

Green leafy vegetables, which are rich in antioxidants, prevent cell degradation. Eating at least one serving a day of these types of vegetables helps delay the cognitive decline associated with aging.

It Satisfies You

The main problem for many when we want to lose weight is that we are always hungry. In the Mediterranean diet, carbohydrates and fiber are satiating. Here is a list of satiating foods.

Weekly Meal Menu For Mediterranean Diet

The first thing to remember is that the Mediterranean diet is based on the daily consumption of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables, besides using olive oil as a fatty substance as a priority.

The consumption of red meat is minimal. Instead, poultry and fish are consumed, and eggs, dairy products, and legumes are often accompanied by other vegetable protein sources such as seeds and nuts that also provide healthy fats to the body.

Thus, considering these ingredients as the basics of a weekly meal menu in the best Mediterranean diet style, we present our suggestion below:

MONDAY

• Breakfast: Fried or boiled eggs with slices of whole wheat toast (if possible, a different cereal than wheat), avocado, and roasted tomatoes.
• Lunch: Green salad (mixture of leaves) with cherry tomato and olives; you can add olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing. Accompany with whole wheat pita bread and lentils.
• Dinner: Whole-grain homemade pizza with tomato sauce, grilled vegetables, and low-fat cheese as a topping. You can add chicken, tuna, low-sodium ham, or seeds.

TUESDAY

• Breakfast: Greek yogurt with kiwi and seeds such as almonds or walnuts.
• Lunch: Grain bread sandwich with roasted vegetables such as eggplant, bell pepper, and onion; you can add humus or avocado.
• Dinner: Try to intake grilled salmon or tuna (fish market) with spices, pepper, and garlic, accompanied by a baked potato cooked with olive oil and spices.

WEDNESDAY

• Breakfast: Whole oat flakes or muesli with cinnamon, red fruits, pistachios, and honey or dates.
• Lunch: Legumes cooked with spices or seasonings and arugula salad with olive oil, cucumber, cherry tomato, and fetta or low-fat cheese.
• Dinner: Eat whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce, olive oil, and cooked or sautéed vegetables. You can add Parmesan cheese. Or creamy pasta with mushrooms.

THURSDAY

• Breakfast: Scrambled egg or omelet with pepper, onion, and tomato accompanied by fresh cheese or avocado.
• Food: Anchovies quisadas with olive oil and multigrade bread. Accompany with kale and tomato salad.
• Dinner: Raw or cooked spinach with artichoke stewed with olive oil, garlic powder, and spices.

FRIDAY

• Breakfast: Green apple with natural yogurt, cinnamon, and honey, sunflower, pepitas, or chia seeds.
• Lunch: Steamed quinoa with bell pepper, dehydrated tomatoes, and olives. Accompany with legumes: chickpeas toasted or seasoned with spices, goat cheese, or avocado.
• Dinner: Kale salad with tomato, cucumber, olives, lemon juice, and Parmesan. Accompany with sardines or stewed or baked fish fillet.

SATURDAY

• Breakfast: Toasted bread with goat cheese or ricotta and, as a topping, fruit such as blueberries or chopped figs.
• Lunch: Vegetables in tomato sauce and grilled or cooked chicken with lemon juice and olive oil.
• Dinner: Please take mixed vegetables sautéed in olive oil and seasoned with herbs with couscous or tabbouleh or stewed whole grain mix.

SUNDAY

• Breakfast: Whole oatmeal cooked in water with strawberry and maple syrup or peanut butter. Add cinnamon.
• Lunch: Stewed pumpkins with potatoes in tomato and herb sauce or baked sweet potato.
• Dinner: Broccoli salad with white fish stewed in olive oil.
• Snacks on Sunday: seeds, fruit, nuts, yogurt, hummus, avocado, or dehydrated fruit.

With this weekly menu plan typical of the Mediterranean diet, we can obtain many benefits. To achieve this, it is essential to resort to fresh and seasonal foods and avoid processed and ultra-processed foods daily.

For the weekly diet plan to be effective, as always, we recommend adapting portions and recipes to the particularities of each one to individualize the Mediterranean menu and obtain better results.