The Mediterranean diet has been praised for its health benefits. We don’t know if it’s the perfect diet for you, but we do appreciate the low-carb recipes. The Mediterranean diet focuses mostly on fish, oils and vegetables, de-emphasizing grain and sugars.
We will take a look at vegetarian recipes in a future post, but, for today’s post, we’re focusing on meat and fish dishes. Many of us lean more toward hearty meals in the winter and vegetarian options in the warm months. Right now, with the brutally cold weather that’s been plaguing parts of America, let’s have a look at some delicious recipes fit for omnivores.
With the gorgeous Mediterranean sea stretching throughout the region, it’s unsurprising that fish is king of the animal proteins in the cuisine. Check out these two great recipes!
We love this recipe from A Pinch of Healthy for two reasons. 1) You can use whatever type of fish you like best. 2) Cooking in foil packets makes the cooking process easy and the cleanup process virtually nonexistent! Even with decadent olives and feta this light meal still only comes to 210 calories and 4 grams of carbohydrates per serving. Check out the recipe here.
Because cod comes predominantly from cold waters, one doesn’t immediately associate it with the warm Mediterranean region. However, the flavor profile of this stew is unmistakable. This soup from Carb Manager is perfect for cold nights when you want to be warmed up and imagine yourself on a beach. With 261 calories and nine grams of carbs, you can’t go wrong with this meal. Read the recipe here.
Chicken is a favorite staple of ours. While not as popular as seafood, there are a lot of amazing Mediterranean recipes out there for poultry.
This recipe from Jen Reviews is excellent on several different levels. This is a family recipe, using a crockpot for chicken thigh. Many recipes on the internet as just rehashed from other sites but this is original. Crockpots are great for those days when you just can’t spend time in the kitchen. Finally, chicken thighs carry so much more flavor than white meat before being seasoned. This meal takes four hours to cook, but the chef only participates for fifteen minutes! The recipe yields six servings with 199 calories and 9 grams of carbs. Get the recipe here.
Shawarma maybe more Middle Eastern than Mediterranean, but with its similarity to gyro, it can be found at most Mediterranean restaurants. We like this recipe from Noshtastic because it gives instructions for how to cook the meat in three different ways. That level of flexibility is rarely seen. As this is the recipe for only the chicken, you can decide if you want to serve it in a low-carb pita, with cauliflower mash or on a salad. It’s up to you! See the recipe here.
Red meat is not frequently featured in the fish and vegetable-heavy diet, but there are two obvious exceptions: lamb shanks and gyro. These dishes are a keto-followers delight and are perfect for cold nights.
As gyro is traditionally cooked on an upright spit means that any home version is going to be different. But, these meatballs from Simply So Healthy are so versatile that they lend themselves to being served in a flatbread, as an appetizer or with a side of vegetable noodles! Four meatballs have 237 calories and only two grams of carbs. Get the recipes here.
Lamb shanks are decadently delicious and incredibly impressive on a plate. However, they aren’t that hard or labor intensive to cook. If you brown the meat beforehand, you can even prepare this recipe from Genius Kitchen in a crockpot. Delicious and lemony, our favorite way to serve lamb shanks is with roasted broccoli as the florets soak up the sauce. A serving has 319 calories and six and a half grams of carbs. Read the recipe here.
