Per the report: The Mediterranean diet is not a specific eating prescription, but rather a general style of eating that emphasizes certain healthy foods, while minimizing unhealthy foods.

The basic mix is a variety of seasonal fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, healthy plant oils, whole grains, legumes (beans), and optional moderate consumption of fish, and / or other animal proteins.

We wrote an in depth newsletter related to the specifics of a Mediterranean style diet on August 28, 2013. It is called Food Without Borders Mediterranean Style.

You can find it in our Newsletter Archives. (Click here to go to the Archive Page). 

Some additional tips though, just in case you don't want to refer to our previous newsletter right this moment:

•   Always saut� food in olive oil or other plant based oils, not butter, and NEVER margarine.
   

• Make your own salad dressings and sauces with first cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, and umeboshi vinegar.
   

• Always choose whole grains instead of refined and processed grains.
   

• Incorporate BEANS into your diet. Add them to soups, salads, and other dishes.
   

• Sprinkle nuts and seeds on everything from cooked grains to desserts.  

•  Eat more fresh produce!! Add additional fresh produce to any recipe. That is what we do here at Wholly Macro! Eat it as a snack too. Include fresh produce in breakfast and desserts as well.  

Our (whole grain) rice dish this week: Brown Rice, Hato Mugi, And Dried Apricot Marinara makes a perfect breakfast (or anytime) food and is loaded with the mildly sweet ~ tart vitamin A rich goodness of dried apricots, which compliment the fresh produce filled marinara sauce perfectly.

And the dessert this week, Sweet Potato Pie With Tofu Whip Cr�me is made from vegetables, so NO GUILT!!! 

I feel a Wholly Macro True Story coming on:

While I was studying at the Kushi Institute a few years ago, as is their tradition, they served dessert two nights a week. You can imagine that it was a BIG deal! On one such night they had a choice of TWO desserts. Two different pies. They both looked so delicious. One was a sweet potato pie, and one was a parsnip pie. I of course wanted to try a piece of each but was feeling way to piggy and embarrassed to do so. My dear friend, with whom I was dining, very sweetly gave me permission to indulge in a piece of each. She said, "Take a piece of each. What can it hurt? They are vegetables"!!

She spoke the truth, and it was a real eye opener for me. My guilt at eating two pieces of pie got in the way of the real truth, which was that the pies were merely vegetables, pureed, then layered atop a crust of nuts and seeds!

They were small pieces!! 

• And our biggest tip of all: Just order your meals from Wholly Macro and all will be provided for you, an abundance of fresh produce, nuts, seeds, whole grains, beans, healthy vegetable oils, and on and on!

While it is so uplifting to read articles about the link between diet and health, like this one from Harvard, I can still see where they seriously lack the true understanding of the power and energy of food.

Harvard often uses such phrases as: The key to a healthy heart and brain is a healthy diet.

But why limit healthy food selection to Mediterranean wisdom only??

Move Over Mediterranean.

We here at Wholly Macro like to borrow our food wisdom from ALL traditional cultures.

At least Harvard is on the right track though. For that we are so grateful.  (Maybe they will even catch up to us someday!!) (Kidding. We think!!). It is always good to have such a revered medical institution as Harvard on our side!

May health, happiness, and prosperity be your unavoidable natural state and your ongoing daily experience.

Gayle and Jaime / Wholly Macro