Mediterranean Diet Recipe - Contadina, California Olive Industry and Beringer Vineyards Pork Brochettes

Contadina, California Olive Industry and Beringer Vineyards Pork Brochettes

Ingredients
2 pounds pork, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes; 1/2 cup olive oil;1 tablespoon paprika; 2 tablespoons ground cumin; 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme; 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper; 1 teaspoon oregano; 2 teaspoons minced garlic. Place the meat in a non-reactive container.

In a small frying pan over low heat, warm together the oil and all the remaining ingredients. Let cool and rub the spice mixture on the meat to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bring the meat to room temperature. Prepare a fire in a charcoal grill or preheat a broiler.

Thread the meat onto skewers and place on the grill rack or on a broiler tray in the broiler. Grill or broil, turning once, until done to taste, about four minutes per side for medium-rare.

Transfer to a warmed platter and serve. Makes four servings.

Notes: These spicy pork morsels, cut in smaller 1-inch cubes, are served at tapas bars all over Spain. The marinade can also be rubbed on a boneless pork loin which can be roasted or grilled.


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Mediterranean Diet Recipe - Skillet Chicken Cacciatore

Skillet Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients
8 ounces dry pasta (linguine, fettucine or spaghetti); 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced;1 cup sliced red onion; 1 medium green bell pepper, cut into strips; 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (3 to 4); 1/4 cup dry white wine (such as chablis and riesling); 1 3/4 cups (14.5-ounce can) pasta-ready, chunky tomatoes with mushrooms; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil; 1/4 cup sliced ripe (black) olives; Additional olives for garnish. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and keep warm.

In a large skillet heat oil. Sauté garlic, onion and bell pepper for one minute. Add chicken and cook over medium-high heat for six to eight minutes or until chicken is cooked.

Add wine and tomatoes, including their juice. Add salt and pepper. Cook five minutes. Serve over pasta. Sprinkle with basil and ripe olives. Makes six servings.


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Mediterranean Diet Recipe - CeCe Sullivan, Home Economist Seattle Times Rigatoni with Creamy Tomato Sauce

CeCe Sullivan, Home Economist Seattle Times Rigatoni with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Ingredients
8 ounces dry pasta (rigatoni or penne); 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1/2 cup diced onion; 2 tablespoons dry vermouth (wine) or white wine 1 3/4 cups (14.5-ounce can); pasta-ready chunky tomatoes, primavera style; 1/2 cup whipping cream;1 cup ripe (black) olives, halved;1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese; 1/4 cup sliced green onion. Cook pasta according to pacakge directions. Drain and keep warm.

In a large skillet heat oil. Sauté onion for four to five minutes. Onion should sizzle as it cooks. Add vermouth. Cook one minute. Stir in tomatoes and their juice, cream, pasta, olives and Parmesan cheese. Toss well. Sprinkle with green onions. Makes four servings.


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The Most Alluring Elements of Mediterranean Diet

Two seemingly alluring elements of the Mediterranean diet are the more liberal allowances of fat and alcohol when compared with the U.S. pyramid.

The Mediterranean plan lists fat - principally olive oil - midway down the pyramid is at the small top portion of the American version, in the ''use sparingly'' category.

Alcohol in the form of wine - one to two glasses for men, one for women per day, if alcohol does not pose a health risk - is an optional part of the Mediterranean diet. Alcohol is not included anywhere in the U.S. pyramid. However, for Americans who choose to drink, the U.S. Dietary Guidelines suggests only ''moderation'' - but with no comment on how much or how often.

Lest Americans be tempted to install casks of wine and olive oil in their dining rooms, they should contemplate the Mediterranean diet's remaining characteristics, which need to be followed to be effective. They include:

Eat an abundance of food from plant sources, including fruits and vegetables, potatoes, breads and grains, beans, nuts and seeds.

Emphasize eating a variety of minimally processed and, wherever possible, seasonally fresh and locally grown foods.

Total fat ranging from less than 25 percent to more than 35 percent of total calories, with saturated fat no more than 6 percent to 7 percent of total calories.

Daily, consume low to moderate amounts of fish and poultry (recent research suggesting fish somewhat favored over poultry) and from none to four eggs a week, including those used in cooking and baking fresh fruit as the typical dessert. Sweets with a noteworthy amount of sugar (time and again as honey) and saturated fat should not be taken more than a few times weekly.

Eat red meat only a few times per month. (Recent research suggests that if red meat is eaten, its consumption should be limited to a maximum of 12 ounces to 16 ounces per monthean versions may be preferable where flavor is acceptable.) Engage in regular physical activity at a level which promotes healthy weight, fitness and well-being.


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Mediterranean Diet Would Be Better Off Left Unimported

Perhaps it sounds as though the Mediterranean diet would be better off left unimported since two of its mainstays, olive oil and wine, would be of questionable value "plugged into" the American dietary pattern. However, there's no need to reject wholesale the adoption of Mediterranean eating habits. In fact, we would do well to follow suit in many, if not most, of their dining customs; much about the way Mediterranean's ate in the 1950s and 60s falls right in line with the 1993 dietary guidelines espoused by virtually every major health-promoting organization in this country. Consider the current call in the U.S. to cut back on saturated fat. Presently, saturated fat makes up some 13 percent of our calories, in large part because we eat large amounts of flesh foods--more than a half pound per person per day or upward of three and a half pounds per week. In the Mediterranean, on the other hand, saturated fat contributed only 7 to 8 percent of calories. It's not hard to see why. On Crete, the people had only about one ounce of red meat and poultry combined each day, or about half a pound per week. And in southern Italy, consumption of red meat, poultry, and fish came to just over two ounces a day, or less than a pound of flesh foods per week.

The difference in flesh food intake--and thereby saturated fat consumption--is highly significant, considering that some studies show that when people make various dietary modifications to reduce their risk for heart disease, the drop in saturated fat consumption by itself accounts for fully 60 to 80 percent of the drop in blood cholesterol levels. Another way of looking at it: even if Americans could cut back to no more than six ounces of flesh foods a day as the federal government's Dietary Guidelines recommend the beneficial changes in cholesterol would be substantial.

Along with just small amounts of meat, fish, and poultry, the people in Crete and southern Italy ate very little in the way of Trans fatty acids, which are formed when liquid vegetable oils are hardened via a process called hydrogenation and, like saturated fat, can raise blood cholesterol. What the rural residents of Crete and southern Italy did eat were about twice as many fruits and vegetables as Americans currently do. That's an important difference because fruits and vegetables are relatively high in soluble fiber--the kind found in oat bran--which is known to be helpful in keeping down blood cholesterol levels.

Of course, fruits and vegetables are also high in the anti-oxidant nutrients vitamin C and betacarotene, which some scientists believe may reduce the risk of heart disease by mitigating the negative effects of "bad" LDL-cholesterol. The thinking is that these anti-oxidants keep LDL-cholesterol from undergoing a process called oxidation, which makes it more likely to stick to artery walls and cause blockages that can stop the flow of blood to and from the heart. These same substances are believed, in addition, to help protect against biochemical changes that could promote the growth of various cancers.

Fruits and vegetables also contain a number of biologically active non-nutrient substances that are thought to possibly exert a health-promoting effect. These include compounds called bioflavonoids, anthocyanines, and tannins.


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Mediterranean Diet the World's Healthiest Cuisine

Mediterranean Diet has been called the world's healthiest cuisine. A delicious alternative for lifelong health. Healthy home cooking.

It is the rage among cookbook authors, trendy chefs, gourmets and food groupies, health-conscious consumers and even some members of the medical profession.

''It'' is the Mediterranean diet, which is catching on here slowly but surely. The diet dates to the late 1950s, when scientists examined the health, eating habits and lifestyles of residents of the Greek island of Crete. Primarily farmers, the Cretans had rates of heart disease and various types of cancer that were among the lowest in the world - despite the facts that approximately 40 percent of their daily calories came from fat and they drank four times as much wine as Americans do today.

And although medical services were limited, the island inhabitants' life expectancies were among the highest in the world.

Researchers have continued to examine the Cretan diet, similar to what was eaten in much of Greece and southern Italy 40 years ago and followed with variations in parts of Spain and Portugal, southern France, and other parts of Italy, North Africa (particularly Morocco and Tunisia), Turkey, the Balkan region and in the Middle East, especially Lebanon and Syria.

A detailed breakdown of the Mediterranean diet has evolved, culminating in "The Traditional Healthy Mediterranean Diet Pyramid." The plan was unveiled earlier this summer by the World Health Organization, the Harvard School of Public Health and Oldways Preservation & Exchange Trust, a food think tank based in Boston.

The pyramid, patterned after the educational graphic for Americans released 2 1/2 years ago by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is the first in a series. The three sponsoring organizations say the plan will "illustrate graphically the healthful traditional food and dietary patterns of various cultures and regions of the world."

(Differences between the new pyramids and the U.S. version, the sponsors note, are considered "refinements," although they are "preliminary and subject to modification.")


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Mediterranean Diet Recipe - Mediterranean Foods 3025 S. 83rd Plaza Country-Style Grilled Eggplant

Mediterranean Foods 3025 S. 83rd Plaza Country-Style Grilled Eggplant

Ingredients
1 1/2-pound eggplant or 2 eggplants (3/4 pound each); Salt 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 1 tablespoon chopped parsley ;1 tablespoon slivered basil leaves; 2 tablespoons slivered spearmint leaves; 2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced; Freshly ground black pepper; Optional: Vinegar Hull the eggplant and cut into 1-inch thick rounds. Soak the eggplant in cold, salted water (two tablespoons salt to one quart water) for 30 minutes or until the eggplant leaches brown juices.

Light hardwood charcoal and when there are white coals rinse the eggplant slices. Drain and place on the grid but not directly over the coals to avoid charring the flesh.

Cover and grill the slices, turning occasionally, until golden brown and completely cooked, about 30 minutes. The slower the cooking the creamier the centers.

Transfer the slices to a flat dish, sprinkle with olive oil, herbs, garlic and pepper. Let the dish stand at least four hours, turning the slices occasionally. If desired, drizzle with a few drops of vinegar.


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Mediterranean Diet Recipe - Chick Pea Dip (Hummus)

Chick Pea Dip (Hummus)

Ingredients: 1 cup dry chick peas (also called garbanzo beans); 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 cup sesame seed paste; 1/3 cup lemon juice; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 2 cloves garlic, finely minced; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley; 1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper; Salt to taste; Pita bread (pocket bread), about 6 small loaves.

Soak the dry chick peas with warm water overnight or for eight hours.

Drain and rinse the chick peas. Add baking soda to chick peas and let stand 15 minutes. Place chick peas in a deep pan. Add enough hot water until it is 2 inches above the level of the peas.

Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and cook 30 minutes or until chick peas are tender. Remove and discard any shells that float on top of the water.

Reserve two tablespoons cooked chick peas for garnish.

Rinse remaining cooked chick peas. Place in a blender with minced garlic and process on low speed until crushed. Remove chick peas from blender.

Thoroughly mix with tahini, lemon juice and salt. Spread on a flat serving plate, making outer edge thicker than the middle. On top, in three to four places, place the reserved two tablespoons of chick peas.

Sprinkle with parsley and red pepper. Pour olive oil on top. Serve with pita bread. Makes six servings.


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Mediterranean Diet Recipe - Baked Fish with Bread Crumbs and Tomatoes

Baked Fish with Bread Crumbs and Tomatoes

Ingredients: 2 pounds firm white fish fillets or steaks; 6 tablespoons olive oil; 1 tablespoon lemon juice; Salt and freshly ground pepper, 2 cups peeled, seeded and chopped tomatoes; 4 cloves garlic, finely minced; 1/2 cup dry white wine; 1 tablespoon sugar or honey; 4 tablespoons chopped fresh, flat-leaf (Italian) parsley Optional: 1 teaspoon dried oregano or ground cinnamon; 1 cup fine dried bread crumbs.


Arrange the fish in a baking dish in which the fillets or steaks fit in a single layer. In a small bowl whisk together two tablespoons of the oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste and pour over the fish. Let stand for about 30 minutes at room temperature.

Meanwhile preheat an oven to 400 degrees.

In a saucepan over medium heat combine tomatoes, garlic, wine, sugar or honey, parsley and oregano or cinnamon, if using. Bring to a simmer and cook about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Scatter bread crumbs evenly over the top. Drizzle with remaining four tablespoons oil. Bake until fish is cooked through and bread crumbs are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Serve immediately. Makes four servings.

Notes: This recipe is from the Greek island of Spetsai. The elements are simple: impeccably fresh fish, flavorful vine-ripened tomatoes and good-quality bread crumbs. Serve hot or cold.


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Mediterranean Diet Recipe

Recipe 1
CeCe Sullivan, Home Economist Seattle Times Rigatoni with Creamy Tomato Sauce

Ingredients: 8 ounces dry pasta (rigatoni or penne); 1 tablespoon olive oil; 1/2 cup diced onion; 2 tablespoons dry vermouth (wine) or white wine 1 3/4 cups (14.5-ounce can); pasta-ready chunky tomatoes, primavera style; 1/2 cup whipping cream;1 cup ripe (black) olives, halved;1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese; 1/4 cup sliced green onion. Cook pasta according to pacakge directions. Drain and keep warm.

In a large skillet heat oil. Sauté onion for four to five minutes. Onion should sizzle as it cooks. Add vermouth. Cook one minute. Stir in tomatoes and their juice, cream, pasta, olives and Parmesan cheese. Toss well. Sprinkle with green onions. Makes four servings.


Recipe 2
Skillet Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients: 8 ounces dry pasta (linguine, fettucine or spaghetti); 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced;1 cup sliced red onion; 1 medium green bell pepper, cut into strips; 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (3 to 4); 1/4 cup dry white wine (such as chablis and riesling); 1 3/4 cups (14.5-ounce can) pasta-ready, chunky tomatoes with mushrooms; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil; 1/4 cup sliced ripe (black) olives; Additional olives for garnish. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and keep warm.

In a large skillet heat oil. Sauté garlic, onion and bell pepper for one minute. Add chicken and cook over medium-high heat for six to eight minutes or until chicken is cooked.

Add wine and tomatoes, including their juice. Add salt and pepper. Cook five minutes. Serve over pasta. Sprinkle with basil and ripe olives. Makes six servings.


Recipe 3
Contadina, California Olive Industry and Beringer Vineyards Pork Brochettes

Ingredients: 2 pounds pork, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes; 1/2 cup olive oil;1 tablespoon paprika; 2 tablespoons ground cumin; 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme; 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper; 1 teaspoon oregano; 2 teaspoons minced garlic. Place the meat in a non-reactive container.

In a small frying pan over low heat, warm together the oil and all the remaining ingredients. Let cool and rub the spice mixture on the meat to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bring the meat to room temperature. Prepare a fire in a charcoal grill or preheat a broiler.

Thread the meat onto skewers and place on the grill rack or on a broiler tray in the broiler. Grill or broil, turning once, until done to taste, about four minutes per side for medium-rare.

Transfer to a warmed platter and serve. Makes four servings.

Notes: These spicy pork morsels, cut in smaller 1-inch cubes, are served at tapas bars all over Spain. The marinade can also be rubbed on a boneless pork loin which can be roasted or grilled.

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Mediterranean Diet Helpful to Resist Heart Diseases

Lately, there has been much talk in nutrition circles about the Mediterranean diet.
There is something to be learned from the way people ate in the first half of the century in Greece, Italy, southern France, Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Their diets and lifestyles were definitely heart-healthy.

Unfortunately, even the people in these countries don't enjoy the health they once did. Diets have changed and their lifestyles, like ours, are less active now that television and labor-saving devices are common.

Keeping that in mind, here are some heart-healthy features of the Mediterranean diet that we can learn from:

• It was based primarily on foods prepared from locally grown crops, including grain-based foods (such as rice, pasta), legumes, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds.

• Lots of whole-grain bread was eaten plain, without butter or margarine.

• Olive oil was used liberally and almost exclusively as the source of dietary fat.
Since olive oil is low in saturated fat, the total diet was low in saturated fat. We now know that oils such as olive and canola oil, which are high in monounsaturated fat, help, raise the good HDL blood cholesterol while keeping the bad LDL cholesterol low. These oils also contain vitamin E, an antioxidant thought to promote heart health. However, we can't use olive oil as liberally as they did because we aren't as physically active. If you want to incorporate more olive oil into your diet, substitute it for other oils and fats in your diet. Keep in mind, though, that the main objective is to use less fat over-all.

• The Mediterranean people ate very little meat, fish, poultry and eggs, which helped to keep their saturated fat intake low. When you include these foods in your diet, choose lean cuts of meat, use smaller amounts, and avoid battering and frying chicken and fish.

• They ate small amounts of dairy foods, mostly cheese and yogurt. This also helped to keep their saturated fat intake low. Today, we can eat these foods a little more liberally because lower-fat dairy products are available.

• They drank wine in moderation with meals. However, be aware that while red wine may have some small benefit for heart health, alcohol is known to raise blood pressure.

• They used lots of garlic and herbs, which are thought to have some effect on heart health. As little as one clove of garlic a day has been known to lower cholesterol. (What it does for your love life is another matter.)

• They worked at physically demanding jobs and didn't have the cars and modern conveniences we have. We can't turn the clock back, but the message for us is to be as physically active as possible every day.

• Very important and likely to be ignored today is the fact that eating was a pleasurable social event often followed by a siesta. These habits may have played a role in relieving stress. While siestas are probably out for most of us, we can learn to relax and to enjoy food and eating more.


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Mediterranean Diet Cooking Books

Like armchair quarterbacks who imagine the possible plays of a football team during a televised game, the readers of Mediterranean cookbooks imagine the sights and the tastes of the region's finest fare.

Unlike the armchair quarterbacks who may never direct a team, armchair cooks usually have the option to tackle a recipe. The pleasures of the table also can be replayed with the same recipe.

Three standout cookbooks featuring Mediterranean cookery are
1) The Mediterranean Diet Cookbook: A Delicious Alternative for Lifelong Health by Nancy Harmon Jenkins

2)
Mediterranean Cooking Revised With 75 New Recipes by Paula Wolfert

3) Complete Mediterranean The Beautiful Cookbook by Joyce Goldstein and Ayla Algar.

Ms. Jenkins writes engagingly of the foods, the people and the history of the Mediterranean. Her book is nothing like a typical diet book, outlining ways to lose weight. Instead, her book explores the pleasures of the total diet and Mediterranean lifestyle.

Her anecdotes about wonderful meals created in kitchens with little more than a few dented pans encourage timid cooks.

Ms. Jenkins provides helpful guidelines for the selection and substitution of ingredients and offers recipe instructions geared to American kitchens and typical household equipment.

She writes that the best couscous, for example, is fine-grain Diafra variety from Morocco and, to her knowledge, is not imported to this country. A couscoussiere is a special two-part pot for preparing couscous.

The pot can be fabricated in American kitchens with a stockpot for the bottom and a colander that will just fit into the top. The colander should be lined with a double layer of cheesecloth to keep the grains from falling through the holes. A tight seal between the bottom and top is important to force the steam through the holes of the top and into the couscous.

Ms. Wolfert's updated collection of Mediterranean recipes emphasizes the traditional recipes of the region. When she first wrote the book in the 1970s, she worried that traditional foods were fading.

"Happily, it has turned out, I was wrong," Ms. Wolfert wrote in her introduction. "Mediterranean cooking is, I am pleased to report, very much alive. I underestimated the pull of age-old culinary traditions and longings of Mediterranean peoples to regain and recapture their identities."

"Simple authentic Mediterranean dishes are all the rage today."



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Mediterranean Cooking Books: Point Of Interest for All

Anthropologists, medical scientists and food writers study the Mediterranean diet cooking books. Better still, urban people have rediscovered and revived them. Now, nearly twenty years later, we find in almost every region (including those most favored by tourists) sincere attempts to revive regional traditions and wonderful, simple Mediterranean home cooking. Ms. Wolfert's recipes are grouped into chapters in the book
Mediterranean Cooking Revised With 75 New Recipes
according to staple foods of the region: garlic, oil, olives, eggplant and other vegetables, chick peas and other legumes, pasta and grains, yogurt, cheese, nuts, lemons and other fruits and herbs.

Complete Mediterranean The Beautiful Cookbook is, indeed, beautiful. It is a coffee-table book to pick up as much for its recipes and easy-to-read history as for its stunning color photography. The photos portray the region's sun-drenched countryside and the earthy appeal of its satisfying cuisine. The authors bring weighty credentials to the book.

Ms. Goldstein is the award-winning chef-owner of Square One Restaurant in San Francisco. Ms. Algar is the Mellon lecturer in Turkish at the University of California, Berkeley, and author of two books on Turkish cooking.

Chapters on recipes - appetizers, breads, fish, meat, vegetables and desserts - alternate with chapters on Spain, France, Italy, Greece and the Balkans, Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa.

In this way, the region's history helps to explain the food and the food helps to explain the history.

The accompanying recipes provide only a sampling of the foods of the Mediterranean.

Mediterranean Vegetable Pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
2 medium cloves garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 pound eggplant (Japanese can be used), peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 small zucchini, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1 (16-ounce) can peeled and diced tomatoes undrained
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
crushed 1 teaspoon dried basil (or crushed Optional: 4 reconstituted sun-dried tomatoes)
slivered 1 tablespoon capers,
drained and rinsed 1/3 cup finely chopped parsley 8 ounces spiral
tube or bow-tie pasta cooked according to package directions
1/4 cup pasta cooking water
1/3 cup finely crumbled feta cheese
1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic or red wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. In a large pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; saute five minutes.

2. Add eggplant and saute until it begins to brown and soften. Stir in zucchini and saute two minutes. Stir in undrained tomatoes, crushed red pepper, thyme, basil and dried tomatoes if using. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the capers and parsley.

3. Drain the cooked pasta, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking water. Add pasta and reserved water to the sauce with the feta, vinegar, pepper and salt. Stir until the pasta is coated with the sauce and serve. Makes four servings.

Nutritional Information: One serving contains 348 calories, 12 grams protein, 9 grams fat (4 grams saturated fat, 4 grams monounsaturated fat and 1 gram polyunsaturated fat), 56 grams carbohydrates, 597 milligrams sodium, and 17 milligrams cholesterol.


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Evaluation of Mediterranean Diet

Mary Angela Miller and Michelle Yost, registered dietitians in the Department of Nutrition & Dietetics at University Hospitals, were asked to evaluate the Mediterranean diet from materials prepared by its sponsors. Neither nutritionist was involved in the project nor in its research heir duties involves food and dietetics services for University Hospitals' patients, staff and visitors.

The experience was enlightening for them.

Miller and Yost both agreed that the diet (they prefer to call it a "lifestyle") is a valid direction toward healthful living.

"There's nothing bad about it," said Miller, who is the department director. They praised the emphasis on fruits, vegetables and grains, regular exercise, unprocessed foods and sparing use of sugar.

But both had reservations about applying it to Americans overall. Miller said, "It worked for (the Cretans), but will it work for the rest of the world?'' Most Americans would have to make a drastic about-face from typical eating and living patterns, she said. ''If you put something like this out here, it sets you up to fail. Olive oil and wine sound appealing, but meat and potatoes are still the mainstay."

Yost, a senior dietitian, said that while the amount of fat in the Mediterranean diet is high compared with the U.S. guidelines (which call for less than 30 percent total fat calories), the fat is predominately olive oil. (Olive oil is thought to lower levels of bad serum cholesterol while maintaining good cholesterol levels).

But olive oil is not the fat of choice for Americans, who lean toward butter, margarine and oils made from legumes, vegetables and seeds for baking and cooking. According to the Tufts University Diet and Nutrition Letter, Americans consume only about 3 tablespoons of olive oil per person - about every four months.

Olive oil also is more expensive than traditional cooking fats, Yost added. She believes that Americans would have trouble adjusting to its unique flavor in common foods.

A better alternative, she said, would be canola oil, which contains a more healthful ratio of saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats than olive oil. It also is flavorless.


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Adopting Mediterranean Diet in American Style

If an American would want to adopt the Mediterranean way, olive oil would have to replace - not be added to - other fats. That would be tough for a lot of people.

We love the fat in candy bars and French fries. People would want to have their olive oil and eat their candy, too. But we can't afford those fat calories.

Miller and Yost the dieticians expressed concern about promoting alcohol as part of an eating regimen.

"I don't have a problem with it in a diet," Miller said. "Having wine with dinner makes you feel relaxed. But I don't want to put it up as having a strong food value."

"Alcohol does not deserve a place on the food pyramid except in the 'others' category."
Yost said the Mediterranean attitude toward alcohol differs from ours, a reason for her reluctance to endorse its value in an American diet. "(Europeans) drink it with their meals. Americans may have it with meals, but they also use it as a social event."

If people choose to drink, wine is "a better choice," Miller added. "But I worry about people consuming wine calories instead of other calories. Alcohol is second only to fat in the number of calories per ounce," and obesity is a national problem.

The Mediterranean diet also does not take into account the far-reaching genetic mixture of the U.S. population, the dietitians said. For example, low to moderate amounts of cheese and yogurt are recommended, which might be insufficient sources of calcium for fair-skinned American women, at high risk for osteoporosis.

"Even within our own country, eating styles vary according to different ethnic and cultural groups," Miller said. "Many are healthy, but they don't fit on the pyramid."

Miller and Yost said that although the Mediterranean diet may not mesh with typical American lifestyles, the plan has many things in common with the U.S. Food Pyramid. Emphasis on complex carbohydrates is one similarity, particularly the increase in fruit and vegetable consumption.

Miller said the two pyramids send the same message. "Eat a balanced diet with a variety of foods, which is what we've been saying for years," she said. "But there are other things we know that can improve your life. Limit fat. Stop smoking. Exercise. Control your weight."

"For people who do want to eat (the Mediterranean way), this will give them some guidelines to follow."

But for the masses, she suggested, "Try the American pyramid before starting something else. It's much more in line with how we now eat."


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