Weight Loss Compatibility of Mediterranean and Asian Cuisine: A Guide to Healthy Ingredient Selection
mediterranean cuisine
Actually, there is no single, standardized menu for "Mediterranean cuisine".
There are at least sixteen countries around the Mediterranean, and the region's cuisine includes Italian, Greek, and Spanish dishes.
The cuisine varies from country to country, and even within different regions of a country, it differs.
However, the "Mediterranean cuisine period" model still shares common characteristics:
●Use plenty of fruits and vegetables.
● Consume large amounts of bread along with other grains, potatoes, beans, nuts, and seeds.
● Pay attention to olive oil, making it an important source of monounsaturated fatty acids (unlike saturated fatty acids, monounsaturated fatty acids do not increase blood cholesterol levels).
● Consume small to moderate amounts of red meat, fish, and poultry.
● Consume small to moderate amounts of cheese and yogurt.
● Drink red wine in moderation.
That sounds healthy.
Does the Mediterranean diet offer the same recommendations as the 17-day diet?
Very close, but not exactly the same.
Generally speaking, a high percentage of calories in Mediterranean diets come from fat, leading to a growing prevalence of obesity in these countries, which is a growing concern.
The Mediterranean diet emphasizes freshness and is seasoned with garlic, onions, tomatoes, and fresh herbs. It also includes many vegetables, making it very rich in antioxidants.
Most of the ingredients used in the 17-day diet can be found in Mediterranean cuisine.
Here are a few more:
Cycle 1: Fat Acceleration & Weight Loss
In addition to strictly adhering to the foods listed above, you can also add the following culturally significant ingredients:
Cleaner vegetables:
●Purple cabbage●Fennel
● Cilantro
● Sugar-free red sauce (one serving = half a cup)
Cycle Two: Start-up and Restart of Metabolism
In addition to strictly adhering to the foods listed above, you can also add the following culturally significant ingredients:
Natural starch:
●Rice and noodles●Corn cake●Riboshi
●Tapoli (made with half-cooked crushed wheat kernels, mixed with chopped tomatoes, cilantro, mint, olive oil, and lemon juice)
Cycle Three: Maintaining Speed and Achieving the Goal
In addition to strictly adhering to the foods listed above, you can also add the following culturally significant ingredients:
Natural starch:
● Flatbread made with whole-grain white flour, whole wheat, or multigrain flour
● Whole grain Italian bread
Overall Recommendation:
● Roasted chicken served with plenty of steamed cabbage, sprinkled with lemon juice and pepper.
●Canned tomatoes can be used for cooking.
Cooked tomatoes contain more beneficial antioxidants than raw tomatoes, such as lycopene, which has anti-cancer properties.
● Avoid creamy sauces high in fat and opt for tomato-based vegetable sauces, which are lower in calories.
● You can try sautéing chopped fennel seeds in a little olive oil until translucent, then add peas and top with a piece of fish.
Sprinkle with chopped cilantro, and you have a feast to "reboot your metabolism".
● Replace regular pasta with whole grain pasta and shredded squash.
● Use less oil, or omit the oil altogether, when making bean paste or eggplant sauce.
●Use cucumber instead of bread to dip the bean paste.
● Replace white bread with whole-grain pocket bread.
● To make a nutritious, high-fiber, low-fat lunch, you can wrap Greek salad in whole-wheat pocket bread.
● Healthy main courses include: tomato and onion kebabs, Greek kebabs (kebabs made with small pieces of meat, sometimes with vegetables, which are Greek fast food) or Greek grilled fish (grilled fish served with garlic and tomato sauce).
Dorma (vegetable rolls wrapped in grape leaves) is a good choice because it is mostly cooked by steaming or baking.
● Seasonings: Some spices commonly found in Mediterranean cuisine, such as oregano, parsley, and basil, can enhance the flavor of dishes, while onions, garlic, and other allium plants also taste great.
Asian cuisine
The Asian diet is adopted by some of the world's longest-living people, and this longevity is attributed to a generally healthy, low-fat diet, which is believed to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke.
In addition, Asians also eat at fixed times, know how to chew slowly, consume a lot of fruit and vegetable fiber, and often drink tea.
The following explains how to implement the 17-day diet according to Asian dietary habits.
Cycle 1: Fat Acceleration & Weight Loss
In addition to strictly adhering to the foods listed above, you can also add the following culturally significant ingredients:
Cleaner vegetables:
●Kelp●Bamboo Shoots
●Bean sprouts●Cabbage●Kale
●Sargassum fusiforme (This ingredient is used in the cuisines of many countries)
●Lotus root and green beans
● Nori (a common seaweed used to wrap sushi)
●Snow peas●Snow peas
Cycle Two: Start-up and Restart of Metabolism
In addition to strictly adhering to the foods listed above, you can also add the following culturally significant ingredients:
Lean protein:
● Assorted Tofu ● Organic Beef
Natural starch:
●Edamame● Use brown rice instead of white rice
Cycle Three: Maintaining Speed and Achieving the Goal
In addition to strictly adhering to the foods listed above, you can also add the following culturally significant ingredients:
Natural starch:
The following starchy foods can be included in your diet (half a cup = one serving):
●Rabbit noodles: These special Japanese noodles are made with barley flour, but usually a little wheat flour is added to increase the dough's elasticity.
● Ramen: Although most people think that this type of curly noodle (sometimes with an egg) is a Japanese dish, it actually originated in China.
● Rice noodles: As the name suggests, rice noodles are a dish made from rice and can be found throughout Southeast Asia.
● Chinese noodles: There are many varieties, they are made from wheat, and sometimes eggs are added.
●Udon noodles: A common type of noodle in Japanese cuisine, made from wheat.
Overall Recommendation:
● Make good use of cooking methods such as blanching, grilling, steaming, or stir-frying seafood, chicken, vegetables, and tofu with a little oil. These cooking techniques use only a small amount of fat and are good for your health.
● It can be steamed in a multi-layered bamboo steamer using the traditional method (often using water with added herbs).
You can put a variety of fat-free vegetables in the same steamer and steam them for ten to fifteen minutes, which will reduce the hassle of cleaning.
In addition, vegetables, fish and other foods can maintain their original shape, texture, flavor and nutrition.
● Do not fry.
Use a non-stick pan and spray it with a suitable amount of vegetable oil. This way, you can achieve the same effect with just a little oil.
●Use less thick sauces, as they contain fats and sodium that can clog arteries.
● Tofu can be used as a substitute for eggs in dishes that require them.
●Try to replace beef with turkey.
Turkey meat contains far less saturated fat than red meat.
Eat more fish and less meat.
● Drink more green tea, as recommended by the 17-day diet.
Green tea contains powerful antioxidants that can lower cholesterol levels, fight heart disease, boost the immune system, and may even destroy cancer cells and fat cells.
● When using seasonings, you can try fat-free seasonings from various countries: low-sodium soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, fermented black beans, miso (containing probiotics), seaweed, chili, wasabi, Korean kimchi (containing probiotics), Thai curry, garlic, green onions, ginger, basil, and cilantro leaves.
●Fortune cookies were actually invented by Americans, not Asian food.