Mediterranean Inspired Eating and Drinking
If you love wine, or perhaps work in the wine industry, you have probably heard or read about some recent alarming reports about health issues which drinking alcohol, and wine, can apparently cause. It is a delicate topic, since, as, we all know, drinking too much is not good for you.
However for those of us who do like to have a glass or two of wine with dinner or when meeting friends, this is a “buzz kill” (no pun intended)…. Like we really need another thing in our life to get anxious about.
As we have been digesting these recent current events and flurry of comments back and forth, it has brought health and wine to the forefront of conversation. So heightened is the concern amongst Americans, that the word “drinking” is now in the top 10 of the most growing trending words according to Google. Perhaps it has even come up as a topic of discussion during a recent doctor’s visit.
How does one react to such concerns? Is there any change you should introduce to your life? After all, our health and well-being is, or at least should be, a priority in our lives.
How can you continue to enjoy wine while keep staying healthy?
While we are not medical professionals, and we suggest you consult with your doctor to get professional advice, we would like to share our own perspectives on how we feel one can navigate the uncertainties of one’s health versus their diet and their approach to drinking wine.
The “Mediterranean Life”
The Italian supermarket circular which inspired this article. Photo courtesy of Esselunga.
Our founder, Sheila Donohue, has been living and working in Italy for many years. While all of this news and debate about your health and wine was in the forefront this past week, she was coming back from a morning run and her eyes were drawn to a supermarket circular that was left at the front of her building. The cover page said “Vivi con Equilibro” meaning live with balance. Sound familiar?… We just wrote about the importance of balance in our life, and when tasting foods (and wine) in this article.
Opening the circular, Sheila saw it filled with fresh vegetables, fruits, fish, grains, beans, grains, olive oil… you get the idea. Interestingly, it was not promoting, front and center, branded food products but instead fresh foods without any brand attached. This image immediately reminds you of the concepts underlying the Mediterranean diet.
But, the Meditterranean diet is just one piece of the puzzle. It is part of what we call the “Mediterranean lifestyle.”
What are the benefits of the Mediterranean diet? What does the “Mediterranean life” embrace?
Integrating Lifestyle with Food & Wine
When you live in Italy, they don’t talk about the “Mediterranean diet,” but, instead, they live it.
Sheila can speak to the influences that her Italian friends have had on improving her own diet like:
having & making lots of dishes that are made from scratch,
choosing foods grown and made close by,
even snacks that are made simply with the fresh ingredients you have on hand,
eating and drinking in company while conversing about life, culture, happenings around the area, business, people, and, yes, politics (for sure), and sometimes sports. This approach to enjoying bits and pieces of life in tiny bites is common throughout Europe and grows on you as you live here for more time. This concept is described in this article on mindful drinking (and eating).
Moderation
Traditional homes in Italy had backyards where they grew what they eat, having only farm to table meals which are primarily plant-based.
They say “everything in moderation.” This, we feel, holds true in your eating and drinking habits.
The Wall Street Journal could not have summed it up better in this article about the recent trend towards embracing sobriety, saying: "I guess another piece of good news about the sober-ish life is that you do really savor and appreciate your glass of wine, in those rare glimmering moments it appears."
This concept is in line with our article about mindful drinking. And a year ago, we wrote this piece which spots wine drinking trends in America, Italy and globally. One conclusion is the trend to “Drink Less But Better”, which continues to be spotted as a trend among American wine drinkers.
Food Traditions
Southern European culture and diet has come about through relying on their own plot of land, often in their backyard, to cultivate fruits, vegetables plus raising animals for protein sources, like cheese, eggs and meat. Their locally grown fruit and vegetables became so ingrained in their diet and life that an “appellation-like” system , similar to what we have for wine appellations, have come about. In Italy these food appellations have an official title followed by letters like DOP or IGP. There are food appellation categories for a myriad of fruits, vegetables, grains, and many other types of foods that are in the “official” Mediterranean diet, as shown in the diagram below. One common denominator among all of these food appellations is that the product is tied to a specific place determined by the appellation’s requirements.
“D.O.P.” stands for “Denominazione di Origine Protetta,” meaning it’s a certificate associated with a specific product that meets the qualifications to be called that name. One DOP food example is Prosciutto di San Daniele DOP, which we were inspired to write about several years ago after visiting women-owned winery, Vigna Petrussa, in Fruili, Northern Italy, where we enjoyed the traditional aperitivo in Friuli of having a slice of Prosciutto di San Daniele with a glass of local wine. “I.G.P” stands for “Indicazione Geografica Protetta, which you can think of as a DOP certification but slightly less rigid. One example is Cipolla Rossa di Tropea Calabria, or Red Onion of Tropea Calabria, which is one of the sweetest onions you can find in the world, and a great addition for recipes.
Now all of this talk of appellations and place of origin, doesn’t that remind you of a certain beverage that you like so much?… We’ve talked a lot about appellation systems in wine, especially in Italy, like here is a fascinating story about how a champagne style Italian sparkling wine got to its DOCG status.
We, here at Vero, go bonkers over this concept of a product, like food, including olive oil, and wine, that is tied to a place, with years of tradition behind it, made sustainably, following years of tradition, by people who are known to have very healthy lifestyles and long age spans. Think blue zones.
Yeah, our passion is rooted in healthy living. And this focus on food origin is also a rich tradition in America. Just go to your local farmers market and it is full of similar examples, like what we discovered when experimenting with a recipe to make a low alcohol Brachetto spritz here.
Here are some traditional fruits and vegetables one eats in Italy along with having on hand a big 3 liter can of really good extra virgin olive oil.
Lots of Olive Oil
There are food appellations also for Italian olive oil. One example is “Toscano” which is for an olive oil from specific provinces in Tuscany, like Grosseto, where La Maliosa is based and is known for making the best olive oil in Italy. Another Italian olive oil appellation is “Marche”, referencing Le Marche where Quercia Scarlatta farm and winery is based. They grow and and make an organic extra virgin olive oil which is made primarily from 1 type of olive, and has a distinct buttery mouthfeel and taste. This organic extra virgin olive oil also comes in a handy 3L can for those who do a lot of healthy Mediterranean style cooking with EVOO food.
Olive oil, especially extra virgin olive oil, is considered a super food, thanks to its many health benefits. (Want to know what extra virgin means in olive oil, as well as other terms like first cold presssed olive oil? Find out here.)
It comes as no surprise that the “official” Mediterranean diet includes “high intakes of olive oil”, and according to Wikipedia goes on further to say that “olive oil has been studied as a potential health factor for reducing all-cause mortality and the risk of chronic diseases.”
Do what they do in the “real” Mediterranean: besides having an everyday cooking olive oil, be sure to have on hand a really good extra virgin olive oil for dressing (salads, vegetables, on fish, poultry, meat, even pizza). Why not use EVOO instead of butter? Be sure to try this one that actually tastes like butter!
What is the Mediterranean Diet?
Here is the “the Mediterranean diet food pyramid” according to Wikipedia. Think of it as a Mediterranean diet meal plan. It includes olive oil and wine in moderation.
We’ve been hearing a lot about ultra processed foods as well recently. This article ties them to cancer, so ultra processed foods, (e.g., foods with a lot of additives), and alcohol, including wine, are both in the dog house lately.
There are all sorts of studies being published nowadays involving cancer, alcohol, wine, ultra processed foods, along with a lot of rebuttals; like this doctor who is implying that a reason for increased cancer in the US are food additives. When you imbibe these foods (and beverages) that have lots of additives, who knows what their combined effect could have inside of you while you are digesting? There are just so many variables.
Note: what was not in the Italian supermarket brochure were ultra processed foods.
Just a side note, after living away from America for a while in a “Mediterranean” country, you notice some differences when it comes to foods displayed in the supermarkets. You do see some brands that are in America, which, in fact, are food brands which were exported from America into Europe. Most of these food brands are ultra processed foods. So, you get the picture that our eating habits are majorly influenced by the “pre-packaged” food brands that we are accustomed to eating on a daily basis.
When you google “the Mediterranean Diet” you get this Wikipedia definition which says it is a “concept first invented in 1975 by the American biologist Ancel Keys and chemist Margaret Keys.” While we are certainly appreciative of the efforts for the Keys to have put the Meditteranean diet on the radar of Americans seeking to be more healthy, this description is clearly written from an American point of view. To think that they “invented” this concept is certainly skewed, and, if anything, ignorant of the real Mediterranean life and lifestyle that has been in existence for hundreds of years. (Think of the World Series in baseball… they play baseball all around the world, yet “the World Series” has teams from only 2 countries playing… just saying…)
Nevertheless, the Keys have done a great service to Americans by defining the Mediterranean diet for us, which has since been a springboard for many studies. In fact “the Mediterranean diet is associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality in observational studies,” and it also has been tied to weight loss.
Another key aspect of the Mediterreanean Diet is the emphasis on “plant-based.” Guess what: wine is plant based. In fact, wine “in moderation” is included in the “Mediterranean Diet Pyramid” which was defined in collaboration with the World Health Organization and Harvard. Think of it as a Mediterranean diet food list, which includes also wine. After all, wine in Mediterranean countries is part of, not only their diet, but also their culture, lifestyle, and is the livelihood for many small farmers in Italy, Greece, etc.
Now, mind you, wine in America has, unfortunately, fallen into the same trap as ultra processed foods. After all, you can add many additives to wine and not disclose it on the label: think ultra processed wine. In fact, some American wine drinkers complain of getting a headache from “cheaper” wine… just saying…
Thanks to our exposure to the Mediterranean lifestyle, we seek out wines made by small farmers who are not adding anything to their wines, except sometimes yeast, to help with fermentation, and a bit of sulfites when bottling, to help it stabilize during its “shelf life.”
Mediterranean Diet Ideas
Are you ready to prepare some Mediterranean diet meals on your own?
Given our exposure to day to day living in Italy and the “real” Mediterranean diet, and our passion for authentic, really good wine and food, we have many recipes for you in our blog for Mediterranean diet foods. Here is just a small sampling of the Mediterranean food recipes we have on our blog:
Recipe for homemade pasta from wild plants you can forage for yourself,
An Italian style fresh vegetable appetizer called Pinzimonio,
An authentic Tuscan salad recipe,
A traditional, vegan Tuscan soup recipe called Acqua Cotta.
Any many more recipes, check them all out here!
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Stock Up to Follow the Mediterreanean Diet
Our company is based on values that embrace healthy living. Get to know our hand picked farm made foods and wine, including Italian wine, but not only!
No matter if you work in the wine and food industry, as a distributor, work in a restaurant, wine store, wine bar, have a company that shares our values in authenticity and sustainability, or are a wine lover or foodie that seeks out new flavors and fun and healthy experiences, we are the diamond in the rough you are seeking.
Contact us if you work in the industry or go straight to our shop to select your own wild and scarce wines and olive oils. We have great gift baskets and an award winning wine club.
All of the extra virgin olive oils that we curate are organic and super small production, i.e., they run out fast! Likewise, our curated wines are farm crafted and made with minimal or no intervention. Here is just a sampling:
