Doctor's Orders
a week of Mediterranean-inspired dishes
A few years ago at my annual physical, my doctor mentioned that she doesn’t leave an appointment without recommending the “Mediterranean Diet” to all of her patients.
As someone who has never really partaken in any “branded” diet, this caught me off guard, especially as someone who loves ALL varieties of food. After looking into it, I learned that the jist of it was to eat a lot of produce, lean towards healthy fats (like olive oil, avocado, nuts, etc.), consume little to no read meat, and incorporate whole grains into your diet.
And while I try to do that most of the time, I certainly believe in balance and and prefer to live by the 80/20 rule (eat nutritiously 80% of the time, and indulge in my favorite treats the other 20%).
That said, you’ll be seeing aspects of the Mediterranean Diet (our 80%) in this week’s menu, with a few moments of 20%, including feta chicken cutlets and rice pilaf (look away doc!). Because after all, life is just one great balancing act.
Day 1: Feta Cutlets with Tzatziki Potato Salad
Elements:
Brined Chicken Breasts
Feta Panko
Yukon Gold Potatoes*
Chunky Tzatziki*
Radish
Dill
Chives
Cabbage*
Day 2: Chicken Skewers with Lemon Dill Rice Pilaf
Elements:
Spiced Yogurt Marinade*
Chicken Breasts
Lemon-Dill Rice Pilaf*
Snap Peas*
Feta
Baby Gem Lettuce*
Cucumbers*
Radishes*
Tahini Date Dressing*
Day 3: Tomato-Braised Shrimp with Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Elements:
Tomato-Garlic Sauce*
Cabbage*
Shrimp
Garlic Confit*
Yukon Gold Potatoes*
Day 4: Salmon en Papillote with Baby Gem Salad
Elements:
Garlic Confit*
Salmon
Chunky Tzatziki*
Tahini Date Dressing*
Snap Peas*
Cucumber*
Radishes*
Feta
Baby Gem Lettuce*
Cabbage*
Day 5: Hot Honey Pepper-Braised Chicken with Lemon Dill Rice Pilaf
Elements:
Chicken
Hot Honey Pepper Sauce*
Yogurt
Lemon Dill Rice Pilaf*
Chunky Tzatziki*
* - An ingredient or recipe we’re prepping ahead of time
Shopping this week was certainly on the lighter side - everything totaled out to about $50. Again (and as always), this is non-inclusive of proteins and a few ingredients I always have on hand, since I’m sourcing them from Costco in bulk (like feta, Greek yogurt, and eggs).
I also bought a surplus of some ingredients for recipe testing, so if you see that I bought 4 lemons, while I am telling you that you only need 1, that’s why.
Grocery List:
As always, the premium grocery list (with a meal key, list of essentials, and time savers) is below:
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