MyPlate For The Heart

Lynn Greiger, RD, one of our new Advisors, writes in her blog about her top 5 recommendations for Mediterranean cooking:

Here are my top 5 recommendations for bringing the Mediterranean diet, and all of its health benefits, into your kitchen:

1.  Make plants – fruit, vegetables, grains, legumes, seeds – the centerpiece of your meals. Start lunch with a tossed salad, adding in chickpeas and pumpkin seeds.
2.  Include olives or olive oil in as many foods as possible. Toss your salad with olive oil or add olives to your favorite recipes.
3.  Use nuts as part of your protein choices. Add a handful of nuts to your salad or sprinkle nuts over breakfast oatmeal.
4.  Choose fish or shellfish at least twice each week. Toss pasta with tuna and olive oil or coat salmon with crushed pistacchios.
5.  Flavor your foods with herbs and spices instead of salt.

We couldn’t agree more! In fact we liked the timing of her post since we had just prepared a Mediterranean Pizza using potatoes for a crust.

6 yukon gold potatoes, medium in size, skin on
drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil
fresh chopped garlic
fresh chopped basil
3 ripe plum tomatoes
1/4 cup sliced sundried tomatoes
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped fresh spinach leaves
2 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
fresh-cracked black pepper to taste 

Rinse the dirt off the potatoes and pierce with a fork. Microwave the potatoes until done, about 2 minutes each. They are done when a knife goes through them easily.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Mash the potatoes into a lightly  oiled rectangular 9X12 baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with basil and mashed garlic. Top with sliced plum tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, spinach and mushrooms. Sprinkle with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or  until the cheese is golden brown and the veggies are roasted. Cool slightly then cut into squares. Grate black pepper over the top. We like to serve with a large tossed salad with roasted walnuts, extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar and roasted asparagus.

This recipe appears in our new DVD, 25 Ingredients, 15 meals.