Mediterranean Diet Meal Prep: 30 Days of Simple Recipes

Chapter 1: Why Mediterranean Meal Prep Works

Let’s be honest about what most Mediterranean diet advice looks like online. It’s a lot of sun-drenched photographs, a claim that olive oil will somehow rewire your entire life, and a vague instruction to “eat like a Greek fisherman.” Then you scroll down and find a recipe that calls for 20 ingredients, three of which require a specialty grocery store, and a total time of 90 minutes that doesn’t include the 45 minutes of chopping. It’s beautiful, and it’s completely useless on a Tuesday night when you’re already hungry and tired.

That’s not what this book is. This is a meal prep cookbook for people who live real lives. The meals here are inspired by the traditional eating patterns of the Mediterranean region, which means they lean heavily on vegetables, legumes, whole grains, fish, and good olive oil, with smaller amounts of dairy, eggs, and meat. But the focus isn’t on a strict set of rules or a purity test. The focus is on creating a dependable rhythm in your kitchen, one that gets dinner on the table without a frantic scramble at 6 p.m.

Cooking this way works because the flavors are big and the methods are forgiving. You roast a pan of vegetables and they’re good warm, room temperature, or straight from the fridge. You cook a pot of farro and it stays fluffy for days, waiting patiently to become a bowl or a salad. You make a lemony vinaigrette that