Mediterranean Lifestyle for Dummies by Amy Riolo;

Author:Amy Riolo; [Riolo, Amy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated
Published: 2021-10-01T00:00:00+00:00

Many of the recipes in this book can be varied to accommodate fridge foraging and repurposing leftovers. Challenge yourself to come up with the most intriguing leftover-based meals. After a few tries you won’t even need a recipe, and you’ll be on your way to thinking and cooking like someone in the Mediterranean.

Spend 30 minutes a week preparing your vegetables. With the exception of onions, everything can be washed, dried, cut, or sliced in advance. Then store those items in clear plastic containers with lids and stack them in the refrigerator.

If you have diced celery, diced carrots, chopped tomatoes, fresh corn kernels, clean baby spinach, chopped lettuce, clean and cut broccoli and cauliflower flowerets, all prepped and stored, even if you come home from a busy day at work or need to get a meal on the table fast, you can quickly put a meal together with a few of the pantry items from Chapter 14.

One night, for example, you could combine all the vegetables to create a large salad — perhaps topped with a hardboiled egg or leftover protein or a handful of crushed almonds or walnuts. Another meal could be made out of sautéing the carrots and celery with a freshly diced onion and olive oil; then add the rest of the produce and cover with water or stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper, and stir in a handful of your favorite herbs. For a creamy soup, that mixture could be pureed; for a regular soup, you could add a little more liquid to make it thinner. You could also add in pasta, rice or another grain, and beans or legumes to make a heartier soup.

Another option is to sauté some onion and garlic in extra-virgin olive oil in a large skillet; add the mixture of vegetables that you like best; season with salt, pepper, and a handful of fresh herbs; cover; and cook on low until the vegetables are tender. You can toss them with pasta or rice, or use them as a filling for frittatas, omelets, and more. You could also make some indentations with a spoon in the vegetable mixture and crack eggs into them. The combination of eggs and the right vegetables will provide you with the nutrients of a complete meal.

If you’re a fan of the fast-casual restaurant concept, you can do the same thing with your refrigerator. In addition to the vegetables, prepare a few servings of whole grains in advance; rice, quinoa, pasta, barley, and wild rice are great choices. Keep a few cups of cooked lentils and cooked beans on hand in the refrigerator as well, along with chopped hardboiled eggs and/or a grilled or leftover protein of your choice. When you need a meal fast, you can make a bowl out of the combination of carbohydrate, protein, vegetables, and beans or legumes. Drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil and fresh citrus juice or vinegar.

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