From burgers to mac and cheese, how to make your favorite foods Mediterranean diet-friendly, according to a dietitian
Swap a deep-dish pizza for a thin, wholemeal base pizza topped with vegetables to make it more Mediterranean diet friendly.Getty
Cheeseburger and fries
A bean burger is a good alternative to a hamburger.Shutterstock/Triff
If you love a cheeseburger and fries, you can add a Mediterranean diet twist by grilling instead of frying the burger patty, using a small amount of cheese, adding lettuce and tomato, and using a wholemeal bun, dietitian Kirsten Jackson told Insider.
Instead of fries, serve alongside a side salad or oven-baked potato wedges cooked in olive oil.
Another option would be a bean burger or grilled salmon burger, she said.
Pancakes with butter and maple syrup
Wholemeal flour can make pancakes more Mediterranean diet-friendly.iStock
To make your pancakes more Mediterranean diet-friendly, use wholemeal flour and top them with berries, Jackson said.
Fried chicken and waffles
Chicken fried in olive oil is an alternative to fried chicken.Aimee M Lee/Shutterstock
While fried chicken and waffles wouldn’t be found in the Mediterranean diet, Jackson suggested making a meal of chicken fried in olive oil and served with a large salad.
“Try to include a whole grain in your salad like quinoa and then as many different vegetables as possible,” she said. “Think ‘eat the rainbow.'”
Sugary cereal with milk
Cereals can contain a lot of sugar.Shutterstock
Swap sugary cereals for oatmeal (jumbo rolled oats rather than processed instant oats) with milk, adding berries for sweetness, Jackson said.
Cookies, muffins, and chips
Wholemeal muffins are a good swap for regular muffins.LauriPatterson/Getty Images
Instead of snacking on cookies, muffins, chips, and other heavily processed treats, keep hunger at bay with snacks like dried fruit, nuts, seeds, dark chocolate, homemade wholemeal muffins, roasted chickpeas, fruit, and vegetable sticks, Jackson said.
Deli meat and cheese sandwich
Wholemeal bread can give a sandwich a Mediterranean diet twist.Justin A / Yelp
Instead of using white bread,…
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