- The Mediterranean diet can be beneficial for your health, lifespan, and weight.
- A dietitian who grew up eating it shared what she eats in a fall day.
- Natalie Carroll leans into fall staples such as figs and warm lentils.
If you are already a fan of the Mediterranean diet, fall is a great time to expand your recipe repertoire by leaning into its autumnal flavors.
Pumpkins, figs, and warm lentils are all on the Mediterranean's fall menu, which provides the same benefits for your heart health, longevity, and weight as its refreshing summer dishes do.
Natalie Carroll, a registered women's health dietitian based in New York who works with Top Nutrition Coaching, has Sicilian heritage so grew up on the Mediterranean diet. She and her two young daughters now eat this way year-round both for the health benefits and because the meals are delicious.
"Food is about pleasure, so if you're not enjoying it, to me it's not really worth eating," she told Insider.
Carroll shared a day of Mediterranean diet-inspired meals she loves to make during fall with Insider. She previously shared her three go-to fall snacks.
Breakfast
One of Carroll's favorite fall breakfasts is a dish she calls "fancy toast."
She usually uses sourdough bread to make it because it tends to contain more protein than regular bread, she said, and it's fermented, also making it more gentle on the gut.
"I love the taste of it and I think it toasts up really nicely," she said.
Carroll spreads two or three tablespoons of full-fat ricotta cheese, which is a good source of calcium and protein, on the toast.
"I really like my breakfast to be full of healthy fats and protein so that later on in the day I'm not trying to play catch up on my calories or feeling really hungry when dinner hits," she said.
Next, she tops the toast with some sliced fall fruit for micronutrients and fiber. "I would do figs if they were in season, or peaches would be great. Even apples in this would be fine," she said.
For added flavor, she drizzles some honey on top and sprinkles on cinnamon and cracked black pepper.
If you want more protein, you could also pair it with either a hard boiled egg or scrambled eggs, she said.
Lunch
For lunch, Carroll might make a warming lentil salad, a dish she said is filling, inexpensive, and comes together quickly.
To speed up the cooking process, she often uses pre-cooked lentils in a can, but recommended rinsing them first to remove any excess sodium. Lentils are a great source of plant-based protein, she said.
In a deep-sided pan over a medium heat, she sautés some chopped up onions, garlic, celery, and carrots with olive oil, salt and pepper, until they start to soften. Then, she adds the lentils and around a quarter to a half a cup of either vegetable or chicken stock and lets it simmer for 10 to 15 minutes.
For extra seasoning, she adds dried thyme or oregano — both staples of the Mediterranean diet.
Carroll usually pairs the lentil salad with some crusty sourdough bread, and sometimes adds a soft poached egg on top for extra protein. "When you break the yolk, it makes this delicious sauce with the lentils," she said.
Dinner
Having grown up in an Italian family, Carroll is a big fan of pasta and often makes sardine, caper, and lemon pasta, which is relatively cheap and easy to cook, she said.
"I know a lot of people might not like sardines, but this is the dish that can convert people. I truly believe that," she said.
Carroll uses a store-bought can of sardines, which is an amazing source of protein and nutrients, she said, as well as wholewheat spaghetti because it contains more fiber and protein than regular pasta.
To make the dish, she starts by sautéeing one finely minced white onion and two finely minced cloves of garlic with olive oil in a large pan, over a medium heat. "You want them to soften and not to brown," she said. At the same time, she brings a large pot of water to the boil, and adds the pasta.
Then, rinses the brine off a jar of capers, and adds them to the pan with the soft onion and garlic, along with the zest of a whole lemon.
Carroll typically opens up the can of sardines and breaks them up with a fork into half-inch pieces to save herself the extra washing up, before adding them to the pan with some chopped parsley.
Once the pasta is done, she adds it to the pan with a dash of pasta water and squeezes the juice of a lemon over it. Then, she mixes it all together until the pasta is well coated. She might pair it with a side salad for some extra nutrients.
Watch:
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufony1vthmpJ6cmamys77Ap5yapl2ZtqbAjJ%2BYpaRdp7Kktc%2BeqmaclaG2pLXOrqpmamBngG59jw%3D%3D