My family's followed the Mediterranean diet for decades. Here are our 7 secrets to sticking to it.

• My family has followed the Mediterranean diet for decades. 
• You can swap several of your usual meals and sides with veggie-filled dishes like soups and salads. 
• Fruit, vinegar, and vegetables like peppers are all diet staples that I keep on hand.

I remember when the Mediterranean diet first became one of the hottest fads in the nutrition community — all of a sudden, my Greek salads looked super appetizing to my college roommates. Now, it's been named the healthiest diet in the world for the seventh year in a row. 

My Macedonian grandparents — who lived to 90 years old — were farmers in the northern part of Greece and taught my family an accessible version of the diet, one in which we could enjoy a McDonald's cheeseburger while also reaping the benefits of wholesome eating habits.

My family and I have since followed this lifestyle for decades. Here are seven of my best tips for working the Mediterranean way of eating into your diet:

Swap carb-centric sides for some satisfying veggies

Try swapping crispy snacks and sides like chips and french fries for some crunchy vegetables that can leave you feeling just as satisfied. 

One of my go-to ways to do this is with a Greek salad that can be stored in the fridge for days. To make, simply cut up onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, and an optional pepper into bite-size pieces and pour olive oil and white or red vinegar over the mix, adding salt and feta cheese to finish.

I use this salad as a topper for basically every family meal, from pizza and sandwiches to pasta and rice. 

Another easy addition or swap is torshi, a popular Middle Eastern and Balkan assortment of pickled vegetables. To throw this together, shove any veggies you have in your fridge into a huge jar with salt, vinegar, and some water. 

Although you need to let it ferment for weeks or sometimes months, this mix makes for a great snack or appetizer with a snappy crunch and bite from the vinegar. 

Don't be afraid of vinegar 

If you looked under the dinner table at my grandfather, you'd see him holding a bottle of vinegar in one hand and a piece of bread in the other.

The condiment is a Mediterranean-diet staple and an easy swap for just about any sauce. You can switch out ranch dressing for some oil and vinegar on your salads or add the ingredient to your soups to give them a lighter and tangier flavor.  

The versatility and benefits of vinegar have made it a family staple, one that I hypothesize added years to my grandparent's lives.

Although I don't drink it or douse my soups with it as some family members do, I appreciate it as an easy swap for dressings and sauces that would otherwise weigh down a refreshing lunch.

Swap your sandwiches for soups

It's easy to whip up a monotonous ham-and-cheese sandwich during a lunch rut, but making soup the main star of a meal is an easy way to pack your dish with protein and veggies. 

My family would pass around popular Mediterranean options like lentil, bean, and Greek chicken noodle soup, which features lemon and egg.

Many of these meals are thrown together with the same base, which is made by sautéing chopped celery, onions, and carrots in some olive oil, salt, and sometimes pepper or parsley until soft. Plus keeping these ingredients on hand means you'll never have to worry about what to make for lunch.

Pair the finished meal with a piece of bread and a chunk of cheese, and you're set.

Precut a variety of fruit for easy breakfasts and desserts

Just because you're following a Mediterranean diet doesn't mean you can't enjoy dessert. You can pair a scoop of ice cream with a ton of fruit and nuts, like a vanilla base with peaches and pecans.

This way of eating includes a rich variety of fruits, so you can easily up your intake early in the day by having a precut cup as a breakfast side instead of just sprinkling a few blueberries on your cereal or oatmeal.

You don't need to cut out all alcohol 

The idea that a glass or two of red wine can actually be healthy is a commonly held belief in my family.

In addition to wine, we sometimes enjoy a shot or two of whiskey or ouzo, a strong-flavored and licorice-like alcohol, before dinner. You easily can swap your after-work beers for these alternatives, which typically are less calorically dense. 

Peppers are a versatile and delicious ingredient

My grandfather would often tell strangers, doctors, and relatives alike that he credited his healthy gut to peppers. 

Hungarian wax peppers are one of my family's favorites for cooking, and you can easily stuff them with ground meat and rice.

Also, a go-to condiment of ours is basically a combination of tomato sauce and peppers that you can use to elevate meals that might otherwise not include vegetables — my family would even add it to fast-food cheeseburgers and pizza. 

You can also easily make your own roasted peppers — which can range from mild to extremely spicy — by baking them, peeling the skins off afterward, and mixing them with oil and vinegar.

You don't need to cut out dairy to enjoy the Mediterranean diet

Although some may say the Mediterranean diet limits cheese and dairy, my family would beg to differ.

In fact, we enjoy full-fat cheese, milk, and yogurt and add real cream to our morning coffees. Plus a bowl of feta or kasseri (a medium-hard sheep-milk cheese) is a mainstay at every non-breakfast meal.

My family prioritizes opting for the "real thing" over the "diet version" of any food, so we use whole-milk creamer instead of the low-fat alternative and prefer a spoonful of sugar over a packet of artificial sweetener.

Although those fruit-flavored Greek-yogurt cups aren't totally authentic, you can even integrate the unflavored, homemade alternative into meals throughout the day as a sauce or side.

This story was originally published on March 19, 2021, and most recently updated on May 9, 2024.