The Mediterranean diet shopping list

February 22, 2012

So you decided to get started with the Mediterranean diet, good choice! One of the things you need to take care is your shopping list. What food items you need to include in your cupboards to replace the not so healthy items of your current diet?  We have gathered below the most common items that make up the Mediterranean diet food list. These are the items you need to buy if you want to adopt the Mediterranean dietary pattern; they are based on the Mediterranean diet food pyramid and form the basis of a healthy diet.

In a previous post we presented the Mediterranean diet inverted food pyramid that shows the major components of the Mediterranean diet. Items like fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, olive oil, herbs and spices, fish are positioned at the top of the inverted pyramid so as to stress their importance while Items that are less significant i.e. dairy, poultry and meat are found towards the bottom. Based on this structure we created the Mediterranean diet shopping list that gives you specific suggestions from each and every food group of the pyramid. The available options are literally endless but we have selected items you can easily find in your local grocery shop.

The Mediterranean diet shopping list

Fruits and Vegetables

Choose any of the following fruits and vegetables. Where available select fresh / seasonal fruits.

Tomatoes, Olives (black/green), carrot, broccoli, sweet potato, cucumber, green peppers, lettuce

Apples, bananas, orange, pomegranate, grapes, peach, watermelon, cherries, plum, dates, grapefruit, pears, mandarin, strawberries

Legumes

Beans, black-eyed peas, lentils, green peas, spinach

Fish

Albacore/white, tuna, herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines, trout, halibut, sea bass, swordfish, lobster, shrimp

Herbs and Spices

Anise, basil, bay, capers, cardamon, cinnamon, chevril, garlic, onion, oregano, parsley, pepper, rosemary. View the full list of the Mediterranean diet herbs and spices.

Dairy Products

White cheese, halloumi cheese, Feta cheese, low-fat yogurt, Greek yogurt, parmesan cheese, low-fat milk

Poultry and Meat

Lean beef, lean pork, lamb, veal, ham, chicken, turkey, eggs, wild rabbit, ostrich, goat

Mediterranean diet shopping list

We also suggest that you start with these great Mediterranean diet recipes:

Greek style Pizza – a delicious and yet healthy pizza for a quick meal

Mixed greens and antipasti salad – Suitable for vegetarians as well

Pear salad with walnuts and feta cheese – great for a family dinner

You can also visit our Mediterranean diet culinary recipes section for more great recipes and our Mediterranean food section to find out more about the major components of the Mediterranean diet.


Andrea Aurelio
About the author

Andrea Aurelio adopted the Mediterranean diet and the Mediterranean way of living after evaluating a series of diets and realizing that the Mediterranean diet is a proven diet and the best way to adopt a healthy lifestyle. You can connect with him on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

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