Hi @margotcc My husband and I have been pretty much following the Mediterranean diet for 30+ years and it’s been a positive contributing factor to our overall good health. Not sure what you mean by unusual ingredients. We eat fairly basic foods, though we do add a lot of fresh herbs to our dishes. We eat very little red meat, tending towards chicken and white fish. But when we do eat red meat it’s a lean tenderloin steak or 96% lean ground beef. The focus is more on fresh veggies and whole grains, making the meat more of the side dish instead of the main entree. We have salmon at least once a week, lots of stir fries, grilled fish/meats, salads.

We’ve modified favorite recipes by swapping out unhealthy oils for EVOO or Avocado oils or substituting milk for cream. We use low fat or fat free cheeses, etc., and have refined our techniques over the years so that guests don’t even realize they’re eating low-fat, healthy foods…the food tastes yummy with no guilt! For the most part there no junk food/limited carbs, no prepackaged foods and very little added sugar to the diet. It’s not complicated but it takes time to check labels for saturated fats or trans fats. Once you get used to this way of eating it becomes second nature.

There are quite a few members in the forum interested in this healthy diet plan as well and we have some great discussions going. Here’s just one of many conversations that you might be interested in reading through and joining.

The Mediterranean Diet Anyone?
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/the-mediterranean-diet-anyone/
More can be found by typing in Mediterranean Diet in the search bar on top! Lots of discussions pop up.

Also, if you don’t want to limit yourself to just one cookbook, there’s a plethora of recipes to be found online. Here is a good source for a few recipes that are easy and tasty. https://www.eatingwell.com/gallery/7577443/mediterranean-diet-recipes-for-beginners/

I hope this gives you a few ideas. What do you think, will you give it a try?