mediterranean diet: healthy menu meal plan #51
a new year packed with flavor
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New Year’s eve started with an annual midday celebration at our house. Living in the heart of Alicante Spain, we try to get a jump on the chaos of nochevieja because our neighborhood is a bit like a miniature version of Times Square in NYC. The partygoers are facing the giant sound stage in front of our apartment and the musical show lasts until 2 am or thereabouts.
Naturally, we started off the festivities with a glass of cava - Spain’s version of France’s champagne - and a few classic Spanish tapas of olives and almonds.
But I’m into simple entertaining these days, even for such a momentous moment as turning over a new year (and maybe a new leaf). We sat down to a satisfyingly rich bowl of pasta, a big platter of Spain’s winter Raf tomatoes, and a leafy mix of greens, speckled with spots of color from sweet peppers, shallots and a spicy garlic vinaigrette compliments of one of our guests, Sherry.
And that’s all it took for our small band of merrymakers to prepare to down 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight - Spain’s tradition to ensure good luck in the new year.
But, I’m getting ahead of myself… let’s back up to the featured recipe for the first Healthy Menu Meal Plan of 2026: a one-pan stovetop to table combination of asparagus, spinach, almond, ricotta & Parmesan cheeses with hints of tarragon, lemon and garlic. And I thank Christian Reynoso of the New York Times for the inspiration it took to make this riff.
The gorgeous dish hides a multitude of simple, healthy Mediterranean diet ingredients and looks much more complicated to make than it is - perfect for when you want to impress party guests.
The rest of the day’s menu wraps around the midday meal with plenty of winter fruits, grains, beans and bits to send you lightly into a new year.
As always, you’ll find a few extra healthy recipe treats in the menu PDF besides the meal plan I promised you (mostly because I just can’t help myself). In this week’s menu, I’ve added one of my favorite dishes for white beans dressed up in spicy holiday greens (but really awesome anytime of year).
If you’re already a paid subscriber then you know these little extras show up almost every week as a small bonus to show my appreciation for your support. If you haven’t yet had the chance to join us, what are you waiting for?
But right now, it’s time to pull up a chair, grab a cup or a glass and join me in my Mediterranean kitchen while we work our way from one flavor-packed meal to another.
Want to upgrade to a paid subscription so you don’t miss out on anything? Everything you’ll want to know to master the Mediterranean diet including exclusive weekly healthy menu meal plans & recipes, how-to-guides, and behind the scenes stories are all here waiting for you to spend a few Mediterranean minutes with me.
Hope you have a great 2026 Caroline and George. 🎊 great newsletter and the recipe sounds wonderful especially with the crunch from the almonds. Sounded like you had great entertainment right at your door.