mediterranean diet: healthy menu meal plan #48

my new year's eve seafood tradition

Welcome! I am so grateful that you’ve made my first year on Substack so rewarding + a big thanks to all who choose to support my work with a paid subscription. I hope we continue to travel together along the Mediterranean way again in 2026! ❤️

One of the best things about tradition is that it eliminates the stress of deciding what to do… just rinse and repeat. And isn’t it nice to have one less thing on your plate during a busy holiday season? (ha… no double entendre intended but go ahead and think it if you want!)

Anyway, such is the case with this week’s featured recipe for a Greek-style shrimp scampi. While the tradition in Spain is to serve fish on Christmas eve, I shift it one week when I host New Year’s eve and this dish takes centerstage on my dinner table. There are three simple reasons I LOVE this deceptively-healthy scampi:

1. You will never find a more fool-proof way to cook perfectly succulent shrimp.

2. From start to finish, it is simple. Almost no prep, almost no clean-up.

3. It tastes amazing.

Couple it with an enormous platter of fresh pineapple for dessert and your guests will be telling this tale for years to come. Just like I do when I recount my first Spanish Christmas eve at my best friend’s house.

It was my first exposure to celebrating the holidays at a family table, Mediterranean-style. Maybe that was the dinner when I got it. That eating the Mediterranean way isn’t a bunch of rules, it’s just celebrating simple flavors.

Mariá José San Román is one of the most renown chefs of Spain so, of course, I was expecting a dramatic finish to the holiday meal. But I will never forget the oohs and ahhs when she placed an enormous platter of pineapple in the middle of the long family table and how fast it disappeared. Trust a Spanish family steeped in the traditions of simple, exquisite flavors to relish the juicy, sweet freshness of fruit for dessert. No Bûche de Noël for this bunch!

Now, normally you’d find some bonus recipes in the menu PDF besides the meal plan I promised you but this week, I want to offer a reminder that there are plenty of low-stress meals in between the parties to keep the holiday healthy and my Salad-in-a-Jar blueprint is one of the ways I manage it myself that you might like too. It’s a little mix and match system coupled with my favorite recipe for vinaigrette.

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 meal plans and recipes, how-to-guides and behind the scenes are all here waiting for you to spend a few Mediterranean minutes with me.