healthy mediterranean diet meal plan #19

Third time was most definitely the charm...

It occurred to me that I’ve yet to feature a healthy dessert as the focus of a Menu of the Day, so it’s high time to share a little treat with you. After all, the Mediterranean diet guidelines call out “meats and sweets” as absolutely legitimate parts of the diet, just not too often and not too much (which I guess is pretty much the same focus that I’ve given them in the newsletter!)

The funny thing is that working on today’s newsletter made me own up to the fact that I just don’t bake much anymore. And that’s pretty much in keeping with my neighbors here in Spain. When we first arrived, I ran right out and bought a little hand-mixer to replace the KitchenAid we left behind in California, then ran right out to the grocery store and had trouble finding flour and sugar in any sizes larger than 1 pound bags. Even butter is often stocked as single pat packages of 12!

To add to the adjustment, three-tier cakes are not very common and pies are almost unheard of. I guess everybody supports their local bakery where they can find pretty little pastries like the ones I see in the window at the café under our apartment.

So being a bit out of sorts and out of practice, it took three tries (and three consecutive pan purchases) to come up with a fool-proof yogurt, almond, lemon and light oil recipe that George and I agreed will be pretty easy to add to our repertoire of healthy desserts in the summer months - one little slice at a time!

Best of all, if you do any baking, the ingredients are probably in your pantry. That is, except for my favorite extract, Flor di Sicilia. Just a few drops of this intense blend of lemon, orange, vanilla and floral tones turns anything it touches into a visit to the Italian Mediterranean. Or opt for a down home version and use vanilla extract instead.

Another tool you’ll see me use is a simple Danish-style whisk when I want to keep the batter nice and light and not over-mixed. It’s designed for pulling together bread dough (and does a wonderful job of it), but it’s not just a one-tool gadget in the drawer and comes in very handy when I want to delicately fold ingredients together.

Once it’s cooled, you have two options to dress the cake. Keep it light and give it a simple dusting of confectioner’s powdered sugar. Or blend that same sugar (1 cup) with little yogurt (1 tbsp) and lemon juice (1 tbsp) and create a lemon-boosted drizzle.

Of course, the cake is just one of two snacks on the menu today. We’ll be surrounding this little treat with equally light and simple dishes from breakfast to dinner.

As always, you’ll find a few extra treats in the menu PDF besides the meal plan I promised you (mostly because I just can’t help myself). When I can, I’ll reach into the archive so that you don’t have to go hunting around. And today, I pulled out a few other healthy cakes - including one that’s entirely gluten-free - from my files to tempt you.

So 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 healthy meal to another.

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