If you’ve been on the internet anytime recently, you’ve probably heard of the Mediterranean diet. In my personal social media feed, it’s been marketed as the holy grail of healthy eating. But if you’re anything like me, you’re also skeptical of anything with the word “diet” in it.

Despite its name, the Mediterranean diet isn’t really a “diet,” per se. It’s a set of eating habits that follow a certain pattern.

The Mediterranean diet prioritizes certain food groups and recommends limiting others, but doesn’t require you to stop eating something completely. Plus, there is a promising amount of research validating the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. People on the diet may experience a lower risk of cardiovascular complications, obesity, hypertension (high blood pressure), metabolic syndrome, and dyslipidemia (the imbalance of lipids, which can occur if you have high cholesterol, among other factors).

But does the Mediterranean diet really work? In my experience, yes. Because the Mediterranean diet focuses on building healthier eating habits, rather than restricting entire food groups, I found the plan fairly easy to stick to and enjoyed my meals. The Mediterranean diet opened my eyes and helped me be less of a skeptic about diets as a whole. I really enjoyed this experience and will gladly incorporate some of its practices into my daily life.

Keep in mind that it is best to discuss any drastic dietary changes with your healthcare provider before altering your lifestyle. Each of us has our own dietary needs that can be influenced by a variety of factors, including what medications we take, how much we exercise, any vitamin deficiencies we have, and so on.

For example, the Mediterranean diet recommends eating little to no red meat. If red meat is your primary source of iron, or if you are iron deficient, you should work with a healthcare provider or a nutritionist to ensure you’re consuming enough iron.

Wine is commonly consumed by people on the diet. However, wine and alcohol are not recommended for people who are pregnant, have alcohol use disorder, or have a variety of other conditions.

People who follow the Mediterranean diet prioritize the eating style of those who live along the Mediterranean Sea. Sixteen countries span the Mediterranean (including Italy, Morocco, Syria, Greece, and more), so there are many variations. That said, the diet generally includes the following foods and food groups:

• Lots of fruits and vegetables—especially whole and unprocessed—including starches like potatoes
• Bread and other grains
• Legumes (beans), nuts, and seeds
• Olive oil (lots of olive oil)
• Dairy products
• Eggs, fish, and poultry, although poultry is limited

To most closely follow the recommendations of the diet, limit your intake of sugar and sugary drinks, foods with high salt content, highly processed foods, refined carbohydrates (such as white bread or white rice), fatty meats, and saturated fats.

This diet was much more approachable than any others I’d reluctantly tried, mostly for the reasons listed above. In full transparency, I also already ate my fair share of olive oil, beans, fruits, veggies, and nuts prior to committing to it. However, I knew I’d struggle with a few vices, so I laid down some rules for myself to help me manage the following:

• Alcohol: I enjoy a beer or cocktail on the patio, especially in the warm weather. I told myself I’d keep it to two or fewer drinks per week.
• Chicken: While the Mediterranean diet still says you can have chicken in moderation, I eat a fair amount of chicken. I elected to buy more fish and lean into legumes as a primary protein source.
• Ice cream: Anyone who knows me knows I love ice cream more than life itself. Alas, I cut it down to once every other week.
• Convenience meals: It is really too easy to warm up something pre-made. I did my best to pre-make my own meals and freeze them for a later date.

Next, I got down to cooking and meal planning. I am somewhat embarrassed, although not at all surprised, that I started with the most stereotypical Mediterranean meals. One of my favorites was a couscous bowl with tomato, cucumber, red onion, chickpeas, feta cheese, and broiled salmon, complete with a lemon-tahini dressing.

It was easy to make and stored well. I could cook the couscous, chop the veggies, mix the dressing, broil the salmon, keep them all in separate containers, and mix them together when it was time to eat. 

This gave me an idea: If I could prep everything for this meal and throw them together when I needed them, couldn’t I do that with a bunch of meals? I don’t know about you, but I have a tendency to get sick of what I made after I eat it twice, but prepping meals in a way that allowed me to “choose your own adventure” each time made it more interesting. I decided to select a series of ingredients from each group and mix and match them as desired.

1. Prep a Grain

I decided to prepare a selection of grains, all of which could serve as the base of my meal. I chose couscous, of course, in addition to orzo, oats, basmati rice, and whole wheat tortillas. I cooked some upfront (especially the orzo and basmati rice, which took a little longer) and kept some dry since they were quicker to make when I needed them.

2. Chop the Veggies

I chopped a whole bunch of veggies, including onions, peppers, broccoli, cabbage, kale, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Then I divided them into three piles: cook, store, and freeze. As the names imply, I cooked some right away, stored some pre-chopped in the refrigerator, and stored some pre-chopped in the freezer. This way I could grab them in whatever form I needed based on how much time I had to throw my meal together.

3. Shake Up Some Dressings

I save glass jars, and boy am I grateful for that! I picked a few that were conducive to mix dressing in and went to town making sauces and vinegrettes, most of which turned out to be edible. My favorite ended up being my original lemon-tahini dressing, but I made a few others that were quite good as well.

4. Pick Your Protein

I chose a variety of beans, fish, and some chicken as my protein sources. While I didn’t want to cook a lot of this upfront, I did myself a favor and took the meats out of their original packaging, trimmed the fat as needed, added marinade, and froze them for a later date. When I was ready to cook them, I could let them thaw and they were ready to cook as is!

I am very pleased with how this plan worked out. Instead of having to haphazardly throw together a meal in between meetings or muster up the will to cook dinner, this plan allowed me to easily assemble a tasty, nutritious meal in usually 10 minutes or less. Sure, prepping the ingredients took some time over the weekend, but it was time I would have normally spent making just one dish. This was easier and lasted much longer.

In addition to this strategy, I found a selection of other quick, healthy meals that fell within the parameters of the Mediterranean diet. These included:

• Smoothies: I even decided to pre-pack and freeze these as well, so I could just blend and go. If I had more time, I’d dump it in a bowl and add toppings.
• Toasts: Toast isn’t just for peanut butter or jam! I made caprese toast, salmon avocado toast, and ricotta and toasted almond toast, among others.
• Dips: Have you ever mixed a bunch of beans and veggies together with a vinaigrette and eaten it as a dip? If not, you’re missing out.
• Salads: All the toppings I’d prepped could easily be thrown on some lettuce instead of grains for a little extra crunch.

Overall, I had no shortage of variety. I needed to make food outside of my normal diet, but I found it to be easy as well as delicious.

I have to admit, the Mediterranean diet did my body some good. Not only could I keep up with my regular workouts, but I have more energy than I did before. 

I also really enjoyed my meals. I will definitely be incorporating my strategies into my regular food prep routine, not only because it decreased my cook time but also because the food was delicious and refreshing. 

The most surprising thing about this diet is that I found myself staying fuller longer. I was concerned that I would get hungry a lot, but I ate a lot of fiber-packed meals that satiated my hunger. Full disclosure: The extra fiber came with a little bit of extra gas, too. You were warned.

I found that I really missed a few of my vices, some more than others. Basically, I could do with less alcohol in my life, but I really wanted more ice cream. And that’s exactly what I’ll do, moving forward. More beans, more veggies, less alcohol, and an adequate amount of ice cream.

I understand that there are challenges to following the Mediterranean diet, some of which I encountered. My first challenge was time. Now, I love some whole grain seedy bread dipped in olive oil as much as the next gal, but that could hardly sustain me. Making delicious, nutrient-dense meals from mostly raw ingredients is time-consuming, even if you prep them ahead of time as I did.

Likewise, opting out of a microwave meal from Trader Joe’s so I could make a couscous bowl could feel enormously inconvenient at the wrong moment. Some days I caved in and went for TJ’s, and most days I didn’t. That’s the beauty of the diet: balance.

Secondly, this diet relies heavily on raw, unprocessed foods. It would be very difficult to follow this diet if you don’t have access to these foods or the tools needed to prepare them. If you find fully committing to the diet to be more burdensome than helpful, I recommend doing what’s in your realm of control. For example:

• Frozen is fine: While the diet recommends fresh fruits and veggies, I personally see no problem with frozen. Frozen broccoli is better for you than potato chips!
• Check out the non-grocery options in your area: Does your neighborhood have a food pantry? A community fridge? A crop share? Google some of these terms—you may be surprised!
• Take care of future you: Personally, I cook for just little ol’ me. Therefore, when I cooked I made four or five servings at once. Future me was thankful for the meals.
• Don’t be so hard on yourself: I certainly “caved” and went out for ice cream or had a drink with my friends. It was nourishing for the soul, if you will.

So was the Mediterranean diet for me? I’d say yes, definitely. If you’d like to add more veggies, whole grains, and healthy fats to your diet, it could be for you, too. If you’re concerned about trying a “diet,” keep in mind that this isn’t restrictive like many diets out there. Even incorporating some aspects of the diet, like eating more fish and less red meat, could be a small but helpful change. I recommend using the diet as inspiration to help you eat well and embrace your inner Mediterranean. When in Rome, right?