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I am a 38 year old obese female. I received lab work showing I had elevated cholesterol. I decided it was time to get serious and make some changes. I ordered this book, because although I can find anything online I really enjoy having the book in front of me. This book was enlightening, helped to break things down. I liked the weekly meal plan, along with your grocery list. Just remember to add in your snacks to your grocery list, they are not included in the break down. I did not 100% stick to her plan. The nightly meals were large enough that a lot of times my husband and I would eat it for 2 nights. So I didn’t have the leftovers for lunch. I would usually just eat salads. Also sometimes I would improvise a meal. I live in a small town in the South, so I don’t always have access to some of the ingredients. We have enjoyed the dishes, packed with flavor. The only thing is I wish that the recipes had pictures, not a big deal I just enjoy the look of the end results. I started my new lifestyle as of 6/7/24, as of date I am down 30 pounds. And my cholesterol has improved drastically, only a little bit more to go before I am in normal range. I feel better, and within days my feet didn’t hurt as bad. Obviously they were quite inflamed. My blood pressure (although not terrible) has improved. In my short time I am already a big advocate for the Mediterranean Diet, and this book is a good starting point.

Excellent book. The author does a great job explaining the background of the Mediterranean diet and includes workouts to accompany the recipes. The recipes are extremely easy to make and are delicious. Amazed at how they fill you up as well.

We started using this cookbook to improve our eating habits a couple months ago.ProsI have lost weight utilizing the book, even though it was the holidays and even though I have not strictly stuck to the diet plan. We eat dinners only 3-4 times a week from it.Using these recipes has helped me learn how my cooking can be healthier. For example: Using olive oil instead of butter. Heavier emphasis on vegetables. Adding flavor with garlic, lemon and herbs instead of unhealthy fats. Limiting meats with saturated fats, but not eliminating them.We have found many delicious new recipes to add to our repertoire. The Greek Salad. Orzo with spinach and feta. Pasta puttanesca. Salmon with Gremolata sauce. Halibut in papillote. Chicken piccata. Greek meatballs. Balsamic carrots.Weekly menus. The menu plans helped perspective on portion sizes and ideas for combining recipes to make a meal. The only time I lost any weight with this diet, was when I did not do the snacks, however. Total calories still counts.ConsThere are many items that I cannot find. Fennel and quite a few types of seafood. She does have good suggestions for substitutions.The shopping lists are a wonderful idea, but ended up in buying too much food. I found it best to consult each recipe individually and make my list from that. That also gave me the opportunity to see if I really needed a more expensive version of something. For example, if an herb was just a garnish or could be substituted with a dried version.Serving sizes. Serving sizes for the recipes vary from 1 people to 8 people. I serve meals that range from 1 to 8, depending upon visiting family members. This was another reason looking at each recipe to adjust to expected people served and amounts needed was necessary to create my own shopping lists.Inconsistencies. The recipes needed more testing/editing. The suggested servings didn't always match the amounts listed in the menu or nutrition info. Some recipes needed to be cooked far less time than stated. Or took far more time than stated. Not too difficult to figure out if you are an experienced cook, but could create some disappointments for a beginner.Finally, and this is more a personal taste thing, there were times when there was just too much of things that were not well received by my audience. One week is very heavy on the times spinach is served (although in many creative ways). I learned to half the lemon, although I liked the citrusy emphasis. Also, my family members can't/won't eat garbanzo beans, peppers, cilantro, whole grains....sigh. Many things that I do enjoy! I was surprisingly able to get them to eat whole grain pasta. My picky teenaged son did not appreciate most of the recipes.Overall, I am happy with this book and found it valuable. I do hope that any further editions can work out the quirks.

great recipes ... best pizza crust and very easy!!

Some of the recipes in this book are really good. However I started trying to buy the ingredients for the first week of meal plans and my walmart online shopping cart quickly racked up to over $200. And I wasn't even done yet! And that was only for the first week!I mean I love that the shopping lists are included, and that the lists are broken up into easy-to-read categories (produce/dairy/meat/etc) but seriously? There are a LOT of groceries to buy every week and even though I've got a pretty healthy finances I can't spend that much on groceries! You could never do this plan on a tight budget or if you're someone who struggles to make ends meat. It's not realistic and that was disappointing.That being said, some of the recipes really are pretty delicious, so I'm still giving three stars. I had to pick and choose some recipes a la carte from the book since the meal plans weren't realistic budget-wise. There are better meditteranean diet cookbooks out there that I've found since.

Bought to improve my health, this book has changed the way I eat. No more stomach rumbling and bloating. It’s easy to follow, everything tastes so good. I bought the paperback but wished I bought the spiral as I will use this book for the rest of my life.