Recently, I met a neighbor’s mother who was visiting from Greece. The neighbor and I were standing in front of school, casually talking about school lunch. We both make our kids lunches, thinking them a healthier alternative to what gets dished out in the lunch line. I mentioned that another reason I make lunch is that one of my daughters is a near vegetarian, and school lunch features meat every day.
Soon, the conversation moved along to other topics of outrage like “what’s the deal with all the candy in class?” and “since when are cupcakes a healthy snack?”
My neighbor’s Greek mother was silent through most of the conversation. Then all at once, she shook her head in disbelief and interjected,
“Wait. These children eat meat…EVERY DAY?!”
She was astounded. Apparently, that just isn’t the way they roll in Greece.
Or is it? The NY Times reports this week that while many health-conscious Americans are trying to eat the famous Mediterranean Diet, Greeks are increasingly modelling their diet on ours. The result: two-thirds of Greek children are overweight, and their life expectancy is lower than that of their parents (who, interestingly, mostly still eat a traditional diet).
The article goes on to offer this sad statement:
Greece, Italy, Spain and Morocco have even asked Unesco to designate the diet as an “intangible piece of cultural heritage,” a testament to its essential value as well as its potential extinction.
I for one, will be doing my part to keep the Mediterranean Diet alive. Tune in next week when I will offer some recipes featuring of one of my favorite Mediterranean ingredients: Mint!
(Tell me some of your favorite Meditteranean ingredients, so I can try to work those in as well!)
