Olive oil and lentils were not foods Gia Dean grew up eating. She acknowledges that her early dinners were more casseroles and takeout than anything like the Mediterranean diet. She was drawn to the lifestyle of seaside towns where people lived long, active lives, yet, as she hit her forties and began to consider health and longevity more carefully.
“It was how they lived, not only what they ate,” Gia notes. Still, food dominated most of it. She therefore began gently adding important components to her own dishes: first olive oil instead of butter, then beans in place of red meat. She spoke of fresh herbs, capers, and sardines. It initially felt strange. But these components grew second nature with time.
The way all felt was what she liked most. “I never felt deprived,” she notes. “I felt nourished in a simple and joyful manner.”
Gia also valued how readily the Mediterranean lifestyle complements daily living. a large salad with lemon and chickpeas. Hummus and cucumbers on whole grain bread. On the burner, a tomato stew sauntered gently. Nothing elegant, but everything quite fulfilling.
She had more energy the more she turned toward this kind of diet. Her blood pressure came under control. Her doctor even mentioned her better cholesterol readings. More than that, Gia muses, “I felt like I was eating for the long game.”
She now views her pantry as a toolset for a longer, better life rather than as a convenience store. She says, “These ingredients aren’t just great.” “They are investments in the person I want to be twenty years from now.”
