May is Mediterranean Diet Month, and with Mother’s Day just around the corner, most of us are busy planning the perfect present for Mom. The usual gifts of flowers and cards are nice ideas, but the greatest gift you could give your mother is helping her achieve lasting health.
The best way to show love to your mother on Mother’s Day is by making a meaningful contribution to her life. Let your mom know that you love her, and that’s why you want her to live a long, healthy, and happy life. Introducing her to the healthful and delicious dishes from the Mediterranean region is a great way to do just that.
You’ve likely heard of the Mediterranean diet, which was recently named best overall diet of 2019 and has been shown to help extend your lifespan by roughly a decade. This eating pattern has also been linked to preventing heart attacks, strokes, certain cancers, and diabetes, and reducing inflammation. It may even help lower your risk of dementia by a third.
The Mediterranean eating pattern centers around seasonal produce, fish and seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy, and small amounts of meat and sweets. Part of what makes this diet so successful is that people in the Mediterranean region consider food to be a friend and ally—a source of pleasure, nutrition, history, medicine, and tradition. When combined with lifestyle choices like communal eating and physical activity, the Mediterranean diet is believed to contribute to remarkable longevity in the region. For example, residents in Sardinia are ten times more likely to live past 100 than people in the United States.
Mother’s Day is the perfect time to help your mother make the lifestyle changes that can give her a longer and more joyful life. Read on for two ways you can celebrate your love for your mom and help her start living a healthier life.
Prepare a delicious Mediterranean-style Mother’s Day lunch. Show Mom how much you love her by preparing her a special Mother’s Day meal. Offering a lunch that features delicious and healthy Mediterranean-inspired dishes is the perfect way to celebrate with your mom and the rest of your family. Not only is this a great time to enjoy healthy food, it’s also a chance to reap the benefits of communal eating, a long-upheld tradition in Mediterranean communities. Sharing a table and enjoying camaraderie with loved ones provides a sense of comfort, security, and stability.
Help her stock a healthy Mediterranean pantry. A well-stocked pantry saves time, money, and stress, and makes it easy to eat more healthy meals. With a full Mediterranean pantry in place, Mom can whip up fresh and delicious dishes in just minutes. For Mother’s Day, treat her to a shopping trip and stock her pantry with the basics she’ll need to continue cooking healthy meals.
