This recipe compilation I came across today features so many recipes that are not Mediterranean friendly, at least according to my understanding. I was skeptical when I saw "creamy" in the article's title, but there are plenty of plant-based creamy soups out there. But half these recipes have heavy cream and cream cheese in them. It was also "reviewed" by a "dietitian."
I don't understand. I see stuff like this all the time and even own a "Mediterranean" cookbook that I realized after purchasing is not actually 100% Mediterranean-friendly recipes. Why is this a thing? Of course there's room for leeway in the diet, but not so much that you'd add a heavy cream soup into your regular rotation and delude yourself into thinking it's healthy, right? Are people really that ignorant about the Mediterranean diet or do I just take it too seriously?
by pilolahv
5 Comments
Yes, some people really are that ignorant.
I think one part of the problem is that the Mediterranean diet guidelines are not super strict. There are very few things that are verboten. In fact I don’t know if there’s anything… Some people eat red meat every day and so when they read that they should reduce the amount of red meat they eat they go to three days a week. This kind of thing happens all the time.
I think also, a lot of people are being prescribed the Mediterranean diet by their doctors and so it’s a very popular search term. And companies want to monetize that. People want to believe they can eat a creamy soup as part of this new heart, healthy diet and they are going to click on that link. And the company will make more money.
Honestly, I think the Internet is no longer a place to find useful information on a topic you don’t know a lot about already. There is so much incorrect information. It is nearly impossible to assess.
For Mediterranean diet guidelines, I follow the Mayo Clinic and Cleveland clinic.
The problem is that “Mediterranean” can refer to a geographical cuisine and not the healthy diet guidelines referred to as the Mediterranean Diet.
As you say, there’s room for leeway in the diet. You shouldn’t be eating cream cheese and heavy cream every day, but it’s OK to have in small amounts, like in those recipes.
For an article like that, I think it’s a fair criticism to say that it should be mentioned that dairy should be eaten in small quantities, but I think the recipes themselves aren’t terrible if you really want a creamy soup.
Also, it’s important to make the distinction between Mediterranean cuisine and the Mediterranean Diet, which I think many people don’t.
Dairy is certainly a part of the Mediterranean diet. I looked at the first recipe from the link you shared and the soup has 1/2 cup of heavy cream and 2 tablespoons of cream cheese for six servings.
So that’s like 1.3 tbsp of heavy cream and 1 tsp of cream cheese per serving for about 4 grams of saturated fat.
Compare that to the typical dishes you see on here with a significant portion of cheese like mozzarella and feta.
The Mediterranean diet is a misnomer. For example, there are no salmon in the Mediterranean Sea yet it’s a mainstay of the diet. Look for recipes that follow the eating guidelines, no matter what they’re called.