Instant Pot Miracle Mediterranean Diet Cookbook: 100 Simple and Tasty Recipes Inspired by One of the World's Healthiest Diets

Welcome to the Mediterranean Diet

My personal journey and experience with the Mediterranean diet

If you’ve followed me over the years or bought any of my other cookbooks, you may know that for the past eight-plus years, I’ve followed a low-carb, ketogenic diet. Not only did I lose eighty pounds and keep seventy of them off for all those years, but I also felt that this way of eating really helped me keep inflammation low in my body.

Until it didn’t.

Slowly, and then suddenly, my body became inflamed. My C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were elevated. My joints were swollen. Even my eyes were showing signs of inflammation! Not only did I not understand what was happening, but as someone who was an active proponent of a lower-carb way of eating, I started to feel like a fraud.

On the one hand, I was telling others to follow a ketogenic diet, and on the other hand, I was starting to search for dietary paths to reduce my own inflammation. It took me a while—and a lot of courage—to admit that perhaps what had once worked for me was no longer working.

As I got older, and perhaps as my rheumatoid arthritis progressed, it became more important to focus on reducing inflammation in a different way. I will say that I do think following a ketogenic diet reduced my inflammation for those eight years, largely because the diet removes sugar and processed, high-carb foods. But apparently that was no longer enough.

I started to read all I could about anti-inflammatory foods. I discovered the DIS and LIS (dietary inflammation score and lifestyle inflammation score respectively), which rated different foods on an inflammation index based on empirical data. Of course, every search and every reference I studied invariably referred to the Mediterranean diet.

I finally decided I had nothing to lose and carefully and cautiously moved over to this way of eating. On a ketogenic or low-carb diet, it is quite difficult to fit fruit into your macros; and beans and rice and grains are, of course, entirely off limits.

I ate. So. Much. Fruit. So much bread. I stuffed myself full of beans and rice. All the foods that I had missed. And despite the indulgence, my inflammatory markers went down. My CRP came down so much that my eye doctor asked me what I had been doing, since he could now see no signs of inflammation in my eyes! My weight went up a few pounds; then, as I imposed a little discipline on myself with that home-baked bread, it came back down to where it had been before I started.

Of course, this is what is working for me. The impact of the Mediterranean way of eating on you may be quite different than it has been for me. I can tell you that eight years ago, I couldn’t have eaten this way without putting on weight. I was very carb sensitive, very insulin resistant, and would put on weight immediately if I ate carbs. But I got older. My body changed. And what worked for me has also changed.

As we age, all of us become more susceptible to inflammation. Not only does our cumulative exposure to inflammatory factors create an issue, but our gene regulation becomes impaired, causing an increase in some key immune-system-to-brain messages. If we also start to gain weight as we age, the increased adipose tissue is known to be inherently inflammatory and reduces the production of adiponectin, which has anti-inflammatory properties.

But we aren’t fated to stay inflamed. Healthy eating, exercise, and increased intake of anti-inflammatory supplements can help counteract some of these issues. In contrast, stress, poor sleep habits, smoking, sugar, and processed foods can increase inflammation.

By changing my diet, I was able to reduce my overall inflammation and get back to great health. Perhaps it will be the same way for you, or perhaps you will discover you are still better off on a keto diet, or a vegan diet, or whatever other way you’ve been eating.

At the very least, you will have had an interesting experiment, a delicious interlude, and a nice break before you go back to a different way of eating. At the very best, you will have found something sustainable that leads you to better health, as it did for me.

What exactly is the Mediterranean diet?

If there’s one so-called diet that is widely acclaimed for its health benefits, it’s the Mediterranean diet. It was Best Overall Diet in 2021, 2020, 2019, and 2018, according to U.S. News & World Report. In 2021, the Mediterranean diet was ranked #1 Best Plant-Based Diet, Best Heart-Healthy Diet, Best Diabetes Diet, Best Diet for Healthy Eating, and the Easiest Diet to Follow, according to U.S. News & World Report.

There are many books that explain the ins and outs of the Mediterranean diet. When I decided to move to this way of eating, I read many of them. The landscape was confusing, to say the least. Since the Mediterranean diet refers to a way of eating, it makes sense that every one of those books is trying to give you the broad outlines of what to eat, and different books emphasize different aspects of this way of eating.

But not for nothing, I am trained as a scientist as well as a statistician. I see patterns (better than seeing dead people!). And here is the basic pattern I saw and followed:

Eat 4 to 6 servings of vegetables daily.

Eat 2 to 3 servings of fruit daily.

Eat a handful of nuts daily.

Eat at least 1 serving of beans and grains daily.

Cook with only olive oil.

Eat chicken and seafood no more than two or three times a week and choose seafood more often than chicken. Choose fatty seafood often.

Eat beef, pork, and lamb about once a month.

Eat dessert once a week (but then again, I have a sweet tooth).

Drink a glass of wine with dinner if you’d like.

Eat only within an 8- to 12-hour window daily.

What this translates to is a largely vegetarian diet filled with fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, and grains, with the occasional side dish of meat. Butter, sugar, processed flours, pasta, and processed foods take a back seat to the foods above.

That’s it. No need to make it more complicated than that.

Reasons to love the Mediterranean diet

No calorie counting. Eat the foods listed above, and don’t worry about calorie counting, especially at the beginning.

Fresh food in abundance. Fruits, veggies, home-baked breads (in moderation), beans, and grains are delicious, nutritious, and filling.

You can have carbs. For someone who had been on a keto or low-carb diet for eight years, I will admit I went a little overboard initially. But complex carbs are not only allowed, they are encouraged on the Mediterranean diet. I found I did better with home-baked breads than store-bought ones, and I allowed myself a little bread daily.

Olive oil! Fat isn’t forbidden, as long as it is unsaturated fat. So olive oil and nuts are okay, but too much meat is not okay, and butter is only used very occasionally. Not only does this add a lot of flavor, but fat is also very filling.

Lots of spices. Many spices such as turmeric, ginger, and even cayenne are considered anti-inflammatory. Cinnamon is widely used to control blood sugar. Other spices such as rosemary, bay leaves, and basil are also considered to provide their own health benefits. Spices flavor your food and can reduce inflammation in your body.

Wine. You are encouraged to have a small glass of wine with dinner. Note that it’s one glass not one bottle, maybe two glasses for men. And 4 to 6 ounces, not one of those giant wine glasses that have suddenly become popular.

Dairy. Low-fat dairy products can be enjoyed in moderation, especially if you use items like cheese or yogurt as an additional flavor rather than as the focus of the meal.

Satiety. Between the abundant olive oil and the whole foods, which digest slower, you’re very unlikely to be hungry. If you do get hungry, eat more fruits or vegetables.

Reduces inflammation. Inflammation starts out as a positive thing. If we are fighting off an infection, it is inflammation, with its accompanying increase in white blood cell activity, that will help keep you healthy. It is inflammation that helps create a scab on a wound. It is what can help heal us when we are subjected to physical trauma.

But for some of us, somewhere down the line, inflammation moves from being a positive force to one that is detrimental. We go from acute inflammation, lasting three to five days, to chronic inflammation, where our body starts to release pro-inflammatory cytokines and keeps us in a state of constant inflammation. Now the body is confused and sometimes attacks its own tissues, unable to differentiate self from invader. Swollen, red, and painful joints, a general sense of malaise and exhaustion, and chronic pain become our daily companions.

Whether your chronic inflammation leads you toward heart disease, stroke, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s, cancer, asthma, chronic respiratory disease, allergies, inflammatory bowel disease, chronic kidney diseases, or a whole host of other inflammatory-influenced conditions, you now have yourself a problem.

The Mediterranean diet as a whole is associated with lowered inflammation. But the subcomponents of this diet, such as tomatoes, nightshade vegetables, spices, legumes, and so on, have also individually been shown to reduce inflammation.

Weight loss. If your current diet is more akin to the Standard American Diet, it is very likely that you will lose weight by moving to a Mediterranean-style of eating. Not only are fruits, vegetables, and beans lower in calories than meats and processed foods, but they are also high in fiber, which makes them very filling. Keep in mind that the Mediterranean diet is not geared toward weight loss per se. Rather, it’s the best-documented anti-inflammatory diet.

Intermittent fasting. By restricting your eating to an 8- to 12-hour window, not only do you reduce overall calorie consumption but you also get all the benefit of intermittent fasting. Ideally, you’d stop eating at eight in the evening. If you ask me, nothing good gets eaten after eight! That’s when most of us reach for junk food.

Easy to cook. The large variety of foods makes it easy to fix meals. You will see a huge variety of easy-to-cook meals in this book, but if you don’t particularly feel like cooking? Salads and fruits make great no-cook options for lighter meals.

Huge variety. You aren’t restricted to just food from Italy or Spain. You can have things like Bean and Veggie Enchilada Casserole or Chana Masala with Brown Rice. As long as you’re eating a largely vegetarian, unprocessed foods diet with unsaturated fats, you are still following the Mediterranean diet.

Better for heart health and brain health. Any diet that reduces inflammation in your body has more than just heart and brain benefits, of course, but even if it did nothing but protect your heart and keep your brain sharp for longer, it would be well worth it.

Longer, more social mealtimes. If you ever needed an excuse for a long, leisurely dinner or an excuse to force your kids or significant other to eat with you minus their ever-present electronic devices, you now have one. The Mediterranean way of eating encourages leisurely meals with a lot of social interaction. Cooking with your family, sharing meals with friends and loved ones, making mealtime a reliable and much-loved ritual, all of these will help you enjoy not just your food but, dare I say, your life as well.

Importance of moderation. You do not suddenly have permission to consume ¼ cup of olive oil with your bread at dinner. You can’t eat a cup of nuts daily. You still need to exercise common sense and moderation with this way of eating. But you can eat fruits and vegetables when you get hungry, enjoy their taste, and stay full longer.

Introduction to Pressure Cooking

I have been cooking with pressure cookers for more than thirty-five years. (I feel old just writing that! Let’s just assume I started cooking at two years old, okay?) My relationship with them has evolved. Just as in other long-term relationships, over the years I have loved them, used them, taken them for granted during busy times, explored their capabilities during times of rest, understood their giving nature better, and fallen in love with them again.

About five years ago, I discovered the world of electric pressure cookers. Soon after, the Instant Pot entered my life and slowly took over my kitchen. In fact, as my life was taken over by a degenerative disease that often limited my mobility, I began to rely more and more on these devices that allowed me to cook a quick, nutritious dinner without babysitting, standing, stirring, and mixing.

My husband, Roger, and I were also on a weight-loss journey, and home-cooked meals were critical in this endeavor. Together, we have lost and kept off about 175 pounds, and cooking healthy meals at home was an important part of how we accomplished this feat.

My son, Mark, learned to cook with a pressure cooker when he was nineteen years old. I still remember when he mastered four different dishes in one day. Now it’s true that Mark is scary smart, but it’s also true that pressure cookers are not that complicated.

I want to use this book as a way to introduce you to the delights of cooking in a pressure cooker. I assure you, once you realize all that it can do, you may well find yourself sorely neglecting the other appliances in your kitchen, along with your stove.

If you are a novice cook, forget all your fears, concerns, and confusion. Just pick a recipe from this book—any recipe—and make it by following the simple directions. Through these pages, I’ll help you create amazing meals. Just like the thousands before you who never cooked but now make my recipes nightly, you, too, can do this. If you are an accomplished cook already, you may enjoy the different shortcuts I use as well as appreciate the wide range of flavors and cuisines covered in this book.

There’s something for everyone. I hope you enjoy it!

Why Instant Pot?

The Instant Pot combines several kitchen appliances in one: pressure cooker, rice cooker, slow cooker, yogurt maker, and sterilizer. Some models can even cook sous vide. But for most people, its most popular function is pressure cooking. A pressure cooker changes the boiling point of water. In the sealed cooking environment, the steam generated by boiling liquid can’t escape, so it builds up and creates pressure. As the pressure increases, the boiling point of water is raised. In the Instant Pot, a high pressure of 11.6 psi (pounds per square inch) can raise the boiling point of water from 220°F (100°C) to 245°F (118°C). This cooks foods faster and thus they retain more flavor. Cooking under pressure infuses food with flavor in a way stovetop cooking can’t.

Speed

The Instant Pot speeds up cooking by two to six times, making it extremely energy efficient while preserving nutrients and resulting in healthy, tasty dishes. This is especially true for tough grains and beans. The Instant Pot is the fastest, easiest, most foolproof way to get these done.

Tough beans like chickpeas and red kidney beans can be prepared in about 30 minutes under pressure and, best of all, require no stirring or watching over the dish as it cooks. Fresh or frozen green peas, sweet corn, and baby carrots can be steamed in 2 to 3 minutes. For mashed potatoes, there is no longer a need to boil in