Greeks are well known for their longevity, the average life expectancy in China is much higher than the world average life expectancy, and many people believe that the reason why Greeks can live so long is that in addition to a good living environment, a sound medical system, healthy eating habits play an important role, as early as 2010, UNESCO included the Mediterranean dietary habits in the representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. What is the secret of the Mediterranean diet, which is known as one of the healthiest diets in the world? Let's take a look at the Greek family's three meals a day, what they love to eat, and why the Mediterranean diet can make Greeks live longer.
1. Breakfast
Not all of the ancient Greeks had the habit of eating three meals a day, and the Greeks at that time only ate two meals a day: breakfast and dinner. The ancient Greeks ate breakfast earlier, partly to facilitate labor, and on the other hand, to the Greeks' uncertainty about the concept of time. We now use hours as a criterion for the division of a day, but the ancient Greeks at that time did not have such an accurate way of measuring. They divide the day into dawn, market peak (noon), noon, afternoon and evening.
Greek food culture is about 4,000 years old, and the ancient Greek breakfast was usually served before the end of the dawn, and the breakfast was not hearty, usually including flour cakes made of barley or wheat, olive oil, wine, and sometimes figs. Most families also love bread, cheese and chickpea soup for breakfast. Over time, the Greeks slowly changed their breakfast eating habits.
Today's Breakfast in Greek Families is usually bread toast with salad or jam and a cup of coffee. When it comes to coffee, the Greeks have a crushing preference for it. Drinking coffee is the first thing the Greeks do every day after waking up, and they drink Turkish coffee. The ground coffee is brewed in a cup, into a pulp, and after drinking, it is also mixed with a cup of water in the cup, and the remaining coffee grounds are drunk together. Greeks also used to drink some fresh orange juice after breakfast.
Greeks also love to drink yogurt for breakfast, Greek yogurt into a paste, very thick, rich milk aroma slightly sweet. What is sold on the market is pure yogurt, nothing added. Locals believe that the benefits of yogurt are in a basket, and yogurt is also an indispensable ingredient for Greeks to cook. They usually use a plate of "Greek salad" as an appetizer, that is, a mixture of pure yogurt, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and fennel minced to make a salad dressing, mixed with a variety of fresh vegetables.
2. Lunch
The Greek diet is typical of the Mediterranean style, and the daily diet uses olive oil, vegetables, herbs, grains, as well as bread, wine, fish, and various meats, including poultry, rabbits, etc. Greek ingredients such as fruits and vegetables, meat, and seafood are very fresh, pure in taste, and diverse in practice, blending the culinary essence of Europe and other countries. Greek desserts are characterized by the often use of nuts and honey.
The staple food of Greek family lunches is usually bread, and the dipping sauce with bread is even more colorful, and the most famous local dipping sauce is almost always made with fresh vegetables plus olive oil or yogurt, so that people can taste the crisp taste of seasonal vegetables. Fresh vegetables and fruits are not afraid of the lack of Greece, the people here look at vegetables, fruits not only stop at side dishes or plates, but also play their nutrition and delicious to the extreme, such as tomatoes, green peppers, onions, eggplant, cucumbers, beans, parsley, garlic, etc., are good ingredients for cooking, with these fresh condiments, but also make Greek cuisine add a lot of color.
Greeks love salad for lunch, Greek salad uses tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, feta cheese, olive oil and some balsamic vinegar, the fragrance of vegetables and cheese will come out, perhaps because of the presence of olives, so a little spicy taste in it. This salad is very beautiful, red tomato, white cheese, green cucumber, purple onion, etc., it looks very appetizing, before eating a salad, it is a good enjoyment.
Greeks are also very fond of meat, here often you can see the figure of lamb, such as The lamb of Corfu, the people here make lamb with original taste, before making, just use vanilla, lemon juice and olive oil slightly marinated, and when the cooking is finished, there is no fishy smell of lamb, but maintain the umami taste of lamb, plus baked bread together, it is really delicious.
3. Dinner
The dinner of the Greek family is very rich, and one of the dishes often eaten is called Musaka, which spreads the chopped potatoes, eggplant, tomato sauce, minced meat and sour cheese in a bowl layer by layer, and the sour cheese is placed on the top layer and baked in the oven. Serve with a dash of salt, pepper and olive oil. The dish is rich in milk and has a thick taste, but the fat content is not high, and it is very healthy.
Greeks also love seafood for dinner, blessed with Greece surrounded by the sea on three sides, embracing the blessings of the sea - seafood is not difficult, rich fresh catch such as fish, shrimp, crabs, dried scallops, clams, etc., can easily change the dishes on the table. In addition, dried fruit snack vendors everywhere, filled with dried fruits such as peanuts, almond nuts, pistachios, figs, and raisins, can best show the Greek dinner style.
In terms of meat cuisine, because Greece has long been under the rule of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, it is also deeply influenced by its diet, not only in the menu common lamb dishes, but also in Turkish kebab (Kebab) is also everywhere. Sovalangi is a Greek kebab, similar to the Turkish lamb keba, Sicikaba. There are also meat balls, which are not only grilled directly on the stove, but also stewed with tomato sauce.
Greeks usually drink a glass of wine for dinner, and Greece is one of the first regions in the world to make wine, dating back 6,500 years. Today, Greece grows more than 300 local grape varieties and many international grape varieties. A wide range of varieties produce wines of a variety of styles, whether it is a red wine with a distinct structure, a white wine with a delicate and elegant aroma, or a sweet wine full of unique exotic styles, all of which represent The long history and rich wine culture of Greece.
Why did the Greeks live longer?
1. Mediterranean eating habits
Mediterranean diet refers to the diet style of Southern European countries on the Mediterranean coast, such as Greece, Spain, France and southern Italy, which are mainly vegetables and fruits, fish, grains, beans and olive oil. Olive oil is also at the heart of the Mediterranean diet. Local residents generally have the habit of eating olives raw, and use olive oil as cooking oil to cook, bake food and mix salads and vegetables. Olive oil has a somewhat spicy taste and is rich in unsaturated fatty acids.
The seafood fish that greeks usually eat is rich in linolenic acid (Ω-3 fatty acids) that are beneficial to the heart. The Mediterranean seas are rich in sardines, and sardine meat is rich in Ω-3 fatty acids, which help reduce blood viscosity and blood pressure, maintain a normal heart rhythm, and increase the level of beneficial HDL.
2. Food safety
All food and beverages in Greece must be certified by EU standards, and certified products can be sold on the market. At the same time, Greece has very strict diet-related laws, and illegal acts involving food will be severely punished, thus effectively eliminating illegal and criminal acts in diet.
3. Social welfare
Greece is one of the first countries in the world to implement a social welfare system, and it is also one of the countries with the best social welfare in the world. Greek social welfare is quite perfect, the welfare is many and complete, is a typical high welfare state. Including free education, free medical care, maternity benefits, unemployment benefits, pension benefits, retirement benefits, etc., although Greece has experienced economic crisis in recent years, but social welfare is not disconnected.
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