My personal relationship with Mediterranean cuisine did not begin with the so-called diet. It started in my grandmothers' kitchens and tables. With them I learned that food was not just something to fill our stomachs, but a powerful tool that affected our mood, everyday life, holidays and well-being. Food gave our family a sense of tradition and an important cultural ritual that united us with our ancestors and relatives abroad. For my grandmothers, food was also a medicine, and they had an edible remedy for almost all ailments. Somewhere along the line, though, things changed. When our family got crowded and people started moving to work, many of our traditional food routes were lost. When I asked Italian relatives about their health, fortunately they didn't have any major problems to report. We had the same genes, the same looks, the same character traits and sometimes even the same names, but those who grew up in Italy were definitely healthier. Not long after that trip I returned to Italy and lived there for a year. I wanted to really immerse myself in the culture and reap the benefits of its healthy lifestyle. I also wanted to be able to translate living traditions into simple acts that anyone, anywhere, could incorporate into their lifestyle to achieve optimal health. Since these elements have been practiced since ancient times in the twenty-seven countries of the region - countries as diverse as France, Israel, Egypt and Morocco - they are second nature to the people who live there.My mission with Mediterranean Diet The Ultimate Cookbook is to illustrate the ease, effectiveness and delight of the Mediterranean diet in the most comprehensive, easy to implement and fun way possible. I deliberately chose the recipes in this recipe book for their taste, authenticity and nutritional value. Not only are most of them low in fat, cholesterol and sodium, but they are also rich in vitamins, minerals and healthy properties that our body desires. The recipes are organized in the same format as the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid, offering most of the varieties of foods we should eat the most and the fewest foods we should limit. Each recipe contains a Mediterranean Tradition to enhance the daily life aspects of the food plan, and the meal plans and service suggestions are annotated, in Mediterranean style.