In previous posts, we looked at two classic ingredients in Mediterranean food: Olives and Olive Oil. Yet Mediterranean food is filled with a bounty of classic, flavorful ingredients. Today, we will look at another important ingredient to Mediterranean cuisine, feta cheese.

Feta cheese is an ingredient that has become a global phenomenon, but did you know it was once only made in a few specific regions of Greece?
Feta is the oldest known cheese, with the first mention of it as far back in time as Homer’s Odyssey. In one of the oldest fictions in the world, the cyclops Polyphemus is seen with a herd of sheep, making feta cheese.

The details on how it is made are shared in the story, not only confirming it was made by ancient Greeks at the time, but how important the cheese was at the time.

How It’s Made
Feta Cheese is made by heating sheep milk (or sometimes sheep mixed with goat milk) with rennet to curdle it into a cheese. The curd is then separated from the whey and left in barrels, tins, or other vessels to brine in a salt solution.
The result is a crumbly white cheese that is finished relatively quickly compared to other cheese that need to age.
Feta has a protected status and can only be called Feta if it was created with traditional methods in Greece.

How It’s Used
With Feta Cheese being written about as early as the 7th century, it’s no surprise that many great dishes have arisen from it. The people of Greece, and others around the world too, have had plenty of time to experiment with this cheese and turn it into amazing dishes.
Feta cheese is used in a variety of dishes, sprinkled in as a vegetarian alternative to meat in Gyros, crumbled over salads, and baked into famous dishes like Spanakopita.

Nutritional Benefits
Like almost all the ingredients in Mediterranean cooking, feta has a wealth of nutritional benefits. They are lower in calories than other cheeses such as cheddar, but provide calcium, vitamin B12, and many other vitamins and minerals.
Feta cheese may support bone health, and also may improve digestive health. It may also help with vitamin absorption and weight management.
Between all of these nutritional benefits, it is no wonder Feta is a part of the Mediterranean diet.

Tasty, Nutritious Ingredient
The Mediterranean diet is well known for being particularly healthy. It’s little surprise then that the ingredients that make it up all seem to be a powerhouse of nutrition in different ways. This incredible cheese has been providing Greek citizens health benefits since the ancient times, and is now available around the world for everyone to enjoy.
The next time you tuck into a Greek Salad or a beautiful Spanakopita, take a moment to appreciate the delicious Feta accenting your food. It’s truly an amazing ingredient, rich with history, and thousands of years of knowledge went into those delicious bites your craving.

Different people who are switching into the vegan lifestyle have different reasons for doing so. Weight loss, better health, more beautiful hair, nails and skin, and to look and feel better are just among the most common reasons. However, not everyone who turns vegan successfully achieves their goals as some ended up still leaving unhealthy lives in spite of becoming vegans.

The Healthy Vegan

A healthy vegan knows that the foundation of a healthy lifestyle is based on eating fresh food. Vegetables, fruits, seeds, nuts, whole-grains and legumes consist the biggest part of their diet. They know that preparing their own food or by eating at stores they know serve fresh vegan dishes are the way to keep up with this lifestyle, and spare quick, nasty vegan junk food. Packet food like chips, vegan packet cookies, chocolate bars, pretzels, and sweets are only eaten on special occasions because they know the consequences of regularly consuming these types of food. They are very conscious in their choices and have their own recipes of vegan snacks and treats, and continues to find more to add variety to their choices without unhealthy eating.

Healthy vegans also know that exercise and sufficient rest and sleep are vital components to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

The Unhealthy Vegan

Unhealthy vegans are often too lazy to regularly prepare their own food. In most cases, they opt for store-bought foods instead of eating fresh fruits and vegetables. They are familiar with all the vegan packet food brands in the market and they indulge in it most of the time.  There are even cases when they solely rely on these types of food for their consumption; and because some of these foods have an addictive nature, they end up overeating.

An unhealthy vegan lacks physical exercise and dreads getting up on the treadmill or go for walks. They also neglect the importance of sleep and rest that they end up being over-stressed.

The Difference

The difference is obvious in the above situations. So have a self-check and ask yourself which type of vegan you belong. You may also change some of your habits and start doing better ones. After all, going vegan means going healthy.