Hungry Happens: Mediterranean

Hungry Happens: Mediterranean

Introduction: Love Your Life

Every day in the kitchen, I’m guided by two convictions. The first is that cooking is one of life’s greatest pleasures. This was true for my parents, my grandparents, and likely all of my Greek ancestors, because for us food and cooking have been practically everything: nourishment, connection, work, heritage—and pleasure, of course.

I enjoy the process in its entirety. I love grocery shopping, surveying all the ingredients to find what speaks to me, and even unloading my purchases at home, because I’m comforted by the knowledge of delicious meals to come. Then there’s the full sensory experience in the kitchen—washing, slicing, chopping, cooking, baking, seasoning—I’m engaged by it all. But the best part comes at the end, because I take great satisfaction in sharing a home-cooked meal with my family and loved ones.

The second conviction is that homemade food is always better. This is something I learned firsthand, growing up in a house where we ate only fromscratch meals, made with fresh, healthy ingredients and lots of love.

My parents arrived in the United States as immigrants with practically nothing, and there were many years when our family didn’t have many material possessions. But we were always well fed at home. This experience gave me a deep and profound appreciation for the power of a healthful, home-cooked meal and how it is one of the deepest expressions of love one person can show for another.

Every day I marvel at my luck that I grew up this way, and for the opportunity I’ve had to continue my family’s legacy of food through Hungry Happens, the website and content platform I created. I consider it such a privilege to cook in my kitchen, to enjoy these meals with my family and community—and now, to share with you this book that’s full of so many treasured recipes.

My Greek Roots

My parents and grandparents all came from Sparta, in the Peloponnesus region of Greece, where a very different pace of life prevailed over what most of us know now. There weren’t supermarkets to shop at, cars to drive, or many of the distractions that dominate so much of our lives today. Their days revolved around their community, with food as the anchor.

Of course, things weren’t perfect. There was a lot of instability in Greece at the time, following a military coup that began in 1967. Between the political situation and the promise of the American dream, my parents separately immigrated to the United States, each with the equivalent of a sixth-grade education, determined to create better, more prosperous lives for themselves and their future children.

My parents met in the United States, and within two months of knowing each other, they married and got started building a family among a small community of other Greek immigrants on Long Island, New York. My dad found work as a baker at a restaurant, making cookies, pies, tarts, and cakes. He may not have realized it at the time, but this job was the beginning of my family’s long-lasting profession in food.

My parents felt a lot of pressure during that period as they worked so hard to create a stable, secure home. As anyone who starts from scratch must do, they made endless sacrifices, taking risks they weren’t sure would pay off, and worked nonstop to save for a better future for us. We lived very modestly, at first because we had so little, and over time, because my parents saved almost every penny they earned. Having grown up poor, they knew how to stretch a dollar as much as possible, and they were experts at finding the best prices. My father always used to say, “It’s not how much you make, but how much you save that counts the most.” Slowly they established financial stability, realizing their American dream by ultimately becoming owners of Greek diners in New York that they operated for thirty-five years. To say that my dad was dedicated to his businesses is a gross understatement.

My maternal grandparents lived with us while I was growing up, and if you’ve ever seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding, it was kind of like that. Everything was a family affair, and my family was a huge presence in my life, in particular my yiayia (what we call our grandmothers in Greek), Dimitra. While my parents were working around the clock, she made it her responsibility to create a warm, safe home that was overflowing with love and kindness. Yiayia always made sure that I felt an abundance of care and attention.

And food was absolutely Yiayia’s love language. She was an incredible cook, who made everything from scratch. Neither she nor my parents conformed to the American style of eating, with a new diet in vogue every other week and a prevalence of processed foods. She cooked with fresh ingredients, never using canned foods or frozen vegetables. (Not that there’s anything wrong with these things—she just never touched them. We never even had canned soup at home!) Yiayia brought the Greek food traditions she’d learned from her mother and grandmother, passing our family’s recipes down to me so that future generations wouldn’t forget.

There were always abundant fresh fruits and vegetables. Bread was always homemade, not store-bought. Every meal was balanced. She was intent on keeping us connected to our heritage. While I may not have appreciated every one of those classic Greek dishes as a kid, as an adult, I now recognize that time as a stroke of unbelievable luck. With a role model like Yiayia, who wouldn’t ultimately fall in love with healthy Greek food?

My Healthy Eating Journey

Because we were in the restaurant business, my family rarely went out to eat. Instead, my parents insisted we eat home-cooked meals at every opportunity, and my dad always stressed the importance of staying away from prepared and highly processed foods. When I wanted a snack or dessert after dinner, fresh fruit was the sole option, never chips or candy or anything actually dessert-ish. Combined with Yiayia’s classic Greek cooking, this was the foundation of my culinary education.

In the ensuing years as an adult, my relationship with food went through many changes. I gained and lost weight with both my pregnancies, experimenting with every method of exerting control that I could think of: from starving myself (which I absolutely do not recommend) and very strict dieting, to intense exercise regimens and various elimination programs centered on “clean” eating.

Everyone has their own health journey, and for those seeking to hit specific goals, I know what it’s like. I’m not here to judge or shame. Goals require discipline, both in food and in life (in my kitchen/office you’ll find the saying “Discipline is freedom” tacked up on the wall!).

But for everyone simply aiming to maintain their health and have a lowstress relationship with what they eat, what I’ve ultimately come to realize is that moderation is the golden ticket. And in this way, Hungry Happens represents a relationship with food that’s quite different from what I’ve known through the peaks and valleys of my adult life. I’ve learned how to fine-tune my cooking with healthy ingredients and balanced meals, while also satisfying my cravings and enjoying all the recipes I now want to share. So when people ask me about my tricks for staying healthy when I spend all day in the kitchen making such delicious food, I tell them that it pretty much comes down to this: Stop eating when you’re 80 percent full. I’ve been the happiest and most satisfied during the periods of my life when I’ve been able to abide by this rule.

Of course, what I eat factors in here in a big way, too, and that’s what makes Hungry Happens something of a full-circle moment. Like my yiayia and my parents, I’m an advocate for homemade meals—a hundred times out of ten, they’re going to be healthier than any of the more convenient options that might seem so enticing in the heat of the moment. And like them, fresh fruits and vegetables are central to my diet. I always try to balance out my plate with protein, fiber, and healthy fats, using recognizable, nonprocessed foods.

In general, you can’t beat Mediterranean cuisine when it comes to healthy eating. It delivers delicious, full-flavored meals that prioritize fresh ingredients that are beneficial for all-around good health. Study after study supplies more evidence that if you want to live longer and feel good, eat a diet rich in olive oil, lean proteins and healthy fats, and plenty of fruits and vegetables. It isn’t very complicated.

And a final, foundational element of healthy eating that I learned directly from my grandparents and parents: Nobody is perfect! You must also make sure to enjoy the things you love. One of my papou’s (my grandfather’s) favorite meals was a McDonald’s cheeseburger—he treated himself to it once a week. My dad, on the other hand, would never eat McDonald’s, but he sure had a sweet tooth and had to indulge it every now and then with a cookie or bite of cake. Like my dad, I have a sweet tooth, too, and I honor it occasionally with ice cream, homemade chocolate chip cookies, or a cup of hot cocoa. While making healthy choices is important, you’ve got to enjoy your life, too.