Eating Well, the Mediterranean Way

Suzy Karadsheh, the Egypt-born, Atlanta-based founder of The Mediterranean Dish food blog, dishes on bringing her home region’s sunny flavors to the American kitchen

WRITTEN BY Kevin Revolinski

What began as a humble blog that Egyptian-born Suzy Karadsheh created to share recipes and family stories with her daughters has grown to become the largest website for modern Mediterranean cooking, attracting millions of monthly visitors. She published her first cookbook, “The Mediterranean Dish Cookbook: 120 Bold and Healthy Recipes You’ll Make on Repeat,” in 2022. In a chat with American Essence, she reflected on her cooking and upbringing and shared some handy tips and recipes for home cooks looking for easier, healthy options.

American Essence: You define three principles of the Mediterranean diet as, “Eat with the seasons; use mostly whole foods; and above all else, share.”

Can you elaborate?

Suzy Karadsheh: These are three things I grew up with in my parents’ home [in Port Said, Egypt]. It was not so much a deliberate attempt at following particular principles, but a way of life. We’d go to the souq [fresh market] a few times a week. So naturally, we ate in season. I did not grow up on a lot of processed foods at all. When the farmers market [in Atlanta] is open, I am there every Saturday, and I am looking at whatever is in season and chatting with the merchants and farmers.

Sharing is probably the biggest part of what I try to deliberately do right now. At my parents’ home, at the table, we always had so many people. There was a real sense of community, and sharing meals was just a part of that.

AE: What do we get wrong about the Mediterranean diet?

Mrs. Karadsheh: Mediterranean people would not think of it as a “diet”; it’s a pattern of eating. Here in our [American] culture, people think of it as a rigid list of dos and don’ts. It comes with that restrictive feeling. But eating the Mediterranean diet is anything but that.

We eat everything, but we eat more from the bottom of the pyramid. At the tip of the pyramid, you have anything processed, sweets, heavier red meats. It doesn’t mean we are not eating them every week. But the focus is more on the vegetables, the legumes, the hearty grains, and all that good stuff; protein from fish and maybe a little bit of dairy. You will fill your day and your plate with those fiber-based and plant-based proteins that keep you satisfied for longer.

AE: What are some of your earliest memories around food and cooking?

Mrs. Karadsheh: My mom was a teacher and so we did our homework at the kitchen table while she prepared dinner. So my memories are of pages of homework with tomato sauce on top.

My mom was more of an intuitive cook. And my dad, too. It’s all just eyeballing. I remember