Grilled Cheese with Figs and Caramelized-Onions

What could be a better easy comfort food to enjoy than a grilled cheese with figs and caramelized-onions? This grown-up version of a favorite comfort food is perfect with a glass of red wine. A sweet and savory grilled cheese with a full-bodied glass of red wine sounds like the perfect meal to have after a long day at work when cooking dinner is just is not in the cards. But is the grilled cheese with figs and caramelized-onions Mediterranean Diet friendly? Yes! Adapting your life to the Mediterranean Diet is easy with just a few small changes. Make your favorite easy comfort foods without deviating from the WOE (way of eating).

Grilled Cheese with Figs and Caramelized-Onions

Rely on the Mediterrean Pyramid to guide choices

Grains, vegetables, fruit and olive oil are on the bottom of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid. The Olive Sunshine Grilled Cheese with Figs and Caramelized-Onions includes the first four foods listed on the pyramid. The grains come from the whole wheat bread – a better choice than the commonly thought of white bread. Figs and onions are perfect fruits and vegetables. Did you know that onions help speed up the weight loss process? I am sure to include sweet cooked onions where I can in my menu! Olive oil is always the best choice on the Mediterranean Diet. Figs are a delicious choice adding a subtle sweetness balancing the salty cheese perfectly.

I used fresh Black Mission figs, but any fig will do. Figs are seasonal, so once fresh figs are out of season do not be afraid to try other fruits. Pears, apples, peaches and even grapes would make delicious additions. Check out all of the delicious fig recipes on Olive Sunshine.

Swap out foods that are higher on the pyramid for foods lower on the pyramid

Dairy is higher on the pyramid, fruit and vegetables are lower. When we think of a common grilled cheese it is a thick slab of cheese. The Olive Sunshine grilled cheese with figs and caramelized-onions has a much thinner slice of cheese allowing the veggies and onions to share a spot in the limelight. Instead of using processed yellow cheese, a quality traditonally made cheese is best. These quality cheeses typically have more flavor and are better nutritionally. You will not need as much cheese is to create a scrumptious Mediterranean Diet grilled cheese.

Oldways advises, “Further, traditional cheeses generally do not contain hydrogenated oils, food colorings, emulsifiers, and other unnecessary additives found in many highly-processed cheese products. Traditional cheeses’ flavors are instead developed by using high quality milk, natural fermentation, and artisanal techniques—delicious traditions worth preserving. Not all traditional cheeses will feature all of these attributes, as cheesemaking practices vary from country to country and style by style. Some cheeses may satisfy more of these characteristics than others. These are not presented as a litmus test but rather as what we are calling Things to Look for in a Traditional Cheese.”

Comfort Foods are Once-in-Awhile Foods

The Olive Sunshine Grilled Cheese with Figs and Caramelized-Onions is perfect for those nights that you are craving a little ease and comfort. A far better choice than reaching for a boxed meal or driving through the fast food window, it is good food that is good for you. This grown up sandwich is a treat to enjoy once in awhile without the guilt of cheating. Tonight I got home two hours later than intended. A grilled cheese could not be a better quick meal, saving time so I can unwind and enjoy with my Sweetheart.

If you try the Grilled Cheese with Figs and Caramelized-Onions, or your own version of a grown-up Mediterranean Diet grilled cheese, I hope it gives you all the comforts you deserve!