Foods for a healthy lifestyle can be full of great flavor.

The traditional Mediter­ranean diet is a wonderful example of great food that can have a healthy impact on the body.

The Mediterranean diet is characterized by daily consumption of olive oil, fish, fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts and whole grains. It encourages eating fewer processed foods and reducing consumption of meat, a common source of Omega-6 fatty acids.

Everyone needs Omega-6 and Omega-3 essential fatty acids because our bodies don't produce them.

But it's important to keep them in the right balance to each other - a 2:1 ratio of Omega-6 to -3.
The Mediter­ranean Diet helps achieve that balance by focusing on using olive oil instead of vegetable cook­ing oils that are high in Omega-6.

Chef Nick Stellino, of PBS-TV fame, uses Pompeian OlivExtra Plus with Omega-3 DHA for stovetop cooking, baking and preparing soups, sauces and marinades because OlivExtra Plus has both olive oil and an added infusion of Omega-3 to help achieve a better balance.

"If you are going to cook with oil, doesn't it make sense to cook with one that contains more Omega-3?" asks Chef Stellino. In fact, OlivExtra Plus contains a full 32 mg of Omega-3 per serving, which the FDA states is considered an excellent source of Omega-3 DHA.

These recipes for Chicken Marsala, Red Beet and Blood Orange Salad, and Black Bean, Edamame and Wheat Berry Salad make it easy to set a healthy table everyone will be happy to sit down to.

For more delicious ways to set a healthy table, visit www.pompeian.com.