5 kitchen hacks an Italian dietitian uses to make following the Mediterranean diet easy

• Eating healthily doesn't have to take lots of time or preparation, a dietitian says.
• Italian dietitian Marika Mancino has followed the Mediterranean diet all her life.

Eating healthy, balanced meals doesn't have to mean hours of cooking or bland food.

Italian dietitian Marika Mancino, who grew up on the Mediterranean diet, and now bases her clinical practice on it, shared five kitchen hacks she uses to make following the diet easy. She previously shared her go-to breakfasts and lunches with Insider.

Mancino believes the Mediterranean diet is the most "complete" eating plan in the world and also the most delicious.

She said that an important part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle is planning, which means thinking ahead and having kitchen staples on hand for when you're busy.

However, she stressed that, "there is no food that is not good for you," and that managing portion sizes and being mindful of the ingredients in store-bought products is key.

Here are the kitchen hacks she swears by.

Always keep bags of salad in the fridge

Mancino always has bags of pre-made salad in her fridge that she can whip out after a long day.

"When I finish late at work in the evening I just open a salad bag, I rinse it a little bit and then I can use it," she said. "Healthy food doesn't necessarily require a lot of preparation."

She likes to make sure each meal she prepares includes vegetables, but if the recipe she is cooking does not, she will simply open a bag of salad and add some carrots and tomatoes to it to eat alongside the main dish, she said.

Buy frozen vegetables

While vegetables are an essential element of the Mediterranean diet, and a vital source of micronutrients, they don't have a long shelf life, and getting to the grocery store every day isn't realistic for most people, Mancino said.

To combat this, she buys frozen vegetables to keep in her freezer, which she says are the same as fresh ones but simply more convenient.

Stock up your store cupboard with tinned proteins

If you are in a rush, you can quickly turn a salad or pasta dish into a balanced, high-protein meal with some canned chickpeas or tuna, Mancino said.

If she has more time, Mancino likes to roast the chickpeas, but on busy days she will simply drain them and add them to a salad of leafy greens, artichokes, and tomatoes. She might pair this with some bread to make it a complete meal, she said.

Another of her go-to meals is a pasta salad with mozzarella cheese, olives, tomatoes, and tinned tuna.

Use herbs and spices instead of salt

A great way to ensure that your food tastes delicious, without going overboard on salt, is by seasoning it with herbs and spices, Mancino said.

"You can have salt in the Mediterranean diet, but we use a lot of spices to reduce the use," she said.

Mancino loves sprinkling herbs into soups, particularly basil, coriander, cumin, black pepper, and turmeric, and rosemary on top of potatoes.

Use miso paste instead of stock

Another hack she has for reducing salt consumption is using miso paste instead of store-bought stock.

"I do use stock sometimes but I also use miso paste in my soups, which is based on soy and it's really good because it gives a good taste and is more natural than the stock," she said.

Mancino said that when buying items from a grocery store, such as stock or breakfast cereals, you have to be mindful of checking the nutritional label and should try to opt for products with less added salt and sugar.