Cyprus diet

I call this my "Cyprus diet" because it's what I lived on while I was on a temporary duty assignment at the British base on Cyprus back in my Air Force days.

It's main feature is that it's cheap (or at least it WAS when I was there)!  Unfortunately, it's also kinda boring, so make sure you mix it up with the fruit and veggies.  It's also VERY high in sodium; to the tune of 1800 mg a day from just one item!  Thus, if you hae been sodium restricted by your doctor try something else.

Breakfast was the same every day:  A half a melon, plus 1 or 2 seasonal fruits in addition to an egg (mine were boiled because it was just easier) and a slice of whole wheat toast with butter.

Twice a day, for lunch and dinner, I had a packet of ramen noodle soup and a can of veggies (I know; ick, but like I said, I was going for cheap.  Anyway,  sub fresh or frozen if you want to) along with a grilled slice of Haloumi, the local cheese, which was de-LISH....and horrendously expensive as an import, so I usually sub in a half a can of tuna instead.  If you can get Haloumi near you, try it at least once.  It is truly amazing stuff!  It's so densely packed, you can just plop it on a hot pan and grill till browned on each side and it won't melt!

Here at home, I usually add a romaine salad with shredded carrots, radishes, and red onion slices for lunch, with a lemon vinaigrette.

You'll notice there's no meat.  Meat's expensive, so I restrict(ed) it to once a week, subbed in for the tuna, usually Saturday evening.  Here in Iowa, pork is subsidized, so I usually go for a boneless chop, but I'll mix and match if I can get it for a dollar or less for a 4 oz serving.

It all comes up to around 2000-2100 calories a day, and as I said, really cheap!  Like 30-35 dollars a week depending on what fruits you choose!

Sure it's probably not the healthiest diet you could eat, but its not a life-long thing to follow.