ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am very appreciative of the great team at Grand Central Life & Style for bringing this project to life. My editor, Leah Miller, has really pushed to make this book a true homage to both the DASH diet and the Mediterranean diet, emphasizing the delicious foods that make it easy to reap all the health benefits. She was never reluctant to keep pushing the envelope to make the book true to our vision.

My recipe developer and true star, Shannon Kinsella, brought all her expertise and in-the-field (or should that be by-the-sea?) experience with Mediterranean foods to make this project so much fun and so delicious. I am grateful to her for helping me move this project beyond my Midwestern (and spice-free) sensibilities. I also thank her for arranging a fabulous photo shoot for our recipes with Chris Cassidy and his team.

And, of course, I am so thankful for my agent, Laurie Bernstein, who believed in this book from the beginning and wouldn’t give up until we found the “sweet spot” for bringing it to fruition.