I recently watched the newest Christopher Nolan movie, ‘The Odyssey’ and seeing the Spartans on-screen reminded me that those ous are actually beasts.
It takes a solid diet to attain the physiques and raw strength that those guys had. In fact, the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest out there - explains why they lived so long and could fight ruthlessly in wars.
If you’re looking to bulk, gain some muscle mass and strength, or just overall improve your health, try eating like a Spartan.
In this article, I suggest a few meal ideas that could help you get the strength and size of the ancient Greeks - every ingredient locally and easily available.
What did the spartans actually eat?
After doing some research, I found out that Spartans didn’t actually eat that much.
They’d usually only eat whenever they weren’t sailing or fighting (which was most of the time). But when they did eat, they ate complex carbs, heavy proteins and foods rich in healthy fats.
- Their main source of carbs was “Maza” - bread or cakes made out of barley grain.
- They ate dense proteins like lamb, pork, fresh-caught fish and hunted game like boar. Very rarely would they eat modern and common proteins like chicken or beef.
- Side dishes and snacks would consist of things like figs, olive oil, feta cheese and grapes.
- The craziest meal I came across was something called “Melas Zomos” which was a soup made of vinegar, pork and -get this - pig’s blood. It sounds disgusting but this dish was actually packed with protein, iron and micronutrients.
A diet built for warriors - let’s adapt that for the gym.
Seasoning
Before we dive in to the meals, it’s worth noting that all the proteins can be seasoned the same way.
Greeks tend to keep it simple with seasonings so add any of the herbs and below in any combination to get that Spartan flavour:
- Dried mint
- Dried oregano
- Dried rosemary and thyme (or just use a mixed herbs shaker)
- Garlic (fresh or powdered)
- Salt and pepper
These are fresh flavours and you can throw them on any of your proteins and cook em in the air fryer or on the braai (to get the smokey flavour Spartans got from cooking over a camp fire).
Also, feta cheese was a common snack and side dish for the spartans, so feel free to add in around 30g of feta cheese to any of these meals for an extra ~75 cals, 5g of fat and 5g of protein.
1. TSATZIKI
The first food I have for you isn’t really a meal - it’s more like a high protein sauce that you can put over anything - salads, meats, used as a dip - go wild.
What You’ll Need:
- 250g to 300g low fat plain Greek yoghurt
- 100g to 200g of Cucumber / 4 mini cucumbers
- 1 to 2 cloves of garlic (depending on how garlic-y you want it)
- 4 - 6 leaves of fresh mint
- Half a lemon
- 2 tsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper
How To Make It:
- Half the cucumber, spoon out the seeds, grate it, put it in a sieve/colander and let the water drain out.
- Finely grate the cloves of garlic and mince the mint leaves
- Add the grated cucumber and garlic, juice of half a lemon, lemon juice, mint leaves, olive and salt and pepper (however much you want) to the yoghurt.
Boom ready to eat - or you could put it in the fridge and wait for an hour for the flavours to get to know each other.
Use this over meats, salads, as a dip for flatbreads - pretty much anything - or use it in combination with the meals I’m about to give you.
2. Lamb wrap
The Greek’s ate (and still eat) a lot of lamb - it was pretty much a staple protein back in the days of swords and spears. Luckily enough in S.A. that’s easy to find in any supermarket butchery section. Just make sure to trim the extra fat off the meat before you cook it.
What You’ll need:
- 140g of cooked lamb meat
- One Greek-style pita (Look for the ‘Meze’ brand available in S.A. stores)
- Quarter serving of your Tzatsiki sauce
- Optional : add in some sliced red onion, tomatoes, fresh lettuce/rocket and cucumbers for around 30 calories (not that much).
How To Make It:
- Toast the pita in a pan until warm and slightly crispy and brown (optionally toast with a tsp olive oil for an extra 40 calories and 5g of fat).
- Slice the pita in half and fill the pockets with your lamb, veggies and tsatziki sauce.
3. Pork & chickpeas bowl
My first choice for the carb of this dish was potatoes, but those weren’t native to Greece back then and only came from the Americas later on.
So instead, we’re going with chickpeas which is a legume the Greeks and other Mediterraneans would eat often. A bonus - they’re packed with protein!
Chikpeas are also easy to find in the canned food section - make sure they’re in brine, not oil!
Pork tenderloin is bit harder to find, but I’ve seen them stocked in high-end Checkers, PicknPays and most butcheries that aren’t strictly Halaal - they’re reasonably price as well.
What You’ll Need:
- 180g of chickpeas (drained)
- 140g of cooked pork tenderlon
- 1 tsp olive oil
How To Make It:
- Make sure the chickpeas are completely dry and coat them with the olive oil and spices of you choices (adding salt helps them crisp up).
- Air-fry the chickpeas at 180 Celcius for 10 - 15 minutes or until golden brown and crispy on the outside
- Throw the pork and chickpeas in a bowl, add some sliced tomato, cucumber and onion, or even top it with some Tsatziki.
4. Hake & Pearl Barley
Grains that are common to us today (like rice) weren’t around in Sparta or Ancient Greece. Instead, their main grain was barley, and since South Africa is pretty much a grain-producing power house - it’s easily available in almost supermarket. Pearl barley is an excellent complex carb and also high in fiber.
The ancient Greeks also ate fresh-caught fish, but I won’t assume everyone reading this is a good fisherman lol, so let’s just go with the classic hake - lean and high in protein.
What You’ll Need:
- 120g of cooked/grilled hake fillets
- 150g cooked pearl barley
- Chicken stock/stock cube
- A quarter serving of your tsatziki sauce
How To Make Pearl Barley:
You have to cook pearl barley in a 1:3 ratio of dry barley to liquid (that means if you’re cup of barley, you need 3 cups of liquid).
- Rinse 1 cup of raw pearl barley in cold water to remove the starch (like you would with rice).
- Transfer the 1 cup of barley to a pot or sauce pan and then add 3 cups of liquid (water with salt or stock) - I recommend using chicken stock or add a stock cube to the water
- Bring the pot to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 30 or 40 mins - or until the barley is plump and chewy.
- Drain as much of the liquid as possible from the pot and then cover with a lid for 5 mins so it fluffs up.
Once that’s done, throw that in a bowl with your grilled hake, tsatziki sauce and some optional fresh veggies.
Eating meals like these consistently would no doubtedly get you jacked and strong.
Looking back on these meals, you’ll notice the high protein content, complex carbs, fresh vegetables and healthy fats - a winning combination for your health and gains.
Eat like the Spartans, and you’ll be killing a cyclops in no time.
