The Olive Oil Hunter, Author at Fresh-Pressed Olive Oil

Olive Oil Hunter News #269

Posted on June 12, 2026June 11, 2026 by The Olive Oil Hunter

Olive Toast Recipe, Spotlight on Castelvetrano Olives, Storing Bread, Weight Loss Tweaks and Walking and Weight Loss

Move over, avocado. There’s a new toasty trend taking shape and it starts with olives. The best part? You can get creative with toppings—yes, even add a layer of avo if you like. I’m also sharing new findings about effective weight loss and how to keep it off.

Olive Toast

Olive Toast
This makes a satisfying lunch and a great appetizer for your next get-together. I love the tangy, fruity taste of sumac, a spice that’s finally getting the attention it deserves. If you’ve got the grill on, drizzle olive oil on the bread and toast over the coals.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 medium garlic clove, grated
- 1/2 teaspoon sumac, such as Wild Sumac
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns like Vine-Ripened Black Peppercorns
- 1/8 teaspoon peperoncino (Italian crushed red pepper flakes)
- 4 ounces each pitted Castelvetrano and Kalamata olives
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 8 baguette or crusty whole-grain bread slices
- 8 ounces goat cheese at room temperature
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
Directions

Step 1

In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, garlic, sumac, salt, pepper, and peperoncino. Coarsely chop the olives and add to the bowl along with the parsley; let marinate for 30 minutes.

Step 2

When ready to assemble, toast the bread. Spread each slice with equal amounts of goat cheese, then top with the walnuts and the olive mixture. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.
Yields 4 lunch or 8 appetizer servings

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Castelvetrano Olives

If you’re someone who adores fresh-pressed olive oil yet shies away from olives, Castelvetranos are for you. Known as Nocellara del Belice, this varietal from the Valle del Belice region of Sicily is known for its buttery flavor and smooth skin and is a great source of healthy monounsaturated fats.

Quick Kitchen Nugget

Storing Bread

Grandma’s bread box was a great way to keep a loaf fresh. The modern-day innovation is a linen bread bag, available for crusty round loaves or baguettes. The fabric helps keep the crust firm without drying out the insides…but only for 2 or 3 days. If you need longer storage, slice the loaf and freeze.

For Your Best Health

Weight Loss Tweaks

A study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity found that two habits are linked to a lower body mass index (BMI) over time: extending the overnight fasting period and eating breakfast early. Scientists think this is because eating earlier aligns better with the body’s internal clock. On the other hand, skipping breakfast as part of intermittent fasting didn’t offer the same advantage and may even be tied to unhealthy habits.

The findings are based on data from more than 7,000 adults between the ages of 40 and 65 who are part of the GCAT | Genomes for Life cohort, led by the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) in Barcelona. In 2018, participants provided details about their height, weight, meal timing, lifestyle habits, and socioeconomic background through questionnaires. Five years later, in 2023, more than 3,000 of these individuals returned for follow-up assessments. Researchers recorded updated measurements and collected new survey data, allowing them to track changes and identify patterns over time.

“Our results, in line with other recent studies, suggest that extending the overnight fast could help maintain a healthy weight if accompanied by an early dinner and an early breakfast. We think this may be because eating earlier in the day is more in line with circadian rhythms and allows for better calorie burning and appetite regulation, which can help maintain a healthy weight. However, it is too soon to draw definitive conclusions, so recommendations will have to wait for more robust evidence,” explained Luciana Pons-Muzzo, MPH, researcher at ISGlobal at the time of the study and currently at IESE Business School.

When researchers compared results by gender, they found notable differences. Women generally had lower BMI, followed the Mediterranean diet more closely, and were less likely to drink alcohol. At the same time, they reported poorer mental health and were more often responsible for household or family supervision.

Using a method called cluster analysis, the team grouped participants with similar characteristics. One small group of men stood out. These individuals typically ate their first meal after 2 pm and fasted for about 17 hours. Compared to others, they were more likely to smoke and drink alcohol, less physically active, and less likely to follow the Mediterranean diet. They also tended to have lower levels of education and higher rates of unemployment. Researchers did not observe a similar pattern among women.

“There are different ways of practicing what is known as intermittent fasting and our study relates to one of them, which is overnight fasting. What we observed in a subgroup of men who do intermittent fasting by skipping breakfast is that this practice has no effect on body weight. Other intervention studies in participants with obesity have shown that this tactic is no more effective than reducing calorie intake for reducing body weight in the long term,” said Camille Lassale, PhD, ISGlobal researcher and senior co-author of the study.

“Our research is part of an emerging field of research known as ‘chrononutrition’, which focuses not only on analyzing what we eat, but also the times of day and the number of times we eat,” says Anna Palomar-Cros, PhD, researcher at ISGlobal at the time of the study and currently at IDIAP Jordi Gol. “At the basis of this research is the knowledge that unusual food intake patterns can conflict with the circadian system, the set of internal clocks that regulate the cycles of night and day and the physiological processes that must accompany them.”

This study builds on earlier ISGlobal research in chrononutrition, which found that eating dinner and breakfast earlier in the day is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, reinforcing the idea that meal timing plays a meaningful role in long-term health.

Fitness Flash

Walking and Weight Loss

Many weight loss programs encourage people to walk more each day, but there has been limited evidence showing whether increasing daily steps actually helps people lose weight while dieting. It’s also unclear whether walking more can help people maintain weight loss over time and, if so, what step count may be most effective.

“The most important—and greatest—challenge when treating obesity is preventing weight regain,” explained Professor Marwan El Ghoch, MD, of the Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy. “Around 80% of people with overweight or obesity who initially lose weight tend to put some or all of it back on again within three to five years. The identification of a strategy that would solve this problem and help people maintain their new weight would be of huge clinical value.”

To find such a strategy, Dr. El Ghoch and colleagues from Italy and Lebanon carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis of previous studies focused on walking and weight management and presented their soon-to-be-published analysis at this year’s European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, Turkey.

The researchers reviewed 18 randomized controlled trials. Of those, 14 studies involving 3,758 adults were included in the final meta-analysis. Participants had an average age of 53 years and an average BMI of 31 kg/m². The studies included people from several countries, including the UK, US, Australia, and Japan. The trials compared 1,987 participants enrolled in lifestyle modification (LSM) programs with 1,771 people in control groups who were either dieting without additional support or receiving no treatment.

The lifestyle modification programs combined dietary guidance with recommendations to walk more and track daily steps. These programs included an initial weight loss phase followed by a maintenance phase designed to help participants keep the weight off long term. Researchers measured participants’ daily step counts at the beginning of the studies, after the weight loss phase (average duration of 7.9 months), and after the maintenance phase (average duration of 10.3 months). At the start of the trials, both groups had similar activity levels. Participants in the LSM group averaged 7,280 steps per day, while those in the control group averaged 7,180 steps daily.

The control group did not significantly increase daily walking and did not experience weight loss during the studies. Participants in the LSM programs, however, increased their daily step count to an average of 8,454 steps by the end of the weight loss phase. During that time, they lost an average of 4.39% of their body weight, equal to roughly 4 kg.

Participants largely maintained their higher activity levels throughout the maintenance phase, averaging 8,241 steps per day by the end of the studies. They also kept off most of the weight they had lost, with an average long-term weight loss of 3.28%, or about 3 kg. Further analysis revealed a clear connection between higher daily step counts and reduced weight regain. Researchers found that people who increased their steps during the weight loss phase and continued that level of activity afterward were more successful at maintaining their weight loss.

Interestingly, walking more was not linked to greater weight loss during the initial dieting phase. Researchers believe this may be because factors such as calorie reduction have a stronger effect on short-term weight loss.

Dr. El Ghoch said the findings show that lifestyle modification programs can support meaningful long-term weight loss. “Participants should be always encouraged to increase their step count to approximately 8,500 a day during the weight loss phase and sustain this level of physical activity during the maintenance phase to help prevent them from regaining weight,” he said. “Increasing the number of steps walked to 8,500 each day is a simple and affordable strategy to prevent weight regain.”

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Olive Toast

Posted on June 9, 2026June 9, 2026 by The Olive Oil Hunter

This makes a satisfying lunch and a great appetizer for your next get-together. I love the tangy, fruity taste of sumac, a spice that’s finally getting the attention it deserves. If you’ve got the grill on, drizzle olive oil on the bread and toast over the coals.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1 teaspoon lemon zest

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 medium garlic clove, grated

1/2 teaspoon sumac, such as Wild Sumac

1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black peppercorns like Vine-Ripened Black Peppercorns

1/8 teaspoon peperoncino (Italian crushed red pepper flakes)

4 ounces each pitted Castelvetrano and Kalamata olives

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

8 baguette or crusty whole-grain bread slices

8 ounces goat cheese at room temperature

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Step 1

In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest and juice, garlic, sumac, salt, pepper, and peperoncino. Coarsely chop the olives and add to the bowl along with the parsley; let marinate for 30 minutes.

Step 2

When ready to assemble, toast the bread. Spread each slice with equal amounts of goat cheese, then top with the walnuts and the olive mixture. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

Yields 4 lunch or 8 appetizer servings

Olive Oil Hunter News #268

Posted on June 6, 2026June 5, 2026 by The Olive Oil Hunter

Marinated Mozzarella Pearls Recipe, Spotlight on Mozzarella, Storing Jars, The Fat Conundrum, and The Smarter Mediterranean Diet

It’s not quite summer and I’m already looking for recipes that don’t involve turning on the oven! This mozzarella dish fits the bill. It couldn’t be more flavorful…or simpler. The cheese is the perfect foil for fresh-pressed olive oil—I know you’ll be serving it from now through autumn! One of the two new studies I’m sharing reveals that excess weight poses different threats for women and men, while the other presents a possible solution for everyone: an approach called the “smarter” Mediterranean diet. Read on for the details.

Marinated Mozzarella Pearls

Marinated Mozzarella Pearls
Add zest to mozzarella with this flavorful marinade. Pearls are cheese balls about the size of cherry tomatoes. Serve them as a finger food or pair with tomatoes for a first course.
Ingredients
- 1 medium lemon
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/4 cup finely chopped mix of fresh parsley and basil leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
- 16 ounces mozzarella pearls
Directions

Step 1

Use a Microplane set over a medium bowl to zest the lemon (reserve the rest of the lemon for another recipe) and grate the garlic. Add the herbs, red pepper, olive oil, and salt if using and whisk well.

Step 2

Place the mozzarella into a half-pint lidded jar. Drizzle the olive oil mixture over the pearls and let marinate on the counter for 30 minutes. If not eating right away, cover and refrigerate (bring to room temperature before serving).
Serves 8

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Fresh Mozzarella

Handcrafted fresh mozzarella, now available in many food markets, is a versatile cheese, ready to be enjoyed cold or melted in hot dishes. True Italian mozzarella is mozzarella di bufala, or mozzarella made from milk of the Italian Mediterranean buffalo. In the US, it is almost always made from cow’s milk, though a handful of artisanal makers are raising buffalo to produce more authentic varieties and some Italian makers export the real thing.

Debunking cheese’s negative health rap, research published in the journal Advances in Nutrition found moderate evidence suggesting that eating cheese doesn’t increase the risk of cardiovascular diseases and may even offer some protection from these ills. Fresh mozzarella, in particular, is considered one of the healthier cheeses, due to its low fat and sodium content along with 7 grams of protein and over 200 mg of calcium per ounce.

Quick Kitchen Nugget

Storing Jars

With the move away from plastics, there are many glass options for storing food. Round clip top jars made by companies including Kilner and Weck are cylindrical containers with a hinged metal clamp and replaceable rubber seal. Great for storing dry staples like flour, grains, pasta, even teas, they’re also perfect for marinating and pickling vegetables. Mason jars go one step further—thanks to their tempered glass, they can withstand the heat of boiling water, making them ideal for canning. To meet kitchen needs, consider a range of sizes: half-pint (1 cup), pint (2 cups), quart (4 cups), and half-gallon (8 cups).

For Your Best Health

The Fat Conundrum

New findings presented by a research team from Dokuz Eylul University in Izmir, Turkey at this year’s European Congress on Obesity (ECO) highlight clear differences in how obesity affects men and women.

“Our findings reveal intriguing differences in the way men and women respond to obesity,” said lead author Dr. Zeynep Pekel. “They show just how important gender-specific research is. Not only are sex differences a powerful player in the pathology and course of obesity, but our results indicate that such differences could be a stepping stone toward finding targeted, sex-based therapies to help in the management of people living with obesity.”

Their findings showed that men with obesity are more likely to accumulate abdominal (visceral) fat. This type of fat surrounds internal organs and is strongly linked to serious heart and metabolic conditions. They had a slightly higher body mass index (BMI) than women (37.5 vs 36.0 kg/m²), but their waist circumference was much larger (120 vs 108 cm), and their systolic blood pressure was also higher (128 vs 122 mmHg), two factors linked to increased risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The men also had significantly higher levels of liver enzymes (ALT and GGT), triglycerides, and creatinine. These findings point to a greater likelihood of liver-related and metabolic complications.

Women with obesity, on the other hand, had higher total cholesterol (215 vs 203 mg/dL) and LDL or “bad” cholesterol (130 vs 123 mg/dL). They typically store more fat beneath the skin and showed higher levels of inflammatory markers, including erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, and platelet count, raising the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

“It’s still early days and these findings need to be confirmed in other patient groups, but they offer important insight into how obesity may affect men and women differently,” said Dr. Pekel. “These differences are likely influenced by biological factors such as hormones, immune responses, and fat distribution. Our next steps are to validate these findings in larger populations, better understand the biological processes behind these differences, and explore how these patterns relate to clinical risk.”

Fitness Flash

The Smarter Mediterranean Diet

The Mediterranean diet is already famous for its heart and metabolic benefits. Now a large European study called the PREDIMED-Plus Trial revealed that a lower-calorie Mediterranean diet may work even better against type 2 diabetes when paired with three realistic upgrades: eating fewer calories, moving more, and getting professional support for weight loss.

The trial found that this more structured version of Mediterranean living reduced the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 31% over six years. Participants also lost more weight (3.3 kg), reduced abdominal fat more effectively, and reduced waist circumference by 3.6 cm, compared to those following a standard Mediterranean diet alone.

In real world terms, the researchers estimated that the program prevented about three cases of type 2 diabetes for every 100 participants. For a condition affecting hundreds of millions of people globally, that kind of prevention could add up quickly if applied broadly among people at elevated risk.

“Diabetes is the first solid clinical outcome for which we have shown — using the strongest available evidence — that the Mediterranean diet with calorie reduction, physical activity, and weight loss is a highly effective preventive tool,” said Miguel Ángel Martínez-González, Professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Navarra, Adjunct Professor of Nutrition at Harvard University, and one of the principal investigators of the project. “Applied at scale in at-risk populations, these modest and sustained lifestyle changes could prevent thousands of new diagnoses every year. We hope soon to show similar evidence for other major public health challenges.”

“The Mediterranean diet acts synergistically to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce inflammation. With PREDIMED-Plus, we demonstrate that combining calorie control and physical activity enhances these benefits,” explained Miguel Ruiz-Canela, Professor and Chair of Preventive Medicine and Public Health Department at the University of Navarra’s School of Medicine and first author of the study. “It is a tasty, sustainable, and culturally accepted approach that offers a practical and effective way to prevent type 2 diabetes — a global disease that is, to a large extent, avoidable.”

The project is the largest nutrition trial conducted in Europe and involved the University of Navarra along with more than 200 researchers from 22 other Spanish universities, as well as hospitals and research centers. The work was carried out in more than 100 primary care centers within Spain’s National Health System.

Since the PREDIMED-Plus diabetes findings were prepared, related research has continued to strengthen the broader picture. A PREDIMED-Plus body composition analysis published in JAMA Network Open found that the energy-reduced Mediterranean diet plus physical activity helped reduce total and visceral fat while slowing age-related loss of lean mass in older adults with overweight or obesity and metabolic syndrome. That matters because visceral fat and declining muscle are closely tied to cardiometabolic risk.

More recent PREDIMED-Plus work has also explored how sedentary time may affect cardiovascular health. A 2026 study in BMC Cardiovascular Disorders reported that replacing sedentary time with physical activity was associated with favorable five-year changes in high-sensitivity troponin T, a blood marker related to heart stress, although the pattern was not consistent across all atrial fibrillation–related biomarkers.

A 2026 analysis from the original PREDIMED trial also highlighted the possible importance of food quality within the diet. Participants with higher cumulative intake of extra virgin olive oil had a lower risk of a broad cardiovascular outcome, while common olive oil showed weaker associations. The finding supports a practical message for readers: the Mediterranean diet is not only about eating less or eating more plants. The type and quality of fats may matter too.

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Marinated Mozzarella Pearls

Posted on June 5, 2026June 5, 2026 by The Olive Oil Hunter

Add zest to mozzarella with this flavorful marinade. Pearls are cheese balls about the size of cherry tomatoes. Serve them as a finger food or pair with tomatoes for a first course.

Ingredients

1 medium lemon
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup finely chopped mix of fresh parsley and basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, or more to taste
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
16 ounces mozzarella pearls

Directions

Step 1

Use a Microplane set over a medium bowl to zest the lemon (reserve the rest of the lemon for another recipe) and grate the garlic. Add the herbs, red pepper, olive oil, and salt if using and whisk well.

Step 2

Place the mozzarella into a half-pint lidded jar. Drizzle the olive oil mixture over the pearls and let marinate on the counter for 30 minutes. If not eating right away, cover and refrigerate (bring to room temperature before serving).

Serves 8