What Does Meraki Mean?

Some of you have asked me what meraki means! Meraki is one of my favorite words and is a Greek word meaning the soul, creativity, or love put into something, often used when talking about cooking or design.

I had the opportunity to visit Greece in 2018 with Aegean Outdoors and immediately fell in love with the culture, outdoors, approach to life and of course, food! The concept of Meraki has definitely inspired me in my cooking and lifestyle back here in Japan. It definitely felt appropriate to document my Mediterranean Diet journey as Eat with Meraki!

It has been fascinating studying about the Mediterranean Diet (still 1/3 through the course with University of Athens) and how food and cultural approach to nutrition and diet are so heavily impacted/influenced by geographical landscapes and vice versa – for example, how Mediterranean plants adapt to have stronger roots to withstand frequent forest fires in the region, how the benefits of olive oil have withstood the ultimate test of time, how many Mediterranean herbs still retain their originality (not modified), why long ago the terrain lended itself to producing a healthy variety of crops while today’s monocrop system creates erosion of top soil and unsustainable farming. You can see here the terraced fields that many cultures continue to use.

Basically what I’ve been learning all points back to the same thing: eat a healthy variety of whole vegetables and fruits, and support local farmers where possible!