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    About me

    Hello and welcome!

    I’m Makos. I was born and raised in the island of Crete, Greece.

    Crete is a beautiful island and the fifth-largest in the Mediterranean Sea. From my early years, I learned to appreciate the value of the Mediterranean diet, which is considered to be one of the healthiest diets in the world! 

    about_me_thehungrybites_1aa
    Jump to:
    • My Background
    • The Recipes
    • Media and Brands
    • Cooking
    • Social Media
    • Cooking Tips
    • My Most Favorite Recipes
    • FAQ

    My Background

    In my home, food played a major part in every big event and occasion (just like any typical Mediterranean home I guess!).

    I practically grew up in the kitchen, where I learned how to cook by helping my grandma and my mom. They were always in the kitchen with spatulas and spoons on hand, tirelessly chopping vegetables, leafy greens and fresh fruit while cooking traditional Cretan foods (like this easy Spanakopita - Greek spinach pie recipe) with great dexterity.

    Other times I watched them knead dough, among bags of flour, making sweet pastries and cookies like these Cretan almond biscotti (Kalorizika) or this Greek Easter bread (Tsoureki).

    It’s no wonder, years later, I ended up posting these recipes on the blog.

    A woman making stuffed vine leaves (Greek dolmades).

    A photo of my mom making the best stuffed vine leaves (dolmades). The filling can be with or without ground beef (recipe unfortunately not on the blog yet).

    The Recipes

    I started this blog on 2016 with the goal to document and preserve my family's traditional recipes but also as a means to express my creativity.

    That's why here you'll find traditional and modern Mediterranean recipes.

    All the recipes are focused on the Mediterranean cuisine, however few of them are influenced by other cuisines while still using classic Mediterranean ingredients (like this healthy Mediterranean-style ground turkey chili).

    What you'll find here:

    Reliable Recipes. Many recipes have been tested for years (!) by my mom and grandma and have been passed down to me. Other, more modern recipes, have been tested in my home kitchen until perfect (according to my taste).

    I test each recipe multiple times while taking notes at the same time, just to be sure that you can have all the information you need to make it perfect.

    Healthy Recipes: Mediterranean Cuisine is one of the healthiest in the world. I strongly believe that when you start making your own meals and stay away from processed foods, you have taken the first step to a healthier life style.

    Most, if not all of the recipes here are made from scratch, and use whole foods, fresh vegetables and fresh fruit. And of course extra virgin olive oil!

    Sweets and desserts. Sweets are my cryptonite. Here you'll find a range of recipes from simple to more advanced.

    Some of them are traditional Mediterranean desserts, others are made in a healthier way, and others have a twist. All of them are delicious!

    Makos form The Hungry Bites blog, holding a tray with muffins.

    For anyone interested, these tahini+chocolate stuffed crumble muffins are crowd-pleasers!

    Media and Brands

    In 2017 I had the honor to be one of the six finalists for Saveur's Blog Awards in the Best New Voice category.

    I have also been included in the 9 Mediterranean Diet Food Bloggers and Influencers to Follow by VerywellFit.

    Some of my recipes have been featured in magazines and sites such as:

    • Buzzfeed - chewy chocolate chunk cookies with tahini and olive oil
    • EverydayHealth - creamy Greek pasta salad with healthy yogurt dressing
    • WellandGood - melt-in-your-mouth olive oil brownies
    • Live strong - Okra and chickpea curry in tomato sauce
    • Greatist - fresh Fava bean salad and olive oil pumpkin dinner rolls
    • Brit+co - Mediterranean vegetable quinoa risotto (quinotto)
    • Marie Claire (Hungary) - Greek yogurt and white chocolate "cheesecake"
    Page from Marie Claire Magazine showing content from thehungrybites.com.

    I have also worked with The Pappas Post, MomJunction, Stella Artois, Portes magazine.

    Cooking

    I consider cooking to be a form of contemporary art.

    You can make great things that look good, smell good, taste good and make you feel good after you eat them.

    Other times, cooking acts like a therapeutic treatment for the soul:

    It helps me calm, lets me be absorbed in my thoughts and get in touch with my inner self.

    So join me for some cooking therapy!

    Here's a video of me making 2-ingredient chocolate mousse with dark chocolate and almond milk:

    My favorite quote:

    "We humans are some strange and weird machines that you feed them with bread, wine, fish, and greens and they produce you a world full of sighs, laughter and dreams" N.Kazantzakis

    Social Media

    You can connect with me by simply leaving a comment under a post, but I will also be glad if you followed me through my social media:

    YouTube
    Instagram
    Facebook

    Personal accounts: Facebook (Makos) and Linkedin

    Cooking Tips

    1. Please read the entire recipe (ingredients + method) before you start cooking! Make sure you have all the ingredients, utensils and time at your disposal.
    2. In some recipes – like this creamy mushroom risotto with porcini – cooking time and liquids required will depend not only on the type of the ingredients, but also on the type of the pot used (a pot with a large surface will result in liquids to evaporate more quickly) or the amount of heat during cooking (among other factors). This means that you’ll have to judge for yourself when the food is perfectly cooked. It’s OK! You will know.
    3. In most recipes, the quantities of salt and pepper are based on personal preference. You should always taste your food and adjust salt accordingly. The salt I use is finely ground sea salt which means that if you use coarse salt you may need to increase the quantity a little bit.
    4. Whenever you can, fry your potatoes in olive oil!

    My Most Favorite Recipes

    • Featured image for Greek burgers and potatoes baked in the oven.
      Oven baked Greek burgers (patties) and potatoes
    • Greek traditional baked chickpeas (Revithada) f
      Greek traditional baked chickpeas (Revithada)
    • Greek fish soup with potatoes & vegetables (Psarosoupa)
      Fish soup (Greek islands recipe) - Psarosoupa
    • Pastitsio recipe featured image
      Authentic Pastitsio recipe (traditional Greek lasagna)
    • Jumbo chocolate truffles profil
      Jumbo chocolate truffles recipe
    • homemade cinnamon rolls recipe with the best icing feat
      Homemade cinnamon rolls recipe with the best icing
    • Easy white chocolate and vanilla bundt cake recipe feat
      Best white chocolate cake recipe with white ganache
    • Italian almond cookies featured image.
      Easy Italian almond cookies recipe - soft amaretti

    FAQ

    What is The Hungry Bites?

    The Hungry Bites is your go-to resource for delicious Mediterranean recipes. Here you'll find many traditional recipes from countries belonging to the Mediterranean area such Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Morocco, Turkey, Spain, France.
    You'll also find modern recipes full of Mediterranean ingredients like olive oil, tahini, chickpeas, olives, oregano, garlic and more.

    How did you come up with the name of this blog?

    I remember that when I logged in to buy the domain name, I had a list with 10-12 blog names that I liked.
    "Thehungrybites" was 5th or 6th on the list, all the previous ones were already taken!

    Are the recipes suitable for the Mediterranean Diet?

    Many of the recipes, but not all, are suitable for people who follow the Mediterranean Diet.
    Other recipes can be adjusted to fit this healthy diet by simply replacing an ingredient (for example replacing regular pasta with whole wheat pasta, or all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour).
    For more information, read this post about the Mediterranean Diet (with a food list).

    Do I have to use olive oil for all the recipes?

    In short, no.
    If olive oil is something you have in abundance in your kitchen use it. Otherwise, try to use it in recipes where it is added raw, such as salads and dressings.
    In recipes where it's used for sauteing or frying, you can also use another vegetable oil such as corn oil or sunflower oil (or use half olive oil and half another oil).

    Do you have any pets?

    While growing up in a Cretan village, we had every kind of pet you can imagine. Cats, fish, tortoises, parrots and parakeets, rabbits and doves (yes doves!).
    For some reason, we didn't have a dog (however I love dogs!).
    Now, living in my small apartment in Athens, I can proudly say that I have an always hungry parrot as a roommate!
    A man (Makos) with a parrot on his shoulder.

    For information about the Privacy Policy of this site please visit the Privacy Policy Page

    Please contact me for permission before using any images or recipes from this site.

    © thehungrybites.com, 2023. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to [thehungrybites.com] with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

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    Hi, I’m Makos. I make traditional Mediterranean recipes more accessible to modern people. Sometimes I'll add a twist. Take a look!

    More about me →

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