It's Greek to Me

53rd Greek Food FestivalLona Sandon

The AgoraGold and silver jewelryWorry beadsSailors capsPainted eggsReligious iconsOlive oil based body

productsTraditional foods

The KouzinaChicken oreganatoKeftethes – meatballsSpanakopitaTiropitaGreek salad – kalamata

olives, tomato, fetaPita bread

Diet StaplesOlives & olive oilFeta cheese & yogurtCheese cakeHoneySeasonal fruits &

vegetables, wild greensWhole grains, barley, pulses,

legumesAlmonds, sesame seedsGoat & lambWine

D. Kochilas (personal communications, February 16, 2007)

The ZaharoplastioBaklavaKourambiethes – butter

cookies with powdered sugar

Fenekia – honey dipped cookies with walnuts

Spoon fruits with yogurt

Plaka – Hellenic Dancing – Opa!“A man who can not

dance is uneducated and unrefined” – Plato

Feasts around religious holidays

Passed thru generations

Means of story telling

53rd Annual 2009 Greek Food Festival of Dallas. [Brochure].

Greek Orthodox EducationFaith enrichment classes for adultsBible studyGreek language classesCatechitical school – ages 3+Greek afternoon school – 5+ Holly Trinity Academy – age 2 yrs to 2nd grade

53rd Annual 2009 Greek Food Festival of Dallas. [Brochure].

Greek Orthodox Church300 million followersEastern OrthodoxLanguage of the 1st

Christian ChurchNew Testament written

in GreekOrthos = correctDoxa = belief or glory

53rd Annual 2009 Greek Food Festival of Dallas. [Brochure].

Orthodox Fasts180 days per yearAvoid meat, dairy, & eggs Fish & olive oil on certain

daysSeafood – shrimp, squid,

cuttlefish, octopus, crab, lobsters, snails allowed anytime

Greens, veggies, whole grains anytime

Sarri, K. O., et al (2004). Greek Orthodox fasting rituals: a hidden characteristic of the Mediterranean diet of Crete. British Journal of Nutrition, 92, 277-284

HealthGenerally goodLower heart disease,

arthritis & some cancersHigh smoking rates

increasing lung cancerHigh rates of childhood

obesityPhysical activity rates

decreasing

A. Trichopoulou (personal communication, February 18, 2007)

Athens

Opa!