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The Secret to a Healthier Kitchen? Katina Mountanos Says It Starts with Olive Oil
March is National Nutrition Month, and if there’s one pantry staple that deserves the spotlight, it’s olive oil. But not just any olive oil—the kind packed with health benefits and rich, authentic flavor. That’s exactly what led Katina Mountanos, founder of Kosterina, to start her company.
After years of visiting her family in Southern Greece and enjoying real extra virgin olive oil, Katina realized that what she found on U.S. grocery store shelves was nothing like what her family produced back home. This discovery sparked her mission to bring high-quality, polyphenol-rich olive oil—and a Mediterranean approach to wellness—to American kitchens.
But Katina’s journey into health and nutrition didn’t start with business—it started with motherhood. During her pregnancies, she became more mindful of what she was eating and how food impacts overall well-being. Now, as a mom of three, she’s all about simple, nourishing meals, making weeknight cooking easier, and getting her kids involved in the kitchen.
In this conversation, Katina shares how she incorporates Mediterranean traditions into her family’s meals, why extra virgin olive oil is a game-changer for both health and flavor, and the one ingredient she always avoids in her pantry. Plus, she gives us a peek at the family meals she makes on repeat and the one thing she can’t start her morning without!
A special offer from Katina and Kosterina Olive Oil:
The Secret to Better Cooking? It Starts with Olive Oil 🫒
Not all olive oils are created equal—and if you’ve never tasted a truly fresh, high-quality extra virgin olive oil, you’re in for a treat. That’s exactly why Katina Mountanos founded Kosterina, bringing authentic, polyphenol-rich Greek olive oil to American kitchens.
Packed with antioxidants and bold Mediterranean flavor, Kosterina’s extra virgin olive oils aren’t just good for you—they make everything taste better, from roasted veggies and pasta to morning eggs. One Potato readers can try it for themselves and bring a little Mediterranean magic to their home cooking.
Discover Kosterina Olive Oil – Get 15% off your first order: Shop Now 🍽️
Bringing Mediterranean Traditions Home: A Conversation with Katina Mountanos
Introduce Yourself: My name is Katina – I’m a wellness expert, and the CEO and founder of Kosterina Olive Oil. Kosterina is a wellness brand centered around high-antioxidant extra virgin olive oil and more broadly, the modern Mediterranean diet. I have two daughters – seven and eight years old – and a five-year-old son.
Food traditions are often passed down through generations. What’s your earliest memory of olive oil and cooking with your family?
My strongest memories of food and family come from Greece, where my dad is from. My mom worked for British Airways, which meant we flew often and visited Greece several times a year. My grandfather was a fisherman, and every day, he would bring home fresh fish for my grandmother to cook. She used only two ingredients: olive oil and lemon. Simple, fresh, and delicious.
Olive oil was the center of every meal. We’d drizzle it over fresh bread, tomatoes, and feta. It was in every dish we ate, and dinnertime was the heart of our family life. That connection to food is something I’ve carried with me ever since.
Did you spend time cooking with your grandmother?
Yes, I have wonderful memories of cooking in my grandmother’s kitchen. One of my favorite things to make with her was avgolemono, a Greek egg and lemon soup. Growing up, our home was full of traditional Mediterranean dishes—Greek food was all we ate! I always think of that scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding where the little girl brings moussaka to school, and the other kids are confused. That was me! But now I appreciate how special it was to grow up with those flavors.
You have three kids, all in elementary school. Do they enjoy helping in the kitchen?
Yes! My two girls, who are seven and eight, and my five-year-old son are all getting more involved in the kitchen. The girls especially love making our gluten-free waffle mix in the mornings—they know how to use the waffle maker, drizzle olive oil over everything, and even snack on our Kosterina olives. We eat gluten-free at home, so they’ve learned to adapt recipes and experiment with different ways to enjoy food. It makes me so happy to see them embracing these little traditions. They drizzle olive oil over their gluten-free bread, dip it, and pour it over their pasta—it’s become a staple in our house.
How do you bring those food traditions into your own family’s meals?
We still cook a lot of Mediterranean dishes, though we’ve had to adapt many of them to be gluten-free. One staple in our house is pastitsio, a Greek lasagna that we make almost every week. It’s a complicated dish, so my mother-in-law usually makes it for us—and she’s perfected it with gluten-free pasta! Another favorite is melomakarona, Greek honey and molasses cookies, which she has also adapted for us with gluten-free flour. Having those familiar flavors, even with modifications, keeps the tradition alive for our family.
You’ve talked about how pregnancy led you on a wellness journey. How did that shape your approach to food?
During my pregnancies, I became much more focused on eating clean and living a healthier lifestyle. I read Eat Fat, Get Thin by Dr. Mark Hyman, which changed how I thought about healthy fats—especially the benefits of extra virgin olive oil. That led me to dive deeper into nutrition and ultimately overhaul my entire pantry.
Another defining moment came when I read Good Energy by Dr. Casey Means, which was truly life-changing. It made me rethink how our lifestyle choices affect our long-term health and our children’s health. I highly recommend it to every mom—it should be mandatory reading!
Even taking all of this into account, my kids are still picky eaters. I struggle with the same challenges that every parent faces, and it’s taken nearly a year to transition our household to eating healthier. One big change was stopping school-bought lunches because I wanted more control over what they were eating.
Was it challenging to get your kids on board with those changes?
At first, yes! There’s a lot of peer pressure around food at school, and they definitely resisted some of the changes. But over time, they’ve learned to understand what’s in their food. I sat them down and explained a few ingredients they should always avoid—like high fructose corn syrup, Red 40, and Yellow 6. Now, they check labels themselves. My son even came home one day with Sour Patch Kids from school and said, ‘Mom, we have to throw these away!’ I was so proud. But I also make sure they don’t shame their friends for eating different foods—it’s about education, not judgment.
What advice do you have for busy parents who want to incorporate healthier ingredients into their cooking?
I keep things simple. I meal plan by making the same meals every week—Monday is one meal, Tuesday is another, and so on. We rotate through five core meals, and it makes grocery shopping and prep so much easier. I do my shopping at Whole Foods on the weekend and meal prep on Sunday. Having that structure takes the stress out of dinnertime.
What’s one kitchen tool you can’t live without?
A really good chef’s knife. It makes prep work so much easier and faster. I also love using our flavored olive oils, like our garlic olive oil, because it eliminates the need to chop garlic every time I cook.
Kosterina started because you couldn’t find high-quality Greek olive oil in the U.S. How did that lead to launching your own brand?
It started with taste—I just couldn’t find anything here that compared to what my family used in Greece. But as I learned more about olive oil, I became fascinated by its health benefits. I took an olive oil sommelier course, and that’s when I discovered the power of polyphenols—natural antioxidants in olives that are anti-inflammatory and can help fight chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s.
I always tell my team, ‘If olive oil were in pill form, people would pay thousands of dollars for it.’ But instead, we get to enjoy it in our food every day. And beyond the health benefits, it simply makes everything taste better! Vegetables, salads, roasted meats—olive oil enhances it all. That’s when I knew I wanted to build Kosterina not just as an olive oil company, but as a wellness platform centered around the Mediterranean diet.
Do you have a simple daily ritual that brings you joy?
My morning coffee. It’s my quiet moment before the day begins. I wake up early, make my coffee, and sit in front of my red light panel for ten minutes. It’s a simple ritual, but it helps me start the day feeling centered.
What’s one kitchen skill every home cook should master?
Keeping it simple. I cook basic meals with just a few ingredients, usually sautéed or baked proteins with vegetables. My biggest kitchen hack is using flavored olive oils—I already mentioned this—but another example is our Green Goddess oil, that adds an herby freshness to dishes instantly. It’s an easy way to add depth without extra effort.
