The Fast Diet Cookbook
CHAPTER THREE
THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF THE BOOK
Some of the recipes are gloriously simple, others are more complex; some are favorites adapted for the FastDiet, while others introduce new flavor combinations. Some will get you walking or gardening. Others will send you to the cupboard for a bunch of cans.
• The book includes both simple recipes and leisurely recipes, allowing you to spend as much or as little time as you please preparing your fast day food.
• Each recipe has a clear calorie count per portion, with calorie contents increasing as you go through each chapter. The idea is that you can choose a breakfast and a supper, in whatever combination you wish, to arrive at your 500- or 600-calorie budget for the day. For good pairings, refer to the examples in the Meal Plans.
• Some recipes serve two or more—simply because the cooking method works better that way (it’s difficult to make a sauce work for one)—but the calorie count is always for a single portion.
• Feel free to bump up the leafy vegetables in most of the recipes; it won’t make much difference to overall calorie intake, but will add bulk and welcome nutrients.
• Each recipe clearly shows its Nutritional Bonus (look for NB), together with the GI or GL score where useful.
Finding Flavor Without Fat
We all know that adding a generous slab of butter to almost anything will make it taste fantastic. Our job here is to fill the flavor vacuum with something other than saturated fat. In this race, the humble lemon is in pole position: Lemon juice is a remarkable flavor enhancer, capable of lending goodness to countless slow-cooked savory dishes. Roasted garlic is similarly delicious. You’ll discover that plenty of the recipes in this book depend on the “fantastic five”—lime juice, soy sauce, fresh ginger, garlic, and Asian fish sauce—which deliver mighty bursts of flavor with the merest suggestion of calories. Herbs and spices also feature heavily in fast day cooking. Cumin seeds, cardamom pods, sweet Spanish paprika, dense green basil, delicate tendrils of dill . . . they are not garnishes here, but central to the proceedings. Chiles, too, are worth their weight in gold. Do remember to wear gloves when you slice or chop them—your eyes will thank you later.
Here, then, are the basic ingredients for a fast day cupboard.
CARBS
For an alternative to pasta or wheat noodles, try shirataki noodles. Made from a water-soluble, plant-based fiber called glucomannan, they have no fat, sugar, gluten, or starch. No flavor either, so call upon the fantastic five. If you need a bread substitute, have a thin rye crispbread. But as a rule, avoid white carbs on a fast day.
GRAINS
Though carbs are necessarily limited on a fast day, those you do eat should be whole grains, not refined ones—they have more fiber, B vitamins, and other nutrients, and take longer to digest. Quinoa is a great source of protein, as is bulgur, while the best fast day rice is brown basmati. Old-fashioned oatmeal outranks the rest: less processed, more bulky.
LEGUMES
Legumes such as lentils, chickpeas, split peas, and a whole world of beans are excellent sources of plant protein and fiber, and rank low on the GI scale. Toss cans of pintos, borlotti, or butter beans (experiment—you can’t really go wrong) into your shopping cart—you’ll find plenty of recipes here to turn a can into a dinner.
CANNED GOODS
You won’t get far around here without a can of diced tomatoes, so always have one or two on hand (plus a tube of tomato paste to add bass-note depth to all manner of savory dishes). I particularly like fire-roasted tomatoes, which are especially tasty. A couple of cans of tuna (in spring water to minimize calories) and a jar or can of anchovy fillets? Vital.
FATS
Choose “smart fats” over saturated fats, which means butter must take a backseat. Instead, use
Olive oil A monounsaturated oil that is more resistant to the damaging effects of heat than polyunsaturated oils such as corn oil. A recent study from the University of Munich found that olive oil keeps you feeling fuller longer.1 You need expensive extra virgin olive oil only for salad dressings and drizzling; use standard olive oil for cooking.
Unrefined flaxseed oil Flaxseeds are rich in alpha linolenic acid (an omega-3 fat) and are a condensed source of antiviral, antioxidant lignans. Use cold-pressed flaxseed oil for salad dressings (don’t cook with it or you’ll annihilate the goodness).
Coconut oil Slower to oxidize and less damaged by heat than other cooking oils; a good source of heart-healthy fatty acids, and it shouldn’t your raise cholesterol.
Canola oil Only 7 percent saturated fat (butter is 51 percent), and unlike olive oil, it doesn’t degrade at high heat, so this is one for the wok.
DAIRY
Steer clear of heavy dairy on a fast day. Some recipes in this book call for crème fraîche or unflavored low-fat yogurt. It’s worth noting that certain cheeses are lower in calories than others: Feta, for example, is made from sheep’s milk and is a good source of protein, calcium, and vitamin B12. Low-fat mozzarella is a handy staple in the fridge.
SEEDS AND NUTS
Sunflower and pumpkin seeds are nutritious additions to morning muesli and salad suppers, bringing good plant fats to your diet.
Nuts are satiating, full of fiber, and handy to have around when hunger calls. Though they are generally calorific, it’s worth keeping packets of pine nuts, almonds, pistachios, and walnuts (rich in omega-9s) to add to salads and oatmeal.
FLAVORINGS
Your own tastes will dictate exactly what you keep on this shelf (in the cupboard and in the fridge).
Bouillon cubes and powders, including Vegeta
As many spices as you can usefully own without anyone complaining
Red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, and smoked paprika
Tabasco and Worcestershire sauces
Garlic, lots of it, preferably fresh, but also pureed or chopped (in a jar) to keep in the fridge
Fresh ginger to slice into pretty much anything, from stir-fries to tea
Mustard of any and all varieties; they do different jobs: spiky yellow English; ochre, rounded Dijon; grainy Dijon for mellow bite and texture
Onions, shallots, green onions or scallions—the last gives you onion flavor with minimum fuss
Asian fish sauce, soy sauce (choose a low-sodium version), and mirin
White wine vinegar, red wine vinegar, cider vinegar, and rice vinegar: like mustard, vinegars have subtly different roles to play
Canned diced green chiles, for days when you can’t be bothered to chop
Sweeteners
Avoid refined sugar on a fast day. Honey, though natural, will spike your blood sugar. Rather than using lab-developed sugar substitutes, try adding a sprinkling of coconut to breakfast porridge, or use a touch of raw agave nectar: known in Mexico as aguamiel, or “honey water,” agave is a low-GI sweetener produced from a cactus-like plant.
Salt and Pepper
I would always use glittering coarse sea salt or flaky salt, and peppercorns to grind fresh in a grinder, all of which have a glorious fragrance and texture.
Ten Things Slim People Keep in the Fridge
1. Lemons
2. Free-range eggs
3. Reduced-fat hummus
4. Nonstarchy vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, peppers, radishes, cherry tomatoes, celery, cucumber, mushrooms, lettuce, sugar snaps, snow peas, and a bag of young spinach)
5. Feta, cottage cheese, and low-fat mozzarella
6. Sprouts (alfalfa, mung, soy, and all their friends)
7. Pickled guindillas, jalapeños, and cornichons (or small dill pickles)
8. Fresh strawberries
9. Fresh chiles
10. Unflavored low-fat yogurt
And in the Freezer . . .
1. Ginger; easier to grate from the frozen root
2. Sofritto, aka mirepoix (finely diced onion, carrot, and celery in a 2:1:1 ratio), to save time and energy when cooking any number of recipes
3. Homemade vegetable, chicken, and fish stock, frozen in ice cube trays and transferred to heavy-duty plastic bags, and in 1- and 2-cup plastic containers
4. Fresh herbs, frozen with a little water in ice cube trays
5. Soups: double the recipe and freeze for another day. Thick soups freeze best; you may want to loosen with more stock once thawed.
6. Frozen peas, edamame, and fava beans. Toss them into soups, stews, and (after blanching) salads
7. Frozen blueberries, for a cool little snack (strawberries do not freeze well without added sugar)
The Fast Day Kitchen, Equipped
The recipes here require little expertise and even less equipment. You may, however, find it handy to have the following stashed somewhere in the kitchen.
• Stick blender or canister blender for pureeing
• Food processor
• Multilevel steamer (bamboo or stainless steel), a saucepan with a steamer insert, or a steamer basket
• A mandoline or julienne peeler for shredding vegetables
• Mortar and pestle or mini food processor for grinding spices
• A cast-iron grill pan, to allow fat to run off meat
• Nonstick cookware, including a nonstick wok and nonstick foil (such as Release) to reduce the need for oil
- Paperback: 272 pages
- Publisher: Atria Books; 1 edition (July 2, 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1476749868
- ISBN-13: 978-1476749860
- Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 0.8 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
The FastDiet Cookbook: 150 Delicious, Calorie-Controlled Meals to Make Your Fasting Days Easy Preview
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