WEIGHT LOSS: PUTTING DINNER ON THE TABLE
Some time ago I interviewed a young chef for the job of designing “diet food” for this book. I put the challenge to her this way: “I need to design the most delightful, sensuous diet food that people have ever eaten. The recipes have to balance proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in a precise 30-30-40 ratio, eliminate most common food allergens like wheat, dairy, corn, and soy, and be easy for the typical man or woman to prepare . . . and make it food that the entire family will enjoy. Oh, and it should be inexpensive.”Meg just looked at me and said, “No problem.”When Meg West and I sat down and put together this truly delightful selection of “diet food,” my standards were very high because I really enjoy food! This food had to taste good!Let me introduce you to the most delightful, sensuous “diet” food you’ve ever enjoyed. Meg designed each of these menus to fit into your busy schedule, yet tease your taste buds with combinations of foods and flavors you may never have experienced. Several of my clients have commented on how tempting each meal is and that some of their grown children are dropping by for dinner more frequently! One woman was even asked to open her own restaurant—using her “diet foods”! We think you’ll be delighted as well.Just one word of warning: The most difficult part of this menu plan may be the time factor. You need to spend a little more time in the kitchen but this doesn’t have to be bad. We’re so used to throwing a plate of spaghetti, a bowl of cereal, or a creamy casserole on the table that it takes some getting used to in order to plan a meal around a protein embellished with fresh vegetables and condiments of fruit. We’ve lost the art of culinary skills, of nourishing both soul and body in the preparation and serving of beautiful, delicious food.The preparation of really good food is an important part of our culture that needs to be passed on from generation to generation. What flavors and aromas will our children remember from their childhood mealtimes? SpaghettiOs and Hamburger Helper? Boxes of KFC and containers of instant mashed potatoes topped with pseudogravy? The pizza deliveryman?The menus that follow do require that you become reacquainted with your kitchen. You will need to spend a little more time shopping for and preparing food. You will want to stock your pantry with ingredients ahead of time so they are ready when you need them.
“The most important things I learned on Carol’s program were how to take care of myself and live healthy for the rest of my life.”KAREN
We encourage our clients to do their grocery shopping twice a week and prepare all their vegetables before they put them away in the refrigerator. Vegetables can be washed, cut, and stored in containers in the refrigerator and last for several days if they are prepared and dried carefully. The few minutes you spend in planning and advance preparation will drastically cut down meal preparation and kitchen cleanup each evening. This is so important that we’ve included “Meal-in-a-Flash Prep Plans” with nearly every recipe.As a busy wife, mother, and businesswoman, I’ve found that if I spend just twenty minutes in the kitchen while the kids are getting ready for school in the morning, doing these “Meal-in-a-Flash Prep Plan” ideas, I can serve dinner with minimal time in the kitchen in the evening when I’m really rushed and still caught up in the events of the day.The menu plans that follow accomplish several goals:1. They eliminate the foods most likely to cause allergic reactions; that is, they do not contain wheat or dairy (except for goat milk products in a few recipes), or artificial ingredients. The use of corn products is minimal.2. They use fresh foods from the supermarket with minimal packaged foods. You will be eating live foods with an abundance of fresh vegetables, some fruits, and some grains. Your body will thrive on the rich variety of this diet.3. You are allowed to eat as much of this food as you desire as long as you balance every meal carefully. In other words, each menu is carefully balanced among protein, carbohydrates, and fats. The portion size is fairly insignificant. Eat until you are satisfied. The only thing you must be careful about is not increasing just the carbohydrate portion of the meal. If you feel you need to eat a little more, increase both the carbohydrate and protein.4. Each meal is designed to reduce the secretion of insulin and stimulate the release of glucagon, accomplished very simply through balancing the macronutrients. While you may change the order of the whole menu (you may eat Tuesday’s menu on Wednesday, for example) you may not exchange foods within the menu for another (you may not substitute a baked potato for the salad, for example). Each menu has been put together specifically to balance out the other foods within the meal. And please remember to drink eight to ten glasses of water each day.
It can be difficult to make an abrupt change in your eating habits, so I strongly recommend that for at least the first three months (or until you are comfortable on this program) you either use a meal replacement bar or a protein drink for your breakfast meal. It can be daunting to change three meals a day, especially first thing in the morning when you’re rushing out the door!I’ve counseled many clients on this program and found that they were able to follow the program if they didn’t have to think about breakfast. When I asked them to prepare three balanced meals a day, they nearly always failed. But if I recommended either a meal replacement bar or a protein drink for breakfast, they nearly always succeeded.Most food bars are far too carbohydrate dense to qualify as an insulin-reducing meal. Even so-called high-protein bars often contain less than 15 grams of protein up against 40 or more grams of carbohydrate. And most of those carbohydrates are high Glycemic Index sugars that will jack up your blood sugar levels precipitously and stimulate an insulin response. Other bars that are well balanced between the macronutrients are so full of potential allergy-producing ingredients that I have trouble recommending them.The only two bars I can recommend at this time are Balance bars and Ironman bars. Both of these bars (available in numerous flavors) are sold through health food stores and GNC. If you cannot obtain them locally, check Appendix С for more information.If you don’t care for a bar, you may use a protein drink for breakfast instead. Again, the issue is one of optimum balance between the macronutrients protein, carbohydrate, and fat. There are few protein powders that meet these requirements. The ones I can recommend are:Fulfill, from Nature’s Secret (mix with flax oil) UniPro The Perfect Protein (mix with fruit and flax oil) Nature’s Life SuperPro 96 (mix with fruit and flax oil) Nature’s Plus Spirutein
These protein drinks should be available through your local health food store or GNC. If not, check Appendix С for information on how to obtain these products in your area.There may be other protein powders that work well; simply read the ingredients carefully to make sure they contain no more than one-third more carbohydrate than protein in a serving size. For example, if one scoop of powder provides 15 grams of protein, it should contain no more than 22.5 grams of carbohydrate. If one scoop provides 20 grams of protein, it should contain no more than 30 grams of carbohydrates.Be particularly careful to avoid artificial sweeteners, artificial coloring or flavoring agents, and preservatives. Be especially wary of the protein or meal replacement drinks promoted heavily on TV or other media; they are typically full of sweeteners (high in carbohydrates) and artificial {everything}! If you can, avoid any foods to which you may be allergic, like corn sweeteners (fructose), casein protein (protein from a dairy source—the label will read “casein . . .”), egg or dairy protein, or other foods that may be specific to your own needs.*59\319\2*
