Slimmercook

When I don’t blog it means I’m not dieting. As a result, and thanks to lots of great food while visiting relatives for the Easter break, my weight had returned to exactly where it was on New Year’s Eve. Since returning home and just being a bit sensible I lost 1 kg, and I now feel ready for another systematic attack on my excess weight.
This time I’ve decided to have a little outside help: some herbal pills which claim to make one feel full with smaller portions. They have apparently been proven to aid weight loss in several clinical trials. I’m going to give them a fair trial myself before posting details.
Obviously there is no such thing as a magic pill which melts fat off us while we continue stuffing ourselves. I know what I have to eat (or not eat), but I have difficulty with portion control, and that’s why I’ve decided to give these pills a go, as an aid to willpower. I also occasionally succumb to emotional eating, and it will be interesting to see what the effect of the pills will be then.
So, yet again, I’m posting starting statistics: BMI 29.1, 79.0kg, 38.0% fat, 41.2% water, 28.4% muscle on my scales, and 37.6% fat, 29.7kg fat on my hand-held Omron.

Sorry this post is a week late. I had written this last Monday, but my internet connexion crashed as I was posting it, then I was down with sinusitis and did not feel well enough to rewrite the post.
I’ve been looking forward to starting this plan for a while. I’ve done quite a bit of reading about the low glycaemic index (low GI), also spelt low glycemic index, and its refinement, the low glycaemic load (low GL), and I’m persuaded of its relevance to effective weight loss and maintenance. I’ll write at greater length about these concepts in another post. Today I want to outline my new plan. One reason I chose it is because I live in Greece so the Greek foods are familiar to me and I cook this way often anyhow, but if you aren’t keen on Greek or Mediterranean cuisine please don’t be put off, there is no need to switch wholesale to this, many of the foods and recipes are not “Greek”.
The basic plan is outlined in The Greek Doctor’s Diet (2005) and The Greek Doctor’s Diet Cookbook (2006) as well as the handy-sized Beyond GI: Understanding Glycaemic Load (2006), all by Dr Fedon Alexander Lindberg. I’m now reading his latest book, the GI Mediterranean Diet (2009), which has more theory than the others. All four books contain lists with GI/GL values of common foods. The smaller Beyond GI does not have recipes, but food choices and lists are in a clear format. The original Greek Doctor’s Diet and the latest Mediterranean version both have 47 recipes, but they are the same ones. The Cookbook has over 100 recipes, and the basic principles and sample meal plans have a nice clear layout.
In a nutshell, here is the Greek Doctor’s Diet, but I urge you to read one of the books to get the full details as well as to understand the underlying theory. Three good meals a day, plus two snacks. Protein at each meal, even the snacks–but this doesn’t always have to be meat, this is not an Atkins-type diet. For two of the main meals, the plate should be 2/3 full of low-GI carbohydrates such as vegetables and pulses, and 1/3 protein (a piece of meat/chicken/fish the size of your palm, or eggs, cottage cheese, or tofu). At one main meal a day you are allowed 100g (cooked weight) of medium-to-high GI carbohydrates such as whole grains (brown or basmati rice, oats, buckwheat), wholewheat pasta, wholegrain bread (pumpernickel) or cooked root vegetables (beetroot, carrots, celeriac, sweet potato). Every day two pieces of fruit, 250ml milk, one tablespoonful of olive oil, 15 g nuts and seeds, at least one serving of pulses/legumes such as beans, lentils, chickpeas. All low-GI vegetables are unlimited and can be eaten in any amount.
I did well on my first week, not hungry at all, and enjoyed a wide variety of food. Unfortunately I had to go to two birthday parties at the weekend, with junk food, but I’m glad to be back on track again.

I haven’t blogged for a few days because I haven’t been so well, I had fever and sore throat. The good side is that I had very little appetite so not only did I not regain any of the weight I had lost during the Cabbage Soup Diet, but I even lost some more: -0.7kg. I had lost my appetite and did not eat much, when I did eat I mainly had eggs, meat, chicken, cheese, yoghurt and some nuts, plus a few raw carrots but not much more in the way of vegetables. On Sunday after a hard morning’s work taking down the Xmas tree, packing away the decorations, and rearranging all the suitcases, overnight bags, beach toys and other junk in the mini-attic to put the Xmas boxes away, I did treat myself to one 330ml bottle of beer.
During the last few days I had made five batches of brownies for Son to treat his friends at school, tennis, language institute for his 8th birthday. I just tasted a small piece of crust (not even a full mouthful) of the first batch to check taste before making more, as it was a new recipe. Luckily I don’t get a sweet tooth often but I usually have one piece of whatever I’ve baked; this time I was being cautious about unnecessary calories.
Today the Omron showed me at 37.1% fat, 28.7kg fat so although the % has stayed roughly the same, I’m -0.7kg fat–so it wasn’t all water loss. Now on to the next stage, a proper balanced eating plan.

I’ve completed the week on the Cabbage Soup Diet. I didn’t follow it 100%, especially yesterday evening. We were out all day, I had taken the rice with me and had that at lunch with a salad, but in the evening we visited friends and stayed rather longer than planned so on the way home Son was hungry and we stopped for souvlaki. I was too embarrassed to fetch my rice from the car so I chose three chicken skewers and cucumber salad.
I lost 1.9 kg in the week. This loss was in leaps and bounds: -0.7 kg after the first day, no change for three days, another -0.7 after fourth day, no change for two days, a final -0.5 after sixth day, no change on last day. Following that pattern, if I had followed it religiously, especially last night, I might have lost another 0.5 kg at most. I think my other little deviations (milk in my morning tea every day, a little bit of cheese on the milk day, a few nuts twice) helped me to stay on the diet for the rest of the time rather than going off it completely so a possibly slightly smaller loss was worth it.
I can honestly say that I wasn’t hungry–if ever I felt my tummy gurgle I had some soup, or some of its component vegetables in the later days. I did feel light-headed a few times, perhaps because I have low blood pressure anyhow. A friend said he’d heard the CSD causes flatulence. I didn’t have serious problems in that department, perhaps because I’m used to eating lots of vegetables anyhow, but I did find I had more frequent bowel movements on Days 2 and 3, so my accidental pattern of starting on Friday might actually work better than the traditional Monday start for people who work during the week, so they can be at home near a loo over the weekend (and if they do find that the first days of increased fiber intake from the vegetables and fruit causes unwanted side effects). From the fourth day (Monday) onwards my plumbing was back to normal and also the foods were the kind that would be easier to carry to an office by somebody working.
Bottom line is, it worked, and fulfilled its function of a kick-start to a more balanced long-term eating plan. It was endurable without too much deprivation but personally I don’t think this is a diet I’ll be repeating in a hurry, and certainly no more frequently than once a month. However, I might do just Days 1 and 2 as a quick crash diet if I needed to look better for a special occasion. I will keep it in my arsenal and seriously consider repeating the whole week when I reach the inevitable plateau during my new eating plan.
Probably the most positive part of the CBS is teaching how filling low-calorie vegetables can be, either as a soup or on their own. I know this already, but tend to forget, so from now on I’ll make sure I reach for vegetables as a snack before anything else when I am hungry. I may even make the soup again–it’s really quite tasty! And research has shown that people who eat soup regularly lose more weight–it fills the stomach so less higher-calorie food can fit.

These are a traditional Christmas treat in Greece. This is one third of my mother-in-law’s recipe, hence odd measurements; the full batch is for sharing with her offspring (my husband and his sister) and treating any visitors during the festive season, but my husband and I like them so much that I make extra ones before my mother-in-law gets around to it, and if I say so myself, mine are now at least as good as hers. Greeks also make melomakarona for Xmas but I’m not keen on them, unless they haven’t been dipped in honey (but do ask if you want the recipe).
170-335g almonds, blanched and toasted in oven until golden and fragrant–watch they do not burn. Try to keep almonds whole. If you haven’t made these before it may be easier to start with the smaller amount of almonds so the kourabiedhes will be easier to cut/shape, but ideally for a really luxurious kourabie there should be at least one almond in each bite. These should be toasted a couple of hours in advance so they are cold when you add them to the dough.
With an electric mixer whip
335g mixed ewe’s and goat’s butter (it’s really worth searching for this, perhaps try ethnic Cypriot or Arabic stores, if you cannot find it then unmixed ewe’s butter can be used; if even that is not available best quality cow’s butter will have to do but you won’t get that incredible aroma*)
for at least 10′ until white. Then add
1/3 cupful icing sugar, sifted
1 large egg yolk
1/2 Tbsp brandy
and whip a bit longer, then add
550-650g sifted soft flour (not sure if that’s the word in English, I mean flour for cakes, not strong flour with high gluten for bread)–sift half of this first with
1 tsp baking powder
Mix into butter, then gradually add enough flour to made a fairly stiff mixture (it may not take the full 650g) the texture of an earlobe.
By hand gently mix in the cold toasted almonds.
Turn out onto a clean counter or table (marble would be ideal). Pat down flat to about 1-1.5 cm thickness. Then cut out crescents using an upside down glass (I have a nice beer glass which curves in near the bottom to form a knob, which is easier to grip with buttery hands). Cookie cutters would only work if you have deep ones. Wiggle the glass as it goes down to try to keep almonds whole, if you press straight down you would end up with crushed almonds. If this is too difficult you can shape the kourabiedhes by hand, either crescents or little flattened rounds. Place on a baking tray as you go. Gather up scraps, pat flat and repeat–the last scraps will have to be shaped by hand.
Bake in 175 oC oven until pale golden colour–watch carefully, do not overdo. They will seem underdone.
Meanwhile sift
c300g icing sugar evenly onto large shallow trays or the kitchen table (my mother-in-law covers this first with paper used for making dressmaking patterns)
As soon as the kourabiedhes are out of the oven, lift very carefully with a fish slice and slide onto the bed of icing sugar. They will still be soft and fragile at this stage. If you find this difficult at first, leave to cool a bit until they set, but they won’t absorb so much icing sugar if they are completely cold. (*If you were unable to find goat’s or at least ewe’s butter you could sprinkle the kourabiedhes with rose water at this stage to add a bit of flavour to the cow’s butter, but don’t spoil the aroma of real ewe’s & goat’s butter if you used that.) Then sift
c400g icing sugar directly onto the kourabiedhes
Leave to cool completely, then carefully pile them into a stack on a pretty serving dish (with clear domed lid if possible), scrape together icing sugar remaining on the trays and resift to cover again–you want to get a snowy effect. Any icing sugar remaining on the serving dish after kourabiedhes have been eaten will be fragrant with butter and can be used to make a cake.
Please don’t let the length of this post put you off, I have tried to describe as fully as possible, it would be much easier just to watch me make them They are a bit delicate so I have tried to give easier alternatives for beginners.
Enjoy! As they say in Greece, if you make them you will remember me

This is a classic Greek dish, served at Christmas in some regions. I use celeriac (the big round round root in the ground below celery). My other-in-law makes it with the Greek selino, a herb which looks rather like parsley, blanched to reduce bitterness. If neither is available use regular celery.
1 kg boneless pork, cut in chunks (if you use lean meat it should fit into most diet plans)
brown in a little olive oil, remove from pan
Peel and cut into chunks (I find it easier to peel after cutting into chunks)
2-3kg celeriac
Place a layer of celeriac on the bottom of a pressure cooker, add the pork in another layer, top with the rest of the celeriac, salt, a scant cup of water.
Cook the usual way in the pressure cooker for c45′, then open carefully as soon as pressure is down (if you are in a hurry, put pressure cooker in sink under cold running water until it stops hissing).
Make avgolemono sauce thus:
2-3 eggs, separated–whip whites until stiff with a pinch of salt, add yolks, and
juice of 2-3 lemons
Then add ladlefuls of the hot liquid in the pot, quickly whisking after each addition, and return to the pot, swirl around to coat celeriac and pork with sauce, leave on still-hot hob for a few minutes to thicken (if you reheat do so carefully, do not boil or you will get scrambled eggs).

In these credit crunch days it’s necessary to be frugal, and I’ve always felt unhappy about wasting food when so many people are starving in the world. This recipe combines both sentiments, and is a good way of clearing away the last bits of ice cream cluttering the freezer at the end of summer (in Greece people don’t eat ice cream in winter, it’s supposed to cause sore throats).

Beat together
1 cup sugar (or less)
2 cups melted (molten?) ice cream
3 eggs
Sift and add gradually
1 x 500g packet self-raising flour
Bake in preheated oven at c180 oC for c 40′.

It does not matter what kind of ice cream you use, I had about 1 cup strawberry, 1/2 cup vanilla and a bit less than 1/2 cup walnut, and added a little milk to make up to 2 cups. No fat is added so fat content depends on whether you use regular or light ice cream.

This is the standby of every Greek homemaker of the older generation when she wants to offer a home-made sweet to unexpected guests. Very quick and easy.
The classic recipe is very easy to remember:
1 cup olive oil
2 cups coarse semolina (number 4 in Greece)
3 cups sugar (but I use about 2 cups)
4 cups water
First boil the sugar and water with one cinnamon quill and half a lemon, juice and rind, to form a light syrup.
Then heat the olive oil and fry the semolina until it is dark golden and smells toasted–be sure to stir it constantly as it can easily burn and become bitter. (If you like you can add a good handful of almonds or pine nuts when the semolina is light golden, or for special occasions I toast these first, put them aside and sprinkle the cooked halva with them when serving so they don’t go soggy.)
Remove the pan from the heat, and carefully pour the strained syrup into it–wear silicone gloves if you have them, or thick oven mitts, because this will sputter and steam. Stir, cover with a clean kitchen towel to steam and thicken for 10′, press into ring mould or individual little moulds. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon and toasted nuts (optional).

This is the best recipe for angel food cake that I’ve come across. I make this regularly because Son doesn’t like egg whites, so whenever I poach or fry yolks for him I save the raw whites in the freezer in a lidded measuring cup until I have enough. Fat-free, but very high in sugar.
From Better Homes & Gardens via www.lhj.com (Ladies’ Home Journal)

Preheat oven to 350 oF.

Sift together three times:
1 cup sifted cake flour
1 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar

Beat together with an electric mixer on medium to high speed until soft peaks form (tips curl).
1 1/2 cups egg whites at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp vanilla

Gradually add, 2 Tbsp at a time,
1 cup granulated sugar
beating until stiff peaks form (tips stand straight).

Sift about 1/4 of the flour mixture over beaten egg whites, fold in gently, repeat 1/4 etc until all folded in.
Pour into ungreased 10″ tube pan. Bake on lowest rack of oven for 40-45′ until top springs back. Immediately invert the cake in its pan, standing on a rack or resting tube on a tall-necked bottle. Cool cake thoroughly before removing from pan. Cut slices with serrated knife.

I keep meaning to convert this to metric, I promise I’ll get around to it once I’ve uploaded all my intranet recipes here.

The final day at last! The soup as usual, or its ingredients as salad, stir-fries etc. Plus brown rice, fruit juice and vegetables. I haven’t found any quantities for the brown rice so I’m boiling 500g in my rice cooker and I’ll visually divide it into portions to make sure it lasts all day. That’s just over three Japanese go measures (the little 180ml cups that come with most rice cookers, roughly 150g of rice each, are the modern version of the masu measuring cup still used for rice and sake). Traditionally one go is the amount a Japanese adult eats at one meal, about two cup-sized bowls, so 500g should be more than enough for the whole day as I’ll also be eating the vegetables.
I’ve just had breakfast: freshly squeezed orange juice. I’ve got some portobello mushrooms for one of the main meals, I’ve got the Alexandrian coleslaw in the fridge so I just need some tomatoes to have ingested all the soup ingredients today. But I never buy tomatoes in winter because they’re insipid, so I’ll probably have tomato juice instead.