I don’t really blog. Certainly, I never read blogs. I’m tired of Facebook, and I finally took the time to suspend my account. Yeah, I’m probably a little anti-social, but do you really care? I don’t think you do. Nor did I care about all the stuff that everyone else was always posting about themselves, as if the world cared. There are more personal ways to stay in touch with people.
It was not my idea to do this blog. It was suggested by a good friend, Cherie, with reason. I first heard about “The 4-Hour Body” and the slow carb diet from her. She loaned me the book. I’ve never had any desire or intention of trying a diet that‘s been the subject of any book. I’m a professional chef, and I’ve also “dieted” very successfully in my life, losing 65# in eight months, and keeping more than the majority of that off for many, many years. So, I know how to lose weight and keep it off. (One of the things I "love" about blogs is when people profess to have great knowledge about something. I don't have great knowledge, but I do have expereince.)
Yes, I’d like to lose some weight now. It’s been many years since I’ve had a regular exercise program, since my restaurant and bed & breakfast became my exercise. After more than 15 years, we finally closed the business because of the bad economy. I’m not cooking professionally right now--almost a welcome respite--and I don’t cook for myself. I prefer to cook for others. When I have no one to cook for, I tend just to eat out or order food to go. But, believe it or not, that becomes boring after a while.
Out of boredom, I figured I’d give the slow carb diet a try. Timothy Ferris, the author, likes to eat out of cans, but I can’t bring myself to that. I might as well eat out. Though I don’t like to cook for myself, I love to cook, and I love challenges. I figured this could be a challenge. I know as a professional, it’s relatively easy for me to walk into a kitchen and do things because it’s all in my head. So, I’m not going to give details here. But neither do I want what I’m going to say to be daunting. Perhaps it’ll just stir some creative juices.
Today is day one. Yes, as the book suggests, I’ve eaten basically the same meal four times today. But nothing’s out of a can, or frozen. Between yesterday and today, I’ve thrown some things together which I hope will make this diet a little more interesting.
First, a trip to the grocery store. Check out the proteins first. Stupid reason--they’re going to be the heaviest items, so you won’t crush your produce, plus they can leak. You don’t want chicken fluids on your fresh spinach. Do I need to say that? No, it’s just a suggestion. I happened to go the other way, starting in produce.
I’m not a big fish eater. I’m not fond of “fishy” (aka oily) fish, first of all, even though, in general, they’re probably better for you. Second, being a chef, I have an issue with freshness. I will barbecue right-out-of-the-ocean salmon once a year at home, and I love it. I’d do salmon for staff meal at the restaurant if I knew it was impeccably fresh. Mostly if I have fish, I’ll have it at a good restaurant. Sort of don’t ask, don’t tell. But it’s just one of a few things I’ll never cook for myself, but I’ll order out somewhere. Chicken livers. Same thing. Go figure.
Since you’re looking for protein from fish (aside from the fact that Omega-3s are good for you) look for fresh and cheap. Ahi was $10 a pound. Petrale sole, which I love, was $12, wild king salmon was $22. I got a chunk of ahi. In my book, lamb and pork are favored over beef, but I like chicken, too. So I got two roasters, local and naturally-raised. That was enough for the time being.
Beans/legumes. I happen to love black beans, and I used to make some killer refried black bean cakes. Black bean soup, too. Oh, my Mom’s black bean soup with a squirt of lemon juice and diced or sliced hardboiled egg on the top! But we’re trying to keep things simple. So, over to the bulk commodity section. I picked up some black beans, green lentils and split baby chick peas, with the emphasis on the black beans. Lentils from Puy in the Auvergne in France are considered to be among the world’s best. Splurge if you want to. They stay firmer than regular green lentils. Red lentils are close to worthless, in my opinion, unless you like mush.
On to produce. Again, to keep things simple for now, a head of cauliflower and a bag of washed, baby spinach. Don’t bother with bunches of spinach, which normally are full of sand and gunky leaves interspersed among the good ones. It’s worth getting the washed stuff, unless you really hate yourself.
I also picked up a dozen organic eggs and a gallon of spring water. I’m an egg lover, but not a water drinker. I could guzzle down a pint of water in about 10 gulps when I was working in my hot kitchen all day and needed hydration. I’d have a two cup measure handy just for that purpose, and the sink was right there. As soon as the first pint settled, I’d often down a second. The book says to drink a lot of water, but unless it’s right there, like it was in my kitchen, I don’t think to drink. The gallon keeps the water close by and, true to form, I can guzzle it from the bottle and down quite a bit.
Last night I cooked some of the legumes. If you’re a purist, you can soak the black beans overnight. I tend not to. Rinse ‘em, put ‘em in a pan, cover with about an inch of water and bring ‘em to a boil. Turn down to a simmer. They’ll need to go an hour, and watch the water. You want to keep the water level with the top of the beans. After 30-35 minutes, add the chick peas and lentils. Again, keep the water level with the top. At the end of the hour, remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Finally, drain, put in a container, cover and refrigerate.
That’s all I did last night in preparation for starting the diet today.
For breakfast, I heated some oil in a sauté pan and sliced some of the cauliflower about 3/16ths of an inch thick. (Sorry, it was neither an 1/8 of an inch, nor a 1/4). When the oil was hot, I added the raw cauliflower. The reason for that thickness is that I wasn’t blanching it ahead of time, so I wanted it thin enough to cook and brown, but not so thick that it would burn. When it was slightly brown, I turned it to brown on the other side.
While that was cooking, I sliced some ahi, about 1/4 inch thick. You can do the seared ahi thing, if you like, but I was looking for simplicity--a one-pan meal. To keep the ahi rare would have meant removing it from the pan when it was done and later and adding it back. I added about a cup of the precooked legumes and heated them a bit, and then whisked in three eggs. Personally, I like my eggs scrambled soft--custardy. But this wasn’t to be this time. Then, a handful of fresh spinach, just to take the chill off it, and a bit of salt. It was passable, but way more than I could eat. So I doggy-bagged the rest, put an ice pack on it, and took it on the road with me for lunch. It was actually better the second time around, cold.
Well, it wasn’t exciting, but it was okay. There was a good combination of textures and flavors. And if you’re a bigger fan of fish than I am, it probably would have been quite good. Meals the rest of the day were pretty much the same. I ate enough that I wasn’t hungry. And I’ve been drinking water, but probably not enough.
As Ferris says, you don’t have to read the whole book, just those sections that are of interest. What I read was a couple or more weeks ago. Since I decided yesterday, more or less on the spur of the moment, to give it a try, I had to quickly review what the book said. So, right now I’m sort of winging it in terms of percentages of protein, legumes and veggies.
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