Tips

Eating Out – Indian

Published by:

Basic Tips for Eating Out

Set aside half your meal to eat the next day or if it won’t keep for the next day, save it for a snack later.

Basics at an Indian Restaurant

Many curries are great Protein, Veggie or Starch Meals. Just avoid the white rice and any sweet and sour dishes. Ask to substitute veggies, tofu or beans for the rice in a Veggie or Starch Meal.

Soups are good choices, just check the ingredients to make sure there is no white rice.

If you love chutneys (again avoid sweet and sour ones) you can have them with anything.

Starch

Skip the bread and naan as it’s all made with white flour unless the menu indicates “whole wheat” and I’ve yet to find whole wheat naan in a restaurant.

Some chapatis are made with whole wheat flour. If in doubt, ask your wait-person.

Pakora is something dipped in a chick-pea batter and deep-fried. I’m not a fan of deep-frying but if it’s your best choice just make sure that it’s a vegetable pakora rather than meat.

Curries are good choices if they can be made with brown rice and there is no meat in the dish.

Lentil Soup or Dahl are good choices.

Papadum is a crisp lentil wafer and is a good choice to sub for naan or chipati.

Protein

There are lots of wonderful protein dishes in a typical Indian restaurant. Go at it!

Raita – spiced yogurt with vegetables.

Many of the vegetarian dishes are made with cheese and are good choices.

Vegetarian or Neutral

Many of the vegetarian dishes are good choices. Ask for brown rice or tofu in place of white rice.

Glossary Tips

Chestnut Flour

Published by:

chestnut

Chestnut flour is made from chestnuts and is a Starch. It has a lighter flavor and color than whole wheat flour and since soy flour has a bitter taste if not fully cooked chestnut flour is a good substitute for soy flour in dishes that won’t be fully cooked. The bad news is that it’s expensive. Oh well, you can’t have everything.

Chestnut flour is also gluten free, good for those on a Paleo diet but should be avoided by those with nut allergies.

 

Chestnut Flour Crepes

2 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup chestnut flour
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 stick (2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted, plus more melted butter for the pan

Mix all ingredients in a blender or medium bowl with a whisk. I like to do it in a blender though as it’s easier to pour into the crepe pan.

Chill the batter for at least 1 hour before using although it can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

Heat an 8-inch nonstick pan over medium heat. Coat the bottom and sides of the pan with a bit of melted butter.

Give the chilled batter a quick buzz in the blender or with your whisk. Pour about 2 tablespoons of batter into the pan, swirling it to evenly coat the bottom of the pan. Let the crêpe cook for about 30 seconds or until it gets lightly golden. Tuck in the sides of the crepe with a rubber spatula to make it easier to flip. Using the spatula, quickly flip the crêpe over to finish cooking for about ten seconds. Transfer it to a plate and repeat with the rest of the batter. Stacking the crêpes on the plate. They shouldn’t stick together.

Once all the crêpes are cooked you can fill them with anything you like or freeze them, stacked and tightly wrapped, for up to 1 month.

 

Chestnut Cake

1/2 cup coconut or nut oil
1 cup chestnut flour, plus additional for dusting
3/4 cup hazelnuts
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup mild honey
1/4 – 1/2 cup coconut, maple or other unrefined sugar

Put your oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 350°F.

Toast hazelnuts in a springform pan until fragrant, about 10 to 12 minutes. Dump nuts onto a kitchen towel and use the towel to rub which removes any loose skins Some skins may not come off, that’s okay, just leave them be. Cool nuts to room temperature and chop well.

Oil the springform pan and dust with chestnut flour, knocking out excess flour into the sink.
Sift together chestnut flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl, then stir in nuts.

Beat together egg yolks, oil, honey, and 2 tablespoons sugar with an electric mixer at high speed until thick and pale, about 5 minutes in a stand mixer or 8 minutes with a handheld. Add flour mixture and mix at low speed just until flour is blended in.

Beat egg whites with a small pinch of salt in another medium bowl with clean beaters at medium-high speed until they form soft peaks. Add remaining sugar a little at a time, beating until whites just hold a stiff peak.

Fold one third of whites into batter, then gently fold in remaining whites. Spread batter in pan and rap pan hard on a hard surface once to release any air bubbles.

Bake for 30 minutes, then place a sheet of foil loosely on top of pan and continue baking until a tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 10 to 15 minutes more.

Transfer cake pan to a rack and cool 30 minutes, then remove side of pan and allow to cool completely on the rack.

Remove cake from bottom of pan to serve if desired.

Cake can be served as is, dusted with cocoa powder or served with a dollop of refined sugar-free whipped cream or vanilla yogurt.

 

Chocolate Cake

10 ounces grain-sweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
15 ounces chestnut puree or cream
4 ounces unsalted butter
6 eggs, seperated
pinch of salt
1/4 – 1/2 cup coconut, maple or unrefined sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 ounces grain-sweetened chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream, nondairy milk or brewed coffee

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Line the bottom of a springform pan with a circle of baking parchment.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler or (my favorite method) in a small bowl in the microwave 30 seconds at a time, stirring in between.

Use a whisk or an electric mixer to blend the chestnut cream with the butter. Blend in vanilla, egg yolks and melted chocolate.

In a seperate bowl, with clean dry beaters, whip the egg whites with the salt just to break them up and until they are slightly foamy. Increase mixer speed and gradually add sugar until stiff glossy peaks form.

Fold 1/3 of egg whites into chestnut mixture and blend well. Gently fold in another 1/3 of the egg whites and then the last 1/3, blending well but being careful not to deflate the batter.

Spoon batter into springform pan and bake until done, about 35 to 45 minutes. The cake will look dry and slightly cracked on top when done while the middle will be soft but firm.

Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack set on top of a cookie sheet for 20 minutes. Then remove sides of pan and place back on wire to finish cooling.

While the cake is cooling you can make the glaze.

Bring the whipping cream, nondairy milk or coffee to a boil and add the chocolate. Or heat liquid in a microwave until hot and add chocolate.

Remove from heat and stir until all of the chocolate melts.

Pour glaze over cooled cake, using a spatula to spread evenly over top of cake.

Serve with a dollop of vanilla yogurt, or pureed berries or both.

 

Basic Information Recipes Starches

UnDiet Compatible Breakfast Cereals

Published by:

Even for those cereals where I do not caution you to read the label, you should read the labels occasionally as manufacturers do change their recipes every now and then.

Erewhon Cereals

Kashi

Read the labels for this brand. Some of their cereals contain evaporated cane juice, which is okay on the UnDiet but if you can avoid it that would be preferable.

Barbara’s Bakery

These are by far the best of the bunch. Organic, whole grains & sweetened with molasses.

Nature’s Path

Read the labels for this brand. Some cereals contain evaporated cane juice.

EnviroKidz

Read the labels for this brand. Some cereals contain evaporated cane juice.

 

Recipes Using Cereal

Inevitably you’ll end up with cereal that needs to be used before it goes stale, or that your family doesn’t like or just a bunch of crumbs in the bottom of the box. When any of those scenarios happens you’ll be glad that we shared some of our favorite cereal recipes with you. Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

1 cup agave nectar or honey
1 c peanut butter
6 cups rice crispies or corn flakes style cereal

Boil agave nectar and sugar in a heavy pan. Stir in peanut butter and cereal. Spoon into an oiled 9” x 13” pan. or drop onto waxed paper in individual cookies. If using the pan, cut into bars when mixture cools but hasn’t hardened yet.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie

4 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon honey or agave nectar
1 ½ cups crispy rice cereal
1 package sugar-free chocolate pudding
2 cups skim milk (the pudding won’t gel with nondairy milk)
4 tablespoons sugar-free whipped topping or vanilla yogurt

In small bowl, combine peanut butter and honey and microwave on high for 20 seconds. Stir in cereal. Press into a pie plate or square pan and chill.

Prepare pudding with milk according to package directions. Spread over pie crust and chill until pudding sets. Top with shipped topping or yogurt.

Snack Mix

6 cups cereal such as Cheerios, squares or any cereal that is big and hearty enough to eat dry without a spoon
1 cup whole pecans
3/4 cup butter
1 cup coconut, maple or unrefined sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place pecans on cookie sheet and toast in oven for 15 to 20 minutes until they smell delicious and are slightly browned. Remove from oven and turn oven down to 300 degrees.

Place cereal and pecans in a large bowl.

Melt butter and brown sugar in a small pan. Allow to boil for 2 minutes. Pour over cereal and pecans. Pour entire mixture onto the cookie sheet. Bake for 5 minutes, stir, bake 5 more minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container. Does not need to be refrigerated.

Breaded Herb Chicken

3/4 cup cereal crumbs
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 envelope dry salad dressing mix
3/4 cup butter, melted
6 large boneless skinless chicken breasts or 12 thighs, either whole or cut into strips or nugget size pieces.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a shallow bowl, combine the first 3 ingredients. Place butter in a square baking pan. Place pan in the oven, removing when butter is melted.

Dip chicken in the melted butter; then roll in the cereal mixture until well coated. Place in a single layer in an oiled baking pan. Bake uncovered for 30 to 45 minutes depending on the size of your chicken pieces.

I like to use chicken thighs. They have more flavor and are less dry than other parts of the chicken. They’re also less expensive than breasts.

Marshmallow Bars

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup honey, agave nectar or brown rice syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups brown rice marshmallow cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups cereal crumbs or small cereal such as puffs or crispies

Butter a square baking pan.

In a large pot melt butter; add marshmallow cream, honey and salt. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until marshmallows are melted.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Add cereal and mix well.

Press mixture into pan and allow to set for several hours before slicing into squares.

Chocolate Fruit Candy

You can use any dried fruit that you have in place of the raisins and cranberries. You could use white chocolate chips in place of the chocolate chips.

3 cups puffed cereal
1/3 cup raisins
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup peanuts
6 ounces grain-sweetened chocolate chips
2 tablespoons honey, agave nectar or brown rice syrup

Mix the cereal, raisins, cranberries, and peanuts in a large bowl. Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler or in the microwave.

When the chocolate has melted, stir in the honey. Carefully drizzle the chocolate evenly over the cereal mix. Stir to mix and then use a large spoon to place dollops of the mix onto a cookie sheet.

Place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to set the chocolate. When the chocolate has set, place the candy in an airtight container. Store in a cool place or the refrigerator.

High Protein Recipes Starches Vegetarian

Tomato Onion Rice

Published by:

I’ve doubled the ingredients in this recipe so that you can use the leftovers to make a thick and creamy Tomato Soup for another meal.

Saute 2 chopped onions over medium heat in 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil until just starting to color. Stir in

4 cloves sliced garlic
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 cup parboiled brown rice
1/2 cup vegetable broth or water
1 cup dry red wine
1/4 teaspoon each sea salt and black pepper

Place in dish 4 tomatoes cut in half and placed with cut side down. Lower heat to low and cook covered without stirring for 10 minutes. Remove lid and using a pair of tongs grab the skin of each tomato and discard. Stir the dish mashing the tomato as you do so. If the dish is too soupy continue cooking, stirring frequently over low heat until desired consistency. Remove from heat; taste and add sea salt and pepper if needed and 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley. Set aside half and refrigerate for another meal.

You may garnish with any of the following if desired:

  • Parmesan cheese
  • chopped or sliced olives
  • finely diced raw red bell pepper

 

Fruit Glossary Tips

The Truth About Banana Chips

Published by:

Horror of horrors, I’ve discovered the most dastardly trick. Banana chips are not DRIED, they are DEEP-FRIED! Needless to say I’m taking them off the recommended foods list. 2 banana chips = 140 calories! 2 chips! 140 calories! I know that we don’t count calories here at the UnDiet, but that’s just too outrageous for 2 little chips!

Thankfully there are some great substitutes for one of my favorite snacks. Banana Crisps are lightly sweetened (sigh) and baked. Roasted Plantain Chips are roasted with a little oil and no sugar. Dried Bananas are simply sliced bananas, dried with nothing added. Nothing But Bananas Flattened are dried whole bananas. All of these can be found at Trader Joes and the Dried Bananas can be found at most health food stores.

I don’t make a meal of any of these, but they are great for a little snack or on the side with a sandwich or soup.

Basic Information Kid Friendly Neutral Recipes Starches Vegetarian

All Veggie Chili

Published by:

This is a great recipe when you’re on the Last 10 Pounds, Jumpstart or Rotation Diet, especially since we tend to think of chili as comfort food, this chili sans beans and meat fools our brains into thinking it’s eating something high calorie that is actually a Free Food. Scroll on down to the Family Chili adaptation for an easy way to adapt this recipe to work for your whole family without cooking twice.

Stir together in medium pot and simmer until vegetables are cooked through, about 30 minutes.

  • 2 ~ 15 ounce cans diced tomatoes
  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced or sliced
  • 1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped
  • 1/4 cup chili powder (if you won’t be adding the fresh tomatoes use 2 tablespoons)
  • 1/2 cup pureed red bell pepper
  • 1 teaspoon carob or cocoa powder
  • dash of ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon each cumin and coriander
Garnish with finely diced roasted red bell pepper using 1/4 to 1/2 cup for each bowl of chili.

Living Food Chili: if you’d like to get more raw foods into your diet, try this trick:

The night before you make this stew put 4 whole tomatoes in the freezer. The next morning move them to the fridge or kitchen counter so that they can thaw. Make sure to place them in a bowl to catch the juices that will be released as they thaw.

Working over a blender or food processor bowl to catch the juices use your hands to remove and discard the tomato skin and core. Puree and set aside.  Stir into soup after removing from heat.

Black Bean Veggie Chili: stir in canned or leftover black bean soup at a ratio of 1 can black bean to 4 cans chili.

Family Chili: Set your portion of chili aside and add enough canned kidney or black beans or cooked ground beef to the remaining chili to satisfy the family.

Quick Chili – use the fresh tomato trick to freshen up canned chili.

High Protein Kid Friendly Recipes Starches Vegetarian

Using Leftovers: Make Wrapped Lunches

Published by:

One of my favorite ways to use leftovers is to make them into a wrap the next day. Here are some of my combinations. I italicized the items that are leftovers. Please feel free to share your own ideas in the Comments section.

Mexican Wrap

  • ww tortilla
  • cheese (I use soy cheese)
  • Spanish rice
  • beans
  • avocado
  • salsa
  • lettuce

Chinese Wrap

  • ww tortilla
  • rice w/ leftover sauce stirred in

    • any leftover dish (one dish per wrap)

  • layer leftover items over rice
  • micro greens or sprouts

Fast Food Wrap

  • ww tortilla
  • cheese or soy cheese
  • meat, chopped or cut into strips
  • salad
  • lettuce or sliced tomato if no leftover salad

Italian Wrap

  • ww tortilla
  • cheese or soy cheese
  • meat, chopped or cut into strips
  • veggies
  • salad
  • lettuce or sliced tomato if no leftover salad

Pizza Wrap

  • ww tortilla
  • cheese or soy cheese if no cheese in leftover items
  • pizza toppings (warm slightly to make it easier to scrape topping and cheese directly into wrap)

  • salad
  • lettuce or sliced tomato if no leftover salad

Look for Low-Carb Tortillas

Tips

Eating Out – Asian

Published by:

Asian menus offer many exciting choices for all of the UnDiet plans. Many restaurants now offer steamed brown rice in place of white rice.

Basic Tips for Eating Out

Set aside half your meal to eat the next day or if it won’t keep for the next day, save it for a snack later.

Starch

If you want a Starch Meal, soba noodles are made with buckwheat flour, just 86 any Protein additions to the dish, or ask to substitute tofu for the meat.
Most soups are good choices, and with the new UnDiet research it’s now okay to have a beef or chicken broth soup with a Starch meal.

Vegetarian

There are always lots of good vegetarian choices on any Asian menu. Ask for soba noodles in place of white rice, udon noodles or rice noodles.

Protein

Any Asian menu will have many choices for a Protein Meals, just ask for vegetables or tofu as a substitute for any rice or noodles.

Most soups are good choices, just ask for tofu, extra meat or vegetables in place of any noodles or rice.

Order Egg Drop Soup instead of Wonton Soup and save from 50 to 100 calories.

Basic Information

What is The UnDiet?

Published by:

Never count another carb, fat gram, or calorie again and lose up to a pound a day,

(sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less). The UnDiet is the result of years of research, and experimentation in the principles of food combining with whole foods and is well-documented by doctors, researchers and testimonials.

The UnDiet will help you to make losing weight easy, fun and most important – successful. Find out how hundreds of UnDieters are losing up to a pound a day without starving themselves, without taking pills, without counting carbs or fat grams. Learn how to use real food in easy-to-do combinations to achieve your weight and health goals.

Zoners, Protein Power, Atkins, Sugar Busters, Fit for Lifers: even though you may be familiar with one or more methods for combining and rationing fats, carbs, proteins, and starches, The UnDiet site will help you to work with each food group to get what you want out of your food and your life.

Discover the secret that hundreds of UnDieters have found: while this website contains all of the basic information that you’ll need to be successful at losing weight, you can receive many more UnDiet Tools through The UnDiet Step-By-Step E-Mail Program which includes The UnDiet Updates.

New Information: recipes; tips; product, book, food and popular diet reviews; information, new research and other resources will be available on an irregular basis (due to my travel schedule). Check back regularly to see What’s New or better yet Subscribe to The UnDiet blog to receive updated info via e-mail.

Basic Information Fruit

Dairy on the UnDiet

Published by:

Dairy milk (from a cow) is one of the worst things you can put into your body. Most people have adverse reactions to cow’s milk, it’s just that they’ve made it such an integral part of their diet that they assume the symptoms they experience are normal! There is an abundant amount of research and information that prove dairy products are a clear and present danger. A cow’s milk is designed to take a calf weighing around 90 pounds at birth to a weight of 2000 pounds within two years! Dairy products are designed by nature (or God) to make you very big, very fast. The Step-By-Step E-Mail Plan includes much more information and research on dairy products. If however you must have milk use the Lactaid brand or raw milk. The enzyme added to the Lactaid milk helps your body to digest it much easier and therefore causes much less harm. Raw milk already contains this enzyme (which is killed by the pasteurization process).

Soy, seed, or nut milks are acceptable substitutes in all of your recipes except for sugar-free instant pudding. This won’t gel with anything other than dairy milk. The non-fat versions taste like water; the low-fat or full-fat versions taste great, although you might need a week or so to get used to them. I use the full-fat milks when I need a deep, rich flavor and the low-fat versions when I can get away with it.

When a recipe calls for milk I often substitute heavy cream (which is classified as a fat and not as a dairy product) mixed with water or soy/seed/nut milk.

For more information on milk and casein (the protein in milk) see Encarta Encyclopedia’s entry on casein and “Milk – It Doesn’t Do a Body Good“, a well researched article with bibliography.