Hairy Bikers - The Hairy Dieters: Fast Food

It can get in the way of dieting and all your best intentions, cant it?! But weve got the answer. Weve found that the key to weight loss is to eat good things, fast. If weve got the right food on the table quickly, we dont get tempted by the high-calorie stuff. So we thought if it works for us, itll work for you too. This new collection is full of recipes that take just half an hour to prepare and cook. If youve slipped a bit and youve got some timber to shed, the important thing is not to sink into despair and carry on stuffing yourself.

Get on to our FAST FOOD plan and you might find you get a nice surprise when you step on the scales one day. Our food tastes amazing, so non-dieters in the family are happy and you dont suffer while youre losing the pounds. This is real food, not diet food, and once youre at the weight you want to be, our recipes are great for maintaining your figure too.  OUR STORIES DAVE Before I started on the diet I was a borderline type-2 diabetic, lining myself up for loads of health problems. Now my sugar levels are normal and have been for the past three years. I have check-ups every six months to make sure Im on track, and Im fit and healthy.

Im only human though, and I have a tendency to put on weight so its a constant battle. And sometimes circumstances make it hard to do what you know you should. Take last year, for instance. I had a really hectic filming schedule so I was away from home for weeks on end and it was really tough to keep to my normal regime. I did put on a few kilos, but the difference is that now I keep a check on myself and I do something about it. SI I loved being lighter. SI I loved being lighter.

Id been a fat lad most of my life and it always got me down. I was one of those people who constantly struggled with my weight, and I wondered why everyone else seemed to be able to eat what they liked and not put on an ounce. Hacked me off right royally to tell the truth. When finally I had lost weight through working on the Hairy Dieters books and programmes, life intervened with a cruel twist of fate. I found myself seriously ill with a brain aneurysm and I had to fight to get well again. The trauma of all that was incredibly difficult to overcome.

I had a prolonged period of inactivity because of the injury to my brain and body, and I found myself not able to do much at all for six months. Making a cup of tea was a big task. Inevitably, with the lack of movement, let alone exercise, I put on weight again. A year later I looked at myself in the mirror and thought: Oh dear. I really, really have to do something. It took a huge effort but Im back on track now and losing the weight.

I want to be slim again and Im getting there. And of course, its great to have the support of my mate Dave. Makes all the difference to have someone to go through it all with, and thats one of the reasons we started the Diet Club. We know that all of you love that support and companionship to help see you through the tricky times.  OUR FAST FOOD CHALLENGE Were all busy and the problem for many of us is that you get home starving hungry and the temptation is to reach for the snacks or grab a takeaway to fill the gap. So our FAST FOOD challenge was to develop recipes that are quick to make without compromising on taste.

Our recipes are just as good as theyve always been, but you can have them ready in half an hour so you sit down to your meal before youre tempted to snack. Your hunger is satisfied and youve kept to a reasonable calorie intake. Win, win. As passionate foodies, our recipes have to be exciting to sustain our interest and weve come up with yet more great ideas to tempt you. Cook these and live like a King or a Myers and still lose weight.  TIPS FOR SPEEDY COOKING The recipes in this book can be prepped and cooked in about half an hour, but before you start cooking, make sure you have all the ingredients.  TIPS FOR SPEEDY COOKING The recipes in this book can be prepped and cooked in about half an hour, but before you start cooking, make sure you have all the ingredients.

Our half an hour doesnt include turning out your cupboard to find your curry powder, or running down to the corner shop for an onion. Here are some tips to help you be a super-speedy cook. First of all, put a kettle on to boil while you read the recipe through. Youre bound to need some hot water and it saves time to pour just-boiled water from a kettle into the saucepan so it comes to the boil more quickly. Same with stock. Make sure its hot before adding it to a dish.

If youre using fresh stock, bring it to the boil in a separate pan before using. If using a stock cube or concentrated stock, bring a kettle of water to the boil and use this to make your stock. Adding cold stock will slow down the cooking. Simple thing, but when youre bringing something to the boil, put a lid on the pan. It really does make a difference. Usually we advise getting all your ingredients chopped and ready before starting to cook, but if you want to have food on the table fast, you might want to get something going while prepping the rest.

For example, if a recipe starts with frying an onion, get that in the pan and then chop something else while its cooking. How do you think a Chinese restaurant gets a banquet ready while you wait? As far as possible, make sure meat is at room temperature before you cook it. It cooks quicker that way and it will also be more tender and taste better. Be sure your knives are good and sharp makes chopping and slicing so much faster and easier. Get yourself a good knife sharpener.  SLOW, SLOW, QUICK, QUICK, SLOW While researching recipes for this book weve discovered the joys of a couple of bits of kit we think you might find useful.

Slow cookers and pressure cookers are both tools that can make your diet easier. The idea of a slow cooker might seem a bit odd for a cookbook on fast food, but in fact it can be a brilliant time saver. You just put in your prep time in the morning instead of later and pile all the ingredients into the slow cooker. Then you get home to a beautifully cooked hot meal. What could be better? Then the pressure cooker we both remember our mams using pressure cookers and they were scary things, always hissing and exploding. The new ones are very different and perfect for the cook in a hurry.