Brooks - Low-carb & Gluten-free Vegetarian

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@PavilionFood1www.anovabooks.com Low-Carb & Gluten-Free VEGETARIAN Low-Carb & Gluten-Free VEGETARIAN SIMPLE, DELICIOUS RECIPES FOR A LOW-CARB AND GLUTEN-FREE LIFESTYLE Celia Brooks Photography by Clare Winfield
Nutritional analysis by Fiona Hunter and Anita Bean contents introduction Have you heard about this great new diet? No third helpings. Stanley Kubrick It was Stanley Kubricks wife Christiane who first got me started on this book, nearly ten years ago when I wrote the original version. Back then, I was cooking for her, her family and friends nearly every week, so when several of them decided to try a low-carb diet, it was time for me to get my low-carb thinking cap on. This is the result of many months experimenting, learning, feasting, and losing weight! This is not a diet book, its a cookbook. That said, its a cookbook mainly for those who have embraced the low-carb lifestyle that is set to dominate the Western world in the 21st century, especially as refined carbs and sugars become more and more demonised by health experts. The low-carb diet has undergone criticism, but theres no doubt it works for those who stick to it.

Surely obesity is more dangerous? Theres an awful lot of conflicting information out there, but one point nutritionists will agree on: controlling carbs reduces appetite, and if you eat less, you will lose weight. To be true to this project, I went on a low-carb diet myself. I had been a normal, healthy weight for several years and didnt have much weight to lose, but I have had plump phases in my life and I know how fabulous it feels to get thin. What I really wanted was to live the low-carb life to get a clearer picture of what the diet is really like. I was surprised! Almost immediately, I noticed that my appetite shrank. I was snacking less and eating smaller meals.

I really did feel that my mind was more focused and I had sustained energy levels. I could sit at my desk for hours without even thinking about what I would wander into the kitchen to nibble on next. Unlike other diets, there was not a sense of deprivation or longing. After two weeks, my clothes felt loose and I had lost about 3 lbs. This proved to me that the diet works. I think its the stereotype of the fat chef that often prompts people to ask me, How do you stay so slim? My reply is always the same.

Plenty of exercise! Whatever diet youre on, thats the key. I advise anyone embarking on a low-carb diet to read the books that are out there and decide whats right for them. Pair that up with increased physical exercise, and you have nothing to lose but excess weight. Developing these recipes was a whole new experience for me. I established a finite set of ingredients that were low-carb and vegetarian. Within that realm, I applied the same passion and relish as I always do, aiming to create the most sumptuous dishes I could muster.

I hope this cookbook will contribute some ideas to your repertoire, vegetarian or not, low-carb or not, and that the recipes are as fun to cook as they are to eat. Its good food enjoy! Celia Brooks, 2013 how it works There are two factors that make the low-carb diet unique: The first is insulin control. When you eat carbohydrates, the body quickly converts them into the basic sugars of which they are composed. The presence of these sugars in the bloodstream gives you a surge of energy, but also triggers the pancreas to produce insulin. Insulins job is to enter the bloodstream and remove the sugars for storage as fat. This happens fast, and once the insulin has stored the sugars, your appetite returns.

It follows that if you eat fewer carbs, your body doesnt have the sugars there to burn for fuel, so it resorts to the fat stores, and off drops the excess weight. The second factor is how protein affects appetite. Carbs burn up quickly; protein takes longer to digest. So a high-protein meal, with plenty of tofu or eggs, for example, will leave you feeling fuller for longer. You are then less likely to snack between meals and end up eating less. If you do fancy a snack, youll get more mileage out of a high-protein one.

Protein is the obvious stumbling block for a vegetarian on a low-carb diet. It is assumed that the diet is too limiting without meat or fish. While it would be impossible to follow a no-carb diet as a veggie (and this would be discouraged from a health point of view), there are plenty of high-protein, low-carb options available, especially eggs and tofu, and they both dominate the recipes in this book. Because of the high vegetable content of many of the recipes, I would argue that going low-carb vegetarian could be one of the healthiest diets around. After all, vegetables are the elixir of life. PROTEIN Protein is your best friend on a low-carb diet.

Many vegetarian protein sources, except nuts and cheese, are also low in fat, which increases your chances of successful weight loss. Not only that, but all natural vegetarian protein sources are rich in other nutrients that can improve your general health. Beans and legumes are protein-rich, but they are also carb-rich. Having set myself the challenge of creating recipes with just 10 g carbs or less per serving, I found it best to leave these out of the recipes, but, along with wholegrains, they should form part of a balanced diet and can be consumed in moderation if you are not being too strict with your carb count. EGGS Eggs are often referred to as the perfect protein. As with all other animal protein sources, they contain all twenty amino acids that form a complete protein, all wrapped up in a neat little shell.

Eggs contain many beneficial minerals and vitamins, including vitamin E a natural antioxidant which helps prevent disease. While the belief has long been held that the cholesterol in eggs is unhealthy, doctors and health organisations no longer advise restricting egg consumption. Studies have found no relationship between dietary cholesterol or egg consumption and heart disease risk. I cant stress enough the importance of buying organic eggs. Not only do organic chickens have a happier life in their free-range surroundings, but their diet is totally vegetarian and free of chemicals, antibiotics and hormones. On a low-carb vegetarian diet, your egg intake will be high.

Since what goes into the chicken goes into the egg, which then goes into you, organic is the only way to go. Yes, they are a little bit more expensive, but only by a fraction, well worth spending. SOYA The mighty soybean is Natures gift to vegetarians. It is one of the only plant sources of complete protein (as with animal protein, it too contains all twenty amino acids). Soybean products are low in fat and carbs, high in protein and disease-preventing antioxidants, and also high in plant oestrogens which have many benefits, including reducing the risk of breast cancer. In fact, the USFDA recommends that everyone incorporate at least 25 g soya protein into their daily diet, to help reduce cholesterol levels.