Kerridge - Lose weight for good: full-flavour cooking for a low-calorie diet

This book is dedicated to anyone who wants to, has to, or has already lost weight. Its all about the journey!

Big love and massive hugs to my everything, Bef, Acey and the daft dogs.

A NOTE ON CALORIE COUNTS

The calorie counts for recipes cannot be absolutely precise because there are many variables, including the water and fat content of ingredients, and calorie loss during cooking (from draining off fat, for example). The counts do, however, allow you to roughly work out your daily calorie intake.

A NOTE ON OVEN SETTINGS

The oven timings in these recipes are for fan-assisted ovens. If you are using a conventional oven, you will need to raise the oven temperature by around 15C. Ovens vary, so use an oven thermometer to verify the temperature and check your dish towards the end of the suggested cooking time.

LOW-CALORIE DIETING

To lose weight we know that we need to eat less and move more. We are told by doctors, nutritionists, dieticians and personal trainers that its all about a balanced diet and eating fewer calories than we use. Theres plenty of good advice out there, so why are so many people in Britain still overweight?

I think bland and unappetising diet food is a major factor. How can you stick to a diet if youre not enjoying the food? If lower calorie food came packed with flavour and in generous portions, people would be more likely to lose weight. And this is where I believe I can help, by providing lots of delicious and satisfying recipes that are also lower in calories. I want to help more people to lose weight for good regardless of lifestyle and skills in the kitchen without ever scrimping on flavour.

Its no secret that I used to be a big lad! At my heaviest I weighed in at around 30 stone and my health was suffering. When I celebrated my fortieth birthday, I knew I had to make a change, and fast, or else I might not get to see my fiftieth or my little boy grow up. Things were that serious.

As a chef I am surrounded by food all day and I wasnt going to give that up. I lost weight by cutting down drastically on carbohydrates: potatoes, pasta, bread and rice. It meant I could carry on tasting the food I was working with every day in the kitchen while still cutting back on what I ate. And it worked for me Ive lost 12 stone and Im still going but I understand that this isnt the best approach for everyone.

A calorie-restricted diet, where you consume only a certain amount of calories based on your height, weight-loss goals and the amount of exercise you do is much easier for many people to stick to because you can still eat many of your favourite foods, as long as you dont go over your daily limit. (You can talk to your GP about calculating the number of calories you should have each day, or use one of the reliable calculators online to estimate this yourself.)

I realise that counting calories is a bit boring. But soon youll get to know the calories in the ingredients you use regularly so you wont have to think about it so much. And as for the recipes in this book, all the counting has been done for you!

SO WHAT CAN I EAT?

When youre on a diet, especially one where youre reducing your calories, its all too easy to focus on what you cant eat and what you think youll be missing out on. Food is one of the biggest pleasures in life as well as one of the most important factors in our health, and we just wont succeed if we stop enjoying it.

The beauty of a lower calorie diet is that you can still eat many of the foods you love, as long as you dont go over your daily limit. Obviously, if you were to eat a massive fry-up for breakfast with a stack of toast, you would need to drastically restrict your calories for the rest of the day, but in theory it would be possible.

If you like bread, rice, pasta and potatoes, you can still enjoy them. Many calorie-controlled diets seem to reduce the portions of your regular foods right down. So, yes, you may be eating steak with a blue cheese sauce or chocolate brownies but the servings will be tiny! Youll be hungry, craving something more. Im all about creating bigger portions, as the secret to dieting success is to feel satisfied and full.

So now for the fun bit: lets focus on great food and what you can eat! And lets make this the driving force for a new way of eating. My recipes are designed to achieve satisfyingly large portion sizes, that have extra layers of flavour and plenty of interesting textures to keep your meals exciting. Hopefully this will ease the journey that you are about to embark on.

I use a lot of fresh herbs and spices, garlic and chilli, as they provide huge flavour for virtually no calories. I also sometimes include a small amount of a high-flavour, higher calorie ingredient, such as smoked salmon or cheese. You dont need much of these strongly flavoured ingredients to make an impact and stop you feeling like youre missing out.

Texture is just as important. Chefs use fats to help get both flavour and texture into their cooking, but if youre cutting out the fats you need to find other ways of getting flavour and texture onto your plate. I have some clever techniques to help you out here. Try to balance crunchy ingredients like fresh, healthy veg with something creamy. Pair spicy heat with salty or cooling flavours, and acidity with sweetness. If you can get the right balance, it doesnt matter how few calories the dish contains, it will taste great.

As a general rule, I dont like the idea of replacing regular ingredients with lower calorie alternatives they are often flavourless poor imitations and Id rather just use something else entirely. But there are a few low-cal options that I do use in these recipes, as they can be an easy and subtle way to cut back on calories. Cooking spray oil, which has just one calorie per spray, can really drop the overall count. And a swirl of reduced-fat cream replacement stirred through soups or puddings adds a satisfying richness that low-calorie diets often lack. I also use a sugar replacement to add a bit of sweetness where needed. Reduced-fat pastry is a great addition to the shopping list too. Although losing weight is all about shifting your mindset and getting rid of old unhealthy habits, we can have the occasional treat, and a crispy fruit tart may tick all the boxes.

GETTING CLEVER IN THE KITCHEN

As we lead increasingly busy lives, being faced with complicated dishes that take ages to plan and cook is a recipe for diet failure. I want to show you how to make everyday food that is incredibly simple and totally delicious. Lots of the recipes in this book can be made in less than half an hour, and most can be made ahead in part, or full, and frozen, too. Its all about maximum flavour for minimum effort.

Favourite recipes often taste so good because they use lots of butter and/or oil to roast or fry the ingredients to caramelised perfection. Ill show you some easy techniques that will create tasty effects like these without adding calories. Youll find a cooks blowtorch a handy investment for giving a dish those lovely crispy browned edges you usually get from roasting or frying. It may sound a bit cheffy but its an easy way to add flavour, and create extra texture for zero calories.