basics

Posted by trish on May 13, 2011 in Eat | 1 comment

The Dr Joshi Detox Lifestyle Plan* has been relatively easy to follow but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t crave bread.  Especially this bread – pane casa from the Farmers’ Markets.  Soft but chewy crust on the outside, very soft but nicely dense on the inside.  The perfect loaf, really.

I always buy two loaves; one for lunches over the weekend, and one for cutting up and toasting throughout the following week.

Amanda asked me what I can eat on the diet.  I cannot tell a lie – I am in fact eating a lot of cardboard.

As well as bread, I can’t eat sugar, red meat, pasta, wheat noodles, cheese, milk and some vegetables and fruits.  And this is where I cheat a little – I’m not being 100% strict on the fruits and vegetables.  For example, I’m not supposed to have tomatoes but we had butter chicken for dinner the other night and it’s a tomato-based curry.  So, minus ten points for me.

To answer Amanda’s question, here’s a list of some of the things I’ve been eating:

Salmon with leafy greens

Stir-fry chicken & vegies with rice noodles

Roast chicken with vegies

Vegetable soup.  Lots of vegetable soup.

Gluten-free pasta with vegies

Avocado on rice cakes with smoked salmon (snacks)

Popcorn (snacks)

Miso soup

Cardboard

Last night my dear friend Ann-wth-an-e came around for dinner and I made penne with fennel, red capsicum and chorizo.  I didn’t get myself organised to make anything Dr Joshi-friendly so I tucked into the pasta and thought damn the expense.   That first bite of chorizo was like being punched in the face with a lump of rock salt.  I wondered if I’d just got a particularly salty batch of chorizo, but everyone else said it was fine.  So, clearly this is a low-salt diet too.  And I had a sore tummy afterwards.  Actually, I felt pretty crappy.

I did make an enormous pot of minestrone and that has been seeing me through these chilly Canberra days.  Minestrone is fantastic.  There are a zillion variations which basically means you can’t get it wrong.  This is my version.  I hope Dr Joshi approves.

* I’m trying not to say “diet” because that implies I’m trying to lose weight which I’m not and  I don’t want my daughters to grow up believing their mother thought she was overweight because, well, you know about girls and eating disorders and I don’t want to be responsible for body image issues.

MINESTRONE

The night before, put 1 cup ‘soup mix’ (dried lentils, split peas etc) in a bowl or large jug, cover with water and soak.  If you can’t do this, substitute with a tin of cooked lentils and a tin of red kidney beans.

1 medium brown onion, finely diced

1 stick celery, finely diced

2 medium carrots, finely diced

2 medium potatoes, diced (not peeled)

1/2 butternut pumpkin, diced

A handful of green beans, cut into 2cm pieces

Pretty much any vegetable lurking in the bottom of the vegetable crisper.

1L of chicken or vegetable stock

optional: one 400g tin crushed tomatoes

optional: add a bunch of chopped English spinach with two minutes’ cooking time to go.

A couple of handfuls of [gluten-free] pasta (any will do, but small pasta like macaroni is best)

Continental Parsley (flat-leaf/Italian) or Basil, finely choppedSaute the onion, celery and carrot in a saucepan over medium heat for about ten minutes until it’s getting nice and soft.  Toss in everything else, and bring to the boil.  Then turn down the heat and simmer for about ten minutes.  Finally, add the pasta and keep simmering until the pasta is al dente.Serve in bowls topped with parsely or basil, parmesan cheese and thick slices of bread on the side.