Alexxx.

Good post mate :-D

Solo

I'm not doing the Chorizo and egg thing, so its not so much a question for me.

I've just been having 20g-30g of almond nuts in the morning and that sees me to lunchtime.

S

Vinnyeh.

That sounds good, seems like you've cracked it.

Dave's simple instructions have made it quite easy to focus

Thats the way I saw it.
:-)

BB.

How did it work out with the bean prep ?.

Mine went fine. I made just a small batch for the pics ^^^ but will make more, soon.

Solo

Roper.

Good one, sounds like you're well on track.
:-)

S

Ton. Thats a top effort :-)

Solo

Dressd beans

With the tuna

8)

Enjoy the weather !

Well. Got up this morning and the thirsty little beans I'd topped up last night, still had water covering them, so all good.
Thanks iDave ;-)

Then I rinsed using the strainer, under running cold water

Then, into the pan for a boil-up

Got a bit bubbly on the surface, so occassionally skimmed that off using a spoon.

once bioled up, left to drain and then put into a kilner jar for later.

Always follow the preparation instructions on the packaging of the beans.

Easy !

:-)

The plan for these is dressed beans with tuna

The recipe is to feed 4, so adjust the numbers as you wish:
100g dried canellini beans
100g dried borlotti beans (I couldn't get these so have used pinto beans)
Olive Oil
1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
4 Anchovy fillets (I'm not an Anchovy fan, so I'll try this, without)
1-2 fresh red chillies, de-seeded and finely chopped ( I leave some seeds in sometimes as I like the heat)
freshly ground balck pepper, maybe just a pinch of salt
4 x 225g tuna steaks about 1cm thick
zest and juice of 2 lemons
mixed herbs (chives, chervil, basil parsley, mint, whatever you think will go with this. Chopped.

This is principally a JO recipe.

Do the tuna as you like it, I grill mine.
use the oil, onion, chilli, etc to create the dressing
dress the beans, mix the dressed beans with the herbs
Thats your dressed beans and tuna !.

S

Just checked the beans. Amazing !, they're starting to grow !

Canellini are winning so far. Pinto beans don't appear to doing much, so far…

Thirsty little beans !.

S

Best top it up then, I've just done the same.

Just as well we're posting, others will see how it works, then.

:-)

Will do, Thanks Dave
:-D

Good one BB. I'm doing the same, its the first time I've ever prepared beans. Curious to see how much they enlarge.

I've got canellini and pinto beans under an inch of water.

I looked all over for borlotti beans, but to no avail. Even tahini paste was difficult to find, until I found some in holland & barratt.
never bean there before
;-)

Excellent !

S

Hi Alexxx, I'm glad you're sticking with the thread :-)

Its been super hot, here in east anglia today.
I've started preparing some beans with an eye on Chargrilled tuna with dressed beans. If its any good, I'll post it.

I'm also planning to post a curry-style mix/garam masala type thing I've been working on
:-)

I dont have scales, but I feel as if things are defo going in the right direction
Keep up the good work
:-D

Capt Jon.
Interesting recipe, cheers for the link. Good Idea to hunt out recipes on the beeb.
;-)

S

Well, its public, I had forgottent that cucumber is classed as fruit.

I imagine that I'll now expand to the size of a planet and then explode.

It was nice knowing you all :(

***was going to ingore SFB today, he is still sore from being proved to be silly about the forbidden comment, and he doesn't know if this is my one day in 7. Just ignore him***

Still, at least I've had my memory jogged, alternative to cucumber wont be difficult, next time. Shredded fresh lettuce to replace cucumber in the above post. mmmmmm

;-)

S

Richmtb.

Exactly. I'm using this to widen my culinary horizon, and I aint scared of a little bit of work in the kitchen if thats what it takes to shed a few lbs, along with the cycling, of course.
;-)

Ta

Well, that didn't take as long as I thought it would.

Day off then today, unexpected, for the previoulsy mentioned reason.

Got back late lunchtime, but didn't have anything prepared….

It was at this point I heard the bread and cheese calling me 8O

But !, I resisted and made the following, only took about 10 mins.

Diced 2-3 inches of cucumber
Finely chopped half an onion
Diced a Tuna steak

Whacked the tuna steak pieces, onto a greased tray and under the grill

Put the diced and chopped cucumber and onion into a bowl

While the tuna was cooking I made up some more of the dressing I usually use for salad.

Olive Oil at a ratio of around 3:1 (2:1 if you prefer your dressing to be a little less viscous) with lemon juice or white wine vinegar.
So 30ml oil, 10ml lemon juice
Also added 10ml of dijon mustard and finely ground fresh black pepper, to taste, maybe a pinch of salt.

Whisked the oil, juice, mustard, etc, in a bowl.
That was the dressing done.
You might make a larger quantity and store it in the fridge for a few days.

Once the tuna was cooked, I added it to the cucumber and onion in the other bowl
Dressed with the, err, the dressing :-)

Done !.

The point was, I resisted the easy choice of a sarny, and 10 mins later, I had something I really rather liked, and it got me out of a spot.
I'm a few days into this now and I don't want to waste my efforts so far.

;-)

I reckon that if I had the time in the morning, I could make this up and take with me to work.

Solo

Grips, stay with us, you're our control :-)

DangerousBeans, Thanks for the tip, we will read the instructions for bean prep, carefully.
:-)

Solar, so long as you followed the prep instruction on the pack properly, your beans should be ok
;-)

iDave, Hilldodger, thanks for staying with us.

Shandy, Woody, Jamie, Good posts, will you be/are you giving this a try ?.
And yes, lets keep those meal suggestions coming, it'll assist those to have yet to start.
;-)

SFB. So, I was correct and you were not.
To clarify for the newer readers.
My take on this exercise is that 1 day a week, I'm going to eat whatever I want to, whether thats, pop, choclate, cheese or even fruit.
So, nothing !, is forbidden.
;-)

Right, I'm up the Hospital, taken family mem to out-patients, so probably wont post anymore today.
This weekend I'll spend a little time prepping stuff for work next week, and trying recipe suggestions from here :-)
As well as getting some ride-time in.

Cheers

Solo

Alexxx.

You are right, and I'll have to let old SFB alone….Soon
;-)

it was old iDave that said that fruit was verboten

That is completely and utterly incorrect.

Those who wish to follow iDave's advice will know that they can eat whatever they want, at least one day a week.
Even yummy things.

It was I that suggested this might be because fruit was evil, but that perhaps scurvy and the loss of teeth were a high price to pay
Fear not fellow MTB'er, I believe iDave has teeth and is scurvy-free.
;-)

I'm going home now to yummy food, with the aid of good recipe suggestions from friendly types on here.
Thanks all.

S

Re fruit – I believe Dave's diet (the subject here) cuts out fruit including tomatoes. That's why people are talking about cutting out fruit.

Sorry MolGrips, I didn't think fruit was cut-out, just restricted.
;-)

That's what makes some people fat, Barnes! You are lucky if it doesn't.
Agree
:-)

S

I've read that nasal application is possible but havn't tried it yet

Thats allright. Get yourself admitted to hospital, with the correct requirement, and you'll get your chance.

Still waiting for you to answer my Q about when I've stated fruit is evil ?.

I expect I'll be waiting a long time…..But then again, thats not your point is it.

I thought you were meant to be studying us. Don't your contributions effect your study….you could always try just reading and not typing.
;-)

S

I kinda realised actually this 3 weeks is more about finding healthy meal options that I'd cook weekly and happily [EDIT]: indefinately [/EDIT].

Absolutely mate, same for me too :-D

SFB
When did I ever post that Fruit is Evil ?
See this :(
Thats the effect you're starting to have on me.

since most fruit (apart from bananas) is low calorie and nutritious, as well as being inescapably natural and unprocessed, one can only suppose any prohibition is based on some theoretical knock on effect, or pure evil

This is for SFB: Well, reading some of todays posts, it seems to me that one little-ole thread in some distant corner of the STW mad-house, isn't going to alter some people's en-grained preconceptions on the subject of food.
What we eat, why we eat it and how we eat it.

Unprocessed ?, are you kinding !.

Nobody is stopping anyone eating fruit. Its merely a suggestion, based on a bit of info we're sharing and using.
Your comments seem to emerge from a certain opinion.
I thank the honourable forum member SFB, for his concern that I shall be without Fruit for a few weeks. But please, don't worry, I can look after myself.
;-)

Ta

S

AND tomatoes…! Are tom's out?

I'm certainly not going to tell you that Toms are out.

But the suggestion was that fruit would not be eaten, in order to achieve the results we're expecting.
But as Alexxx writes, Sup to you mate.
;-)

Dieting has been around since Victorian times, it's hardly modern. It was really big in the 40s and 50s

What is Dieting ?…I've no idea what that is. I know what other people think it is. But I don't get it.

So, I go swimming, I swim for a bit, then I stop and leave the river.
I've been swimming. I was in the river, moving my arms and legs around in a swimming stylee. Then I stop and go home.

My Diet ?, I've been eating since day one, and will hopefully continue to do so until it all stops for me.
Everything I've ever eaten would have been part of my diet.
Its not dieting though.

Modern ?….I would say that ever since man first established a link between what he ate and the results he saw in is body, man has pondered what he should eat, for many different reasons, especially medicinal.
;-)

Well, reading some of todays posts, it seems to me that one little-ole thread in some distant corner of the STW mad-house, isn't going to alter some people's en-grained preconceptions on the subject of food.
What we eat, why we eat it and how we eat it.

Nor what role exercise does, or should play in our lives.

SpaceMonkey.
You've done a good job on me for that lentil and bacon soup.
By the sounds of it, I have given that one a go, even without embarking on this little exercise.
:-)

Cheers.

Solo

SpaceMonkey.

Those Lentils sound like they're worth a try, nice one ;-)

HillDodger.
I couldn't have put it better myself, Excellent :-D

S

it's a secret, you have to be on the list or you're not joining in
No, I don't think its a secret, you just have to mail iDave or someone and ask for a copy.

It may interest you to know that this isn't a Diet for me.

I intend to use what I learn from participating, to compliment my existing eating habits, my existing, daily diet.

However, I am not on a Diet.

Furthermore, I'm not interested in being on a diet. The modern, media fuelled, concept of dieting is complete rubbish, imo. In the same category as the use of the phrase "De-tox".

I am using this to make me think about what alternatives I can come up with, rather than eating stuff that puts weight on me.

I'm a significant part of the way there, already (soup for lunch rather than a sarny), but these ideas just might help tie-up some loose ends in my eating habits.
Intend to prove iDave's suggestions, for myself, by trying them for a few weeks, after which there'll be no harm done, and I'll be, hopefully, a little wiser.

that's most extraordinarily kind of you

SFB. I'm not looking to pick on anyone or get into an argument ;-)
Observation is fine :-) by me.
If people do not wish to be studied, then posting on an open forum may not be for them.
However, I have felt at times that you're just out to trip people up, catch them out.
As I think you can see, that would be irritating to folk.
But if you think you're going to understand something, then stay with us.

anyway day X and i feel great, not hungry at all,
Yeah, me too. Its no trouble at all.
:-)

Cheers.

Solo

I'd have been interested to try this purely for curiousity.

Thats mostly my motivation, I'm curious and I could learn something from trying this too.
;-)

S

Molgrips.

Wasn't critisizing, I just wanted to put that out there, as much as a question than sharing my thoughts.
Stay with us.
:-)

Hilldodger.
I'm liking your posts, I'm finding them interesting. Agree about the cereal thing. I had taken it to be a referrence to boxed breakfast food.

Dave has already mentioned it's not a zero carb eating plan, just one that restricts carbs to those present in unprocessed vegetable foodstuffs.
point well made.

It's learning to eat in a qualitative, rather than a quantitaive, way……

Totally agree.
:-)

SFB, I'd be grateful if you could start your own thread, invite whomever you wish to, to debate whatever it is you're interested in.
But as you point-out, nobody is going to make you.
;-)

Anyway:
This diet advice is just that. I'm not going to pick it apart, over analyze it.

Its simple, I don't think its a bad idea, and I reckon it'll work. To which end, I am giving it a go.

I'm very grateful for iDave's contribution, I was part way there anyway, so I'm happy to have the additonal nudge in a certain direction.

:-)

S

restricting calories a bit and riding a lot

This is an interesting idea to me.
:-)

While I was in my 20s and 30s, I could work hard enough on the bike or in the gym, to use-up the excess cals, or "burn" the fat laid down by the body. It worked, well seemed to…

However, it occured to me one day. Could I exercise at the same intensity when I'm in my 50s, or 60s ?.

I concluded that I probably wouldn't be able to.

This lead me to thinking that increased weight with age, would be unavoidable.

This is when I decided I had to learn to control my weight via my diet.

This would leave me to exercise, only to keep the body in good working order, fitness.

Weight control via my Diet
fitness through exercise – preferrably cycling ;-)

I was reminded of this recently when iDave replied to CG about "creeping obesity"

I'm happy to be corrected on this.

S

DaveGr.

Thanks for the info, yes, always good to read the info on packets. I've done that more during the last few years, than ever before.

I sometimes use Tofu instead of fish in my stir fry.

I'm going to just stick to the suggestions and use this to make myself learn new recipes/meals.

I'm hoping that this way, I wont drop back to stuff I ate before, which may not have been ideal for me.
:-)

I want to emerge from this 3 weeks, armed with new stuff that I can continue to eat, indefinately.

Ta.

S

Roper.

like the idea, good post earlier too ;-)

Cheers.

S

Most of the rides I do, last no longer than 3 hours.

I only drink water during these rides and I never eat anything.

There may be the appres-ride pint, but that will usually be it.

I haven't formed a riding-eating habit, I stick to my 3 squares a day and ride when I can/want to.

So my plan is, for the next three weeks, I will still ride, there will be no after-ride beer, and if I'm hungry afterwards, then I'll have to sort out an acceptable snack when I get home.
;-)

Theres no limit to the number of times I'm going to read the info sheet, I even have a copy on my mobile so I can remind myself of what is in, and what is not. No excuse for me now…

S
EDIT:
I'm not wanting to have a salt debate here.
I'm here for the encouragement and advice, giving and receiving ;-)

Good to see the Tea question answered, thanks iDave, reckon a few people will be pleased.

Alexxx.

Cool, I've only got legumes in tetra-packs at the moment, I already had Chickpeas and red kidney beans as I eat them each week.

However, since all this, I've read that soaked beans, etc, have more taste !, this is just getting better :-)
So, I'll be preparing soaked beans over the weekend, once I've found what recipes I'm going to use them in.

I would like to point out, that I hardly ever add salt to anything I cook, infact I actively avoid doing so, unless its really needed.

ime, theres so much hidden salt in stuff, that theres little need to add more during the cooking process.
Hence going for the low salt veg stock cubes when making the soup.

Good stuff !
;-)

S

Alexxx.

Wow, thats quick :-)

No, I don't know about pearl barley. Maybe until we have confirmation, best to if in doubt, leave it out.

After all, theres still a wide enough range of foods to choose from.
Just my take on it.

Same with Tea, again I'm not sure. I'd guess that without the milk and sugar, tea would be Ok, if you can drink your tea that way.

I've never been a tea or coffee drinker, so that part is easy for me, even though coffee is Ok for this exercise.

:-D

S

Good Post Gee-Jay, off to a great start there.
;-)

Holding off the hunger is always a consideration, whether your losing weight or not, ime.

This is why I chose soup for lunchtimes at work. Seems to stop me feeling hungry in the later afternoon, and so stops me snacking.

I had already started the soup for lunch at work thing, before all this, and it has worked really well for me.

S

Mr_K.

Yeap, I like a beer too. But I'll be saving that for the one day a week, when we can eat/drink what we want.

So, between now and Friday, you may have the chance to get some recipes together, so you know what you need to buy at the supermarket, or wherever.

Solo

8O

I hope Shimano haven't ditched DCLs.

All my bikes have them and I'd hate to have to use shitfer pods.
:-(

Shimano, please tell us it aint so.

Solo

and that would be evil ?

Hi SFB. As we all know, fruit isn't evil, it just doesn't fall into the list foods we are choosing to eat for the next three weeks.

I'm sure that if I don't choose my words carefully, I'll end up debating fruit with you, and quite honestly, there was enough of that with TJ and Molgrips, on the other thread.

So please lets not hi-jack this thread into a debate about the goodness of fruit.

You are free to start your own threads :-)

Here, I'm just seeing what ideas others are having and I'm just getting encouragement to incorporate this into my existing diet, which wasn't particularly bad, in the first place.

Theres been what I think are some good recipe suggestions, and I fully intend to make some of them to see if I like them.

Trying this presents me with a little challenge, and I will be learning to make new meals to add to what I already prepare.

I just can't see a down-side to trying this with a few people from here.
;-)

iDave, thanks for the Tahini tip.
:-)

Cheers

Solo

Mr B.

Yes, that recipe looks good.

If anyone is wondering about using lemon juice in dressings, try substituting it with white wine vinegar.

Most dressings I've made, I have just used either with no detrimental effects on flavour.

S

Alexx.

Its your thread mate, and a good one too ;-)

Sadly, I think Honey will ne a no-no, on the basis of its sugariness, but I'm guessing iDave would be able to advise. However, don't forget the one day a week, anything goes.

I reckon it'll be a Saturday for me, and will probably include home made bombay potatoes…

No doubt theres some good ideas forming here, I hope iDave reads this and gives us the odd nudge when it looks as if we might be straying from the suggestions. Just a nudge though as half the fun is looking for/making new stuff to try, enjoy, and hopefully see positive results.
;-)

Right, the phone is going and I've got to make my dinner now, so will check back tomorrow for what others have contributed.

Cheers.

S

I want to know if salad dressings are ok or is there a chance theres a fair bit of stuff in them thats not allowed?

Make your own, do it with jam jars, then you can store in the fridge for a few days. Things like olive oil, white wine vinegar, black pepper, dijon mustard. Quick and simple, if it complies……

S

Soup varies around the following:

2Ltr pan, filled to about 2/3 with veg, mostly onion but including some chopped leak, carrot, garlic, garden peas, etc, you get the idea.

Very little olive oil, like 10-15ml on a low heat to gently fry the onions and other veg till it starts to soften. Important not to use much oil cos if you do, it will seperate and float to the top when the soup is cool and in its seperate containers. Its Ok, but doesn't look good, so minimum oil.

So once the veg is slightly softened I add about 1.5Ltr of water, leave about an inch from the top edge of your pan, as you will bring it to a light simmer.

After this, I add 2 or 3 Kalo, very low salt, veg stock cubes.

I sometimes add a tuna steak, or hadock fillet, chopped, and usually add fresh chilli, finely chopped.

Bring to a simmer, you judge when its had enough, but usually no longer than 10-15 mins, just keep an eye on it and make sure the meat, if you add any, is cooked through, etc.

When its still warm, but not hot, I decant the soup into lock-n-lock 800ml containers as they fit in my bag for work. They're not full, I just dish it out equally and I guess I'm having about 500ml of soup for lunch. By the time they're cooled a slight vacuum has formed inside.
I stand them in the fridge and grab one on my way out the door to work in the AM.

I think thats the soup.

Stir fry:
About one onion per person (depending on the size of the onion), chopped, one carrot, half a pepper per person, a few stalks of celery, all finely sliced or chopped, oh, and some chilli, if thats your thing. Maybe some garden peas too.

Again, only about 15ml of olive oil, gently fry the veggies

I usually add a fillet of haddock, or a few rashers of bacon, chopped, bacon has its fat removed.

Cook veggies and meat together, I add a dash of white balsamic vinegar and some fresh ground black pepper, then once I can see the meat is cooked through, I add the beansprouts and wait until they've reached my preferred state of cooked.

All this is done on a relatively low heat. Using hi heat just rushes things and means I'm more likely to burn stuff :-P

Serve in a bowl, dress with a few splashes of soya-source, low salt, of course.

I hope this is Ok by iDave…

I think this complies with what iDave has described.

I'm going to resarch more recipes using pulses/legumes.

I can source wild venison and other game meats, but I prefer fish.

For me, following iDave's advice will mainly mean cutting out the white carbs, bread, pasta, potatoes.
I haven't eaten much fruit recently, just got out of the habit of doing so, so thats not an issue.
I do really like cheese, but its not a global-killer for me not to eat it, so no dairy should be Ok with me too.

I'm not anticipating that this will be difficult, and as iDave points out, there is still one day in 7 when you can eat what you want.
Cool !.

Lets see how this works out :-)

S.

EDIT: Wow !, quite a few posts since I started mine.
Yeah, no tomato I reckon cos it is a fruit.