Table of contents for Volume 11 - January 2016 in LOSE IT! The Handbook

You know how beach cottages always have at least one bookshelf filled with an odd selection of books that people have left there over the years? Well, it was in one of those, amongst the James Hadley Chases and Wilbur Smiths, that we discovered an old recipe book: Middle Eastern Cookery, by Arto der Haroutunian. Published in 1982, it looked just like a trashy paperback, had absolutely no photographs or illustrations – and was packed with original, unpretentious recipes for food from countries such as Afghanistan, Georgia, Egypt and Armenia. Paging through it, we realised most of the recipes were perfectly suited to eating LCHF: the emphasis was on simple preparation and slow-cooking, fresh veggies and salads, lovely homemade fullcream yoghurt and labne, and very few grains. We were so…

Myson Lucca’s diagnosis of type 1 diabetes six years ago, at the age of eight, was a huge shock for all of us. He’d been away on a camping trip with his dad and brothers. When they came home, my husband, Joe, commented that Lucca appeared to be constantly tired, had felt unwell, and had had an unquenchable thirst. That evening, as I helped Lucca into the bath, I noticed that his ribs seemed more prominent than I remembered. He had lost quite a bit of weight. I also smelled a sickly sweet odour on his breath and thought he might have a throat infection. The next morning I asked Joe to take him to the GP for a checkup. An hour or so later, I got the life-changing phone…

We have between 120000 and 150000 hairs on our heads and, on average, we lose about 50 to 100 of them every single day. Hair is comprised of the strand and the root, with the latter being housed in the follicle. The root is the living part of the hair that receives food and oxygen, while the strand is in fact the ‘dead’ part of the hair. Hair growth goes through phases: growth at a steady pace for a few years, followed by a resting phase, the telogen phase, which can last for up to three months. A tenth of your hair is at rest at any time, while the other 90 percent is in a growth phase. If you’re on a low-carb diet, you may well have experienced increased…

Calling all readers: Submit your favourite LCHF recipes to info@loseit.co.za – they could be featured in the next issue! KEEP ON TRACK PER SERVING Fat 12g Carbs 13g Protein 39g ELSI MEYER’S SPICED CHICKEN AND CAULI RICE SERVES 4 • ½ tsp mild curry powder • ¼ tsp each ground ginger and cinnamon • ¼ tsp each ground cardamom, turmeric and coriander • 1 tsp xylitol • 1 x 400ml can coconut milk • 600g free range chicken fillets or deboned thighs • 12 cherry tomatoes • 10g fresh basil • himalayan salt and milled black pepper, to taste FOR THE CAULI RICE • 1 cauliflower • 2 leeks • 1 tbsp coconut oil or butter • ½ red pepper, thinly sliced 1. Mix all the spices, the xylitol and…

3 kid’s LUNCH BOXES KEEP ON TRACK PER SERVING Fat 20g Carbs 19g Protein 44g KEEP ON TRACK PER SERVING Fat 44g Carbs 17g Protein 43g KEEP ON TRACK PER SERVING Fat 85g Carbs 59g Protein 50g HAM, CHEESE AND TOMATO MUFFINS WITH BERRIES AND BILTONG: Preheat oven to 180ºC. Oil a 6-hole muffin tin and line each hole with a slice of ham. Top with chopped baby tomatoes and grated cheese. Whisk together 4 eggs and 3/4 cup milk, and pour over other ingredients. Bake until firm to the touch. Put 2 muffins in a lunch box and add biltong and fresh seasonal berries, like blueberries. CHICKEN MAYO ROLL-UPS WITH A MINI SALAD: Whisk together 4 eggs and 2 tbsp water and add a pinch of salt. Heat a…

KEEP ON TRACK PER SERVING Meze MOUTABEL-STYLE EGGPLANT DIP SERVES 4–6 • 2 large eggplants • 1 clove garlic, crushed • 1 tsp each cumin seeds, paprika and ground coriander, toasted • 2g fresh basil • 2g fresh mint • 1 green chilli, chopped • 3 tbsp tahini paste • 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil • juice of ½ lemon • ½ cup double cream yoghurt • himalayan salt and black pepper, to taste • pomegranate rubies, to serve 1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Place the eggplants on an oven tray, prick all over and roast until soft, about 30–40 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. 2. Halve the eggplants, remove the flesh, place in a sieve over a bowl and press out as much…

KEEP ON TRACK PER SERVING Fat 4g Carbs 10g Protein 26g CHICKEN AND PRAWN ZOODLE SOUP SERVES 4 FOR THE BROTH • 1.3L homemade fish stock • 1 large knob ginger, grated • 2 cloves garlic, minced • 4 dried lime leaves • 1 lemongrass stalk, finely chopped • 1 green or red chilli, chopped • 10g fresh coriander • himalayan salt and black pepper • 150g exotic mushrooms FOR THE BALLS • 200g prawn meat, minced • 200g chicken mince • grated zest of 1 lime • 1 clove garlic, minced • 5cm knob of ginger, finely grated TO SERVE • 350g zoodles • 5g fresh coriander • red chilli, sliced 1. For the broth: Place all the ingredients for the broth in a pot, except for the mushrooms,…

YES MEAT As far as possible, choose grass-fed or organic meats. Enjoy the fat and the skin! • Bacon (try to find charcuterie bacon, if possible without nitrates and nitrites, and with the lowest carb content – which means the least sugar) • Beef • Biltong (for powdered, grind your own) • Chicken • Duck • Game • Home-cured meats (if buying cured meats, avoid sugar and strange chemicals) • Lamb • Offal • Pork • Sausages containing only meat and spices (no MSG or fillers like gluten, rusk, soy, sugar and so on) • Turkey EGGS Any way you like, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Real organic eggs are definitely best, if you can find them. FRUIT* • Avocado • Berries • Coconut FISH/SEAFOOD (on the SASSI green list,…

‘At the beginning of 2015, I went to the doctor for a full medical. He told me my kidneys were working at only 50 percent capacity. Besides that, I was prediabetic and had to take a handful of medicines for cholesterol and high blood pressure. I weighed 90kg and was wearing size 40 pants. After outlining the seriousness of my health and weight situation, the doctor gave me some reading material on the LCHF diet. I gave the pamphlets to my husband – I’m not really interested in the science behind it; I just wanted it to work! William was also overweight, tipping the scale at 133kg. He was also struggling with high blood pressure, which doctors believed was even starting to affect his eyesight. From the start, we decided…

That Sugar Film, which was on the circuit recently, did an excellent job of proving that all calories are not created equal. It followed Damon Gameau as he put aside his healthy sugar-free diet for 60 days to consume 40 teaspoons of sugar a day – the intake of the average Australian – and he chose to consume this as ‘hidden’, rather than added, sugar. Before his experiment, Damon ate 2300 calories a day. And over the 60 days, he stuck to this – simply replacing some of the foods he usually ate with cereals, yoghurts and other ‘healthy’ foods with ‘hidden’ sugar. The outcome? He put on weight, developed fatty liver disease and felt really ill, proving it’s not the calories per se, but where they come from that…

Q: Papaya contains enzymes that combat blood sugar spikes and aid digestion, so can a moderate portion fit in with the LCHF lifestyle? A: Digestion and sugar spikes are two completely different processes that aren’t really related in this case. Depending on the database you use, papaya has 11–14g carbs/100g with 1.7–2g as fibre, putting it on our ‘Sometimes’ list of what to eat (see page 81). That’s very little fibre, and at around 59, its glycaemic index is on the higher end of the scale. That said, papaya does contain valuable enzymes – papain, chymopapain, caricain and glycyl endopeptidase – that help digest protein more efficiently. But most of these enzymes are found in the green fruit – ripe fruit is much higher in sugar. So eating some (preferably…

Whether you’ve got rhythm or not, Zumba gets you shimmying, shaking and cha-chaing for a full 60 minutes. ‘I like to think of it as exercise in disguise,’ says Lucas Mthenjane, Zumba education specialist for Africa and Asia. ‘It’s an all-in-one body workout – it gets you to move your body in a way you never thought you would. It also pushes cardiovascular endurance and improves coordination. It’s a fun workout that delivers results in a non-intimidating environment.’ The Latin-inspired fitness craze was started accidentally in the late 1980s when Alberto (Beto) Pérez forgot his regular aerobics music for the class he was teaching in Cali, Colombia. Luckily he had some Latin music with him, so he used that instead. The class went down so well that he did it…

Besides a good braai, you don’t get anything more South African than biltong. But if you were expecting the brains behind South Africa’s first biltong subscription box to be a 40-something man with a bulging belly, khakis and a robust Afrikaans accent, you couldn’t be more wrong. Maxime Eon just happens to be French! Max first visited SA in 2010, intending to stay for 10 months. Like so many others, he fell in love with the country and planned to return once he’d finished his master’s in marketing. When the time came, he did, and worked on various brands, gaining valuable insights into the SA market. Why biltong? ‘The first time I tried it, I loved it,’ says Max. ‘We have something similar in France so the concept was not…

ASIAN PORK MEATBALL SALAD SERVES 4 FOR THE MEATBALLS • 600g pork mince • 1 clove garlic, minced • 2 tsp grated fresh ginger • 1 lemongrass stalk, finely chopped • 5g fresh coriander, finely chopped • 2g fresh mint, finely chopped • 1 spring onion, finely chopped • 2 tsp sesame seeds, toasted • coconut oil, for frying • himalayan salt and milled black pepper FOR THE SALAD • 1 english cucumber, cut into ribbons • 2 baby gem lettuces, leaves separated • 5 radishes, finely sliced • ¼ red onion, finely sliced • 100g fine green beans, blanched FOR THE DRESSING • ½ cup coconut milk • 2 tsp almond nut butter • juice of ½ lime • ½ tsp xylitol • splash of fish sauce • chopped…

KEEP ON TRACK PER CUP Fat 180g Carbs 5g Protein 6g HOMEMADE MAYONNAISE MAKES 1 CUP • 2 egg yolks • 2 tsp dijon mustard • juice of ½ lemon • ¾ cup avocado or macadamia nut oil • himalayan salt and white pepper, to taste 1. Place the egg yolks in a bowl, add the mustard and lemon juice and blend with an immersion blender until light and creamy. 2. Add the oil, drop by drop to begin with, blending continuously until the mixture starts to emulsify, then add it in a thin, steady stream, blending continuously until all the oil has been used. 3. Season to taste and refrigerate until ready to serve.…

COCONUT OIL – NATURE’S PERFECT INGREDIENT BY LUCY BEE (QUADRILLE) Lucy Bee is the person behind Lucy Bee Limited, a small family-run business that came about because Lucy was diagnosed with coeliac disease when she was an infant. Her family took great pains to stick to healthy, organic, gluten-free food, and along the way they discovered coconut oil and its multiple benefits. Their first cookbook has been put together by Lucy, and in the first few pages she deals with the nitty-gritties: what coconut oil is, how much you should eat each day, and the many ways you can use it. A qualified beauty therapist, Lucy even recommends using coconut oil as a moisturiser, makeup remover, deodorant, and more. This is primarily a cookbook, though, with rustic recipes that cover…

Much as it sounds like something that should be served up in a Dickensian orphanage, humble bone broth is an essential part of the LCHF diet. This mineral-rich infusion is made by boiling the bones of healthy, pasture-reared animals along with vegetables, herbs and spices. Besides providing a rich, flavourful base for soups, sauces and gravies, bone broth can also be used as a cooking medium for veggies, starches or scrambled eggs – or even just drunk on its own, as a health tonic. Nutritionally, it packs a real punch and it has a whole host of healing, soothing properties. As the bones are cooked, minerals, protein and other nutrients leach into the water, making it easy for the body to absorb them. HERE ARE 10 GREAT BENEFITS OF MAKING…

Here’s how to make f lourless gravy, as advised by thebantwagon.com. • dash of extra virgin olive oil • 2 large onions, sliced (3 if you want the gravy to be thicker) • 1 tsp crushed garlic • 2 tsp balsamic vinegar • 1 tsp tomato paste • 2 cups meaty juices (if you don’t have that much, add stock or bone broth – see page 7) • 1 extra-large egg (optional) • himalayan salt and black pepper 1. Heat olive oil in a pot and sauté onions over medium heat for 10–15 minutes, or until browned. 2. Spoon in garlic, vinegar and tomato paste. 3. Add the meaty juices and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat and simmer for 3–4 minutes. 4. Remove from the heat and…

Our expert: Dr Gerhard Schoonbee is a GP with personal experience of living the LCHF lifestyle. 1 What on earth is homocysteine, and should I worry about it? 2 And – please explain familial hypercholesterolaemia in layman’s terms! Q: What is homocysteine, and do we need it? A: Yes, we do. One of the amino acids in meat, fish and dairy is metabolised first to become homocysteine, and then something called cysteine. This is a good thing – cysteine plays an important role in maintaining the shape and strength of cell walls, and it also helps to metabolise metals like iron, zinc and copper, plus it has antioxidant properties. Excess homocysteine is later converted back to methionine. Vitamins B6, B12 and folic acid all play an important role in the…

store cupboard Almond flour Almond nut butter Almonds, ground, whole, flaked and chopped Artichokes, canned Baking powder Banting wraps Black olives Coconut cream Coconut flour Gelatin leaves Harissa paste (homemade if possible) Hazelnuts Macadamia nuts Pine nuts Pistachio nuts Preserved lemons Rosewater essence Sesame seeds Tahini paste (homemade if possible) Tomatoes, canned crushed Tomato paste Vine leaves in brine Walnuts Wine, dry white Xylitol spices & dried herbs Black peppercorns Cardamom pods Cinnamon, ground and sticks Cloves, ground Coriander, ground and seeds Cumin, ground and seeds Curry powder Dried chilli flakes, crushed Garam masala Ginger, ground Himalayan salt Lime leaves, dried Oregano, dried Paprika, ordinary and smoked Rosemary, dried Saffron threads Thyme, dried Turmeric, ground fresh fruit, veg & herbs Asparagus Baby gem lettuce Basil Bay leaves Broccoli Cauliflower Chillies,…

KEEP ON TRACK PER SERVING Fat 49g Carbs 8g Protein 31g MACKEREL COURGETTE SPIRALS SERVES 4 • 500g smoked peppered mackerel • 250g cherry tomatoes, halved • 30g parmesan, finely grated • himalayan salt • black pepper FOR THE COURGETTE SPIRALS • 1 tbsp coconut oil • 2 cloves garlic, minced • 500g courgettes noodles • 5g fresh parsley, roughly chopped • extra virgin olive oil, to drizzle • extra parmesan, to serve 1. Remove the skin from the mackerel and flake the fish into a bowl. Stir in the tomatoes and parmesan, and season well. 2. For the spirals: Heat the oil, add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute, toss in the courgettes, add ¼ cup water and cook until water has evaporated. Stir in the parsley, add…

*prices correct at time of going to print…

1 LCHF/banting isn’t a high-protein diet – it’s a high-fat, medium-protein, lowcarb way of eating. 2 CHOOSE REAL FOODS that look like what they are, and cook them from scratch. 3 NO SUGAR – it’s best to go cold turkey. But if you need to make a transition, use stevia, xylitol or erythritol – NOT artificial sweeteners. 4 NO GRAINS of any kind. 5 HEALTHY FAT is not the enemy. Enjoy it! 6 STOP SNACKING You won’t need to – it’s just a habit. 7 EAT ONLY when you are hungry; eat until you are satisfied – then stop. 8 EAT EGGS – they’re healthy, satisfying and very good for you. 9 NO (or very, very little) FRUIT Think of it as a sweet rather than as a healthy snack.…