Polenta is a dish I have not always loved. However, it is always good to keep an open mind to trying different foods. Like children, we need to try a new food a few times before we can learn if we like it enough to make have it more regularly. I tried making polenta for the first time this week to a great result using a recipe from the Eating Italy, cookbook. The secret is to allow the polenta to brown at the bottom of the pan , which adds (a cheese like) flavour.
5-6 cups water
1/2-1 tsp salt
3/4 cup polenta
butter and chopped fresh herbs to taste
In pot with a wider circumference, bring water to a boil, add salt. Swirl in polenta slowly, bring back to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer without stirring until the polenta is the desired consistency, this will take 45min-an hour. Season with butter and fresh herbs, stir and scrape browned polenta from the bottom of the pan. Serve and enjoy with your favourite pasta sauce, stew or as a grain side dish.
Book Review: The Fast Diet
I learned of The Fast Diet when a client told me about a BBC special done by Dr Mike Mosley on the health benefits of fasting. Due to my prodigious internet skills, I was unable to watch even clips of the video, so I bought the book and read it. I read a fair amount of diet books in order to answer questions from clients intelligently.
The Fast Diet is one of the more scientifically and psychologically sound diet plans I have read. The premise is simple: fasting by eating 500-600 calories 2 days per week is conducive to weight loss, an improved insulin response and reduced risk of age related diseases. If you do not have much weight to lose, fasting for a day at occasionally can still offer the same health benefits.
Intermittent fasting is based on the premise that you can give your body a ‘break’ from the constant work of digesting food and essentially reset your hormonal response. The author of the Fast Diet points out that the eating pattern they suggest mimics that of a naturally thin person. A person’s appetite can vary from day to day, so their caloric intake can vary on a daily basis, and comes to a steady average over time.
I have not tried the 2 days per week of fasting that is suggested in The Fast Diet. However, I do notice I eat less if I’m not hungry, so I am naturally inclined to fast a little, very occasionally. In addition to the rare occasions that I have little appetite, I try to eat very lightly when I take long flights, as it helps me minimize jet lag. Airport food can be so unappealing that I choose to not eat and prefer to wait for a decent meal at my destination.
The Fast Diet is well worth reading if you want to learn more about intermittent fasting and/or try a doable eating program for health benefits and weight loss. If you don’t read the book, you can always try to listen to your body and eat according to your appetite, which most likely will vary. Eating less for just one day is doable for most of us.
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Posted in book review, commentary, fat loss, Healthy food, Making Life Good Recommends, Review
Tagged intermittent fasting, Michael Mosley, The Fast Diet