Chances are the diet you started on Jan. 1 is already history.
No wonder: You gave up everything you love and ate everything you
loathe.
A diet like that is the definition of deprivation. Who can blame
you for veering off course?
If you're ready to try again, here's your first step: Banish the
word "diet" from your vocabulary.
************
"I don't like the word 'diet,' " Ellie Krieger said. "Diet has
the connotation that it's something we do for a while and then stop
doing. I think that sets us up for this roller-coaster pattern of
losing weight and gaining weight."
She is a Food Network star whose show, "Healthy Appetite," airs
at 1 p.m. Saturdays. Her cookbook, "The Food You Crave" (316 pages,
Taunton Press, $28, 200-plus recipes), is on best-seller lists.
She'll visit Richmond May 6 for the Junior League of Richmond's 63rd
Book & Author Dinner.
She's a TV star, but it would be a mistake to think of her as
just a pretty face. She's a registered dietitian who earned
undergraduate and graduate degrees at Cornell and Columbia
universities.
She also has real-life experience: Overweight as a child, she
said she once wrote "Ellie" over a picture of an elephant. Once she
lost the weight, she became obsessed with keeping it off.
"I feel like I've experienced both extremes of unhealthy eating,"
she said.
************
If eating too much and eating too little are the extremes,
where's the middle ground? It's a place of balance where no food is
off limits.
"It's never say never," Krieger said. "It's the place in the
middle where nothing's off limits, but you're eating in a balanced
and mindful way. It's where you're paying attention to your body's
cues about whether you've had enough."
To achieve that, she divides foods into three categories:
usually, sometimes and rarely.
"The 'usually' foods are the backbone of what you're eating.
That's what's really going to define your eating. They have a ton of
flavor and color and taste, and they're also giving you the most
nutritional bang."
On her "usually" list are: fruits, vegetables, lean protein,
whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds, healthy oils, low-fat dairy.
"The 'sometimes' foods are maybe a little bit more refined, like
a white, crusty French. Or it might be a little bit higher in
saturated fat, like a skinless chicken thigh. These are maybe a
little bit less optimal nutritionally, but they're absolutely fine
to sprinkle in a few times a day. They're not going to ruin
anything.
"The 'rarely' foods are the things I think oftentimes chefs use
with a heavy hand and nutritionists ban altogether. I feel like I am
the center point of those two circles. I use them strategically: the
minimum amount for maximum impact."
On her "rarely" list are cream, full-fat cheese, butter and
bacon.
Notice there's no "never" list.
************
Krieger is saying that if we meet in the middle, we can have both
food that's good for both us and our taste buds.
"We all want both things," she said. "We want the things that
healthy eating gives us. We all want to feel good, look our best, be
energized and be healthy enough to run around after our grandkids or
great-grandkids one day.
"We also want delicious food. Delicious food is one of the most
wonderful pleasures of life. When you start to realize they can
coexist, you come to this peaceful place.
"I personally have no plans of going through my life without
another piece of crusty French bread."
* * * * * * * * * *
No time for breakfast?
Try one of these grab-and-go suggestions from Ellie Krieger's
"The Food You Crave" (The Taunton Press, 2008):
-- Peanut butter on a whole-wheat English muffin with sliced
banana and a drizzle of honey
-- Snack bag of dry cereal, walnuts and dried cherries
-- Hard-cooked egg (made ahead and refrigerated), tangerine and a
handful of whole-grain crackers
-- Stick of part-skim mozzarella cheese, chunk of whole-grain
baguette and some grapes
-- Whole-wheat tortilla sprinkled with shredded reduced-fat
cheddar cheese, topped with slices of green apple and rolled up
-- Whole-wheat pita stuffed with low-fat cottage cheese and
sliced peaches or blueberries with a drizzle of honey
-- Smoked salmon, slice of tomato and a little whipped cream
cheese on pumpernickel bread
-- Single-serving container of low-fat yogurt and a banana
-- Whole-grain frozen waffle, toasted and spread with peanut
butter and some unsweetened applesauce
-- Two pieces of whole-grain crisp bread spread with soft goat
cheese and topped with sliced strawberries
* * * * * * * * * *
Grilled Thai Beef Salad
Makes 4 servings
1 pound top-round London broil OR flank steak, 1 to 1 1/2 inches
thick
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
1 1/2 teaspoons peeled and minced fresh ginger
1 1/4 teaspoons red curry paste OR chili-garlic sauce
Cooking spray
1/2 head red-leaf lettuce, torn (about 5 cups lightly packed)
3 shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 cup fresh basil leaves, sliced into ribbons
Rinse the meat and pat dry and place in a sealable plastic bag or
small glass dish. In a medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon lime juice,
the soy sauce, oil, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and red curry paste.
Pour half the mixture into the bag with the meat. Reserve the
rest of the mixture to dress the salad. Add the remaining 2
tablespoons lime juice to the bag. Seal tightly and marinate the
meat in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight, turning
occasionally.
Coat a grate or a grill pan with cooking spray and preheat over
medium-high heat until hot. Grill the steak until medium-rare, about
5 minutes per side, or to your desired degree of doneness. Let it
rest for 5 minutes until room temperature, then slice thinly against
the grain.
Combine the lettuce, shallots (reserving a few slices for
garnish), cilantro, basil, and beef in a large salad bowl. Add the
reserved dressing and toss to coat. Divide the salad among 4 plates
and garnish with the sliced shallots.
Nutrients per serving: 345 calories, 33 grams protein, 12 grams
carbohydrate, 18.5 grams fat (48 percent total calories), 1
milligram cholesterol, 1 gram fiber, 440 milligrams sodium.
--"The Food You Crave" by Ellie Krieger
* * * * * * * * * *
Aromatic Noodles With Lime-Peanut Sauce
Makes 6 servings
3/4 box (12 ounces) spinach linguine or whole-wheat spaghetti
2 cups (about 9 ounces) broccoli florets
2 cups (about 6 ounces) snow peas, trimmed
2 cups (about 6 ounces) sugar snap peas, trimmed
1/2 cup unsalted peanuts
1/2 cup creamy natural peanut butter
1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 scallion (white and green parts), cut into pieces
1 3/4-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakesPLUS more to taste
Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and
rinse under cold running water.
While the pasta is cooking, put the broccoli in a steamer basket
over a large pot of boiling water and steam it for 3 minutes. Add
the snow peas and sugar snap peas and steam for 2 minutes more,
until all the vegetables are crisp-tender.
Toast the peanuts in a small dry skillet over medium-high heat
until fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Set aside to
cool.
Make the sauce by pureeing the peanut butter, soy sauce, water,
vinegar, lime juice, scallion, ginger, brown sugar and red pepper in
a food processor or blender until smooth.
Right before serving, toss the pasta with 3/4 cup of the peanut
sauce. Divide between 6 serving bowls and top each serving with the
vegetables. Drizzle the remaining sauce over the vegetables.
Coarsely chop the peanuts, sprinkle them on top, and serve.
Nutrients per serving: 450 calories, 19 grams protein, 61 grams
carbohydrate, 18 grams fat (36 percent total calories), no
cholesterol, 11 grams fiber, 390 milligrams sodium.
--"The Food You Crave" by Ellie Krieger
* * * * * * * * * *
Banana Cream Pie
Makes 8 servings
Cooking spray
14 graham cracker squares (7 full sheets)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin
3 tablespoons boiling water
1/3 cup PLUS 1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups low-fat milk
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups 1/4-inch-thick banana slices (3 medium bananas)
1/4 cup well-chilled heavy cream
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch pie plate with
cooking spray.
To make the crust, in a food processor, process the graham
crackers until finely ground. Add the butter and water and process
until the crumbs clump together. Press the mixture into the bottom
of the pie plate and about 1 inch up the sides. Bake for 10 minutes,
then let cool.
Meanwhile, make the filling. Put the gelatin in a small bowl; add
the boiling water and stir until the gelatin is dissolved. In a
medium saucepan, whisk together 1/3 cup of the sugar and the flour.
In a medium bowl, lightly beat the milk and egg yolks together. Add
the egg-and-milk mixture to the saucepan and whisk so the flour and
sugar dissolve. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until
the mixture comes to a boil and has thickened. Stir in the vanilla
and gelatin slurry. Set aside to cool slightly.
Arrange the sliced banana in the crust and pour the pudding on
top. Place in the refrigerator until the pudding has set, about 3
hours.
Whip the cream in a medium bowl with an electric mixer. When it
is about halfway to soft peaks, add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon
sugar, then continue whipping until it barely holds a soft peak. Put
the whipped cream in a plastic bag, concentrating it in one corner
of the bag. Snip that corner off the bag and squeeze the whipped
cream out of the bag in a decorative pattern around the pie. The pie
will keep in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days.
Nutrients per serving: 218 calories, 4 grams protein, 33 grams
carbohydrate, 8 grams fat (33 percent total calories), 72 milligrams
cholesterol, 1.5 grams fiber, 102 milligrams sodium.
--"The Food You Crave" by Ellie Krieger
-- Contact Jann Malone at (804) 649-6820 or
jmalone@timesdispatch.com.
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO
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