Wednesday 25 July 2012

Guacamole - yummiest

You can read everywhere about how good avocados are for you.

But I simply was not able to start myself to eat it.

It tasted strange.

I tricked myself by adding some chunks of avocados in a normal salad, and as it borrowed the tastes from the other vegetables, I hardly noticed it.

I have tried once some guacamole from the shop...aiii it tasted so awful, that I gave up buying it.

Today, I had to make a decision: having bought a pack of 4 avocados, not making too much salads lately to use them, must make up my mind: do I throw them away (and this is something I really hate to do) or I give guacamole another chance - and make some myself.

Found a fast recipe in Nigel Denby's book:

one bunch of coriander (me didnt have any)
1 clove garlic - he says optional , I say you must use it!
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
dash of tabasco ( I had none - so no idea what it does for the dish)
15 ml lemon juice (didnt have any so not used it)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 avocados (I had to use 3)

Just blend them and it's done.

For my taste, I had to add salt (maybe that's because I did not have lemon juice).

Done!


add some toast 

Home made guacamole

......and the taste was AWEEEEESOME...

I am a guacamole fan!
I confess: I am a guacamole addict!


Reference:
Nigel Denby (2005) - "The 7 day GL diet", Harper Thorsons, p.114

Saturday 25 February 2012

My LowGL fud: On Chickpeas

Chickpeas are low GL, so when we eat chickpeas based products, we do not get a spike in blood glucose response.

Some studies (1) show that chickpea based diets could help in prevention of  excess far accumulation induced by a high fat diet and could be beneficial in correcting the obesity-related diseases.

Another study (2) showed that chickpea flour added in the content of the pasta resulted in a lower glycaemic response in healthy subjects than in the case of wheat only pasta or lower LDL cholesterol - the 'bad' one (study 3).

As these indicate that chickpea is not only low GL, but beneficial in obesity management, I will try next days some chickpeas and chickpea flour recipes: some chickpea flour falafel, some flatbreads, some pizzas....mmm....



References
(1) Dietary chickpeas reverse visceral adiposity, dyslipidaemia, and insulin resistance in rats induced by a chronic high-fat diet 

(2) http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814602004806

(3) http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?typ=pdf&doi=98143


Tuesday 21 February 2012

My LowGL: Falafel

Obsessed over cooking falafel at home...checked many recipes, have forgoten them all and started to improvise:
1 can of chickpeas (whizz them well)
some onion
some garlic
one egg (i can't imagine how it would work without egg)
parsley
cumin
paprika
salt
pepper

mix them all





make balls - had to use flour as it was too sticky to my hands. here it got messy






get ready to fry them
I didn't have enough oil..so I had to flatten the balls


and voila the beauties


feedback: tasty...but I will go with more salt and pepper...and I must remember to buy some coriander seeds too....

Sunday 19 February 2012

Dips, dips, dips - low GL, no doubt...


Lazy late Friday...just walking around...seen these...mmmm...I'd buy some of them as were on offer...but hey....am I not able to put something together for myself?





So I started with the mushroom one: buy a 400g box of myshrooms, wash them, cut the stalks (think u need to truen them on both sides to cook).
Pan, 3 garlic cloves sliced, oil, fry them for a few seconds, add the mushrooms, keep stirring and turning them from one side to another...add salt and pepper if you wish  (could be done later too). When you think they are brown enough, just put them aside to cool down. When they are cold enough so you don't destroy the processor, just put them there and whizz them until they are small enough. Add mayo and some soft cheese (as much as you like), taste...and that's done. Put it in small tubs, and they are ready for your next day's snack.






The cheese dip is even easier to make: one onion, chop it, then in the processor. add cottage cheese, sour cream, grated cheddar...and some soft cheese if you want. If I would have (but I don't) I would add some fresh dill...or maybe some coriander...next time...small tubs, fridge, enjoy your snacks...

The dips are for the super lazy....fresh, from scratch, no preservatives or MSG or other stuffs, fast...and more, you are in control....is a dip empowering, or what?