The Lunch Box Diet: Eat all day, lose weight, feel great. Lose up to a stone in 4 weeks.. Simon Lovell
(avocado, tomato, lime juice, red onion, chilli)
Harissa paste (made with chilli, garlic, caraway, coriander and olive oil)
Herbs (fresh – any kind at all)
Hummus (mashed chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice and garlic)
Lemon, lime, apple or orange juice
Marinades (see page 212 for recipes)
Oils (olive or nut – just a splash)
Olives and capers
Pepper sauce (my favourite!)
Pesto (see page 215 for recipe)
Salsa (see page 214 for recipe)
Sauerkraut
Soy sauce (choose the ‘light’ varieties)
Tapenade (olive paste with lemon juice and garlic)
Teriyaki sauce (see page 213 for recipe)
Thai fish sauce (made with anchovies)
Tomato sauce (fresh, see page 87 for recipe)
Tzatziki (fresh, see page 214 for recipe)
Vinegar (plain, fruit-flavoured, cider or wine, or vinaigrettes)
Wasabi, soy and ginger (traditional sushi accompaniments)
Once again, be creative. I’ve provided you with some suggestions and you can invent your own combinations.
A little oil goes a long way. Though olive oil and walnut oil are good fats, they have a strong flavour and you shouldn’t drench your lunch box in them. You can always add a bit more if you need to, but don’t forget that your veggies and meats will be absorbing the flavouring as they marinate in the box throughout the day, making the taste more intense. You don’t want everything to taste like pickles by 5pm! You might consider tossing in a small, sealed container of sauce so that you can add extra later if you need to.
Group D: Active Carbs
Extra 0-30%
Depending on the kind of lifestyle you lead, you may require a little more energy in your box to keep you going. If you sit in an office most of the day, I’d like you to stick with the standard box with groups A, B and C, and see how your energy levels compare to normal. Chances are if you’re used to eating three times a day you will notice a significant improvement as your blood sugar levels stabilise. You’ll be surprised how much energy you get just by picking at your box.
I never want you to lack energy, so if you feel sluggish, add in one active carb from the list below and see how you perform. Bear in mind that there could be other factors affecting your energy level, such as lack of sleep. You should also add an active carb if you suffer from diabetes.
If you are taking an exercise class or going to the gym, leave around an hour and a half for your food to digest beforehand. Take your box with you so you can replenish your energy directly after your session instead of grabbing unhealthy snacks. Alternatively, a banana is a good post-gym snack.
Let’s just recap the box contents
Group A: Vegetables – Grab a selection of five and throw them into your box.
Group B: Protein – Choose one protein source per box.
Group C: Dressing – Essential to add flavour; a little goes a long way.
Group D: Active carbs – Only add these if you have high activity levels.
The Lunch Box Diet Tremor
You’ve prepared your box for the day and it’s already looking pretty tasty, but how do you get it bursting with flavour? It’s time for a box tremor! Seal your lid, grasp the edges for extra seal protection and perform the 5-second tremor. Go. You’ll be surprised at how much difference this makes to the flavour of your box. Those tomatoes will split, seeping their juices; beetroots will blast their purple flavour around; and those herbs and spices will trickle onto every leaf. Yummy!
Chapter 4 Your Rainbow of Great Flavours
Choosing a great combination of colours and flavours adds aesthetic appeal and provides optimum nutrition
Group A: Vegetables
Eating lots of vegetables is a great way to achieve healthy weight loss because they are low in calories and very versatile. If you grew up on tinned green beans and corn, then you might not be aware of all the different choices.
Raw vs Cooked
When vegetables are raw, they contain all the goodness that Mother Nature intended. On the whole, when we start manipulating them in the kitchen, little by little they lose nutritional value. Have you ever looked at the water in a pan in which you’ve boiled broccoli? It’s green, right? Carrot water is orange. Magic trick? No. What you’re looking at is the phytochemicals that you’ve just boiled out of the vegetable.
Phytochemicals give vegetables their bright beautiful colours and they also provide you with powerful substances called antioxidants. Our bodies are full of little guys called free radicals that are created by environmental factors such as sunlight and pollution and other things that we ingest. They create quite a bit of damage, ageing cells and damaging tissues. Antioxidants have the ability to neutralise free radicals and rid the body of them, thus helping to prevent cellular and tissue damage and protect you from life-threatening diseases such as cancer. Which is a good reason to eat as many as you can.
Another reason to avoid too much unnecessary cooking is that it breaks down the fibre content of vegetables and makes it less effective. Fibre is the indigestible portion of plants that is necessary for a healthy digestive system. It helps move the stomach contents through the digestive system and aids in elimination. In other words, it stops you getting constipated.
Vegetables that need to be cooked can be lightly steamed, microwaved, briefly roasted in a hot oven or grilled. Be careful what you add to them, though. Butter, cheese, dressings and other types of heavy sauce are popular ways of preparing vegetables but try vinegars, pepper sauces, black pepper, onion, shallots or garlic instead to avoid adding fat and calories to such wonderful little packages of nutrition.
Red
Beetroots
Folic Acid
Folic acid (or folate) is extremely important for pregnant women, as it helps prevent the birth defect spina bifida. It is also important for heart health and mental health, as low folate has been linked to depression.
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