SALADS IF YOU WANT TO GET SLIM
THE 30-MINUTE GOURMET
News Paper – Bangalore Times, TOI
Published on - January 7, 2000
Author - RAJ MADNANI
This New Year things will be different, like all the other new year’s. Your resolutions will be serious. This will be my 10th resolution to go on a diet. It's simple, one doctor friend once said to me over dinner, pouring mustard cream sauce over a large, juicy steak. Just eat less. As you grow older, you simply need less food - unless you're a football player. I stared at the lonely cauliflower and pasta without sauce she had ordered for me, and ventured another profound question. How to do that? Simple, just say no!
She snapped her fingers at the waiter and ordered a double cheesecake with blackcurrant sauce for herself and a slice of papaya, wedge of lemon please, for me. After my nightmares ended, I realised that eating the right food was important. I eat papaya every day.
Many of our dieting concepts arrive from the US so, a few fundamental assumptions must be corrected. Unlike Americans, our diet is not laden with meat and fat or devoid of fibre. In fact, most of us eat plenty of rice, wheat and lentils.
An American slaps 300 grams of ham in a sandwich for lunch, never mind the mayo and cheese. Excess meat and less fibre are not our problems, so diets that focus on these issues become less meaningful.
Excess fat and junk food can pose problems, so I eat only six bori samosas instead of 12.
Olive oil comprises 77 per cent mono-unsaturated fats (there are also poly and saturated fats both of which are bad for you). Canola oil, or rapeseed oil, is the next best with 62 per cent mono-unsaturated fats certainly more affordable. Educate yourself. Buy a few books to learn the numbers on fats, cholesterol, fibre, sodium.
It may surprise you to know that 100 grams of trimmed lamb - the dreaded red meat has merely three grams more fat than 100 grams of chicken leg meat, but both provide the same number of calories and cholesterol. If you must eat meat, eat small portions, trimmed of fat.
Exercise is as important as reducing intake and eating the right foods. For a long time, I used to move only when, unable to find the darned remote.
If you insist on being the salad type when you diet, you must be careful not to malnourish yourself. Add pasta, nuts, boiled beans or bits of chicken or fish to your salad, with a slice of whole wheat toast and a small cup of yoghurt. Here's a simple recipe for a bean salad. Meanwhile, eat less, eat right, exercise, quit smoking, drink moderately, do not drive even if having drunk moderately, and be sincere when you say: of course, I love you. I'm not sure I'm going to like the New Year, but enjoy this salad for now.
MEXICAN BEAN SALAD
To 250 grams of boiled, soft red kidney beans, add florets (small pieces) of a small, partly steamed cauliflower and strips of a small, raw capsicum after removing its core and seeds. Add two celery sticks sliced, and a tablespoon of chopped onion.
Mix Tabasco (or Capsico) sauce into 150 ml of vinaigrette dressing to make it as tangy as you like. Garnish with two tablespoons of parsley. Let it all chill for a few hours to soak in the flavours of the dressing. Serve cold.
Options: broccoli and red and yellow peppers can be added, use soft chhole for beans.
Indianise the salad: add a few slivers of fresh ginger, finely chopped green chillies without seeds, and fresh coriander.
To make vinaigrette dressing: combine in a jar 150 ml olive oil (or canola or sunflower), 3 table spoons vinegar, 1 tablespoon lime juice, 1 clove garlic chopped fine, a pinch each of parsley, oregano and basil (herbs are optional), mustard powder, salt and fresh black pepper to taste. Shake the jar well, store in a refrigerator and use whenever required. Remember to shake well before use. The dressing will keep for several weeks.
