Thanks for all of the variations in your amazing recipes. It certainly keeps the family happy. Do you have a list of low FODMAP foods or a beginners guide?
Hej Jules!
Do you have any recipes to prepare at home and eat cold at work or on an adventure with the kids? So far I love the simplicity of the ingredients and the little time to cook, but I really need an alternative to sandwichs when we go out… 😀
Thanks!
Why are the meal plans different for northern and Southern Hemisphere? Does it have something to do with the seasonality of the food? Coz I live in the northern hemisphere and I seem to like some of the Southern Hemisphere meals.
And yes it’s because of the seasons. So at the moment the Northern hempsphere is getting more salady / summery things. And the Southern is getting soups / more hearty dishes. This changes with the seasons of course.
But there are always recipes in both that I’d be happy to eat year round 🙂 So you’re welcome to use the Southern one if you prefer.
Hey Jules,
I’m loving the Kitchen Reboot. Currently on day 7 on cooking in advance. In your tips you suggest to keep sauces and mains separate to reheat at different temps. Could you give an example? I feel like most of my cook-feeeze-reheat meals would be slow cookers and stews where the sauce isn’t separate.
Thanks,
Hannah
For things like slow cooked dishes and soups you’re right keep the sauce together.
I was thinking for meals where you might cook some protein and serve with a sauce like mayonnaise or hummus or pesto. I’d keep these types of sauces separately.
Hi, First, congratulations on becoming a certified “Health Coach” — the mind boggles at what you might launch yourself into next ?!!
“Longevity Paradox” indeed ……………. not long ago I started to reduce and then virtually stopped eating red meat, probably because to be enjoyable it has to have been cooked just right; too often too tough, too stringy, too dry or whatever. Now, some months later I find myself suffering from a severe defficiiency in Vitamin B12 ……………… all I am saying is “be careful with the experimentation” !
Love, Gil.
Hi Jules,
So excited to get started! I have a severe tree nut allergy. What can I substitute for ground almonds. I’m sorry if you covered this and I just didn’t see it. 🙂
With the ground almonds it depends on the application and the function they are providing. Usually soft bread crumbs will work. Or in baking some regular flour. Or if it’s in a soup adding some cream instead to give the creaminess.
I try and include a nut-free variation for all my recipes in the variations section.
If there’s a particular recipe that doesn’t have a nut-free option, it’s justbecause I forgot – so please ask!
Hi Jules!
I just had the Tuna and Lentil Salad for dinner, with rocket leaves and cherry tomatoes to freshen things up. Yummy!
And the Overnight Seeds have become my go-to breakfast 🙂
Thank you!
I’m absolutely loving your meal plans – thank you so much! I’ve got a 4month old baby and it’s made getting dinner organised much quicker and stress free (plus delicious).
I have for some reason lost your Sunday baking sessions plan. Where can I find it again?
Hi Jules,
Just another plea to ask if you wouldn’t mind devising an easy recipe for chicken stuffed with cheese (whatever cheese/extra flavour combos you think would be good!). Hope I’m not bothering you asking…just that every recipe of yours is so easy, tasty and foolproof for someone like me, that I’d trust attempting a recipe like this from you! Thank you and I really hope I’m not being a pain asking! I’d be really grateful for even any tips on how to make something like this that would work – in the pan or oven baked?
Thank you for all your beautiful recipes- all of which are delicious and are do-able! Thanks Jules!
Loving all the meals in the meal plan! At one point I found something you had written about your favorite soy sauce. Can you remind me where I would find that? I tried a search and also looking at the seasonings info but I can’t get back to it.
I usually buy the Kikkoman Gluten Free soy sauce. But the regular Kikkoman is great too.
My Irishman recently got some fancy soy sauces from a specialist Japanese store. They are lovely but just between you and me I prefer the balance of the Kikkoman 😉
Hi Jules
I see you mention that you and your partner do a couple of days a week fasting. Do you mind me asking what you do on those days? In the past I have done a couple of days a week where I reduce my calories to 500 per day. Do you eat anything on your fast days. I am thinking of doing this again. What do you drink on your fast days? Many thanks.
Debbie x
At the moment Glen is doing a 36 hour fast 2x per week because he wants to lose weight.
So he has dinner on Sunday and then his next meal is Tuesday morning. And the same on WEd night to Friday morning.
I’m not trying to lose weight but I do 2 x 22 hour fasts a week because it helps with my blood sugar control and other health aspects. So I have dinner on Wed and then don’t eat again until dinner on Thursday. I used to only have water or black tea / coffee.
But recently I’ve been having a bulletproof coffee in the morning which makes a massive difference to my brain function.
Hi, Jules,
Since this is my first comment, I want to say thanks for all the work you put in. I know you love your subject, which helps, but it still takes a lot of time and effort to think in all the different dirctions you do! I have been a non-cooking person (who still had to do the cooking) most of my 67 years. You are giving me the confidence to change things.
One of my biggest stumbing blocks is onion. Onions, cooked or raw, are a “no-go” at my house, for several reasons. When I work with onions the juice and fumes give me awful headaches and my face swells around my eyes to the point where seeing is difficult, and two members of the family empathically don’t like the taste.
It is not surprising that I don’t see anything in your substituion lists since onions are such a staple in the cooking world, so I thought I would ask a couple questions. 1) The taste would be the obvious reason for using them, but what would be a good alternative? 2) They do add liquid to recipies, so how do I make up for that content in the recipie?
Regarding onions, I actually don’t use onions that much in my cooking because they always add an extra 10 minutes or so to a recipe. And for the last year my Irishman has had to avoid onions for health reasons.
In my more recent recipes I’ve been including a Low FODMAP variation which will give alternatives to onions.
1. Taste
You’d be surprised how leaving the onions out doesn’t detract from a dish. So that’s my first port of call.
Then using the other aromatic veggies like carrot or celery or garlic can work in places where you’d normally soften an onion before doing anything else.
The other excellent option is to serve the dish with chopped chives added at the end.
2. Liquid
Generally I don’t find that they don’t actually contribute that much liquid. But if a dish looks dry you can always add a splash of water, wine or tomato passata (or canned tomatoes) or a drizzle of olive oil to fix it.
If it’s the chopping of onion is the problem, you can get frozen diced onion at the super market. I like onion and put it in lots of things.
I read somewhere that the reason onion hurts the eyes is the weak sulfuric acid in the onion juice. It sounds reasonable but I wouldn’t guarantee that as fact.
Hi Jules — those of use who found you through the Simple Year program are now doing a ‘nature month’ — the following information is interesting to me because while I know you provide vegetarian options in all your plans, I wonder about our collective responsibility to consider vegetable protein more seriously in light of the impact on the planet. If everyone ate a paleo diet, seems problematic for the earth–ideas? comments?
Agriculture is the leading source of pollution in many countries. Pesticides and other chemicals can poison water, marine ecosystems, air, and soil. The industry also consumes almost 70% of the planet’s freshwater. It is so important to be an educated and empowered eater. Check out the bonus resources sheet for recommendations on where to learn more about how to make smarter food choices. As a general rule, which most likely you’ve heard before, reduce your meat and dairy consumption (especially red meat).
Hi Jules — those of us without the larger paper size can easily accommodate our 8 1/2 x 11 format paper with a printer setting, ‘fit to page’ — might work for the other reader who commented on this. I selected it the second time I printed and my home printer seems to maintain that setting!
Hello Jules
I made the Chicken and pesto burgers from the meal plan this week. I couldn’t find chicken mince so bought Turkey mince instead. When I started cooking them in the frying pan they all fell apart. Any ideas where I went wrong? thank you. Debbie
It’s important to pat the burgers firmly into shape so they don’t fall apart. The second thing is you need to cook them for long enough on the first side so that a crust forms on the bottom. If you try to turn too early before the protein has set the burgers tend to fall apart. And with the pesto in the mixture that makes them a little more fragile.
Hope that helps! And that your dinner was still delicious
Jx
Hi, Jules! I was getting about two emails a week from you (tips and the weekly plan) but I haven’t received anything since 5/9. I checked spam/trash/archive. Did something go wrong with my account? Thanks!
Hi Jules,
I clicked on the link for Day 2 on ‘how i organise my kitchen’ but it comes up with the error, ‘sorry can’t find that page’. I have tried from the email as well as the website. I am able to access Leo’s articles. Can you help? Thanks Laura
So sorry Laura!
I had an error in the link code I’ve fixed it up now – or you can watch that video over here https://vimeo.com/172068237
Thanks so much for letting me know!
Jx
Wow Karen!
That’s fab you’ve been a member for so long. I actually don’t offer the lifetime membership – it was a promotion I ran a few times. But now the only option is the annual membership.
Have removed your gmail address.
So you should just get them at your yahoo.
I’ve got you down as Northern Hemisphere – is that correct?
Jx
Well, nuts! That’s what I get for not paying attention to my emails. Can I get both? I have been in Afghanistan for the majority of my subscription so I don’t cook; however, I am hoarding all of your recipes and cookbooks. I have most all of the indices (archives) except for those from 182 – 226. I cannot find the archives anywhere that list those weeks.
Oh! I see! I honestly don’t care whether they show up in my email or not, since there’s nothing there but the link, and I have to go to the website anyway to download the actual file. I can see the ‘archives’ for both Hemispheres on your website, so I can just click on those links and download from there.
This brings me to another dilemma I am facing. Since I first joined, I have been able to access the archives and download the files directly rather than from the link my email. Even though I have all (or most all) of the emails with the links in them, it looks as though you’ve changed hosts, say to AWS? Now the links in the older emails no longer work (404 error).
However, because I had stashed a clickable format of the archives, I can still get to the ‘full colour meal pdf’ files, and download from them. My problem is that due to my own stupidity, I do not have the archives from 24 July 2017 to 5 March 2018. Even though I have the emails containing the links to those pdfs, as I stated above, the links no longer work. I have searched and searched your website, but can only find an archive that goes back as far as #227 5 Mar 2018.
Is there anyway at all I can get the full color pdfs from 27 July 2017 – 5 March 2018? Even if you provide me the links, I will be more than happy to download them myself. I really, really like the full color versions, not the “printer friendly” versions.
I have attempted to print some of your recipes and meal plans. It is apparent that you use an International paper size. In Canada and US we use 8 1/2 x 11 Letter Size paper. I’m guessing that your printing paper size is A4. could you confirm that for me. That paper size is available here, just need to confirm so I can get some
Amy said she is able to print OK on 8×11 if she chooses the ‘fit to page’ in her printer settings – might be worth a look (and easier than buying A4 paper!)
Hi Jules, I just thought I’d leave a comment on the awesome roasted chicken and broccoli Caesar bowls from this weeks meal plan. It was utterly delicious, hubby loved it too. Thank you for your fantastically tasty and easy recipes, such a boon for busy weeks. I’m looking forward to trying the rest! ??
I don’t have harissa in my pantry, but I do have baharat and dukkah…..do you think the roast cauli would work if I substituted one of those for the harissa?
Hi Jules,
This is the first time I’ve ever commented on the web but I feel compelled to with you because I want to say thank you! I think you give so much of yourself, you produce great programs, you come across as really personable and when I watch your videos, it feels like I’m listening to a girl friend give me advice!
I now often turn to your 6 ingredient dinners app and am amazed at how well everything turns out. Your meals are starting to become my go to favourites.
I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time planning, shopping and cooking meals (when I’m not using your app!) so I’m now determined to give your meal planning a go too (next month because I’m about to take off for overseas for a month).
Also, I love your ‘urge jar’ idea … I can so relate to you! It’s such a downer sitting down with my husband to a beautiful meal I’ve prepared and not having much of an appetite any more because I’ve picked so much while preparing it 🙁
Hi Jules!
First of all thank you for your simple delicious recipes. Cooking dinner with just a few ingredients has made life easier.
Your tuna ragu was so delicious and so easy it coaxed my son (he’s 19) to cook dinner for us tonight. No new cook will be daunted by throwing in a tin of tuna and a jar of passata into a pan!
Secondly thank you for all the variations you offer! It’s been a huge help in catering for everyone. (In our family of five we have a vegetarian, carnivores , a carb lover and I’m low FODMAP.)
My question is what would you suggest would work best as a Low FODMAP replacement of cauliflower in the Turkish Cauliflower and Yoghurt Soup?
I just love your idea about an urge jar. I had to get something from my husband to fill mine with because I don’t have anything that would work. I’ve already been able to add 3 pieces to my jar, and have realized that the power that comes from saying no is a great reward. I was wondering how to redo what I want as a reward, and after I put my first piece in the jar (which in my case is actually a stemmed beer glass with gold trim), I realized I felt very good. That’s a much better reward than calming my anxiety, which has always been my reward for overeating. My experience today has transformed my understanding of what it means to feel good. Feeling good is very different from not feeling as much anxiety. You really made my day today. Thank you!
I’m cleaning out my pantry as I have run out of room to put things away.
I can’t find where you talked about the spices to keep. I have way too many! 1 1/2 shelves worth. Help please, and many thanks.
Hi Jules,
I’m back again with low carb issues. After looking at my recent lab results more closely, I realize that I have to be really careful to avoid becoming diabetic (my fasting blood sugar level was at 96, with 99 as the top of normal, in addition to my A1c still being above normal). I am cutting carbs where I can, and am willing to, and in the process have come up with some positive findings and some issues. This last weekend we went to visit family, and I discovered that lettuce taco shells work very well when the filling is good. This morning, when I went to put granola on my smoothie bowl, I realized that I would actually be happier with berries. I seem to do pretty well when I’m at home, but ran into a big issue when we were out to dinner one night over the weekend: I ordered a Greek salad with chicken, and did have some carbs because I ordered a beer that I didn’t drink much of. The problem was that I felt very unsatisfied with my meal, and there wasn’t anything else on the menu that I could order to fill me up properly. It probably didn’t help that I was watching everyone else eat pizza. I think my restaurant dinner left me feeling abandoned/uncared for, in contrast to the lettuce taco shells which were provided in a caring way. I spent a lot of the weekend feeling really conflicted about trying to control my carb intake. I am trying to lower my carb intake voluntarily, because the idea of becoming diabetic and being forced to strictly control my diet and/or take medication is something that frightens me. I went back through the Low Carb Love class and got a few ideas, but I still don’t have a clue as to how to handle a situation like the one I encountered at the restaurant that night. For what it’s worth, I just lived with it, and may have gotten an appropriate snack after we got back to where we were staying.
Great work on the positive findings – keep up the good work!
I find for me the less carbs I have the less I want them – sounds like you’re on a similar journey.
In terms of eating out and what happened on the weekend you did really well ordering what you did.
And I think it’s interesting that you weren’t talking about feeling jealous of the people that were having pizza – more that you felt ‘abandoned / uncared for’.
Were you hungry after the salad? Or was it just not satisfying on a more emotional level?
When this happens to me and I’m still hungry, I either order something else, like some cheese or olives or ask for more chicken. Or I plan to have something later – either nuts or dark chocolate usually when I get home.
But if it’s more of an emotional thing then I ask myself why I’m feeling that way?
What is the thought that’s driving the feeling?
Awareness and understanding is key.
I find for me I look to get enjoyment from being out with my friends / family and the human connections rather than from food.
Jules, my issue was actually being still hungry. We were with my husband’s younger son and his family, which is always enjoyable. And that was the first dish I’ve ordered at that restaurant (actually a brewpub) which has not been filling.
If it’s hunger that’s easy Susan – order something extra – a cheese plate is always a great option. Or make sure you have something later – when I’m travelling I always have a supply of nuts so I know I have something in my room if I need it. 🙂
My reply got entered before I was finished with it. I was going to say that I came up with an emotional issue last night at dinner: I was full from dinner (paying attention to my level of fullness), but felt like I “needed” dessert, even though I knew I was full. It was probably about feeling deprived, even though I know I wasn’t. I know it’s left over from childhood and one of the multitude of ways my mother found to screw me up for life. Clearly, being aware of the issue should make it possible to work on it, deal with it, if I choose to do so. I didn’t choose to last night, but dessert was a small apple (one of your suggestions, I believe), so it wasn’t too bad. As with many things in my life, it’s the principle behind the behavior that makes the behavior negative or unacceptable. I know I can change, because I used to be a real binge eater, and these days a binge is usually just a couple of bites of something.
Next time this happens, try and spend some time pausing and reflecting on how you are really feeling before you decide to eat. Taking a few really slow deep breaths can be helpful.
And if you still want dessert after that have something – an apple is good. My fave is dark chocolate (make sure it’s 70% cocoa solids or higher – some dark chocolates are still 50% sugar). Make sure you serve out what you’re going to eat. Sit down and really enjoy it 🙂
As a Type 2 Diabetic, it may be worth having a section of the website that caters more specifically towards people with diabetes, which is not to say that there may be a set of resources and recipes that would more than adequately provide for them already here on StoneSoup.
The Stonesoup website is an excellent website with a large number of resources on it.
These recipes may exist under another heading or descriptor such as ‘low calorie’, or ‘low carbohydrate’ or ‘keto’ so there may be a way of quickly reorganising such resources that would cater towards people with diabetes.
It would also be excellent if there were recipes for snacks that people with diabetes could eat throughout the day, as a form of hunger control, without significantly affecting their blood sugar levels.
Snacks could consist of any combination of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds, and the use of sugar substitutes such as ‘Splenda’ powder, ‘Equal’, ‘Stevia’, and other sugar replacements when needed.
Whether or not there are snack recipes that would play a significant role in dampening hunger, may be achievable for people.
Research should point towards examples of snacks for people who have diabetes and are members of the StoneSoup website.
Diabetes-friendly recipes for sweet items such as cakes, biscuits, and confectionary are essential for people to help avoid these foods when they are full of sugar.
These suggestions would help people with diabetes who are members of StoneSoup.
Anecdotally, it has probably been the experience of most diabetics that when they can consume a variety of healthy and delicious meals, they become confident managers of their condition.
Healthy meals should be easy to make, budget-friendly, low in kilojoules, low in carbohydrates, have very little sugar, no added sugar, and high in fibre.
These meals will assist people with diabetes to manage their blood sugar levels, their weight in the long-term, and in not relapsing by consuming highly sweetened items that they can purchase from a myriad of commercial establishments.
The previously mentioned feedback on low sugar ‘snacks’, ‘sweets’, ‘cakes’ ‘biscuits’, and ‘confectionary’ should find their way in a separate section of the StoneSoup website.
Their valuableness is in having resources to hand that people with diabetes can use to avoid purchasing similar food categories that have significant amounts of carbohydrates or lots of sugar in them, and therefore mediocre food to consume for any person with diabetes.
Hi Jules, I have made preserved lemons many times and they have been wonderful. A few months ago I made a new batch, let the jar sit at room temp for at least one month, then put them in the refrigerator where they have been for another month or more. When I went to use them today I noticed the skin did not get nice and soft. They have the nice fragrance, but the rind is similar to a regular lemon. Did I pack them too tight? There is no mold or strange colors, but I’m not sure if I should use them, wait, or trash them. Thanks!
Thanks, that sounds good. I will take them out of this jar, and re salt and put in another jar. I think I packed them too tight and put a weight on them… maybe the salt couldn’t get to the skins. I will let you know! Thanks so much!
Hi Jules, I made extra roasted vegetables – mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers to go with bacon on the cauliflower crust pizza I made earlier in the week and so had them to mix with spinach, cream cheese and mozzarella in a crust-less quiche for a delicious, very easy and quick dinner tonight. Thanks for the suggestion to roast more veggies when you do some for a recipe. Cooking is so much more fun when things come together without stress!
Hi Jules. I have been a member for some time and I love your site. I do a small problem though. When I became a member I used my husband (Philip) paypal account to pay for the subscription and that is my problem. When you send me emails they are addressed as Hello Philip (I don’t mind this) but when I go to the website it says Howdy Christine. And on the website I changed my email address but the emails are still coming through on my old email address. So now we are moving to America for a few months and I will no longer have the old email address. So I need to fix this problem before I go. I have previously tried to rectify the problem but I got no response from you. Please help, kind regards Christine
Hi Jules I made in interesting discovery following your daily meal planning emails. I don’t plan to shop. As I get a fortnightly box from a veggie coop I try and work around that and shop ad hoc. I must admit it hasn’t been working. So i am going to plan to shop a day after I receive the box on a Tuesday after work and build this into a fortnightly routine.
WOW! The website looks amazing!!! That was a lot of work, and much appreciated. I love the fresh, clean, graphic-based look — it’s appealing and it’s going to entice me to use the website more. It is very well organized. THANK YOU AGAIN!
Thank you so much for sharing your extensive experience and knowledge. I was diagnosed with hypertension a few years ago, and my blood sugar levels were high in a recent checkup (not in the diabetic range, but pretty high). I’ve been increasing my exercise and activity for a while with some success – I have lost about 15-20kg over the past couple of years, as a result and it seemed to be responsible for reducing my cholesterol levels significantly.
I signed up as a lifetime member a couple of months ago. About 3 weeks ago I gave up sugar, and switched to a low carb diet (to both lose some weight and generally improve my overall health, whilst hopefully bringing my blood sugar under control). I was really surprised at how much better I feel! Almost immediately I felt less lethargic and had much better focus. So far it’s been nearly 4 weeks without any sugar in my diet (aside from a small amount in the kombucha I’ve been drinking).
Amazingly, I don’t feel deprived at all – I think I’m really committed to making a change. I’m slowly working through the low-carb program, and am finding it helpful – there’s so much conflicting and confusing information out there, it’s sometimes difficult to know who to believe. I’m finding the hardest part is getting rid of rice and other starchy carbs (mashed potato, for example), but I think I’m becoming accustomed to it.
My question (finally) is related to the types of fats I ought to be eating – are high cholesterol fats okay, as long as I’m eating very few carbs? A lot of low carb and Keto diets recommend butter and lard, etc. So far I’ve been mainly focused on oily fish, avocados, extra virgin olive oil, and eggs (mainly). Would like to hear your thoughts on this. I’ve also been trying some intermittent fasting (16:8), but not sure what I think about it yet.
Wow good for you. So glad to hear you’ve been making positive changes and getting results!
RE. fats and oils – high cholesterol fats are totally fine as long as they’re not industrially produced / from factory farming. Our bodies actually need and make cholesterol so if you eat more cholesterol your body just makes less of it.
The initial studies linking high cholesterol in the diet with high blood cholesterol were actually done on rabbits – who don’t eat animal products naturally. Turns out if you give herbivores cholesterol it does raise their cholesterol levels but this doesn’t apply to omnivores like us.
So YES high cholesterol / saturated fats are fine.
However I think the best approach is to have saturated fat as well as the fish / avocado / EVOO / eggs you’ve been having.
While current research shows saturated fat does not lead to heart disease, there are lots of documented benefits from fish oils especially so good to keep those up!
I’m a big fan of fasting.
I do 16:8 pretty much every day and I couldn’t imagine going back to eating 3 meals. Let me know how you get on with it – it can take a little while for your body to adapt to eating at different times. There’s a habitual component to hunger that will adjust and you’ll find you’ll get hungry at your new meal times but not at other times.
Thanks Jules. I appreciate your quick response. It’s really hard to let go of my conditioned aversion to high cholesterol foods. I’ve been doing okay with the low-carb switch so far, and haven’t really been feeling at all deprived (surprisingly). I’ve only been doing the 16:8 fasting for a couple of days, and I’m slowly getting used to it – it’s relatively easy to fit into a daily schedule.
I’ll keep you updated on my progress. One more question, when you say ‘not industrially produced or factory farmed’, do mean things like commercially produced burger patties, sausages, etc.? Is it generally okay as long as it’s just the raw product (i.e. minced beef, steak, pure butter, and so on)?
I know the saturated fat thing takes a while to adjust to. If you’re interested ‘The Big Fat Surprise’ by Nina Telichoz is worth a read for getting a good grounding in the science.
One of my guiding principles is that less processed is generally a better option. However if you can find commercially produced meat products using ethically raised animals then I’d be OK with that.
So glad you’re finding it helpful!
Keep the questions coming.
And the fasting gets easier the more you do it. One thing is if you are feeling crazy hungry when you’re fasting, just eat something (preferable healthy!) and start again the next day. Occasionally (like once every 3-4 months) I’ll be ravenous in the morning and so have breakfast.
Out of curiosity, could you, just once anyway, let us folks who live elsewhere know the weights of your “bag of baby spinach” and “bag of salad leaves”.
Here in North Carolina, I can get fresh leaves in boxes of 1 pound or 5 ounces. Cut greens like collards come in 1-pound or 2-pound bags (very convenient). Frozen spinach comes various ways, including flat bags of 10 ounces (close enough!).
The sizes and selections were quite different in my last US home, the California San Francisco Bay Area. Thanks!
I just went through day one of the Low Carb Love program, and want to say that I’m really glad you are doing this program. I have become borderline diabetic, and am hoping that when I get my labs done in mid-March that my A1C has improved. I am trying to eat lower carb, but am not sure how well I’m doing at it. I’ve tried a really low carb diet before and found it was not sustainable over the long term for me. Plus I live with a carb-eating husband who seems to find them necessary for his diet. So I’m looking for balance.
I do need to make one comment about carbs: the kind you are talking about that raise our blood sugar are “fast carbs”. Veggies, like broccoli, lettuce, cauliflower, radishes, etc. are also carbs. They are “slow carbs” which don’t raise the blood sugar in the same way. So we do need carbs – the slow kind are very good for us. I was once told by my dental hygienist that my gums were bleeding because I was not eating enough grains. Don’t know if that is true or not, and I’m sure that even if it is true, we don’t need to eat lots of grains.
In terms of your husband. I know what it’s like! My boys love their carbs. It’s actually not that difficult to prepare an extra side of carbs from them – there’s more on this in the program.
If you feel better with the ‘fast’ vs ‘slow’ carb distinction then keep using it.
Yes the low carb veg in the program do contain some carbs but it’s not the carb content that we need these veggies for. It’s for all the micronutrients and fiber! Our bodies can actually manufacture all the glucose we need from protein in a process called gluconeogenesis.
So we don’t actually need to get any carbs from our diet to live. There are people who follow a ketogenic diet that are fine with almost zero carbohydrate. BUt they’re also not eating many veggies so I worry about that.
Interesting what your dental hygienist said about bleeding gums and grains. Mine said it was from not flossing enough! (So I started flossing which fixed the problem).
We really don’t need any grains at all. All the nutrients in grains are readily available in other foods.
Do you have any ideas why your very low carb approach wasn’t sustainable in the long term? How did you feel back then?
Keep sharing your thoughts! I always value your insights
Jx
Hi Jules,
The reason my low carb adventure didn’t work well had a lot to do with traveling, plus hangups left over from childhood. We go on 4-month cruises, and it’s really difficult then to get away from, and ignore the temptations. Add to that childhood feelings of deprivation and the low carb diet is history. These days I think I can do better. At least at home I’m cutting down on the carbs and telling my husband to give me small servings when he’s cooking. When we next get on a cruise ship (next January), the hardest part will be the desserts and also breakfast, because I just can’t eat eggs all the time. What I like is congee, or cereal, or yogurt and fruit. If you have any non-egg ideas, that would be really helpful.
I agree that if you approach low carb eating with thoughts of deprivation (from childhood or otherwise) it’s definitely not going to be sustainable.
So we need to work on those thoughts first.
The secret to making a dietary restriction like low carb work is to get really clear on the reasons why you want to make the change. And to approach it from a place of love and caring for yourself. Making it a positive choice that is inline with your self identity.
A great example is a vegetarian who is passionate about animal welfare.
She identifies as someone who doesn’t eat meat. She’s doing it because she loves animals and believes being vegetarian is the most humane approach. So it’s easy for her to be surrounded by a buffet of meats and not even think once about putting some meatballs on her plate.
It’s not who she is.
If the next cruise isn’t until Jan we have loads of time to get you a plan for handling that.
Hi Jules,
I’ve checked out the breakfast ideas, and the biggest issue I run into is that most of them are very low protein. I do best on 30 grams of protein per meal. A secondary issue is that I really don’t like eggs, especially for breakfast, though I will have to try your Turkish eggs. In warmer weather I tend to like smoothies (not green, don’t like veggies for breakfast or the flavor of green smoothies), overnight oats (I add protein powder), and smoothie bowls. In the winter I like hot grains and things like pancakes or french toast casseroles (I’ve tried your coconut flour pancakes and they did not go over well with my husband). Basically I like to be able to beef up the protein levels with whey powder – I use one that is stevia sweetened and has 2 grams of sugar per scoop. I also seem to require variety. If I eat one thing too often I get to where I never want to eat it again. I can see that I could do your overnight seeds in place of overnight oats. Love yogurt and berries, and would probably enjoy it with nuts, too. (One of the things I’ve discovered in my old age is that I’m a lot more difficult than I used to be…)
I’m glad you said that you’re difficult. I was thinking the same thing 🙂
Be careful with too much protein – as it gets turned into glucose in the liver. That’s why I am to use more fat. It’s keeps the meals satisfying in a similar way to protein without the glucose situation.
Keep using your protein powder if you like but don’t go crazy.
Sounds like you have good Summer options with your smoothies, overnight oats and smoothie bowls.
If you can swap out seeds like flax or chia for some or all of the oats in the overnight oats that’s a great option.
And make sure you choose low carb fruit for your smoothies – the bowls are a better choice because if you eat them with a spoon your body registers the calories whereas you can drink the same amount of calories without feeling full.
And yoghurt and nuts are awesome! The highest protein nuts / seeds are hemp seeds, Pepitas (pumpkin seeds), peanuts, almonds and pistachios. And Greek yoghurt adds protein as well.
If you’re a pancake fan try using almond flour / meal instead of the regular flour.
And if you’re not a fan of eggs what about savoury breakfasts like sausages or bacon.
And you might want to try some of my low carb breads as a substitute for your French toast (well maybe not the broccoli bread).
Hi Jules,
Just got my lab results from the doctor and my HbA1C is down to 5.8. and my doctor is pleased. I have decided that my best approach to eating low carb is to lower my carb levels gradually. So far it is working well for me. I’m trying to sort of drag my husband along with me, because lower carb would be good for his weight. I still have a lot of things to figure out for when I’m traveling, even here in the US, and I definitely want to get my A1C below 5.6. I’m actually feeling like I have more choice about this than I did in the past, and I’m finding that wanting to not become diabetic is really good motivation to eat lower carb.
WELL DONE on the A1C Susan!
I had my blood test this morning to see how mine is tracking.
If you think a gradual reduction is best for you then go for it.
Just keep in mind that it’s common to experience ‘carb creep’ – so you’ll need to make sure you keep reducing and that it doesn’t switch around.
And so glad to hear you feel like you have more choice around it.
I have the same motivation – it’s very powerful. If you’re interested in understanding more about the link between carbs and diabetes, Dr Jason Fung’s new book ‘The Diabetes Code’ would be worth a read.
And make sure you check back in before your next cruise so we can get some strategies for you 🙂
Thumbs up for the burgers with cheese and chipotle mayo. I made double the mayo recipe as my tin of chipotle in adobe was 212g and I felt sure I’d find something else to try it with.
However The chipotle was a little hot for me in the mayo so I ended up diluting with some Greek yoghurt. I then had with your beautiful boiled broccoli (a regular precook of mine) and some tomatoes.
Any tips for other things to add if something is too spicy?
Capsicinan – the compound in chillies that makes them hot is fat soluble. So if you want to tame the heat on your tongue drinking a glass of milk or having some yoghurt works much better than water because the capsicinan dissolves in the fat in the yoghurt / milk.
Yoghurt is a good option for taming anything too hot. Cream is another good addition. Butter can tame things as well.
The other option is to just dilute it.
So in this case add some to another batch of mayo.
Or if it’s something like a curry you can serve a little curry with lots of rice or veggies.
And yay for beautiful broccoli! It’s on high rotation in this house too 🙂
Jx
It’s made from the husks of the psyllium plant and it’s super high in soluble fiber. It’s really unique because it absorbs loads of moisture.
I get mine from the health food store. In Australia it’s just sold as psyllium but in other parts of the world there is a choice between psyllium husks or psyllium powder (which I think it just the husks finely ground). If given a choice, buy the psyllium husks.
Hi Jules, Just saw your January behind the scenes video and was so excited! I received the Noma Guide to Fermentation for Christmas, too. Haven’t tried any of the recipes yet; just enjoying reading it so far and absorbing all the info. Looking forward to your updates to the fermentation class!
PS – how did you get a reservation at Noma for your birthday? We have tried several times when they open the reservation window, but tables go so quickly!
I’m making my first batch of coffee kombucha today and just bottled some lemon verbena kombucha which is the best kombucha I’ve made!
Getting the reservation was easy. I just researched when they opened up bookings for the date and then set an alarm and got online as soon as they opened. This was back in 2012 though so it might be harder now.
Just keep trying! It’s totally worth it. Would love to go to their new venue.
Can you check to see if there is a spam flag on your emails? I didn’t receive last week’s plan. I have had problems with things being inadvertently marked as spam. So, I am just checking. Many thanks.
So sorry to didn’t receive the meal plan last week.
I’ve checked in my email system and it looks like everything was sent to you as it should have been. And I don’t think there is a spam flag. Did it end up in your spam folder?
I’ve resent it manually through my system – let me know if that one turns up.
Hi Jules,
I am wondering if I can substitute French baking chocolate (Ingredients: sugar, cocoa paste, cocoa butter, emulsifier, flavorings.) for cocoa powder in your Little Chocolate Puddings recipe, and if so, how?
You could try using grated chocolate instead of the cocoa powder, however you’d need a lot more chocolate to get a similar flavour. I’d start with tripling the cocoa powder amount with your grated chocolate.
Thanks for all of the variations in your amazing recipes. It certainly keeps the family happy. Do you have a list of low FODMAP foods or a beginners guide?
Excellent question Laureen.
Download the Monash Uni App https://www.monashfodmap.com/ibs-central/i-have-ibs/get-the-app/
And here’s an article I wrote about it
https://thestonesoup.com/blog/2018/10/29/low-fodmap/
Hope that helps! Happy to answer any more specific questions you may have.
Jx
Hej Jules!
Do you have any recipes to prepare at home and eat cold at work or on an adventure with the kids? So far I love the simplicity of the ingredients and the little time to cook, but I really need an alternative to sandwichs when we go out… 😀
Thanks!
Hi Jules.
Why are the meal plans different for northern and Southern Hemisphere? Does it have something to do with the seasonality of the food? Coz I live in the northern hemisphere and I seem to like some of the Southern Hemisphere meals.
Excellent question Ranalyn!
And yes it’s because of the seasons. So at the moment the Northern hempsphere is getting more salady / summery things. And the Southern is getting soups / more hearty dishes. This changes with the seasons of course.
But there are always recipes in both that I’d be happy to eat year round 🙂 So you’re welcome to use the Southern one if you prefer.
Jx
Hey Jules,
I’m loving the Kitchen Reboot. Currently on day 7 on cooking in advance. In your tips you suggest to keep sauces and mains separate to reheat at different temps. Could you give an example? I feel like most of my cook-feeeze-reheat meals would be slow cookers and stews where the sauce isn’t separate.
Thanks,
Hannah
Excellent question Hannah
For things like slow cooked dishes and soups you’re right keep the sauce together.
I was thinking for meals where you might cook some protein and serve with a sauce like mayonnaise or hummus or pesto. I’d keep these types of sauces separately.
Glad you’re enjoying the reboot!
Jx
Hi, First, congratulations on becoming a certified “Health Coach” — the mind boggles at what you might launch yourself into next ?!!
“Longevity Paradox” indeed ……………. not long ago I started to reduce and then virtually stopped eating red meat, probably because to be enjoyable it has to have been cooked just right; too often too tough, too stringy, too dry or whatever. Now, some months later I find myself suffering from a severe defficiiency in Vitamin B12 ……………… all I am saying is “be careful with the experimentation” !
Love, Gil.
Thanks for the warming Gil!
Don’t worry – I have no intention of going vegan full time.
I already know I need some meat to feel my best. And get my B12 🙂
Hello, Jules!
Wondering if you have suggestions for any particular low carb and/or fasting focused podcasts?
Thanks,
Samantha
Not really Samantha… but I did like the book ‘What the Fast’
And I am enjoying Dave Aspray’s Bulletproof podcast at the moment 🙂
Hi Jules,
So excited to get started! I have a severe tree nut allergy. What can I substitute for ground almonds. I’m sorry if you covered this and I just didn’t see it. 🙂
Debbie
Welcome Debbie!
Wonderful to have you here 🙂
With the ground almonds it depends on the application and the function they are providing. Usually soft bread crumbs will work. Or in baking some regular flour. Or if it’s in a soup adding some cream instead to give the creaminess.
I try and include a nut-free variation for all my recipes in the variations section.
If there’s a particular recipe that doesn’t have a nut-free option, it’s justbecause I forgot – so please ask!
Jx
Hi Jules!
I just had the Tuna and Lentil Salad for dinner, with rocket leaves and cherry tomatoes to freshen things up. Yummy!
And the Overnight Seeds have become my go-to breakfast 🙂
Thank you!
Yum Elosie!
And glad to hear you’ve loving the seeds – I have a smaller version for afternoon tea every day.
Jx
Hi Jules
I’m absolutely loving your meal plans – thank you so much! I’ve got a 4month old baby and it’s made getting dinner organised much quicker and stress free (plus delicious).
I have for some reason lost your Sunday baking sessions plan. Where can I find it again?
Thank you,
Julie
Wonderful Julie!
And congrats on the new addition to the family 🙂
The Sunday Baking Sessions is an eBook rather than a specific meal plan – so it’s available on the eBooks page (under bonuses) https://stonesoupvirtualcookeryschool.com/ecookbooks/
Enjoy (and enjoy those cuddles)
Jx
I found a meal plan with cabbage carbonara but now seem to be unable to find the plan again. I bought all the ingredients already. Can you help?
Sorry Joan!
Sometimes the search function on the site plays up – it’s on my list of things to fix when I upgrade the website.
Here’s the recipe
https://stonesoupvirtualcookeryschool.com/2018/07/cabbage-cabonara/
It’s also in my app 🙂
Hope you enjoy – it’s one of my faves
Jx
Hi Jules,
Just another plea to ask if you wouldn’t mind devising an easy recipe for chicken stuffed with cheese (whatever cheese/extra flavour combos you think would be good!). Hope I’m not bothering you asking…just that every recipe of yours is so easy, tasty and foolproof for someone like me, that I’d trust attempting a recipe like this from you! Thank you and I really hope I’m not being a pain asking! I’d be really grateful for even any tips on how to make something like this that would work – in the pan or oven baked?
Thank you for all your beautiful recipes- all of which are delicious and are do-able! Thanks Jules!
Thanks for the reminder Amrita!
I’ve just had a month of eating dairy-free so hadn’t got to your recipe request – but now I really need to get onto it!
In the mean time, maybe try this cheesey chicken
https://stonesoupvirtualcookeryschool.com/2019/05/cheesey-chicken/
Jx
Thanks Jules,
Will do!
Hi Jules!
Do you have any favorite recipes for pregnancy?
ooh It’s been a while Molly!
I remember being all about the meatballs 🙂
https://stonesoupvirtualcookeryschool.com/2013/07/simple-baked-meatballs/
And you might find this blog post helpful
https://thestonesoup.com/blog/2011/08/22/the-pregnant-cook-12-meals-to-stock-up-while-waiting-for-baby/
How exciting!
All the best with it 🙂
Jx
ohhhh thank you!! I love your recipes so much, so you have already been a huge help so far 🙂
You’re welcome Molly 🙂
Hi Jules,
Loving all the meals in the meal plan! At one point I found something you had written about your favorite soy sauce. Can you remind me where I would find that? I tried a search and also looking at the seasonings info but I can’t get back to it.
Thanks!
Glad you’re loving it Amy!
I usually buy the Kikkoman Gluten Free soy sauce. But the regular Kikkoman is great too.
My Irishman recently got some fancy soy sauces from a specialist Japanese store. They are lovely but just between you and me I prefer the balance of the Kikkoman 😉
Hi Jules
I see you mention that you and your partner do a couple of days a week fasting. Do you mind me asking what you do on those days? In the past I have done a couple of days a week where I reduce my calories to 500 per day. Do you eat anything on your fast days. I am thinking of doing this again. What do you drink on your fast days? Many thanks.
Debbie x
At the moment Glen is doing a 36 hour fast 2x per week because he wants to lose weight.
So he has dinner on Sunday and then his next meal is Tuesday morning. And the same on WEd night to Friday morning.
I’m not trying to lose weight but I do 2 x 22 hour fasts a week because it helps with my blood sugar control and other health aspects. So I have dinner on Wed and then don’t eat again until dinner on Thursday. I used to only have water or black tea / coffee.
But recently I’ve been having a bulletproof coffee in the morning which makes a massive difference to my brain function.
If you want to learn more about fasting there’s a training over here:
https://stonesoupvirtualcookeryschool.com/graduations-bonus-2-the-power-of-fasting/
Hi, Jules,
Since this is my first comment, I want to say thanks for all the work you put in. I know you love your subject, which helps, but it still takes a lot of time and effort to think in all the different dirctions you do! I have been a non-cooking person (who still had to do the cooking) most of my 67 years. You are giving me the confidence to change things.
One of my biggest stumbing blocks is onion. Onions, cooked or raw, are a “no-go” at my house, for several reasons. When I work with onions the juice and fumes give me awful headaches and my face swells around my eyes to the point where seeing is difficult, and two members of the family empathically don’t like the taste.
It is not surprising that I don’t see anything in your substituion lists since onions are such a staple in the cooking world, so I thought I would ask a couple questions. 1) The taste would be the obvious reason for using them, but what would be a good alternative? 2) They do add liquid to recipies, so how do I make up for that content in the recipie?
Oh yay Bonnie!
Thanks you so much for your lovely comment.
So glad we’re turning you into a cook 🙂
Regarding onions, I actually don’t use onions that much in my cooking because they always add an extra 10 minutes or so to a recipe. And for the last year my Irishman has had to avoid onions for health reasons.
In my more recent recipes I’ve been including a Low FODMAP variation which will give alternatives to onions.
1. Taste
You’d be surprised how leaving the onions out doesn’t detract from a dish. So that’s my first port of call.
Then using the other aromatic veggies like carrot or celery or garlic can work in places where you’d normally soften an onion before doing anything else.
The other excellent option is to serve the dish with chopped chives added at the end.
2. Liquid
Generally I don’t find that they don’t actually contribute that much liquid. But if a dish looks dry you can always add a splash of water, wine or tomato passata (or canned tomatoes) or a drizzle of olive oil to fix it.
Hope that helps!
Jx
If it’s the chopping of onion is the problem, you can get frozen diced onion at the super market. I like onion and put it in lots of things.
I read somewhere that the reason onion hurts the eyes is the weak sulfuric acid in the onion juice. It sounds reasonable but I wouldn’t guarantee that as fact.
Yes Virginia! Frozen onion is a great idea.
Hi Jules — those of use who found you through the Simple Year program are now doing a ‘nature month’ — the following information is interesting to me because while I know you provide vegetarian options in all your plans, I wonder about our collective responsibility to consider vegetable protein more seriously in light of the impact on the planet. If everyone ate a paleo diet, seems problematic for the earth–ideas? comments?
Agriculture is the leading source of pollution in many countries. Pesticides and other chemicals can poison water, marine ecosystems, air, and soil. The industry also consumes almost 70% of the planet’s freshwater. It is so important to be an educated and empowered eater. Check out the bonus resources sheet for recommendations on where to learn more about how to make smarter food choices. As a general rule, which most likely you’ve heard before, reduce your meat and dairy consumption (especially red meat).
Hi Amy
This is a big topic! And one that is really out of my area of expertise.
I will check out the resources in Simple Year though – thanks for letting me know about it.
Jx
Hi Jules — those of us without the larger paper size can easily accommodate our 8 1/2 x 11 format paper with a printer setting, ‘fit to page’ — might work for the other reader who commented on this. I selected it the second time I printed and my home printer seems to maintain that setting!
Thanks for the tip Amy!
Hello Jules
I made the Chicken and pesto burgers from the meal plan this week. I couldn’t find chicken mince so bought Turkey mince instead. When I started cooking them in the frying pan they all fell apart. Any ideas where I went wrong? thank you. Debbie
Hi Debbie!
Sorry to hear about your burgers falling apart.
It’s important to pat the burgers firmly into shape so they don’t fall apart. The second thing is you need to cook them for long enough on the first side so that a crust forms on the bottom. If you try to turn too early before the protein has set the burgers tend to fall apart. And with the pesto in the mixture that makes them a little more fragile.
Hope that helps! And that your dinner was still delicious
Jx
Ok thank you Jules, I will do that next time. And yes I still enjoyed my meal. x
oh good Debbie 🙂
Hi, Jules! I was getting about two emails a week from you (tips and the weekly plan) but I haven’t received anything since 5/9. I checked spam/trash/archive. Did something go wrong with my account? Thanks!
Wynne
So sorry Wynne!
It looks like you were unsubscribed from all mailing lists on the 11th May.
I’ve added you back so you should get two emails a week again – Let me know if that’s OK?
Jx
Hi Jules,
I clicked on the link for Day 2 on ‘how i organise my kitchen’ but it comes up with the error, ‘sorry can’t find that page’. I have tried from the email as well as the website. I am able to access Leo’s articles. Can you help? Thanks Laura
So sorry Laura!
I had an error in the link code I’ve fixed it up now – or you can watch that video over here https://vimeo.com/172068237
Thanks so much for letting me know!
Jx
I have been a member since the beginning (January 2014). I guess I should be come a lifetime member. How does one do that?
Also, I seem to be on your mailing list twice. Each week I get the weekly plan to both my karenlandreth@yahoo.com & karen.s.landreth@gmail.com.
Can we fix this? I really don’t care which account you use.
Thank you.
Wow Karen!
That’s fab you’ve been a member for so long. I actually don’t offer the lifetime membership – it was a promotion I ran a few times. But now the only option is the annual membership.
Have removed your gmail address.
So you should just get them at your yahoo.
I’ve got you down as Northern Hemisphere – is that correct?
Jx
Well, nuts! That’s what I get for not paying attention to my emails. Can I get both? I have been in Afghanistan for the majority of my subscription so I don’t cook; however, I am hoarding all of your recipes and cookbooks. I have most all of the indices (archives) except for those from 182 – 226. I cannot find the archives anywhere that list those weeks.
Hi Karen!
I can only send one meal plan to each email address (just due to the way my email sender logic works).
If you want to get both, I can send the Southern plan to your gmail – would that work?
Jx
Oh! I see! I honestly don’t care whether they show up in my email or not, since there’s nothing there but the link, and I have to go to the website anyway to download the actual file. I can see the ‘archives’ for both Hemispheres on your website, so I can just click on those links and download from there.
This brings me to another dilemma I am facing. Since I first joined, I have been able to access the archives and download the files directly rather than from the link my email. Even though I have all (or most all) of the emails with the links in them, it looks as though you’ve changed hosts, say to AWS? Now the links in the older emails no longer work (404 error).
However, because I had stashed a clickable format of the archives, I can still get to the ‘full colour meal pdf’ files, and download from them. My problem is that due to my own stupidity, I do not have the archives from 24 July 2017 to 5 March 2018. Even though I have the emails containing the links to those pdfs, as I stated above, the links no longer work. I have searched and searched your website, but can only find an archive that goes back as far as #227 5 Mar 2018.
Is there anyway at all I can get the full color pdfs from 27 July 2017 – 5 March 2018? Even if you provide me the links, I will be more than happy to download them myself. I really, really like the full color versions, not the “printer friendly” versions.
Thank you.
Hi Karen
That’s weird that the link in the older emails aren’t working – I’ve been using AWS to host the pdfs since the beginning.
Anyway I’ll ask Caroline to grab the links for the meal plans on the website from 27 July 2017 – 5 March 2018 for you and email them to you.
Hope that covers everything!
Let me know if you need anything else.
Jx
Hi Jules
I have attempted to print some of your recipes and meal plans. It is apparent that you use an International paper size. In Canada and US we use 8 1/2 x 11 Letter Size paper. I’m guessing that your printing paper size is A4. could you confirm that for me. That paper size is available here, just need to confirm so I can get some
Thanks
Hi John!
Yes I use A4 paper.
I’m curious – what happens when you print on Letter Size?
Only part of page shows as if it’s too large, won’t fit on 8 x 11″ paper.
Hi John,
Amy said she is able to print OK on 8×11 if she chooses the ‘fit to page’ in her printer settings – might be worth a look (and easier than buying A4 paper!)
Let me know if that helps.
Hi Jules, I just thought I’d leave a comment on the awesome roasted chicken and broccoli Caesar bowls from this weeks meal plan. It was utterly delicious, hubby loved it too. Thank you for your fantastically tasty and easy recipes, such a boon for busy weeks. I’m looking forward to trying the rest! ??
Wonderful Di!
So glad you enjoyed them 🙂
Hi Jules,
I don’t have harissa in my pantry, but I do have baharat and dukkah…..do you think the roast cauli would work if I substituted one of those for the harissa?
Thanks!
Yes I’d go with a few teaspoons of baharat as my first choice Amy… And maybe serve the dukkah sprinkled over at the end. Yum!
Hi Jules,
This is the first time I’ve ever commented on the web but I feel compelled to with you because I want to say thank you! I think you give so much of yourself, you produce great programs, you come across as really personable and when I watch your videos, it feels like I’m listening to a girl friend give me advice!
I now often turn to your 6 ingredient dinners app and am amazed at how well everything turns out. Your meals are starting to become my go to favourites.
I seem to spend an inordinate amount of time planning, shopping and cooking meals (when I’m not using your app!) so I’m now determined to give your meal planning a go too (next month because I’m about to take off for overseas for a month).
Also, I love your ‘urge jar’ idea … I can so relate to you! It’s such a downer sitting down with my husband to a beautiful meal I’ve prepared and not having much of an appetite any more because I’ve picked so much while preparing it 🙁
Ooh Natalie!
I’m so excited that you felt compelled to comment. And I really appreciate your kind words – I can’t tell you how much it means to me.
Enjoy your trip and excited for you to delve into meal planning (and allowing urges!) when you get back
Jx
Hi Jules!
First of all thank you for your simple delicious recipes. Cooking dinner with just a few ingredients has made life easier.
Your tuna ragu was so delicious and so easy it coaxed my son (he’s 19) to cook dinner for us tonight. No new cook will be daunted by throwing in a tin of tuna and a jar of passata into a pan!
Secondly thank you for all the variations you offer! It’s been a huge help in catering for everyone. (In our family of five we have a vegetarian, carnivores , a carb lover and I’m low FODMAP.)
My question is what would you suggest would work best as a Low FODMAP replacement of cauliflower in the Turkish Cauliflower and Yoghurt Soup?
Welcome Lia!
So lovely to hear from you 🙂 And even more happy to hear about your son cooking dinner! Amazing!
For the soup I’d use zucchini as my first low FODMAP choice. And if you don’t mind the carbs sweet potato would be lovely.
Let me know how you get on.
Jx
Made a double quantity of the soup last night with four zucchini and one small sweet potato. Delicious!
Thank you
Always good to double a soup recipe! Nice work Lia 🙂
I just love your idea about an urge jar. I had to get something from my husband to fill mine with because I don’t have anything that would work. I’ve already been able to add 3 pieces to my jar, and have realized that the power that comes from saying no is a great reward. I was wondering how to redo what I want as a reward, and after I put my first piece in the jar (which in my case is actually a stemmed beer glass with gold trim), I realized I felt very good. That’s a much better reward than calming my anxiety, which has always been my reward for overeating. My experience today has transformed my understanding of what it means to feel good. Feeling good is very different from not feeling as much anxiety. You really made my day today. Thank you!
Oh Susan!
You’ve made my day with this comment! I’m so glad to hear you’ve found my urge jar idea useful. Keep up the excellent work!
How do I access the 30 day kitchen reboot? I can’t seem to open it
I’m cleaning out my pantry as I have run out of room to put things away.
I can’t find where you talked about the spices to keep. I have way too many! 1 1/2 shelves worth. Help please, and many thanks.
Here’s the COoking with Spices training Barb!
https://stonesoupvirtualcookeryschool.com/spices/
1 1/2 shelves is a LOT of spices!
Have fun simplifying 🙂
Jx
Hi Jules,
I’m back again with low carb issues. After looking at my recent lab results more closely, I realize that I have to be really careful to avoid becoming diabetic (my fasting blood sugar level was at 96, with 99 as the top of normal, in addition to my A1c still being above normal). I am cutting carbs where I can, and am willing to, and in the process have come up with some positive findings and some issues. This last weekend we went to visit family, and I discovered that lettuce taco shells work very well when the filling is good. This morning, when I went to put granola on my smoothie bowl, I realized that I would actually be happier with berries. I seem to do pretty well when I’m at home, but ran into a big issue when we were out to dinner one night over the weekend: I ordered a Greek salad with chicken, and did have some carbs because I ordered a beer that I didn’t drink much of. The problem was that I felt very unsatisfied with my meal, and there wasn’t anything else on the menu that I could order to fill me up properly. It probably didn’t help that I was watching everyone else eat pizza. I think my restaurant dinner left me feeling abandoned/uncared for, in contrast to the lettuce taco shells which were provided in a caring way. I spent a lot of the weekend feeling really conflicted about trying to control my carb intake. I am trying to lower my carb intake voluntarily, because the idea of becoming diabetic and being forced to strictly control my diet and/or take medication is something that frightens me. I went back through the Low Carb Love class and got a few ideas, but I still don’t have a clue as to how to handle a situation like the one I encountered at the restaurant that night. For what it’s worth, I just lived with it, and may have gotten an appropriate snack after we got back to where we were staying.
Hi Susan!
Great work on the positive findings – keep up the good work!
I find for me the less carbs I have the less I want them – sounds like you’re on a similar journey.
In terms of eating out and what happened on the weekend you did really well ordering what you did.
And I think it’s interesting that you weren’t talking about feeling jealous of the people that were having pizza – more that you felt ‘abandoned / uncared for’.
Were you hungry after the salad? Or was it just not satisfying on a more emotional level?
When this happens to me and I’m still hungry, I either order something else, like some cheese or olives or ask for more chicken. Or I plan to have something later – either nuts or dark chocolate usually when I get home.
But if it’s more of an emotional thing then I ask myself why I’m feeling that way?
What is the thought that’s driving the feeling?
Awareness and understanding is key.
I find for me I look to get enjoyment from being out with my friends / family and the human connections rather than from food.
What are your thoughts?
Jx
Jules, my issue was actually being still hungry. We were with my husband’s younger son and his family, which is always enjoyable. And that was the first dish I’ve ordered at that restaurant (actually a brewpub) which has not been filling.
If it’s hunger that’s easy Susan – order something extra – a cheese plate is always a great option. Or make sure you have something later – when I’m travelling I always have a supply of nuts so I know I have something in my room if I need it. 🙂
My reply got entered before I was finished with it. I was going to say that I came up with an emotional issue last night at dinner: I was full from dinner (paying attention to my level of fullness), but felt like I “needed” dessert, even though I knew I was full. It was probably about feeling deprived, even though I know I wasn’t. I know it’s left over from childhood and one of the multitude of ways my mother found to screw me up for life. Clearly, being aware of the issue should make it possible to work on it, deal with it, if I choose to do so. I didn’t choose to last night, but dessert was a small apple (one of your suggestions, I believe), so it wasn’t too bad. As with many things in my life, it’s the principle behind the behavior that makes the behavior negative or unacceptable. I know I can change, because I used to be a real binge eater, and these days a binge is usually just a couple of bites of something.
This is excellent Susan!
Awareness is the first step to making changes 🙂
Next time this happens, try and spend some time pausing and reflecting on how you are really feeling before you decide to eat. Taking a few really slow deep breaths can be helpful.
And if you still want dessert after that have something – an apple is good. My fave is dark chocolate (make sure it’s 70% cocoa solids or higher – some dark chocolates are still 50% sugar). Make sure you serve out what you’re going to eat. Sit down and really enjoy it 🙂
Jx
Hi Jules, I hope you had a good break from your very busy schedule.
I have got some feedback for you under the previous thread that we last communicated in ‘Ask Jules’.
John Candido.
Thanks John!
I actually thought I had replied but must have not saved my response. Yikes!
Have answered below.
So sorry for taking so long to get back to you 🙂
Hi Jules, have you received my most recent feedback and that I posted here around early April? It seems to have been taken down.
Hi John!
I just had a search of the comments and the only thing I can find from early April was our exchange about Southern Vs Northern plans.
There was a comment from you on Plan To Eat which I answered over here: https://stonesoupvirtualcookeryschool.com/
If it was something else – please repost! I’d hate for the gremlins to have eaten your feedback 😉
I want to provide the following feedback, Jules.
As a Type 2 Diabetic, it may be worth having a section of the website that caters more specifically towards people with diabetes, which is not to say that there may be a set of resources and recipes that would more than adequately provide for them already here on StoneSoup.
The Stonesoup website is an excellent website with a large number of resources on it.
These recipes may exist under another heading or descriptor such as ‘low calorie’, or ‘low carbohydrate’ or ‘keto’ so there may be a way of quickly reorganising such resources that would cater towards people with diabetes.
It would also be excellent if there were recipes for snacks that people with diabetes could eat throughout the day, as a form of hunger control, without significantly affecting their blood sugar levels.
Snacks could consist of any combination of vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds, and the use of sugar substitutes such as ‘Splenda’ powder, ‘Equal’, ‘Stevia’, and other sugar replacements when needed.
Whether or not there are snack recipes that would play a significant role in dampening hunger, may be achievable for people.
Research should point towards examples of snacks for people who have diabetes and are members of the StoneSoup website.
Diabetes-friendly recipes for sweet items such as cakes, biscuits, and confectionary are essential for people to help avoid these foods when they are full of sugar.
These suggestions would help people with diabetes who are members of StoneSoup.
Anecdotally, it has probably been the experience of most diabetics that when they can consume a variety of healthy and delicious meals, they become confident managers of their condition.
Healthy meals should be easy to make, budget-friendly, low in kilojoules, low in carbohydrates, have very little sugar, no added sugar, and high in fibre.
These meals will assist people with diabetes to manage their blood sugar levels, their weight in the long-term, and in not relapsing by consuming highly sweetened items that they can purchase from a myriad of commercial establishments.
The previously mentioned feedback on low sugar ‘snacks’, ‘sweets’, ‘cakes’ ‘biscuits’, and ‘confectionary’ should find their way in a separate section of the StoneSoup website.
Their valuableness is in having resources to hand that people with diabetes can use to avoid purchasing similar food categories that have significant amounts of carbohydrates or lots of sugar in them, and therefore mediocre food to consume for any person with diabetes.
Thanks John!
So sorry for taking so long to get back to you 🙂
The Low Carb Love program contains my best advice and recipes for diabetics wanting to change their diet.
https://stonesoupvirtualcookeryschool.com/low-carb-love/
Let me know what you think!
I will look at these resources.
Thank you very much for your reply and input.
John Candido
You’re welcome John 🙂
Hi Jules, I have made preserved lemons many times and they have been wonderful. A few months ago I made a new batch, let the jar sit at room temp for at least one month, then put them in the refrigerator where they have been for another month or more. When I went to use them today I noticed the skin did not get nice and soft. They have the nice fragrance, but the rind is similar to a regular lemon. Did I pack them too tight? There is no mold or strange colors, but I’m not sure if I should use them, wait, or trash them. Thanks!
Curious Jessica..
Sound like you could have used more salt. That’s the thing that causes the rinds to soften.
They’d be totally fine to eat (although if they get any mould, apart from white mould they might not).
I’d add more salt and let them sit for a few weeks at room temperature again. And then they should be fine 🙂
Thanks, that sounds good. I will take them out of this jar, and re salt and put in another jar. I think I packed them too tight and put a weight on them… maybe the salt couldn’t get to the skins. I will let you know! Thanks so much!
Excellent! I don’t bother to weight them 🙂
Hi Jules, I made extra roasted vegetables – mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers to go with bacon on the cauliflower crust pizza I made earlier in the week and so had them to mix with spinach, cream cheese and mozzarella in a crust-less quiche for a delicious, very easy and quick dinner tonight. Thanks for the suggestion to roast more veggies when you do some for a recipe. Cooking is so much more fun when things come together without stress!
Go to the top of the class Cheryl!
Loving the sound of your crustless quiche. Yum. And you can never go wrong wiht extra roast veg 🙂
Hi Jules. I have been a member for some time and I love your site. I do a small problem though. When I became a member I used my husband (Philip) paypal account to pay for the subscription and that is my problem. When you send me emails they are addressed as Hello Philip (I don’t mind this) but when I go to the website it says Howdy Christine. And on the website I changed my email address but the emails are still coming through on my old email address. So now we are moving to America for a few months and I will no longer have the old email address. So I need to fix this problem before I go. I have previously tried to rectify the problem but I got no response from you. Please help, kind regards Christine
Hi Christine!
So sorry you’ve had this problem. We can totally change the email address on our end – will email you to make it happen 🙂
Jx
Hi Jules I made in interesting discovery following your daily meal planning emails. I don’t plan to shop. As I get a fortnightly box from a veggie coop I try and work around that and shop ad hoc. I must admit it hasn’t been working. So i am going to plan to shop a day after I receive the box on a Tuesday after work and build this into a fortnightly routine.
Yes! LOVE it Denise!
WOW! The website looks amazing!!! That was a lot of work, and much appreciated. I love the fresh, clean, graphic-based look — it’s appealing and it’s going to entice me to use the website more. It is very well organized. THANK YOU AGAIN!
THANKS Marjorie!
So glad you like the new look and organization – have more plans to keep simplifying throughout the year 🙂
Hi Jules.
Thank you so much for sharing your extensive experience and knowledge. I was diagnosed with hypertension a few years ago, and my blood sugar levels were high in a recent checkup (not in the diabetic range, but pretty high). I’ve been increasing my exercise and activity for a while with some success – I have lost about 15-20kg over the past couple of years, as a result and it seemed to be responsible for reducing my cholesterol levels significantly.
I signed up as a lifetime member a couple of months ago. About 3 weeks ago I gave up sugar, and switched to a low carb diet (to both lose some weight and generally improve my overall health, whilst hopefully bringing my blood sugar under control). I was really surprised at how much better I feel! Almost immediately I felt less lethargic and had much better focus. So far it’s been nearly 4 weeks without any sugar in my diet (aside from a small amount in the kombucha I’ve been drinking).
Amazingly, I don’t feel deprived at all – I think I’m really committed to making a change. I’m slowly working through the low-carb program, and am finding it helpful – there’s so much conflicting and confusing information out there, it’s sometimes difficult to know who to believe. I’m finding the hardest part is getting rid of rice and other starchy carbs (mashed potato, for example), but I think I’m becoming accustomed to it.
My question (finally) is related to the types of fats I ought to be eating – are high cholesterol fats okay, as long as I’m eating very few carbs? A lot of low carb and Keto diets recommend butter and lard, etc. So far I’ve been mainly focused on oily fish, avocados, extra virgin olive oil, and eggs (mainly). Would like to hear your thoughts on this. I’ve also been trying some intermittent fasting (16:8), but not sure what I think about it yet.
Thanks Jules.
Hi David!
Wow good for you. So glad to hear you’ve been making positive changes and getting results!
RE. fats and oils – high cholesterol fats are totally fine as long as they’re not industrially produced / from factory farming. Our bodies actually need and make cholesterol so if you eat more cholesterol your body just makes less of it.
The initial studies linking high cholesterol in the diet with high blood cholesterol were actually done on rabbits – who don’t eat animal products naturally. Turns out if you give herbivores cholesterol it does raise their cholesterol levels but this doesn’t apply to omnivores like us.
So YES high cholesterol / saturated fats are fine.
However I think the best approach is to have saturated fat as well as the fish / avocado / EVOO / eggs you’ve been having.
While current research shows saturated fat does not lead to heart disease, there are lots of documented benefits from fish oils especially so good to keep those up!
I’m a big fan of fasting.
I do 16:8 pretty much every day and I couldn’t imagine going back to eating 3 meals. Let me know how you get on with it – it can take a little while for your body to adapt to eating at different times. There’s a habitual component to hunger that will adjust and you’ll find you’ll get hungry at your new meal times but not at other times.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks Jules. I appreciate your quick response. It’s really hard to let go of my conditioned aversion to high cholesterol foods. I’ve been doing okay with the low-carb switch so far, and haven’t really been feeling at all deprived (surprisingly). I’ve only been doing the 16:8 fasting for a couple of days, and I’m slowly getting used to it – it’s relatively easy to fit into a daily schedule.
I’ll keep you updated on my progress. One more question, when you say ‘not industrially produced or factory farmed’, do mean things like commercially produced burger patties, sausages, etc.? Is it generally okay as long as it’s just the raw product (i.e. minced beef, steak, pure butter, and so on)?
Thanks again for your guidance, it’s invaluable.
Cheers,
Dave
Hey Dave!
Good question.
I know the saturated fat thing takes a while to adjust to. If you’re interested ‘The Big Fat Surprise’ by Nina Telichoz is worth a read for getting a good grounding in the science.
One of my guiding principles is that less processed is generally a better option. However if you can find commercially produced meat products using ethically raised animals then I’d be OK with that.
So glad you’re finding it helpful!
Keep the questions coming.
And the fasting gets easier the more you do it. One thing is if you are feeling crazy hungry when you’re fasting, just eat something (preferable healthy!) and start again the next day. Occasionally (like once every 3-4 months) I’ll be ravenous in the morning and so have breakfast.
It’s not about being miserable!
Thank you so much Jules!
I’ll keep you updated on how things are progressing. Your low-carb recipes have already given me a lot of inspiration!
Glad to hear you’re inspired David!
Out of curiosity, could you, just once anyway, let us folks who live elsewhere know the weights of your “bag of baby spinach” and “bag of salad leaves”.
Here in North Carolina, I can get fresh leaves in boxes of 1 pound or 5 ounces. Cut greens like collards come in 1-pound or 2-pound bags (very convenient). Frozen spinach comes various ways, including flat bags of 10 ounces (close enough!).
The sizes and selections were quite different in my last US home, the California San Francisco Bay Area. Thanks!
Great question Jean!
Here a standard bag of salad = approx 150g (5oz).
But they do come in smaller or larger sizes. So if you like more or less salad you could use a smaller or larger bag.
Fresh greens come by the bunch here. Will need to weigh one after I go to the farmers market this weekend and report back:)
Frozen spinach is generally in 250g (5oz) or 1 pound.
Hope that helps! It’s tricky writing recipes for a global audience 🙂
Jx
Hi Jules
Is your behind the scenes videos available on the VCS site?
I can’t find it there. I clicked on the link to Blog but it took me to 3 tasty things.
Thank you
Kath x
Yes Kath!
It’s on the bonuses page: https://stonesoupvirtualcookeryschool.com/bonuses/
You’ll just need to scroll down a little.
And thanks for letting me know about the blog link – it’s now going to thestonesoup.com as it should
JX
I just went through day one of the Low Carb Love program, and want to say that I’m really glad you are doing this program. I have become borderline diabetic, and am hoping that when I get my labs done in mid-March that my A1C has improved. I am trying to eat lower carb, but am not sure how well I’m doing at it. I’ve tried a really low carb diet before and found it was not sustainable over the long term for me. Plus I live with a carb-eating husband who seems to find them necessary for his diet. So I’m looking for balance.
I do need to make one comment about carbs: the kind you are talking about that raise our blood sugar are “fast carbs”. Veggies, like broccoli, lettuce, cauliflower, radishes, etc. are also carbs. They are “slow carbs” which don’t raise the blood sugar in the same way. So we do need carbs – the slow kind are very good for us. I was once told by my dental hygienist that my gums were bleeding because I was not eating enough grains. Don’t know if that is true or not, and I’m sure that even if it is true, we don’t need to eat lots of grains.
Glad you’re finding it helpful Susan
Am sure you’ll be able to get your A1C down 🙂
In terms of your husband. I know what it’s like! My boys love their carbs. It’s actually not that difficult to prepare an extra side of carbs from them – there’s more on this in the program.
If you feel better with the ‘fast’ vs ‘slow’ carb distinction then keep using it.
Yes the low carb veg in the program do contain some carbs but it’s not the carb content that we need these veggies for. It’s for all the micronutrients and fiber! Our bodies can actually manufacture all the glucose we need from protein in a process called gluconeogenesis.
So we don’t actually need to get any carbs from our diet to live. There are people who follow a ketogenic diet that are fine with almost zero carbohydrate. BUt they’re also not eating many veggies so I worry about that.
Interesting what your dental hygienist said about bleeding gums and grains. Mine said it was from not flossing enough! (So I started flossing which fixed the problem).
We really don’t need any grains at all. All the nutrients in grains are readily available in other foods.
Do you have any ideas why your very low carb approach wasn’t sustainable in the long term? How did you feel back then?
Keep sharing your thoughts! I always value your insights
Jx
Hi Jules,
The reason my low carb adventure didn’t work well had a lot to do with traveling, plus hangups left over from childhood. We go on 4-month cruises, and it’s really difficult then to get away from, and ignore the temptations. Add to that childhood feelings of deprivation and the low carb diet is history. These days I think I can do better. At least at home I’m cutting down on the carbs and telling my husband to give me small servings when he’s cooking. When we next get on a cruise ship (next January), the hardest part will be the desserts and also breakfast, because I just can’t eat eggs all the time. What I like is congee, or cereal, or yogurt and fruit. If you have any non-egg ideas, that would be really helpful.
Hi Susan!
This is great!
I agree that if you approach low carb eating with thoughts of deprivation (from childhood or otherwise) it’s definitely not going to be sustainable.
So we need to work on those thoughts first.
The secret to making a dietary restriction like low carb work is to get really clear on the reasons why you want to make the change. And to approach it from a place of love and caring for yourself. Making it a positive choice that is inline with your self identity.
A great example is a vegetarian who is passionate about animal welfare.
She identifies as someone who doesn’t eat meat. She’s doing it because she loves animals and believes being vegetarian is the most humane approach. So it’s easy for her to be surrounded by a buffet of meats and not even think once about putting some meatballs on her plate.
It’s not who she is.
If the next cruise isn’t until Jan we have loads of time to get you a plan for handling that.
All the breakfast ideas are over here:
https://stonesoupvirtualcookeryschool.com/day-4-24-low-carb-breakfasts/
Let me know your thoughts
Jx
Hi Jules,
I’ve checked out the breakfast ideas, and the biggest issue I run into is that most of them are very low protein. I do best on 30 grams of protein per meal. A secondary issue is that I really don’t like eggs, especially for breakfast, though I will have to try your Turkish eggs. In warmer weather I tend to like smoothies (not green, don’t like veggies for breakfast or the flavor of green smoothies), overnight oats (I add protein powder), and smoothie bowls. In the winter I like hot grains and things like pancakes or french toast casseroles (I’ve tried your coconut flour pancakes and they did not go over well with my husband). Basically I like to be able to beef up the protein levels with whey powder – I use one that is stevia sweetened and has 2 grams of sugar per scoop. I also seem to require variety. If I eat one thing too often I get to where I never want to eat it again. I can see that I could do your overnight seeds in place of overnight oats. Love yogurt and berries, and would probably enjoy it with nuts, too. (One of the things I’ve discovered in my old age is that I’m a lot more difficult than I used to be…)
Hey Susan!
I’m glad you said that you’re difficult. I was thinking the same thing 🙂
Be careful with too much protein – as it gets turned into glucose in the liver. That’s why I am to use more fat. It’s keeps the meals satisfying in a similar way to protein without the glucose situation.
Keep using your protein powder if you like but don’t go crazy.
Sounds like you have good Summer options with your smoothies, overnight oats and smoothie bowls.
If you can swap out seeds like flax or chia for some or all of the oats in the overnight oats that’s a great option.
And make sure you choose low carb fruit for your smoothies – the bowls are a better choice because if you eat them with a spoon your body registers the calories whereas you can drink the same amount of calories without feeling full.
And yoghurt and nuts are awesome! The highest protein nuts / seeds are hemp seeds, Pepitas (pumpkin seeds), peanuts, almonds and pistachios. And Greek yoghurt adds protein as well.
If you’re a pancake fan try using almond flour / meal instead of the regular flour.
And if you’re not a fan of eggs what about savoury breakfasts like sausages or bacon.
And you might want to try some of my low carb breads as a substitute for your French toast (well maybe not the broccoli bread).
There are always options!
Jx
Hi Jules,
Just got my lab results from the doctor and my HbA1C is down to 5.8. and my doctor is pleased. I have decided that my best approach to eating low carb is to lower my carb levels gradually. So far it is working well for me. I’m trying to sort of drag my husband along with me, because lower carb would be good for his weight. I still have a lot of things to figure out for when I’m traveling, even here in the US, and I definitely want to get my A1C below 5.6. I’m actually feeling like I have more choice about this than I did in the past, and I’m finding that wanting to not become diabetic is really good motivation to eat lower carb.
WELL DONE on the A1C Susan!
I had my blood test this morning to see how mine is tracking.
If you think a gradual reduction is best for you then go for it.
Just keep in mind that it’s common to experience ‘carb creep’ – so you’ll need to make sure you keep reducing and that it doesn’t switch around.
And so glad to hear you feel like you have more choice around it.
I have the same motivation – it’s very powerful. If you’re interested in understanding more about the link between carbs and diabetes, Dr Jason Fung’s new book ‘The Diabetes Code’ would be worth a read.
And make sure you check back in before your next cruise so we can get some strategies for you 🙂
Hi Jules,
I have enjoyed the membership; however, I will not be able to renew my membership. Will you please remove me from the annual renewal list?
No probs Teresa!
Caroline will look after you 🙂
Hi Jules,
Can we still purchase your printed book? I’d like to buy one for a non-tech friend but can’t seem to find it.
Thanks for your help,
Sandy
You can Sandy!
https://5ingredients10minutes.com/order/
It’s still available on the Book Depository – they have free shipping anywhere in the world. And it’s on the amazon UK site as well 🙂
Jx
Great thanks Jules. I’ll order it.
Hi Jules.
Thumbs up for the burgers with cheese and chipotle mayo. I made double the mayo recipe as my tin of chipotle in adobe was 212g and I felt sure I’d find something else to try it with.
However The chipotle was a little hot for me in the mayo so I ended up diluting with some Greek yoghurt. I then had with your beautiful boiled broccoli (a regular precook of mine) and some tomatoes.
Any tips for other things to add if something is too spicy?
Glad you liked the burgers Kate!
Capsicinan – the compound in chillies that makes them hot is fat soluble. So if you want to tame the heat on your tongue drinking a glass of milk or having some yoghurt works much better than water because the capsicinan dissolves in the fat in the yoghurt / milk.
Yoghurt is a good option for taming anything too hot. Cream is another good addition. Butter can tame things as well.
The other option is to just dilute it.
So in this case add some to another batch of mayo.
Or if it’s something like a curry you can serve a little curry with lots of rice or veggies.
And yay for beautiful broccoli! It’s on high rotation in this house too 🙂
Jx
Hi Jules,
In the Coconut flatbread recipe, I came across a “weird” ingredient: psyllium. What is it and where can I find it?
Thanks!
Hi Eloise!
Psyllium is definitely a weird ingredient!
It’s made from the husks of the psyllium plant and it’s super high in soluble fiber. It’s really unique because it absorbs loads of moisture.
I get mine from the health food store. In Australia it’s just sold as psyllium but in other parts of the world there is a choice between psyllium husks or psyllium powder (which I think it just the husks finely ground). If given a choice, buy the psyllium husks.
You’d also be able to order online I’m sure.
Let me know how you get on!
Jx
Hi Jules, Just saw your January behind the scenes video and was so excited! I received the Noma Guide to Fermentation for Christmas, too. Haven’t tried any of the recipes yet; just enjoying reading it so far and absorbing all the info. Looking forward to your updates to the fermentation class!
PS – how did you get a reservation at Noma for your birthday? We have tried several times when they open the reservation window, but tables go so quickly!
Many thanks!
Sarah
The Noma book is amazing Sarah!
I’m making my first batch of coffee kombucha today and just bottled some lemon verbena kombucha which is the best kombucha I’ve made!
Getting the reservation was easy. I just researched when they opened up bookings for the date and then set an alarm and got online as soon as they opened. This was back in 2012 though so it might be harder now.
Just keep trying! It’s totally worth it. Would love to go to their new venue.
Jx
Can you check to see if there is a spam flag on your emails? I didn’t receive last week’s plan. I have had problems with things being inadvertently marked as spam. So, I am just checking. Many thanks.
Hi Anne!
So sorry to didn’t receive the meal plan last week.
I’ve checked in my email system and it looks like everything was sent to you as it should have been. And I don’t think there is a spam flag. Did it end up in your spam folder?
I’ve resent it manually through my system – let me know if that one turns up.
And let’s see how we get on this week.
And in the mean time you can always access the meal plans online over here:
https://stonesoupvirtualcookeryschool.com/soupstones-dashboard/
Thanks for your patience with this Anne!
Jx
I don’t get here often enough. I have noticed that the January cuisine says Chinese, but the live link is Italian. Which one should it be?
Thanks for noticing my error Anne!
The January Cuisine is Italian as per the live link 🙂 But of course you’re welcome to explore China instead!
Jx
Hi Jules,
I am wondering if I can substitute French baking chocolate (Ingredients: sugar, cocoa paste, cocoa butter, emulsifier, flavorings.) for cocoa powder in your Little Chocolate Puddings recipe, and if so, how?
It’s a tricky one Susan,
You could try using grated chocolate instead of the cocoa powder, however you’d need a lot more chocolate to get a similar flavour. I’d start with tripling the cocoa powder amount with your grated chocolate.
Let me know how you get on!
Jx
Got it. Thanks!
Do you know anything about the “Dash” diet?
thanks!
No I don’t Michael…
Just had a quick google search. Makes sense if you need to control blood pressure, however it wouldn’t be good for me with my diabetes…
Do you have blood pressure problems?