Mix-and-Match Sandwiches

The following are some more options to help you to create delicious, low-GL sandwiches to keep you within your 10GL goal per meal. Choose the type of bread you want from the 'Choose 1 Bread' box, then decide which topping and salad to put with it from the 'Choose 1 Filling' and 'Unlimited' boxes.

You can also choose anything from the 'Optional' box.

So, for example, you could go for wholemeal bread and smoked salmon with rocket and pesto or an open rye-bread sandwich of cottage or cream cheese with spinach and sliced or mashed avocado. Alternatively, try a wholemeal pitta stuffed with pastrami, bresaola or lean, unprocessed ham with sliced gherkins and tomatoes, lettuce and coarse-grain mustard.

You'll notice that we haven't included butter - try to cut down on saturated fat by choosing a moist filling so that you don't notice the absence of a fatty spread. If you do want to use it, have just a thin smear, or use a little hummus or mustard instead. The serving sizes here are for one person.

CHOOSE 1

Bread (carbohydrate)

1 medium slice wholemeal bread maintenance phase: 1 thick slice

³/4wholemeal pitta bread (or to make life easier, have a whole pitta bread for 10D but don't have it with a carbohydrate-containing filling - so no sun-dried tomatoes or hummus, for example)

maintenance phase: 1 pitta

11/2 slices pumpernickel-style rye bread

maintenance phase: 2 slices

3 rough oatcakes maintenance phase: 5

1 small wrap

maintenance phase: 11/2 small wraps (or 1 large)

CHOOSE 1

Filling/topping (protein)

200g (7oz) hummus (small tub)

120g (4¹/4oz) cottage cheese, (about ¹/2 tub)

85g (3oz) smoked fish (a medium fillet), such as salmon, trout or mackerel

50g (1³/4oz) cooked meat (couple of slices), such as chicken, turkey, ham off the bone, pastrami or bresaola

70g (21/2oz) tuna 1/2 x 185g (61/2oz) can), drained

1 tbsp taramasalata

85g (3oz) (6 large) cooked prawns

2 hard-boiled eggs (or mix 1 egg with 1 tbsp cottage cheese for a low-fat alternative to egg mayo)

1 tbsp nut butter (try hazelnut, almond or pumpkin-seed as well as peanut butter

100g (3¹/2oz) thinly sliced smoked tofu

UNLIMITED

Salad (either in the salad or on the side)

Lettuce, rocket, spinach, watercress, tomatoes (cherry tomatoes have the lowest GL), cucumber, gherkins, spring onion or thinly sliced red onion, finely shredded cabbage.

Vegetable antipasti, such as roasted peppers or marinated artichoke hearts, drained of oil, or roasted vegetables.

Cress or other sprouted seeds (alfalfa sprouts taste similar to cress and are packed with phyto - or plant - nutrients)

OPTIONAL

Condiments for added flavour

Slick of mustard

Up to 1 tbsp tomato salsa

Up to 2 tsp pesto

Up to 2 tsp nut butter

Up to 2 tsp guacamole or sliced or mashed avocado Up to 2 tsp tapenade

Scraping of butter

Up to 2 tsp reduced-fat cream cheese

Mix-And-Match Salads

If you fancy creating your own 'superfood' salad, you can use the following guide to pick and mix your own ingredients, either at home or when you are choosing lunch from a deli or salad bar. To get a 10GL meal you can fill your plate with vegetables from the 'Unlimited' box then selectone of the options from both the 'Choose 1 Protein' and 'Choose 1 Carbohydrate' boxes, to provide a balanced meal of protein, carbohydrate and plenty of fibrous vegetables.

For example, you could have spinach, watercress, rocket, cherry tomatoes, artichoke hearts and olives, with chicken slices and butterbeans. Alternatively, try Romaine lettuce, spring onions, celery, roasted red peppers, and smoked mackerel flaked through with quinoa. The serving sizes here are for one person, and include maintenance phase portions when you are allowed more carbohydrate to bring your meal up to 15GL

UNLIMITED

Salad leaves

Lettuce or other leaves, such as spinach, watercress, rocket

Other non-starchy vegetables

Vegetables, such as spring onions or red onion, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, diced peppers, beansprouts, celery, fresh herbs, vegetable antipasti (such as marinated artichoke hearts, roasted peppers or olives - drain offany excess oil)

CHOOSE 1

Protein

1 chicken breast fillet or equivalent slices or strips of chicken, turkey or lean ham

85g (3oz) (medium fillet) smoked fish, such as smoked salmon, trout or mackerel

85g (3oz) (6 large) cooked prawns ¹/2 x 85g (3oz) can tuna

120g (4¹/4oz) cottage cheese

75g (2³/4oz) cheese, such as feta or goat's cheese

2 hard-boiled eggs (or mash 1 hard-boiled egg into 1 tbsp cottage cheese)

1 tbsp nuts or seeds, such as pine nuts, pecan nuts, walnuts, cashew nuts or pumpkin seeds

200g (7oz) hummus (small pot) 65g (2¹/4oz) quinoa (dry weight) 100g (3¹/2oz) smoked tofu, cubed

CHOOSE 1

Carbohydrate

(grains and starchy vegetables)

1 medium carrot (grated) or

apple (diced)

maintenance phase: 1 large carrot or apple

110g (33/4oz) beetroot maintenance phase: 160g (53/4oz)

¹/2x 410g (14¹/2oz) can (2 tbsp) mixed pulses, butterbeans, lentils or chickpeas (or other pulse) maintenance phase: ²/3 x 410g (14¹/20z) can (3 heaped tbsp)

3 rough oatcakes

maintenance phase: 5 rough oatcakes

³/4 wholemeal pitta bread (or to make life easier, have a whole pitta bread for 10GL but don't have it with a carbohydrate containing filling - so no sun-dried tomatoes or hummus,for example

maintenance phase: 1 pitta

11/2 slices rye bread

maintenance phase: 2 slices rye bread

65g (2¹/4oz) quinoa (dry weight) maintenance phase: 90g (3¹/4oz) (very large serving)

40g (1¹/2oz) brown basmati rice (dry weight) (very small serving) maintenance phase: 60g (2¹/4oz) (small serving)

40g (1¹/2oz) wholemeal pasta (dry weight) (medium serving) maintenance phase: 55g (2oz) (medium-large serving)

3 small baby new potatoes maintenance phase: 4 small baby new potatoes

¹/2 small baked potato/sweet potato maintenance phase: 1 small baked potato/sweet potato

Minceur de Mer

Smoked salmon and angelfish rosettes with saladings and sesame-rolled brinjal, mussel and cheese parcels

250 g finely sliced smoked angelfish

250 p finely sliced smoked salmon

mixed red and green fancy lettuce leaves

1 rib celery, cut into fine julienne strips

1 carrot, cut into fine julienne strips

2 ripe tomatoes, blanched, skinned, pipped and cut into shapes

finely grated rind of 1 lemon

Brinjal Rolls

1 large brinjal

vegetable oil

125 ml sesame seeds

100g mussel meat, chopped

100g low fat cottage cheese

80g fromage fraiche

15ml grated Parmesan cheese

30ml grated Cheddar cheese

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 ripe tomatoes, blanched, skinned, seeded and chopped

1 green pepper, seeded and finely diced

Vinaigrette

125 ml water

20 ml cornflour

75 ml red wine vinegar

5 ml English mustard

15 ml vegetable oil

5 drops Worcestershire sauce salt and milled black pepper

Brinjal Rolls: Set the oven at 200°C. Cut the brinjal lengthways into six thin slices. Brush both sides with a little oil, place on a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes. Dip one side into sesame seeds to coat. Cool.

Mix together the mussel meat, cheeses, garlic, tomato and green pepper. Share between the brinjal slices and roll up with sesame seeds on the outside.

Vinaigrette: Mix together the water and corn flour in a small saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring constantly, until it thickens. Cool. Whisk in the remaining ingredients.

To Serve: Form rosettes with angelfish and salmon to give the effect of two- colour rosebuds and place on plates with an aubergine roll on one side.

Arrange salad leaves on the other side and behind.

Garnish with celery and carrot strips radiating from the rosettes. Scatter over the tomato, and sprinkle lemon rind on the rosettes. Drizzle with vinaigrette.

Serves 6

Soy Recipes - Carob Tofu Cheesecake

Everybody loves this dessert! It is delicious and easy to wake.

• 3 cups tofu or 1`/ cups tofu plus 11/2 cups cream cheese
• 1/2 cup liquid fructose or honey
• 2 bananas
• 1/2 to 1 cup carob powder, depending on desired taste and darkness
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/3 cup nonfat powdered soymilk or cow's milk (optional; add it if you like a firmer-textured cheesecake)
• crumbled sugar-free cookies or graham crackers to line the pan

1. Blend the tofu, fructose, bananas, carob, and lemon juice together in a food processor at medium speed until smooth. If you like it firmer, add the powdered milk. (The mixture will not be firm until frozen)
2. Lightly oil or butter a 9-inch cake pan. Place 1/2 inch layer of crumbled cookies in the pan. Pour the tofu mixture over the cookies.
3. Put the pan in the freezer until the cake is firm, at least two hours. Take the cake out of the freezer a half-hour before serving.

Variations:

1. Before freezing, top with carob chips and/ or nuts if desired.
2. Before freezing, top with fruit topping made from preserves or cooked-down fruit and honey or fresh fruit such as strawberries, blueberries, or peaches.
3. Blend in 1/2 to 1 cup of preserves in place of carob powder and liquid fructose.

Soy Recipes - Soy Burgers

These burgers are healthy and taste great!

• 1 cup cooked, mashed soy beans 1 cap uncooked oats
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried or fresh oregano I teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt or other seasoning of your choice 1 cup grated soy cheese or other cheese of your choice
• 1 teaspoon dried or 2 teaspoons fresh minced basil

1. In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together well. The batter should be quite stiff.
2. Roll the batter into a balls that are slightly larger than a golf ball. Flatten them to 1/2 inch thick.
3. Fry in hot oil until crisp.

Variation: For cheeseburgers, just before serving, put a slice of cheese on top. Broil for a few seconds until the cheese melts.

Easy to Become a Calorie Conscious Cook

Standard cooking methods need some reworking to make them lowfat and low calorie, and some foods can be used as substitutes, making them great, healthy stand-ins for others. Every calorie-conscious cook should use the following tricks:

Sauté onion and garlic the low-fat way: When a recipe calls for onion and garlic to be cooked in oil, use a nonstick pan and 2 tablespoons of water in place of the oil. Use low heat and cover the pan to coax the natural juices out of the onion and garlic while they tenderize.

Make and use yogurt cheese: Spoon a 16-ounce container of plain, lowfat yogurt (made without gelatin) into a colander lined with cheesecloth or into a paper filter-lined coffee cone. Place it over a bowl in the refrigerator and allow the yogurt to drain for 8 to 24 hours, depending on how firm you want the "cheese" to be. Use well-drained yogurt as a cream cheese substitute; when softer, you can use it in place of sour cream or heavy cream.

Make your own vinaigrette salad dressing: The standard vinaigrette dressing (3 parts oil to I part vinegar) weighs in at about 90 calories a tablespoon. If you used more vinegar than oil, the calorie count would be great, but your salad would be unbearably pungent. Instead, use 1 part oil; 1 part flavorful yet mellow vinegar, such as balsamic; and I part strong black tea or citrus juice, such as orange or grapefruit.

Roast garlic: When roasted, garlic is transformed into a rich, buttery, nonbiting, nonodorous spread that you can substitute for mayonnaise in potato, pasta, and chicken salads. It's also delicious when spread on bread in place of butter or oil. Bake a head of garlic, trimmed to expose the cloves and sealed in foil with a scant tablespoon of water, for 45 minutes in a 400 degree F oven. Unwrap and cool it until it's easy to handle and then simply squeeze the garlic from its skin.

Use aged cheese: The stronger the flavor, the less you need. When a recipe calls for a mild cheese, such as mozzarella or Monterey Jack, whose flavor often disappears when cooked, substitute aged cheddar, Asiago, imported Parmesan, or an aged and smoked cheese, such as smoked Gouda. For the greatest bang for the bite, use these cheeses only where you see them, like on top of a dish, or when the recipe would suffer without the taste of cheese.

Roast vegetables: You know that you need to eat more vegetables, but you may be bored by plain steamed ones. Roast them instead in a hot oven, and you'll caramelize the natural sugars that they contain and add a depth of flavor that naked veggies lack. Set the oven to 450 degrees F. Slice large vegetables in half or cut them into %z-inch thick slices and arrange in a single layer. Lightly spritz them using a pump bottle filled with olive oil to prevent them from drying. Cook them according to the following suggested guidelines:

Beet halves: Roast for 1 to 11/2 hours.

Winter squash slices: Roast for 8 to 12 minutes.

Carrots: Roast for 15 to 20 minutes.

Green beans and red pepper strips: Roast for about 12 minutes.

Onion halves: Roast for about 30 minutes.

Sweet potato slices: Roast for 15 minutes.

Summer squash or zucchini slices: Roast for 5 to 8 minutes.

Eggplant slices: Roast for 10 to 15 minutes.

To lightly and evenly coat vegetables before roasting or to lightly dress a salad, drizzle a bit of oil or vinaigrette in an empty bowl. Then add the ingredients and toss.

Use sun-dried tomatoes in place of bacon: You can easily duplicate the mellow richness and smokiness that fatty pork adds to soups, stews, and pizzas with chopped sun-dried tomatoes. Don't use the oil-packed ones unless you drain them well and blot them dry. You can soften up the dried ones in a bit of hot water.

Brown butter to use less: Heat a bit of butter in a skillet until it becomes fragrant and begins to turn nutty brown. You'll punch up its flavor, so you can use less. A tiny bit drizzled over corn on the cob, eggs, or vegetables tastes like you're using much more.

Toast nuts for greater flavor bang: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F and toast nuts - on a cookie sheet in a single layer - for five minutes or until fragrant. Stir them to prevent scorching. Treat toasted nuts in a recipe as you would cheese: Use them only where the flavor really counts or where they'll be seen, such as on the top of a bread.

Switch from chocolate to cocoa powder: You can replace one ounce of chocolate (135 calories) with 3 tablespoons of cocoa (35 calories). Dutch-processed cocoa is richer and more intense than the American varieties; dutching neutralizes the natural acidity in cocoa powder, making the flavor mellower and the color darker.

Serving the Nutritious Sprouts

Sprouts can be cooked or served raw as a plain vegetable. Use sprouts with the seeds (but not the hulls) attached. If you cook sprouts, take care not to overcook them, as this will destroy their crispness. Cook them just long enough to remove the raw flavor. All sprouts (with the exception of alfalfa) are appetizing when cooked.

To sauté sprouts, place a small amount of oil in a pan and add the sprouts plus a small amount of water or Tamara sauce. Cover the pan and cook for ten minutes (son pie prefer to cook sprouts for only five to eight mi Minced onion or mushrooms browned in the oil add as do shredded carrots, turnips, and cabbage.

You can also steam sprouts or brown them in an amount of oil.

Cooked sprouts can be added to any vegetable c nation for casserole dishes and are popular in stir vegetables. They are a great addition to dress up plat ads and scrambled eggs or omelets. Add them to salad or rice, use them in sandwich spreads, or mix with soft cheese for dips. Here are some Dietary Sprouts Recipes:

A. SPROUT RECIPES SPROUT SALAD

This salad is high in all nutrients and is especially good for people with cancer, arthritis, and colon disorders. (If you have colon disorder; be sure to chew the seeds well.)

a) 1 pound mixed bean sprouts and alfalfa sprouts, rinsed thoroughly

b) 1 apple or onion, chopped l stalk celery, chopped 1 cup shredded carrots

c) 1 cup shredded turnip

d) l cup shredded red cabbage1/2 cucumber, chopped 1/2 cup raisins

e) 1/2 cup sesame or sunflower seeds

1. Place all of the ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.

2. Toss lightly with Good Things House Dressing (below) or any other dressing of your choice, and serve.

B. GOOD THIGNGS HOUSE DRESSIN

This is an all-purpose dressing that supplies unsaturated fatty acids. Lecithin is a wonderful brain food that is high in choline, inositol, and B vitamins. It is an emulsifier that holds muter and oil in suspension so they will not separate.

a) 3 cups apple cider or balsamic vinegar

b) 1 cup honey or 2 teaspoons barley malt sweetener

c) 1 cup water

d) 3 packages Hail's dry Italian dressing mix or 6 tablespoons dry Italian seasonings

e) 3 tablespoons minced dried onions 2 tablespoons dried parsley

f) 1/2 teaspoon powdered garlic or granules 7 tablespoon liquid lecithin

g) 11 cups expeller-pressed pure virgin olive, cannel, or other vegetable oil of your choice

1. Place all of the ingredients, except the oil, in a gallop jar. Shake well.

2. Fill the rest of the jar with oil (olive oil is the best for lowering cholesterol) and shake again. Store in the refrigerator and shake before each use.

C. Areat-tastiny sandwich

This is an Areat-tastiny sandwich that is easy to make.

a) 1 1-inch thick slice cream cheese or yogurt cheese

b) ½ avocado

c) 1 piece whole-grain pocket bread or regular whole-grain bread

d) 1 onion, sliced 1 tomato, sliced

e) 1 handful alfalfa sprouts, rinsed thoroughly

1. Mash the cream cheese or yogurt cheese and the avocado together.

2. Spread the cheese mixture in pocket bread or on sliced bread. Top with the onion, tomato, and sprouts, and serve.