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The Hairy Dieters

Thanks for the extra info on the book paul :) - may consider getting it as it sounds right up my street, also it has knocked that tedious book from the no 1 spot on Amazon which is a reason to buy it all on it's own!

I made the marsala chicken and roasted veg for supper with family the other night and all I can say is OMG OMG OMG!!!! - it was amazing - everyone was raving about it and as it was all "done" when they got here I spent my time with my guests and not in the kitchen - I used portions rather than the full chicken worked just as well
 
noblehead said:
viviennem said:
You misunderstood me, Noblehead. :D That bit in the first episode was great, and will have given many people food for thought, but Prof Taylor didn't say how he wanted them to diet (apart from "reduce calories"), or why they're avoiding carbs. Cutting all the fat off bacon etc is "conventional" thinking; but reducing carbs isn't (eg the leek "lasagne"). I'd have liked a bit more theory!

Maybe it's all in the book.
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They are just cutting the calories Viv from 2600 which they ate before the diet to half of that now, I don't think they need to explain the theory as most people know that if you cut back on the calories your body needs then you'll lose weight.

The reason why they are mostly focusing on low-fat/fat reduction is due to fat having twice as many calories as carbs and protein, it will be interesting to see once they reach their goal how they'll fair in keeping their weight steady.
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I know about the calories in fat. It's just that, in my experience, a reduced calorie diet removes fat and replaces it with carbs (eg a 10oz potato, baked, has 250 cals and makes a perfect low-fat lunch). They're not doing that - they are cutting out fat as much as possible, obviously, but they are also watching their intake of carbs. I find that interesting.

Viv 8)
 
Paul_c said:
Just got the book today. They have reduced the carb count quite a bit, just not revealing the fact or giving any full nutritional breakdown for the recipes, just the ingredients list and the calorie count per portion. They are holding to no more than 50 grams of rice, pasta or potatoes in a portion and quite a few of their pasta or rice related recipes go even further by having say 100 grams uncooked weight of pasta for 4 portions. Early on in the book, they state that you should make the carbs the smallest portion on the plate, and quite a few of their recipes leave them out altogether (except perhaps cornflour for thickening a sauce).

The low-fat mantra and calorie counting of the recipes may be just their way of keeping the NHS diet police onside.
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I thought so! Thanks for that, Paul. Is the book worth having?

Viv 8)
 
lovinglife said:
I made the marsala chicken and roasted veg for supper with family the other night and all I can say is OMG OMG OMG!!!! - it was amazing - everyone was raving about it and as it was all "done" when they got here I spent my time with my guests and not in the kitchen - I used portions rather than the full chicken worked just as well
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Thats good to know LL, I had been thinking about trying this one but with chicken breasts as I cant be bothering with whole chickens. I have just copied the recipe from http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/masal ... cken_18088 and will definitely be giving it a go too.

I just love getting the mortar and pestle out :lol:

Cheers for the revue :thumbup:
 
viviennem said:
Paul_c said:
Just got the book today. They have reduced the carb count quite a bit, just not revealing the fact or giving any full nutritional breakdown for the recipes, just the ingredients list and the calorie count per portion. They are holding to no more than 50 grams of rice, pasta or potatoes in a portion and quite a few of their pasta or rice related recipes go even further by having say 100 grams uncooked weight of pasta for 4 portions. Early on in the book, they state that you should make the carbs the smallest portion on the plate, and quite a few of their recipes leave them out altogether (except perhaps cornflour for thickening a sauce).

The low-fat mantra and calorie counting of the recipes may be just their way of keeping the NHS diet police onside.
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I thought so! Thanks for that, Paul. Is the book worth having?

Viv 8)
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yes, though the only version I'm seeing in the shops is a softback book and I got mine from WH Smiths with £4.00 off (making it £10.99). It may be cheaper in Asda or Tesco as they usually try and undercut everybody else. I'll be getting a second copy for my eldest daughter this weekend.
 
The book The Hairy Dieters has knocked off 50 Shades of Grey from the Number 1 best sellers list :lol:
 
Cowboyjim said:
Sometimes you either have to laugh or cry - I dunno which about the UK's book buying public... 8)
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Not sure about the book buying public, It tells me how much money there is to be made by writing a diet book which explains why so many people do it :lol:

An angle + a publisher =
greed.jpg
 
Sid Bonkers said:
Cowboyjim said:
Sometimes you either have to laugh or cry - I dunno which about the UK's book buying public... 8)
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Not sure about the book buying public, It tells me how much money there is to be made by writing a diet book which explains why so many people do it :lol:

An angle + a publisher =
greed.jpg
Click to expand...



Hence why there are so many diets about :D
 
It is a tired formula... and here they are again lapping it up... cookery or soft-porn, it is a sad indictment of our wish fulfilments in "literature".... pah, neither are such, they are a get rich quick gimmick... good luck to them, now the boys can celebrate, oops no they can't... unless they want to go back on the pills and be middle-aged again...
Oh well maybe now they are so young again their wives are happier and no longer need Shades of Grey...?
BTW I sampled that book on my Kindle... one of the worst written efforts I have seen in some time and I read a lot. It baffles me but then I am a man... one who did not "get" Harry Potter either... 8)
 
That marsala chicken recipe has 20 ! ingredients. The supermarkets will love it. Has anyone costed it?
My favourite chicken recipe: stick rosemary branch up bottom, cover in layers of bacon, bung in oven. Add wine to juices for gravy. Everyone loves it.
 
Price seldom enters the equation as the lurch hellbent on hedonistic pursuit of oral masticatory pleasures and never mind nutrition or costs... surely if you plan on eating less you should be even more mindful of getting the essential nutrients but I did not hear mention of any of that....
KISS is good... like that chicken recipe... steam some veg too... and easy on the spuds.
 
Etty said:
That marsala chicken recipe has 20 ! ingredients. The supermarkets will love it. Has anyone costed it?
.
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I get your point Etty and I know it may be out of some peoples budget but as a chef for many years I suppose I am lucky that all those ingredients are staples in my cupboard - the only thing I had to buy was the fresh ginger, As a special occasion dish it hit the spot - and even buying all the ingredients from scratch would still far cheaper and healthier than a takeaway for 8 - and once you have bought them they are there to use time and time again.
 
lovinglife said:
Etty said:
That marsala chicken recipe has 20 ! ingredients. The supermarkets will love it. Has anyone costed it?
.
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I get your point Etty and I know it may be out of some peoples budget but as a chef for many years I suppose I am lucky that all those ingredients are staples in my cupboard - the only thing I had to buy was the fresh ginger, As a special occasion dish it hit the spot - and even buying all the ingredients from scratch would still far cheaper and healthier than a takeaway for 8 - and once you have bought them they are there to use time and time again.
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I would have to agree with you both, to cook from scratch and go out and buy all the spices it would be pretty expensive as all those seeds and spices are always a pound or two each but as LL says for anyone who regularly cooks Indian food, will already have those spices in their cupboards, I buy fresh ginger twice a week as we eat curries twice a week and they always include fresh garlic and ginger.

A tsp of this spice and two tsp of that spice actually costs very little once you have the packet/jar already. I love Indian cooking and have done for as long as I can remember certainly since the early 1980's when Indian restaurants popped up in every high street.

So Etty, splash out on the spices once and enjoy beautiful tasty low carb curries for weeks if not months, it really doesnt cost much in the long run :thumbup:
 
I just bought the book of the series, apparently rapidly becoming a best seller. I have enjoyed it so much and think it has given an awful lot of people inspiration. It certainly got my husband motivated even though he still has the occasional beer. I'm going to try the lasagna this week. Tried the chinese and it was really good.
 
TUI said:
I just bought the book of the series, apparently rapidly becoming a best seller. I have enjoyed it so much and think it has given an awful lot of people inspiration. It certainly got my husband motivated even though he still has the occasional beer. I'm going to try the lasagna this week. Tried the chinese and it was really good.
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I never really buy books of this nature..........however I'm beginning to consider buying The Hairy Dieters :thumbup:
 
I have to admit I am a sucker for a recipe book regardless of the fact that you can find pretty much every recipe you would ever need on line I still like to scan through cook books.

Will be having a look at this one tomorrow when Tescos beckons :)
 
lovinglife said:
Etty said:
That marsala chicken recipe has 20 ! ingredients. The supermarkets will love it. Has anyone costed it?
.
Click to expand...

I get your point Etty and I know it may be out of some peoples budget but as a chef for many years I suppose I am lucky that all those ingredients are staples in my cupboard - the only thing I had to buy was the fresh ginger, As a special occasion dish it hit the spot - and even buying all the ingredients from scratch would still far cheaper and healthier than a takeaway for 8 - and once you have bought them they are there to use time and time again.
Click to expand...
Lucky people living in your house LL. I did have a crack at making curries some time ago, but had a cupboard full of half pots of spices, and got put off. Not organized enough, I guess. I rely on the herbs in the garden now.
 
Great result for boys in the last programme passing the target set by Professor Taylor. It's been a great series and hopefully it will encourage those who have watched it that losing weight is achievable! :thumbup:
 
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