The Montignac Method

[gus_tatory]

I've heard that high levels of Omega 3 (fish oil etc) helps weight loss.  Two tablets a day seem effective. Does anyone know anything about this?

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...and five or six fish oil caps...

Back to your scheduled program.

Soba

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for weight maintenance, i take a 1,000 mg Omega-3 cap a day, along with 4-6 cups green tea, and 60 mg Coenzyme Q10. i'm not a doctor, but it seems to work for me. don't take the fish oil on an empty stomach though.

[bleudauvergne]

I've heard that high levels of Omega 3 (fish oil etc) helps weight loss.  Two tablets a day seem effective. Does anyone know anything about this?

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A bit off-topic, but related nonetheless --

I'm contemplating going on a specific type of diet called carb cycling which involves a regimen that approaches something like this: (a) day 1 -- high carbs, (b) day 2 -- low carbs, [c] day 3 -- no carbs (1 g protein per lb. of bodyweight, a gallon of water and five or six fish oil caps), (d) rinse and repeat. Do this until bodyfat levels reach 12%. Needless to say, this type of diet is not for everyone (indeed, it's probable that it's not for most people on eGullet! ), but it is an effective diet...at least for my purposes.

Back to your scheduled program.

Soba

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This was basically my regular diet before going on Montignac. There's another name for it, bingeandpurge diet. What's involved with the "rinsing" part? Never mind, I don't want to know.

I've got the chicken so it's quenelles tonight.

[Eden]

This morning I had a bowl of yougert with some of a new Montignac product I picked up, quince spread.  It was very very sweet.  In fact I could say it was too sweet.  The ingredients are quince, concentrated fruit juice, pectin, and lemon juice.  It was also a little bit grainy. 

I have made quince paste at home (with sugar) and it is usually a tiny bit grainy from the natural texture of the fruit. I notice this a little in most of the commercially available quince pastes as well, except the mexican Membrillo, which must be strained like jelly before finishing. I'm surprised they added pectin; quince is pretty much the King of pectin fruits. by the way homemade quince paste is super easy to make, if you want a version that's less sweet. Just add some red wine & spices & you've got the Medieval French version

the herbed yogurt cheese on rye bread has been my main breakfast since figuring out that the fruit/yogurt combo doesn't work for me, but yesterday I had a breakfast out so I ordered an egg with a small side of sausage

That's great Eden. It's fat free, correct?

When you are eating out, you can't always control the hidden sugars. There are a few things to consider though. Most industrially made sausage and bacon, in fact most processed meats (sandwich meat like ham, chicken loaf, etc.) are cured with sugars. Keep on the lookout for words ending with "ose", sucrose, glucose, dextrose, etc. Malt is also a bad one. Go to the store and read the ingredient labels on the processed meats. It's scary!

Your best bet is to try and steer clear of the breakfast meats. A 3 egg omlette with cheese and onions is an example of something you can order out, or steak and eggs. Be careful!

Another thing to avoid in restaurants is salad dressing. Sugary gook. Ask for oil and vinegar.

If you adore bacon, sausage, etc. and want to have it at home, do some legwork and find a source that contains no sugar. It's not going to be easy because sugar is a widely used industrial preservative. You could also make your own.

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Yes indeed the yoghurt cheese is fat free. I made it myself to be sure.

Re the sausage, you're right I didn't think of the hidden sugars, which is silly because I've been searching desperately for sugar-free ham/bacon at all the stores in town this week with NO success. I must have read about 100 packages of ham/bacon! Given the number of eco-groovy grocery stores in Seattle, you'd think I could find something, but no... At least with sausage I know I can probably get something that's wheat and sugar free from The Market, and if not, I make a tasty sausage myself in a pinch.

I have a question: Does the French version of Montignac discuss nut-butters at all? (the US version does not) I was thinking yesterday that you could make home-made nutella fairly easily, by just pureeing hazelnuts to a butter, and adding in a bit of ground cocoa and maybe a spoonful of fructose. I can't find #s for hazelnuts, but I assume that like peanuts which start with a GI of 15 and go to GI 20 when you make (pure) peanut butter, that hazelnut-butter would also be fairly low GI (if high fat)

[bleudauvergne]

I have a question:  Does the French version of Montignac discuss nut-butters at all?  (the US version does not) I was thinking yesterday that you could make home-made nutella fairly easily, by just pureeing hazelnuts to a butter, and adding in a bit of ground cocoa and maybe a spoonful of fructose.  I can't find #s for hazelnuts, but I assume that like peanuts which start with a GI of 15 and go to GI 20 when you make (pure) peanut butter, that hazelnut-butter would also be fairly low GI (if high fat)

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It does not discuss nut butters, although peanuts are recommended.

This faux nutella has been on my list of things to try for some time, Eden. However, the other day I checked hazelnuts numbers of the pocketbook and a package of 300 grams was something like 9 euros. Even the Montignac product which contains hazelnuts and cocoa is extreemely expensive. I still haven't decided if I want to spring for the nuts yet. Please let me know how it comes out, if you do try it.

Something to consider is what you're eating it with. With the nuts you'll want to save this spread until stage 2 when you can mix the nuts with whole grain bread. You could always spread it on fruit... Peanuts are another cheaper idea...

[Eden]

This faux nutella has been on my list of things to try for some time, Eden.  However, the other day I checked hazelnuts numbers of the pocketbook and a package of 300 grams was something like 9 euros.  Even the Montignac product which contains hazelnuts and cocoa is extreemely expensive.  I still haven't decided if I want to spring for the nuts yet.  Please let me know how it comes out, if you do try it. 

Something to consider is what you're eating it with.  With the nuts you'll want to save this spread until stage 2 when you can mix the nuts with whole grain bread.  You could always spread it on fruit...  Peanuts are another cheaper idea...

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goodness, that's almost $20/pound! I would have thought that hazelnuts would be cheaper in europe than peanuts, given that hazelnuts are a part of traditional cuisine, at least in Italy, and peanuts are decidedly not...

I was planning to serve it on fruit, or possibly a nut torte* or even just a spoon if I like it as much as nutella

*Another experiment still rumbling around my brain is a nut torte made from almond flour w/almond oil and egg white, and maybe a pinch of fructose.

[bleudauvergne]

Mea culpa what did I do wrong. The chicken quenelles were dry and icky. I mean they tasted alright, like chicken and everything, just not like quenelles. I probably did not add enough cream. I stopped at 3/4 cup. They looked very pretty but did not resemble quenelles in the least intexture. The sauce was very good. I prepared a beurre rouge this time. And the cheese plate was rather nice this evening.

[Jake]

Cheese plate looks fabulous, Lucy. That, with a bit of bread and foie gras mousse will be my dinner tonight. Would you care to elaborate on the specific cheeses you have there?

We will be having a Chaumes, a sheeps milk camembert-like cheese, and two others the SO brought home from the cheese shop that are not labled so I will be surprised when the wax paper is removed.

[bleudauvergne]

Cheese plate looks fabulous, Lucy.  That, with a bit of bread and foie gras mousse will be my dinner tonight.  Would you care to elaborate on the specific cheeses you have there?

We will be having a Chaumes, a sheeps milk camembert-like cheese, and two others the SO brought home from the cheese shop that are not labled so I will be surprised when the wax paper is removed.

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Hi Jake, Clockwise starting from the light yellow hard cheese at the top, Comte, then an aged Mimolette, which I was told is traditionally produced in Holland, but this one is produced in Normandy, we have some Brie de Meaux, a Picodon, some Gouda au Cumin, Roves de Garrigues, another chevre the name of which I forgot, and in the center the last piece of a Langres, which is a soft cows milk cheese from Bourgogne, made in the style of Epoisse (bathed in eau de vie by the producer).

We have guests from the States this weekend so I won't be posting although I am discreetly doing my best to follow the plan. Yesterday I didn't add rice to my plate at dinner, where we served a roasted chicken with wild asparagus along with some fresh peas. Easy enough.

[Eden]

Lucy, thank you for the inspiration to get started with this diet myself. I've started a seperate thread here for general discussion of the Montignac method so as not to hijack your thread, which I hope will continue to focus on your experiences and your beautiful photos!

[bleudauvergne]

Discussion of the method is welcome here, Eden. I hope that others will participate as well.

[John Talbott]

I was planning to serve it on fruit, or possibly a nut torte* or even just a spoon if I like it as much as nutella 

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FYI - To celebrate Nutella's 40th year, they're hosting an "emphemeral" thing at 46, rue de Sevgne in the 4th, 3-11 E for brunch, until June 22nd, so sez today's Figaroscope in an article entitled “l’Air du Temps” about ephemeral restaurants that are open this summer.

[Eden]

This faux nutella has been on my list of things to try for some time, Eden.  However, the other day I checked hazelnuts numbers of the pocketbook and a package of 300 grams was something like 9 euros.  Even the Montignac product which contains hazelnuts and cocoa is extreemely expensive.  I still haven't decided if I want to spring for the nuts yet.  Please let me know how it comes out, if you do try it. 

Well I made a very rough draft version last night, not trying to actually arrive at the recipe, but get an idea of what the challenges ahead would be:

I got about 1/3 cup of fresh ground almond butter at the Whole Foods, this comes out fairly grainy, not smooth, because it's all nuts & nothing but the nuts. To that I simply added about 1 tbsp powdered cocoa, and maybe 1/2 tsp of fructose crystals. The result was a tasty goo, but the texture was all wrong, and it needed more sweetness to bring out the chocolate.

I know with the real deal there are a lot of oils added to smooth out the texture, and I can certainly add some oil in round 2 to approximate that - almond oil perhaps? Hazelnut oil is harder to come by & pricier (plus I already have almond oil in the house.) I will definitely need to run it through the food processor a whole lot to get a smoother texture. I wonder if there's anything else I can do to make this creamier?

I'll also need to add the vanilla which I forgot. (or perhaps vanillin since I won't be cooking this?) I'm thinking also a pinch of salt to bring out the various flavors. And of course I'll use actual hazelnuts. I did the almond draft on a whim after seeing the almond grinding machine in the store.

In comparison here are the ingredients for US nutella per their website:

Sugar, peanut oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, skim milk, reduced minerals, whey, partially hydrogenated peanut oil, soy lecithine: an emulsifier, vanillin: an artificial flavor.

note that hazelnuts & cocoa aren't the first two ingredients

[Eden]

Discussion of the method is welcome here, Eden.  I hope that others will participate as well.

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Merci Lucy, I just didn't want to horn in on your space...

[bleudauvergne]

This faux nutella has been on my list of things to try for some time, Eden.  However, the other day I checked hazelnuts numbers of the pocketbook and a package of 300 grams was something like 9 euros.  Even the Montignac product which contains hazelnuts and cocoa is extreemely expensive.  I still haven't decided if I want to spring for the nuts yet.  Please let me know how it comes out, if you do try it. 

Well I made a very rough draft version last night, not trying to actually arrive at the recipe, but get an idea of what the challenges ahead would be:

I got about 1/3 cup of fresh ground almond butter at the Whole Foods, this comes out fairly grainy, not smooth, because it's all nuts & nothing but the nuts. To that I simply added about 1 tbsp powdered cocoa, and maybe 1/2 tsp of fructose crystals. The result was a tasty goo, but the texture was all wrong, and it needed more sweetness to bring out the chocolate.

I know with the real deal there are a lot of oils added to smooth out the texture, and I can certainly add some oil in round 2 to approximate that - almond oil perhaps? Hazelnut oil is harder to come by & pricier (plus I already have almond oil in the house.) I will definitely need to run it through the food processor a whole lot to get a smoother texture. I wonder if there's anything else I can do to make this creamier?

...

note that hazelnuts & cocoa aren't the first two ingredients

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One idea might be to try though mechanical means to create an emulsion using walnut or another nut oil, like a mayonnaise. I have a whole lot of walnut oil I received as a gift that would be perfect for that. If hazlenuts are not the first thing on the ingredient list, perhaps I can afford to start experimenting!

[Eden]

One idea might be to try though mechanical means to create an emulsion using walnut or another nut oil, like a mayonnaise.  I have a whole lot of walnut oil I received as a gift that would be perfect for that.  If hazlenuts are not the first thing on the ingredient list, perhaps I can afford to start experimenting!

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One unofficial site I found said that hazelnuts were only about 13% of the mixture

[bleudauvergne]

One idea might be to try though mechanical means to create an emulsion using walnut or another nut oil, like a mayonnaise.  I have a whole lot of walnut oil I received as a gift that would be perfect for that.  If hazlenuts are not the first thing on the ingredient list, perhaps I can afford to start experimenting!

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One unofficial site I found said that hazelnuts were only about 13% of the mixture

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Well, that sounds like it would be do-able. I have to use up this oil soon. I am almost to the point where I can go to stage II. I think another month of stage 1 and I'll be ready to make the transition.

The guests have been safely seen to a train so I will be going back to some Montignac cooking. During the week that they were here I discreetly attemped to avoid illegal things but of couse it was not always possible... I have picked up a cookbook by Dr. Montignac himself and will be trying out some of the recipes this week.

Eden, will you join me if I translate some of these recipes?

[Silly Disciple]

Eden, will you join me if I translate some of these recipes?

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I'll join you. My wife and I have been following the Montignac method for a few months now, since reading this thread, with fairly good results (except for the month we spent in Argentina... that was against all and any diet rules ).

SD

[raisab]

I have all his cookbooks, sad but true... If anyone needs any recipe, PM me. I am trying to follow this also, somewhat adjusted. I cannot give up my wine, but I can limit it.

Today for breakfast was Berries, mixed with Fatfree Greek Yoghurt, Pecans, and a very high Fiber, high protein cereal, called GoLean Crunch. It was very low GI, would that be considered Montignac acceptable Bleu?

[bleudauvergne]

Okay! I hope Eden will be joining us on this as well.

The first thing will be to make some poultry stock, unless you already have some on hand. The recipes in the Montignac book call for instant boullion but I don't have any of that and don't want to buy any. In any case, I'll mention what the recipe says and what I do and what the differences are and you can do what you want. Something I use in a pinch is a no salt vegetable boullion, which doesn't give the same results as the real stock but it works when I haven't been thinking ahead.

What I want to do is follow one of Montignac's weekly menus to the tee. Therefore I will begin with his Friday menu, starting with dinner. For some things that are difficult to find, let me know and we can come up with suitable substitutions.

Tonight's Menu is (translation of the recipes are in the gullet):

Sorrel Soup

Broccoli and Almond Salad

Yougurt

We'll drink water and I may have a glass (15 cl) of red wine after the meal.

This is certainly not as interesting as dishes I would normally prepare at home, but I will use these recipes as a base and note any additions or changes. I would love to know how people jazz up these recipes, it would be great to discuss them.

[bleudauvergne]

I have all his cookbooks, sad but true... If anyone needs any recipe, PM me. I am trying to follow this also, somewhat adjusted. I cannot give up my wine, but I can limit it.

Today for breakfast was Berries, mixed with Fatfree Greek Yoghurt, Pecans, and a very high Fiber, high protein cereal, called GoLean Crunch. It was very low GI, would that be considered Montignac acceptable Bleu?

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hi raisab, the berries and the yoghurt sound like a good start. I would be wary of the GoLean crunch, since fiber and the protein are normally seperated in the plan. Tell me what's on the ingredient list for that cereal. Also, I would not mix the nuts with the grains. In stage II that would be fine.

Are you going to follow the menu this week with us?

[Silly Disciple]

Sorrel Soup

Broccoli and Almond Salad

Ok, I'm going to substitute asparagus for sorrel since I just bougth two bunches (which is farily close to 300gr), and I'll have to use cubes since I won't be able to make fresh stock today. And I need to get some almonds.

Lucy, I tend to do my groceries twice a week, usually tuesday and fri/sat. if you could, please post a list of fresh ingredients we will need (particularly vegetables and meat), so I can get them in advance. thanks.

SD

[bleudauvergne]

One idea might be to try though mechanical means to create an emulsion using walnut or another nut oil, like a mayonnaise.  I have a whole lot of walnut oil I received as a gift that would be perfect for that.  If hazlenuts are not the first thing on the ingredient list, perhaps I can afford to start experimenting!

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One unofficial site I found said that hazelnuts were only about 13% of the mixture

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Continuing the faux nutella, I went to the library today and checked out a French copy of the CRU cookbook, where there is a recipe for a pine nut mayonnaise. In the recipe, they soak the nuts in mineral water for 6 hours to soften them (I'm going to use Lyonnais tap water, mineral enough for me). This could be useful, yes?

The recipe's proportions are as follows:

60 g nuts soaked 6 hours in water

60 ml water

2 T oil

4 tsp lemon juice

salt.

OK so for the spread, what would happen if we used

60 g. hazelnuts soaked 6 hours in water

60 ml water

2T walnut oil

and 4 tsp water in which we have incorporated dry cocoa and fructose to make a thick syrup

salt. what the heck.

[bleudauvergne]

Sorrel Soup

Broccoli and Almond Salad

Ok, I'm going to substitute asparagus for sorrel since I just bougth two bunches (which is farily close to 300gr), and I'll have to use cubes since I won't be able to make fresh stock today. And I need to get some almonds.

Lucy, I tend to do my groceries twice a week, usually tuesday and fri/sat. if you could, please post a list of fresh ingredients we will need (particularly vegetables and meat), so I can get them in advance. thanks.

SD

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Great idea, SD. I'll put up a shopping list for the week broken down into days so if you shop daily or want to just be in on one day you can do that too.

[Eden]

I'm in at least for the first meal.

My refridgerator is so jam packed right now that I need to make recipes that conform to what's already on hand for a while the moment. Fortunately (with modifications) these first two recipes will work just fine. Got something with chicken or ground lamb in it for tomorrow?

I have spinach to sub for the sorrel, and asparagus to sub for the broccoli. I just made a fresh batch of chicken stock so that's a nice coincidence.

FYI I have a wonderful recipe for sorrel soup that is very tasty & rather different: it uses celery root to thicken the soup instead of egg, skips the wine & shallots, and adds a bit of nutmeg in with the heavy cream (instead of creme fraiche). Since I'm out of celeriac for the moment I'll go with the Montignac version.

Oh and speaking of montignac recipes, I made his basque chicken from "the French Diet" last week & it was very tasty, plus I had leftovers for a week

[Bux]

. . . .

In comparison here are the ingredients for US nutella per their website:

Sugar, peanut oil, hazelnuts, cocoa, skim milk, reduced minerals, whey, partially hydrogenated peanut oil, soy lecithine: an emulsifier, vanillin: an artificial flavor.

note that hazelnuts & cocoa aren't the first two ingredients 

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Let me say a couple of things, that may have no relevance to Montignac. First, my understanding is that the European Nutella is made from a slightly differenct recipe. I've heard it doesn't contain hydrogenated fats, which are about the worst kind you might consume according to the lastest expertise on fats and oils. Margarine, for instance, is now almost universally recognized as less healthy than butter. Hydrogenated vegetable fat is what the UK successfully lobbied over the interests and objections of the French and Belgian chocolatiers, as a permissible ingredient in products labeled as "chocolate." Intuitively, what I would want to do is substitute cocoa butter for the hydrogenated fat, or perhaps whole chocolate for the cocoa and fat, since chocolate is a combination of cocoa butter and cocoa solids. Again intutitively, but with no real basis in experience, I might even experiment with good quality milk chocolate bars that are already a combination of sugar, cocoa solids, cocoa butter, milk, and generally lecithin as well as vanillin. Ideally, I'd prefer vanilla to vanillan, but I've only seen dark chocolate bars with real vanilla. Anyway, I'm suggesting chocolate bars, nuts and nut oil in various combinations. The problem with walnut oil is that it gets rancid rather quickly in comparison with other oils. I can offer no advice, intutive or otherwise, on how to reduce minerals.

Let me know if any of that works out. I have a grandson whose mother is beginning to let the tot taste sugar -- I know he's had a few home made shortcake cookies -- but won't let him near hydrogenated fat. Don't waste any sympathy for the lad, his bean puree has been well flavored with organic bacon and his asparagus is served with morels. His grandmother needlessly fretted about not bringing him a present from Spain, but no one ate the queso de cabra from Garrotxa with more enthusiasm.