The Montignac Method

[bleudauvergne]

Finding you shoe polish chcoolate is now on my list, Bux. I have an idea of a few adresses where I can inquire.

[Eden]

Monday : Lunch : Endive Salad, Pork chops provencales, tomates provencales, cheese.  Dinner : Quiche rustique, Salad, whole yougurt. 

Lucy, in your "copious spare time" could you post the recipes from Monday, they look very appealing. (no rush - at the rate I'm going I couldnt possibly get to them till next week at the earliest!)

Thanks!

I was going to try that lovely looking curried pork roast for dinner, but when I got to the store today they had pitted nicoise olives, so I am making my Olive and Herb Stuffed Lamb instead I adore this dish, but hate pitting tiny olives, so clearly this was a gift from the kitchen gods & not to be refused!

When will they make a special pitter for mini-olives? I could find room in my gadget drawer, honest

I also picked up a bag of Kamut flour, and if the weatherman was telling the truth it should be cool enough for baking on Saturday, so hopefully Low(ish) GI bread is in my future... I'll let you know what I think of it.

[bleudauvergne]

I was going to try that lovely looking curried pork roast for dinner, but when I got to the store today they had pitted nicoise olives, so I am making my Olive and Herb Stuffed Lamb instead   I adore this dish, but hate pitting tiny olives, so clearly this was a gift from the kitchen gods & not to be refused! 

When will they make a special pitter for mini-olives?  I could find room in my gadget drawer, honest 

←

Eden, have you ever tried a cherry pitter? It does not work on all species of olives, especially the ones that aren't very ripe. But it does work on some. Perhaps you can find a breed available to you that the implement works with.

Olive and herb stuffed lamb sounds really really good. What kind of herbs do you use? Rosmary? Thyme? I am a lamb and garlic lover, myself. Also one of my favorite things to do with a gigot when they're in season is to tie the leg to the spit and then paint it with Chartreuse vert several times over the course two days before I roast it. I was inspired by J. Child's use of gin in a lamb dish and took it one step further. The result was fabulous. I had this dream that it would burst into flames, but it didn't.

I will post the recipes very soon, promise.

[Eden]

Eden, have you ever tried a cherry pitter?

My cherry pitter is fine on larger olives, but the itsy bitsy ones like nicoise and arbequinas just fall right through the pit hole...

Olive and herb stuffed lamb sounds really really good.  What kind of herbs do you use? Rosmary?  Thyme? I am a lamb and garlic lover, myself.  Also one of my favorite things to do with a gigot when they're in season is to tie the leg to the spit and then paint it with Chartreuse vert several times over the course two days before I roast it.  I was inspired by J. Child's use of gin in a lamb dish and took it one step further.  The result was fabulous.    I had this dream that it would burst into flames, but it didn't. 

I Just used thyme and bay last night. Sometimes I'll add a bit of rosemary, which I think marries perfectly with lamb, but not much else. The base recipe is very simple, so I try to stick with that principle with my variations.

That Chartreuse Lamb sounds fascinating.

[redfox]

My favorite way of pitting olives is simply to lay them on a board and whack them with a heavy frying pan. Thwack! Then they crack and you can easily pop out the pits. This is especially effective for brined, rather than oil-cured olives.

[Bux]

Finding you shoe polish chcoolate is now on my list, Bux.  I have an idea of a few adresses where I can inquire.

←

The tin just turned up in one of my drawers. Esilda had aquisitioned it for unsanctioned use.

From Chocolaterie de Beussent Lachell, 60190 Lachelle and 62170 Beussent. Ingredients: sucre, noisettes, amandes, cacao, vanilline, lécithine de soja. Ingredients: sugar, hazelnut, almond, cocoa, vanillin, soja (sic) lecithin.

[Silly Disciple]

I will talk tomorrow about what Montignac says about quinoa.

←

Lucy,

I'm intrigued by quinoa. I have discovered it only recently, and I don't remember any particular details of Montignac's book (and haven't gone back to it yet). So I'll continue being lazy and let you tell me all there is to know about it

sd

[Silly Disciple]

Back to Quinoa. I recently found quinoa flour sold at my local bio shop.

I tried prepairing a light pseudo-tempura batter, and made some "goat cheese stuffed zucchini flower tempura"... or something to that effect. The end result wasn't bad at all, but I'd like to know if this dish goes against Montignac (other than frying as a cooking method).

Since quinoa can be eaten with lipids (cheese), I don't see why quinoa flour should be otherwise. And same for meat, could I make quinoa-breaded chicken, for instance?

SD

[Bux]

Back to nutella (sort of). I bought a jar of chestnut spread. I enjoy it in place of jam or preserves on morning brioche or croissant. I found this particular (Italian) brand rather lacking in chestnut flavor and a bit too sweet. Taking a clue from another (also Italian) brand which lists cocoa and rum as minor ingredients, I added a scant teaspoon of Dutch cocoa powder to the chestnut spread. I'm not sure I can discern the flavor of cocoa, but it took the edge off the sweetness and definitely added a complexity and depth of flavor.

[doronin]

I'm a huge fan of the Method, and during my forst 6 month I lost almost 15 kg. It's so easy, I don't even call this a "diet". That period I lived in a walking distance from the office, so I could eat at home.

But then I moved, and lunch became a real problem. It's almost impossible to find the suitable food. The very concept of business lunch is problematic with its sandwiches, salads with inevitably "bad" seasonings, etc. Of course, restaurants offer more choice, but their timing is usually unreasonable - normally I can't allow to myself to speng 1.5 hours for lunch.

Has anyone found a solution for this problem?

[bleudauvergne]

Hi doronin,

You are so right that the method is really easy when you can prepare everything at home. When you can prepare everything at home, one of the things you get used to is having all of the ingredients you need to make things palatable and eating just about whatever you want, however you want it. If you want dressing or a sauce, or a nice hearty stew, you make the dressing or the sauce and it's legal and legit, and your food tastes good. But if you order that hearty stew in the canteen you know for a fact it's loaded with thickeners.

It's pretty dire when you find yourself in a position where you have to make choices at restauants and lunch canteens, the whole idea of the sauces has to be eliminated because there's dextrose, modified starches, etc. everywhere in industrial cafeteria food, lettuce that tastes like plastic, etc. I think you have pointed out something really important, that one of the keys to following this method is to have support, a real problem with this method is temptation and whatever everyone else around you is doing.

It's super easy to follow this diet when it's convenient. But once you have to start finding your way through the whole problem of how to have a satisfying meal with what's available from cheap snacky stuff, well, the diet becomes very hard to follow.

I know myself pretty well, the temptation factor gets much worse when I have lots going on at work as well. A perfect excuse is - I need to finish this I need to work on that, therefore I don't have time to seek out a good lunch, therefore : sandwich. Lame excuse but I confess have found myself using it over the past few months. And I will not be shy - the pounds are creeping back.

Another confession. I have recently been making a lot of baked goods. It started with a birthday party and the cake was suprisingly and amazingly delicious. I have since made two other cakes just for fun. One of my husband's students is getting ready to finish her dissertation and I say: Oh when is her defense? I should bake a cake! I suppose I should get that out of my system, yes. I'm working on another project which involves various savory pastry doughs so once that's over I guess I'll swear off it again for at least awhile and get back on the program. I can use it!

Maybe a good idea would be to get this thread back up and moving and concentrate on what kinds of changes we have to make at home to incorporate really good boxed lunches into the program. I don't mean waking up and between breakfast and the shower tossing a couple of chunks of cheese in a sack and calling that lunch, but really working on a series of steps to prepare someone in the office canteen dilemma for a thoughtful approach to this. I suppose that would also include equipment and some time set aside in the evenings to plan for the next day's lunch. Also finding ways to replace my current downfall, 'pastry therapy', with other mindful satisfying kitchen tasks.

[Eden]

Given that it's Autumn & the instinct to bake is pretty strong right now, perhaps you could consider exchanging the "pastry therapy" with whole grain bread baking therapy?

For me it is not usually lunch but dinner that is a problem, as we do a lot of food related socializing, and not being a steak & salad girl, I found it difficult to dine out on this program... That said I have been meaning to come back to it as well, at least for my home dining...

My mom developed diabetes recently, and apparently it's fairly common for the women in my family , so I want to be more aware of my glycemic intake, and try to avoid joining the ranks!

edited for typo

Edited October 21, 2005 by Eden (log)

[therese]

Chiming in here from a different weight loss thread here at eG, the Weight Watchers thread.

Weight Watchers is nowhere near so fussy about what you eat and when you eat it, but a lot of eG'ers end up in the end eating pretty much exactly what Montignac recommends because it's the easiest and healthiest way to stay on the diet, lose weight, and not feel hungry. It's been very effective for me.

Anyway, specific suggestions re lunch outside of the home (which is also the single biggest issue for me---I work full-time and also have two kids, so mornings are tightly scheduled):

Prepare single servings of lunch items ahead of time, and store them already packaged in the fridge. Whole grain and roasted veggie-based salads are standards for me. Lentils (either as a stew or as a basis for a salad) are great, particularly this time of year. I use little re-usable plastic tubs that stack nicely and can be washed in the dishwasher.

If I am too rushed to pack lunch and have to eat in the canteen/cafeteria I choose roasted chicken (a standard item for us) and salad (we get to make our own, so usually spinach and cucumbers and tomatoes).

Cook on the weekend (excellent replacement for Lucy's "pastry therapy"----I simply can't have pastry of any sort in the house unless I'm willing to eat it). I get a large box of veggies every Saturday AM (via a CSA program), so am compelled to either eat or cook pretty much everything that day or the next. This turns out to be an excellent way of increasing your consumption of good foods, and of course you can just go ahead and package whatever you've made for lunches throughout the week.

[doronin]

The problem is that where I work it's not customary to bring a lunch from home - we all eat in our lunch canteen, or in restaurants, and for some reason they have abslutely no idea about healthy eating.

Thinking about that, I was always wondering how Chinese generally manage to keep a good health having so much starch and sugar in every sauce, I don't mention that white rice... (I mean a real Chinese food, not a food court stuff). I tried to make Chinese stir fries with no starch and sugars - it doesn't come even close as good...

As for baking, I find a sort of relaxation in baking whole grain breads whenever I have time. I also don's see a big deal to make a cake from whole wheat with fructose - perhaps it won't be as fancy as the real thing, but it doesn't breaks the Method either. One just have to limit his fructose intake, as besides it's low GI, which is a good thing, it has also an ugly side in form of harming a cardiovascular system (just try to google for 'fructose').

[prasantrin]

The problem is that where I work it's not customary to bring a lunch from home - we all eat in our lunch canteen, or in restaurants, and for some reason they have abslutely no idea about healthy eating.

"Not customary" is not the same as "can't be done". There's no reason you can't break the trend and start bringing your lunch with you (unless it's strictly forbidden by your employers). Perhaps you could still eat with your co-workers in the canteen, if they allow outside food there, and eat alone when they go to restaurants. Eating alone isn't necessarily a bad thing, either. Sometimes it's nice to have a break from work, and I've always found that eating with co-workers almost always involves work-related talk at least part of the time.

Thinking about that, I was always wondering how Chinese generally manage to keep a good health having so much starch and sugar in every sauce, I don't mention that white rice... (I mean a real Chinese food, not a food court stuff). I tried to make Chinese stir fries with no starch and sugars - it doesn't come even close as good...

Smaller portions, more exercise, better metabolism???

[therese]

The problem is that where I work it's not customary to bring a lunch from home - we all eat in our lunch canteen, or in restaurants, and for some reason they have abslutely no idea about healthy eating.

←

I bring my lunch from home and eat in the lunch canteen with my colleagues. I'm actually passing up free food to do so, as my meals are entirely subsidized: unlimited items, portions as large as I'd like, etc.

Many of colleagues don't even seem to notice. Those that do are generally envious, as my food's obviously better (and healthier) than what they're eating.

Restaurants can be easy or hard, depending on which ones they choose. Can you steer them to those that offer reasonable options for you? If you just go ahead and pack your lunch every day you'll have a back up plan for those days they want to go to someplace that you'll find difficult---just plead a last minute deadline and eat in your office.

[Tess]

Hi. I'm on Weight Watchers but, like therese, I find the Montignac ideas useful.

One thing I've found useful with the work situation is changing my schedule up. Lunch is a problem I have often solved by reversing meals and having something more like lunch for breakfast, and then more of a snack at lunchtime. This saves packing a big lunch, eating whatever your colleagues are eating, or paying a lot to buy lunch out. It helps if you are in the habit of getting up early, so that you're hungry enough to eat substantially before leaving the house. Whether or not you can just skip lunch with your colleagues, of course, depends on the work culture.

(Mind you, I'm sitting here weighing about what I did three months ago, but it has worked in the past.)

[bleudauvergne]

The decision has almost been made to get back in the saddle with Dr. Montignac, the French way. I talked to my sister the other day and she's doing quite well on the plan, something she didn't mention during previous discussions, I think she wanted to see if it would work before she told me. I got jealous when I heard how much she'd lost. I am ready for a spell on the plan again.

Since this thread began 3 years ago, I have been yo-yoing. In the last two days I have consciously made Montignac decisions and not done much to alter our eating habits except eliminate baguette, etc.... Since it is jam season, I might decide to go fructose this year and have begun eying the 100% integrale (whole) loaves available at various bakeries round the neighborhood.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with my nutritionist here in Lyon and I am going to bring the book. I don't know what she's going to say. She is a doctor with opinions, sometimes strong ones, and she is a nutritionist, endocrinologist, among other specialties, so whatever she says goes. But I'll ask.

[bleudauvergne]

Back to Quinoa. I recently found quinoa flour sold at my local bio shop.

I tried prepairing a light pseudo-tempura batter, and made some "goat cheese stuffed zucchini flower tempura"... or something to that effect. The end result wasn't bad at all, but I'd like to know if this dish goes against Montignac (other than frying as a cooking method).

Since quinoa can be eaten with lipids (cheese), I don't see why quinoa flour should be otherwise. And same for meat, could I make quinoa-breaded chicken, for instance?

SD

←

Considering Silly Disciple's wonderful project of opening a pasta production stall on site in a market in Barcelona, I would simply adore if he might do an experiment with quinoa and pasta. From what I understand, quinoa is not a grain at all, but is a plant. And totally Montignac friendly in any form whatsoever, including ground into flour. This is the same with buckwheat.

[Dave Hatfield]

Nice to see you back!

Always remember that Montignac is two phases. Weight loss & maintenance.

Be very strict during the loss phase, waver & substitute during maintenance.

Says he after 18 years on it.

[bleudauvergne]

Maintenance seems to be the problem...

I went to see my French nutritionist today and she basically said two things.

1) She does not want me going back on this diet because she thinks that many of the factors leading to me gaining weight in the first place are related to my eating habits and passions, thus re-learning "equilibrium" as a key word is her mission, and Montignac cannot maintain this in the long run. (and I guess I agree, unless one is a a monk, never drink beer or alcohol, eat a sandwich, or have frites with your steak ever again).

2) She thinks that after following her regime strictly for two months (which is one that includes absolutely everything) if I still am not losing enough and fast enough, we will consider more "hard" methods... (hmm, sounds nice)

So I have not been approved by my medical advisor to get back on this diet. I have been with her for about a year and a half and have hit a plateau after about 15 pounds loss. She wants me to lose another 15. So I am going to quit the desserts (the blog has been recording many passionate forays into that), and perhaps begin a new thread on the regime she has made for me and which I have been admittedly very loosely following for the last few months (might explain the plateau).

Edited June 15, 2007 by bleudauvergne (log)

[heidih]

We miss your posts in whatever forum. I just spent the day re-reading all of your blogs. Lovingly purchased and prepared and then enjoyed food as portrayed in your various blogs has been an enormous joy as well as a source of inspiration to me in my own quest to eat minimally processed, well prepared foods. You lead me back to cheese and it has been a good thing- I cringed at the herb encrusted cheese in Corsica as a teen and now I seek it out. How goes your journey?

[Dave Hatfield]

As I've posted elsewhere I've had a very indulgent summer so need to lose weight.

I'm back onto Montignac starting Thursday.

You may follow my adventure on a daily basis on my BLOG.

Or, if you are so inclined join in. A support group is very helpful when doing this.

So as not to clog up EG with my ramblings I'll be posting only on my blog on this subject.

I would remind those of you who eat out a lot that the original Montignac book was titled "Dine Out and Lose Weight". It is possible. I lost 20 pounds while continuing to travel all over Europe & the States eating at top restaurants. It can be done.

Have a go?