Thai Hot and Sour
Salad With Crispy Tofu
Serves 4
7 ounces firm tofu
peanut oil or sunflower
oil, for frying
Dressing
2 red chilies, de-seeded
if large
2 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons light
soy sauce
4 tablespoons lime juice
4 tablespoons Splenda
Salad
11 ounces rutabaga, grated
2/3 cup green beans,
sliced lengthwise
1 red bell pepper, cored
and thinly sliced
4 green onions, sliced
2 handfuls of fresh mint
leaves
1/2 cup toasted peanuts,
ground
1. Drain the tofu and wrap in
paper towels until ready to use.
2. Make the dressing by pounding
all the ingredients in a
heavy mortar or by processing
them in a blender. Combine the
rutabaga, beans, bell pepper,
green onions, mint, and half
the peanuts. Toss with half the
dressing.
3. Heat a shallow layer of oil in
a skillet over high heat. Cut the
tofu into 3-inch slices and fry,
turning once, until golden all
over. Drain on paper towels.
4. Spoon the salad onto plates
and top with tofu. Toss with
the remaining dressing and
sprinkle with the remaining
peanuts.
Per serving:
283 calories, 55% fat (18 g; 2.7 g
saturated), 28% carbs (20 g),
17% protein (12 g), 5 g fiber,
186 mg calcium, 2.6 mg iron,
679 mg sodium.
Recipes by CELIA BROOKS BROWN
Copyright 2005 Weider Publications
Copyright 2005 Gale Group
February 2nd, 2006
WHEN LOW-CARB MANIA reached its fevered pitch last year, lots of health-conscious eaters–vegetarians and “meat minimalists” among them–sat on the sidelines as dieters piled their plates high with burgers, ribs, and other high-protein foods loaded with saturated fat. To those dedicated to a plant-based diet, low-carb eating seemed not only nutritionally imprudent, but practically impossible.
But as the hickory smoke begins to clear, it’s possible to see that the trend hasn’t been entirely without merit. Coupled with common sense, the low-carb legacy can actually help you become a healthier eater and lose weight in the process.
What’s more, you don’t have to be a raging carnivore–in fact, you’re likely to do better on a low-carb diet in the long run if you’re not.
the power of protein
NUTRITIONISTS inevitably remind us that there are no “bad” foods, but the truth is, Americans went overboard with starchy carbs in the low-fat ’80s and ’90s, and soon developed the expanding waistlines to prove it. Fast-forward to the present, and you get another extreme: fats and proteins, good; carbohydrates, bad. Sausages are back on the menu; bagels are off. But are we likely to look back on our low-carb days with the same what-were-we-thinking regret?
Not necessarily. For starters, we were overdue for a correction. “Protein does help some people feel satisfied with less food,” says Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D., a nutrition advisor to the Vegetarian Resource Group. “So they end up eating fewer calories and losing weight.”
Celia Brooks Brown, author of Low-Carb Vegetarian (source of the recipes here), learned this firsthand. “While I was testing recipes for my cookbook, I lost my usual just for food because I wasn’t as hungry as I typically am,” she says. “I lost three pounds in two weeks without even trying.”
Besides putting protein back into the national consciousness, low-carb programs made everyone conscious of eating higher-quality carbs. Most of these plans ask you to cut out virtually all starchy carbs during a jump-start phase. The Atkins plan, for example, allows only about 20 grams of carbs per day during its two-week “induction” period. But as you are permitted to add foods gradually back into your diet, it’s recommended that you choose carbs that are rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals over those that are highly refined and stripped of their nutritional value. In other words, white rice and white bread are out, and brown rice and whole-grain breads are in–a change that nutritionists have been advocating for decades.
the meatless approach
FOLLOWING A LOW-CARB diet without a daily helping of bacon-wrapped pot roast is not only possible, it’s preferable. A vegetarian, or almost vegetarian, version of low-carb eating will help you sidestep the biggest problem with the usual approach: an overload of animal protein and artery-clogging saturated fat.
“Some research indicates that vegetarian protein sources are less associated with an increased risk of cancer and heart disease than animal protein sources,” says Suzanne Havala-Hobbs, Dr.PH., a clinical assistant professor in the department of health policy and administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the author of Being Vegetarian for Dummies.
If you’re trying to go very low carb while staying low fat, your concentrated sources of protein are pretty much limited to tofu, tempeh, egg whites, and reduced-fat cheeses. But what about well-regarded sources of protein like nuts, beans, and yogurt?
“Many of those and other typical vegetarian protein sources are also high in carbohydrates,” says Havala-Hobbs (see “Where the Carbs Are” on page 44). A carton of plain nonfat yogurt, for example, has more carbs (17 grams) than protein (13 grams). There’s no reason you can’t incorporate it into your diet once you up your carb intake, but if you’re trying to shed pounds via the very-low-carb route, you’ll need to go easy on the tzatziki.
carbs and calories
THERE ARE NOW hundreds of low-carb products on the market vying for your attention, but that doesn’t mean all of them will help you in your quest to slim down. “When you compare some of the low-carb foods to the regular versions, you can see that the calories are the same,” says Mangels. Since it’s ultimately the number of calories you consume that counts–not the ratio of carbohydrate to protein–check the label before you buy any pre-packaged low-carb convenience product. (That’s also why you should not overdo nuts, which are low in carbs yet high
in calories.)
There are plenty of vegetarian low-carb dishes you can make on your own. Even if your protein choices are limited, the number of ways you can prepare them is not. Brooks Brown found that eggs and tofu have endless incarnations (tofu jerky, anyone?), and she was actually able to include pancakes, muffins, desserts, and–yes–even gnocchi by using low-carb, high-protein soy flour. Still, some sacrifices were made. “Sadly, there’s not a single bean in the book,” she notes.
Yet beans don’t have to be off your shopping list for long, nor should they be. Low-carb diets have proven effective in helping people lose weight, but haven’t been great for helping them keep the weight off, Mangels points out. Because these plans can get boring, people don’t tend to stay on them. So, eventually working beans back into your diet–along with a variety of fruits and vegetables–not only makes sense healthwise, it also helps prevent the pounds from creeping back.
Ultimately, it comes down to balance. Take the lessons of low carb to heart–that is, eat fewer highly refined, low-quality carbs, and work some lean, high-quality protein into your meals so you’re less likely to head back to the fridge in an hour. Then put into practice what you know about minimizing saturated fat and maximizing antioxidant-rich foods in your diet. “That,” confirms Havala-Hobbs, “is the best path to good health.”
WHERE THE CARBS ARE
Which sources of vegetarian protein have the least Garbs?
Here's a comparison.
FOOD CARBS PROTEIN
cheddar cheese (1 oz) 0.36 g 7 g
walnuts (1 oz) 3 g 7 g
cottage cheese, 2% (4 Oz) 4 g 15 g
pumpkin seeds (1 oz) 4 g 9 g
tofu, firm (1/2 CUP) 5 g 20 g
almonds (1 oz) 5.6 g 6 g
almond butter (2 T) 7 g 5 g
pistachio nuts (1 oz) 8 g 6 g
tempeh (3 oz, cooked) 8 g 16 g
milk, 1% (1 cup) 12 g 8 g
soy milk (1 cup) 12 g 11 g
edamame (1 cup) 20 g 22 g
kidney beans (1 cup) 37 g 13 g
lentils (1 cup) 40 g 18 g
pinto beans (1 cup) 45 g 15 g
Source; USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory
WHICH DIET HELPS YOU LOSE WEIGHT?
Any diet works if you stick with it. In a study at Tufts University in Boston, 160 overweight men and women followed either the low-carbohydrate Atkins diet; the low-fat Ornish diet; or the more moderate Weight Watchers or Zone diets. Of those who stuck it out for a year (half the Atkins and Ornish volunteers dropped out, as did about 35 percent of the Weight Watchers and Zone dieters), all lost about 11 pounds and improved their health by reducing their cholesterol and insulin levels.
Recipes by CELIA BROOKS BROWN
Photography by TARA FISHER
Copyright 2005 Weider Publications
Copyright 2005 Gale Group
February 2nd, 2006