I tend to dismiss cookbooks with the words “weight loss” on the cover. I feel hungry before I even open them. Instead, I try to follow the advice put forth by Michael Pollan “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
But as I struggled to squeeze into a dress that fit comfortably a year ago, I wondered if I needed a bit more structure. I read Kiki Nelson’s “Plantifully Simple: 100 Plant-Based Recipes and Meal Plans for Health and Weight Loss” (Simon Element, $32.50) with an open mind.
Six years ago, Nelson began sharing her story of losing 70 pounds, along with recipes and strategies for keeping them off, on social media, at health conferences, and in books (her 2020 breakout, “Plantifully Lean,” was recently reissued in an expanded format). She tells how a low-carb, high-protein, high-fat regimen left her heavier and less healthy than before. So she tried the opposite approach: cutting out all animal products and most added fat, and bulking up her plates with produce, whole grains, nuts and seeds.
I skimmed through the first 64 pages of her new book detailing her methods, game plans, menus and routines for exercise and self-care. But I was more interested in learning her culinary tricks for staying full and satisfied without oil or even tofu.
Potatoes, often demonized in low-carb circles yet packed with nutrients, are among her favorite weapons. She stuffs them in tacos, simmers them in curries, and blends them into sauces that pinch-hit for dairy-rich counterparts. With some skepticism, I blended up her cheeseless Poblano Cheese Sauce and draped it over roasted peppers stuffed with rice, black beans, corn and a spoonful of salsa. My husband and I were amazed how much we enjoyed them, prompting me to whip up potato-based Alfredo Sauce and Roasted Red Pepper Sauce to enrich future guilt-free pasta meals.
Even if you don’t completely say goodbye to real cheese and olive oil, you may find, as I did, that these recipes keep you from craving their presence quite as much.
Susan Puckett is a cookbook author and former food editor of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow her at susanpuckett.com.
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