The Food Lover's Diet

The Food Lover's Diet is for those who live in the real world where food is plentiful and life is hectic. It's a revolutionary do-it-yourself approach for those who love food and want to achieve weight loss goals without giving up the pleasures of a square of chocolate, and a glass of wine.

Dr Penny Small claims her diet is a "flexible and family-friendly approach to eating well, living well and achieving a healthy weight is one that really works, and that you can maintain, not just for a few weeks, but for a lifetime. Offering a simple-step-by step plan based on the recommended daily intake of all the food you consume in a day, the Food Lover's Diet shows you how you and your family can use the foods you love and still enjoy a happier, healthier life".

With mouth watering photographs and more than 80 delicious recipes to cook for the whole family, including one I have made which is reproduced below for you to try.
 

About the author:
Dr Penny Small is an accredited practicing dietitian and one of Australia's leading nutritionists who loves food and is passionate about trying to make it easier to eat well. Penny has worked both in local communities encouraging people to make better food and lifestyle choices and with industry partners on improving the nutrition of products on the supermarket shelves.
She currently works, together with a young dynamic team of dietitians, on some of the most popular food brands at Nestle.
Penny is a busy working mum with 2 daughters and husband, whom through necessity, have all learned to cook. She divides her time between Sydney and the beautiful rolling vineyards of her home town of Mudgee.
 
Sweet potato and chickpea salad

1kg orange-fleshed sweet potato, peeled and cut into large chunks
1½ tbsp sweet chilli sauce
4 shallots (spring onions), sliced
100g baby spinach leaves
¼ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
420g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
juice from half a medium lemon
400g diet natural yoghurt
1 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced).
2. Place the sweet potato on a non-stick baking tray and drizzle over the sweet chilli sauce. Bake for 40 minutes, or until the sweet potato is caramelised and soft, turning once during the cooking time. Allow to cool.
3. Transfer the sweet potato to a large serving bowl and add shallots, baby spinach, pepitas and chickpeas. Gently toss together to combine.
4. To make the dressing, whisk together the lemon juice, yoghurt and coriander. Drizzle over the salad and serve immediately.

A pastry brush is handy for brushing the chillisauce over the sweet potato chunks to make sure the flavour is evenly spread. You can also make this salad with pumpkin chunks, but you would need to reduce the baking
time. We love this tangy recipe because it’s a complete meal in itself, and by using a diet yoghurt you can keep the creamy dressing counts down while boosting your calcium and protein intake.

PREP: 10 mins
COOK: 40 mins
SERVES: 4

Thanks to the publishers for permission to reproduce this recipe from The Food Lover's Diet.