by Levana Kirschenbaum

I wouldn’t presume to wax nutritionist–there are many qualified people for that. Rather, since a whole lifetime of cooking and eating has somehow kept me and all mine healthy and trim, G-d bless, I decided I must be doing something right, and I would like to share some of my practices with you.

1. Do the math:

My favorite diet book is Dr. Howard Shapiro’s Picture Perfect Diet Loss. Here’s one simple example from it: Would you like two scoops of ice cream instead of two scoops of frozen yogurt? Go right ahead and enjoy it, as long as you keep in mind that two scoops of ice cream are the caloric equivalent of almost a quart of frozen yogurt. After many graphic instances of low caloric dishes facing off against their high-calorie counterparts, you can’t help acquiring the good habit of counting. The good news is, after a while, you don’t even need to count any more. Eating the right thing becomes second nature. And the occasional splurge is totally allowed and is not considered a terrible setback.

2. Don’t say the S word:

After so many years of living in the States, I have become convinced that snacking is an American disease. I have calculated that you need about six lifetimes, eating nothing whatsoever but snacks and never eating the same snack twice, in order to sample all of them. Because snacking has such an unthreatening name and we think of it somewhat affectionately, we do it mindlessly and hardly ever realize it will calorically (but of course not nutritionally) add up to a meal and then some.

3. For, not with:

This has everything to do with math. Are you simply dying to have that delicious bread? Great, only please don’t have two rolls of it smeared with butter while you are waiting for your order to arrive. Rather, have your treat for lunch or dinner the next day with a good spread and a good salad. Likewise, if you love popcorn the way I do, don’t eat it after dinner while you are watching a movie. Eat it for dinner with soup and a salad. In other words, you can have all your favorite foods–only not all at once!

4. Learn to order in a restaurant:

As a restaurant owner, I can tell you that being a frequent restaurant-goer is no excuse for bad eating habits. Whatever dish I choose, I always order it with no starch and double the veggies, no gravy, mustard on the side, big pot of decaf tea and bread to go.

5. Get “stuck” with only the best:

We all admire and seek to emulate the friend who has an uncluttered, well-chosen wardrobe, who always looks wonderful while not spending a penny more than your bargain-hunter friend (maybe even less: now wouldn’t that be terribly vexing?). Likewise with your pantry and your table. Just as the cheap plastic belt or the excess crude language obscures, indeed eclipses the good look, so too the bouillon cube, the canned potato, the just-add-water soup. Even if you have no knowledge of cooking, just by not using anything wrong, you’ll get great results. The deletions are every bit as crucial as the additions. Banish all those ingredients that might compromise or ruin your creation, and surround yourself with only what counts and will do you proud!

In that spirit, here’s a Shabat menu that’s lean without being unduly harsh. Add a salad of your choice or a bed of greens for the entree to add to its nutritional value.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Chicken Cacciatore

Tiramisu