Low GI in Laos

It’s a long path, but every day that my weight is a little lower than the day before feels great. Last night I met up with friends for Monday evening’s sunset Happy Hour at 7 th Heaven by Burasari and we had the very low carb friendly meat and cheese platter and drank dry white wine as the sun set. We sent the basket of bread back so we weren’t tempted but the platter of meats, cheeses, and olives, with gherkins and cherry tomatoes was fabulous. They offer a range of different platter choices so there are options for different budgets and hunger levels. Drinks were half price and the wine went down very easily. Meanwhile at home, I'm needing food distractions. We are in the lead up to Christmas and currently making gingerbread houses. The first order is for about 85 houses, and with each one being 10 biscuits - 4 walls, 2 roof pieces, a front, back, door, girl, boy, and tree, the house has been filled with the smell of all this yummy cooking for several days now. To keep tempt...

  Low GI with the Spirits As I've mentioned, The Spirit House has a low GI menu - both for food and drinks. It's really great to have some really delicious options to choose from on the cocktail menu. And the Basil Skimmers ent down a treat the other evening. They definitely proved a hit. With Lao Basil, fresh lime and of course the fabulous TSH gin, this was really popular. It’s great to finally have a choice of sugar free alcoholic drinks to choose from. The GI Jo is one of my favourites too, and then there are the Vixen and Absolut GI for a completely sugar and sweetener free fruity experience. Here is the cocktail menu They have also added a Low GI Mocktail to their Spirit-less House menu. I haven’t tried it yet, but no doubt I will soon – it’s just too exciting to have such a fabulous choice of low GI cocktails to choose from for now. Of course, there is food too! Although they also have other items on the menu that I suspect are low GI (like the Caesar Salad), I h...

Woohoo!!! The Spirit Houses (both in Vientiane and Luang Prabang) have now launched their new low GI range. It’s so exciting to finally be able to go out and have a low GI cocktail that tastes fabulous and that I know is guilt free! Of course, I had to start my Low GI cocktail journey with the GI Jo. I make a version of this at home – vanilla vodka and iced Earl Grey Tea but in the hands of a master mixologist like Andrew Mullins, and the help of some twists and oils, this drink was lifted up several levels. There are other low GI drinks too. Tomorrow I’m planning to get well acquainted with the Basil Skimmer. No more vodka sodas for me! And they have introduced several new Low GI dishes. Delicious meat and veggie options that looked fabulous. I was a judge on Laos’ Top Chef contest yesterday so I didn’t get to try them yet, but they look great, and I can’t wait. The top chef contest saw some wonderful dishes that used all Lao ingredients. I discovered a new leaf that I loved –...

Being utterly hopeless at resisting temptation, I have had a big clear out. There is no rice, pasta, bread, potatoes, sweets, etc. in the house. I have also made sure that there are lots of low carb food so that I don't head out for pizza.  So this week we have been prepping. Ratatouille is a favourite.  We either oven roast or barbecue onions, red and yellow peppers, tomatoes, aubergine (eggplant), and courgette (zucchini), then remove the skins and cut into rough chunks before cooking further. Without the skins this can also be frozen well (the skins of aubergine tend to go tough in the freezer). Whether I eat it hot or cold, I stir in some fresh basil leaves and a grind of pepper at the last moment. I love the ratatouille cold. Sprinkled with white feta cheese, which contrasts beautifully, and eaten with ham and some salad it is a really fast meal, packed full of veggies, and delicious. With toast off the menu, ratatouille is a great base for a shakshuka style bre...

  I was so proud of myself. I’d lost so much weight. I had energy. I felt terrific. I’d been on the low GI diet for 2 years and I couldn’t really believe how easy it was. Just miss out the carbs and watch the weight fall off. It felt ridiculous that I hadn’t realized before. How could I have put on so much weight when it was so easy not to? And there was a fabulous upwards spiral of the more weight I lost the more energy I had, the more energy I had, the more I moved, the more I moved, the more weight I lost and everything felt great. So many people commented about my weight loss. It felt fantastic. The only drawback was meeting up with friends. Eating at home was easy, but I was tired of being a high maintenance customer at restaurants. Could I have this but could I replace the potatoes with an extra egg? Any chance of swapping the bread or couscous for extra veggies? With one exception (and it was at a restaurant that has since closed down) everyone was so lovely about it. It...