I tried Tim Spector’s recipe book

Is there such a thing as too many lentils? Tim Spector doesn’t think so.

I’m a real fan of lentils, but my mind, heart and stomach can’t handle eating them every day. Fortunately, Spector’s first recipe book includes many other ingredients. Food for Life Cookbook The first program from Zoe’s founder is a personalized diet and nutrition program that lets legions of (mostly middle-class, middle-aged, possibly menopausal) women rate what they eat each day, and it’s as jam-packed as you’d expect. with super healthy ideas for daily nutrition.

The book is a practical companion to Spector’s bestseller. Food for LifeReleased in 2022, it reveals the 66-year-old famous scientist’s approach to good nutrition for overall health. Spector believes that nutrition and good gut health influence many of our other health outcomes, especially chronic diseases. A few years after the epidemiologist became interested in the gut microbiome’s role in genetics, she overhauled her own diet after suffering a stroke in 2011.

Before I open the book, I know I can devour plenty of fermented foods and a generous sprinkling of nuts and seeds; Adding food rather than cutting back on meals helps Spector’s followers get closer to the 30-plant-eating-a-week mantra; this approach has been shown to improve gut diversity. But I wasn’t expecting such delicious-sounding sweet treats, from beetroot muffins made with real sugar, chocolate and eggs (and a king’s ransom of olive oil) to chocolate chip cookies with chocolate cream and walnuts.

After all, dark chocolate is a healthy food, so I do my part and make brownies right away. They’re not as fluffy as I think brownies should be due to the lack of butter, and I wish I’d used 70 percent chocolate instead of the 100 percent chocolate that no one wants to eat on their own, but other than that, they turned out great. I feel like I should offer to give them a warning, but no one complains or turns them away – although if you like very sweet things, it may take a while to get used to cakes that are low in sugar.

Then I move on to an easy recipe from the “Fun” section. Spector points out that in places where communal eating is a regular occurrence, such as Sardinia, Crete and Okinawa, it is said to contribute to longevity, while in the UK social eating is expected to make us feel happier and more satisfied with life. Okay, but it’s a cold Monday evening and I can’t think of anyone who would feel happier or more satisfied socializing with me, so I choose a very quick black bean chili recipe to eat alone, throw in a can of beans, put tomatoes and a few spices in a pot, and serve with avocado , though I’ll admit I cheated a bit: I ate it with white rice instead of the recommended pearl barley and puy lentils, which are much higher in fiber and protein.

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Consuming more fiber is one of the six core principles Spector lays out in his introduction. He thinks our current obsession with packaging protein is out of control and that we should instead “direct our protein to plant-based sources, which also give us fibre.” This means more lentils (the cookbook includes 10 lentil-based recipes), as well as nuts, edamame, yogurt, cheese, kefir, beans, tofu and eggs.

Besides lentil recipes, there are 25 notable recipes based on beans, from cannellini to borlotti: canned and jarred beans are rich in protein and fiber and are an agriculturally sustainable food. “30 plants” and “eating the rainbow” are other principles that will both encourage diversity in our diet, nourish our gut microbiome, and ultimately improve our overall health. Spector also recommends consuming fermented foods like kefir and kimchi, opting for quality over quantity (trying to avoid overly processed foods, for example), and trying time-restricted eating (TRE) (fasting overnight for 12 to 12 days a few days a week). 14 hours – to give our intestines a rest.

According to the recipe, black bean chili contains 5-10 grams of fiber and 10 herbs. These are both good ratings in Zoe language. We are recommended to eat 30 grams of fiber a day, but 90 per cent of people in the UK and US fail to reach this target. I haven’t counted points since my desperate Slimming World days and I won’t start now; This idea reminds me of calorie counts on restaurant menus, which makes me feel guilty. But I appreciate that keeping a tally can be helpful if you want to increase your plant consumption.

On the second day, I enjoy leftover peppers and make the eggplant parmigiana from the “Satisfying Main Dishes” section for dinner. It is a standard parmigiana made with eggplant slices and tomato sauce rich in olive oil and the addition of “gut-healthy” lentils. By the third day, after a leftover lunch of this, I was feeling absolutely gutted and in need of a TRE break. I’m returning to the recipe for “Juno’s lasagna,” named after Spector’s mother, but when I learned it was made with more cans of lentils, I postponed it until the weekend. I make kale and cashew soup instead. This is the only recipe that disappoints me because mine turns out weak and flavorless. But the pomegranate tabbouleh I prepared with it – bulgur wheat stuffed with herbs, lemon and olive oil – was delicious. Later in the week, I turn to lasagna: Made with fresh mushrooms, dried porcini, sun-dried tomatoes, lentils, passata, miso and basil, the sauce is rich and delicious. It comes in 13 factories; I want to err on the side of caution and add thyme and red pepper to increase the total to 15.

If you’re new to Spector-style eating, you’ll definitely need a cupboard stockpile — lentils and beans (of all kinds), of course, as well as seeds, nuts, and fermented foods like kimchi and miso appear regularly in recipes. But the good news is that there are plenty of quick and easy meals in the “15-Minute Meals” and “Cupboard Raid” sections: think tahini-miso bean, corn and spinach dahl, and coconut spinach lentils. And I’m feeling pretty smug about making my ‘seed mix sprinkle’ (5 herbs, 5g fibre) at home, knowing it’ll save me from splashing out on M&S’s Zoe gut shot or Waitrose’s Zoe Daily30+ supplement.

Much has been written about how expensive eating healthy can be, particularly the Zoe program itself, with the initial test kit costing £300, followed by a subscription starting from £24.99 a month. And it’s true that good nutrition comes at a premium. But the Food for Life diet is also surprisingly inexpensive; It’s definitely cheaper than buying convenience foods like packaged snacks and ready meals and eating lots of meat. Restocking your cupboard with expensive items such as olive oil, nuts and seeds initially seems like a significant expense, but when I go back to up the price of the brownies, I find that 200ml of olive oil costs £2, which seems extremely wasteful. £2.50 – the same as a stick of butter.

If you’re someone who eats the same takeaway ham sandwich for lunch every day, Food for Life mindset may take some effort. But approach it like the Meatless Mondays we’ve all adopted, and it’s easy to integrate: Choose one of the Food for Life recipes once or twice a week, and if you enjoy them, keep going. I’m planning.

The Cooking for Life Cookbook by Tim Spector is published 10 October, Jonathan Cape, £28

Tim Spector’s pecan chocolate chip cookies

Makes 12 cookies

Contents

• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 200 g ground almonds
• 50g hazelnuts (these can be replaced with pumpkin or sunflower seeds), roughly chopped
• 80 g dark chocolate (at least 70 percent cocoa), roughly chopped
• pinch of salt

Method: Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas 4 and line the baking tray with baking parchment. To make flax eggs, mix ground flaxseed with 4 tablespoons of water and let it sit for 15 minutes.

Mix brown sugar, olive oil and flax egg together. Add ground almonds, walnuts, chocolate and salt and mix again.

Form into 12 firm balls and flatten slightly into cookies about 1cm thick (it helps if you do this with damp hands). Bake for 10-12 minutes until the edges turn golden brown, then leave to cool completely on the tray. Store in an airtight container.

eggplant parmigiana

Serves 4 with leftovers

Contents

• 3 eggplants, sliced ​​lengthwise 1cm thick
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 x 400g tin diced tomatoes
• 1 x 400g tin black or green lentils, drained
• 30g basil, torn leaves and a few for garnish
• 125g mozzarella ball, torn
• 20 g finely grated parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper
• Kimchi, for supplements
• Extra basil to finish

Method: Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas 6.
Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment and arrange the eggplants in a single layer. Sprinkle salt and pepper and drizzle 1 tablespoon of olive oil all over. Bake for 25 minutes until golden and soft.

Meanwhile, place the frying pan over medium heat and sauté the onion in the remaining oil for 3 minutes until softened. Add garlic and pepper and cook for 1 more minute. Pour in the tomatoes and lentils, then fill half the tomato can with water and add this to the pan. Cook for about 10 minutes until it thickens slightly. Add the basil and cook for another 5 minutes, then season with salt and pepper.

Pour a third of the ragu mixture into the bottom of a 20-23cm square baking tray (or similar) and place a layer of eggplant on top. Repeat this two more times, then finish with mozzarella and Parmesan.

Bake for 30 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and golden brown. Serve with some steamed greens.

Corn and spinach dhal

for 4 people

Contents

• 2 x 195g tins of corn and liquid
• 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1½ teaspoons pepper flakes
• 160 g red lentils
• 2 cubes frozen spinach
• 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon dried curry leaves (optional)
• Salt and pepper
• Soft boiled egg for addition
• Fresh pepper to finish
• coriander, for additional

Method: Pour 1 box of corn and its liquid into the blender, add 550 ml of water and mix until smooth.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a saucepan over medium heat and sauté the onion for 3 minutes,
until soft and translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.

Add ground spices and cook for 30 seconds, then stir in lentils, frozen spinach, toasted corn broth, and remaining canned corn and liquid.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer gently for 15-20 minutes or until lentils are tender. If the dhal becomes too thick, add some water. Season generously with salt and pepper.

Just before the dhal finishes cooking, heat the remaining olive oil in a small pan and add the cumin seeds and curry leaves (if using). Fry over low-medium heat for about 1 minute or until the seeds begin to pop. Pour over dhal, stir and serve.

Quotation: Food for Life Cookbook Written by Tim Spector (Jonathan Cape, £28)