Having plenty of low-calorie-dense food to hand is absolutely crucial if you want to avoid an armed raid on the biscuit barrel. Low-calorie-dense means eating a lot of fruit, veg, and pulses. Imagine you have the contract to supply the Elephant House* at London Zoo and you’ll get the quantity about right.  

*Eat veg like an elephant to avoid looking like one is not a catchy slogan but it hits the nail bang on the head.

There are things that appear in my recipes all the time, so on your weekly shopping list you might want to include:  

Fruit

Lemons – preferably unwaxed

Oranges

Pomegranates – they are fantastic for salads and pulses

Lots of fruit for general eating

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Veg

Cabbage – pointy, white, red

Cauliflower

Carrots

Onions – preferably red

Peppers

Tomatoes

Aubergine

Salad leaves

Parsley

Fresh chillies

Garlic    

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Eggs    

Some salmon to cure, or smoked / gravalaxed salmon

Things to have in your larder:

Pulses,

Dried or tinned – particularly lentils and chickpeas but also any variety of white bean.  

Spices – coriander seeds, peppercorns, cardamom, caraway, juniper, cumin, fennel.

Anchovies

Honey

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

Himalayan rock or sea salt

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