The Banting Diet, as the low carb high-fat diet is known in South Africa, has long been thought of as a meat and bacon heavy lifestyle with large amounts of animal protein needed in every meal. With that belief, Banting was not something a vegetarian would want to consider.
Not content to allow the vegetarian community to be excluded for a lifestyle that has been shown to improve health, increase energy and result in weight loss, the authors of the #1 Bestseller Banting 7 Day Meal Plans, set out to research and create a book that explains the ins and outs of how to follow the Banting lifestyle while excluding meat, fish, poultry and in some cases even dairy.
The result – Banting 7 Day Meal Plans Vegetarian – a beautiful collection of enticing, mouthwatering recipes, including nutritional breakdowns, a range of meal plans, revised vegetarian friendly food lists and advice brought to the public by Quivertree Publishers, Rita Venter, Natalie Lawson, and Kim Blom.
From low carb nachos and vegetarian burgers, to sumptuous mushroom stroganoff and protein packed salads, to chia puddings and chocolate cupcakes, this book provides a wide range of meal options that can be eaten as full vegetarian meals or added to meat dishes as sides.
Now people will understand that Banting is accessible, no matter your budget, or personal choices, if you observe vegetarian or vegan days or just want to include more vegetables, the choice is yours and the delicious food options are limitless.
Rita Venter is married to Cobus – a type 1 diabetic who has benefited greatly from the banting lifestyle, enabling him to reduce his insulin intake. They live in Cape Town, have four adult children and five grandchildren. Rita was a real estate agent and is also involved in medical tourism, assisting Portuguese speaking patients who come to South Africa for Cancer, Fertility, and other medical care.
Rita founded the Banting 7 Day Meal Plans group in her early days on this lifestyle when she witnessed a woman aggressively peddling paid for meal plans, while offering no support and shaming the financially challenged members of a Banting Facebook community group she had joined. The group has grown to be over 2.3 million members strong and is a kind, supportive and caring foundation where members learn, share, and encourage others on their journeys. The group mottos, “There is no such a thing as a dumb question,” “Bant because you love yourself, not because you hate your body,” and “It costs nothing to be kind” are evident in the thousands of interactions that take place daily. Creating and supporting the Facebook group was a natural progression from Rita’s medical support work as helping and supporting others is her passion. She is regularly asked to speak on podcasts, webinars and training sessions.
A few months after starting the group, she was joined by Kim, and then Natalie and several other dedicated volunteers who assist the 2.3 million members in their banting journeys, offering free advice and support.
Kim Blom lives in Durban and is married to Adrian and has five children. She is a public relations consultant, working for a boutique creative agency in Durban but has also worked in project management and fundraising in the non- profit sector, supporting children and adults affected and infected by HIV/AIDS. Her passion for learning, helping, and teaching others led to her involvement in providing support on the Banting group, which then blossomed into the opportunity to take part in the creation of the Banting 7 Day Meal Plans book and now the Vegetarian Banting title.
Natalie Lawson, a stay at home mom, also from Cape Town, is married to Stephen and between them they have five children and one grandson. Her inspiration for starting Banting was her son, diagnosed as autistic and non-verbal. He has advanced remarkably, is now fully verbal and able to complete advanced home-schooling curricula. Natalie offers tireless support on the Facebook group, and has a keen interest in helping other parents assist their children in reaching their full potential through correct diet and nutritional support.
The book is available from Exclusive Books, Takealot, Woolworths, Bargain Books and other leading outlets for around R395.
Here’s a recipe from the book…
Sunflower Nachos
Feel free to add other sides like pickled red onion, lime wedges, fresh coriander and tomato. Plus the cooked salsa is great on cooked vegetables.
Ingredients
90g sunflower seed flour
180g grated cheddar
1 tbsp onion powder or garlic powder (optional)
2 tbsp cream cheese
1 tsp salt
1 egg
Fat 30.2, Protein 17, Carbs 4.4
(without toppings)
TOPPINGS (optional)
Avo mash (page 90) or chunks of fresh avocado
Grated cheese
Coriander chutney (page 181)
Sour cream
COOKED SALSA
8 tomatoes, chopped
4 large chillies, finely chopped
2 tbsp crushed garlic
2 green peppers, chopped
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 large onion, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tsp sweetener (optional)
Fat 7.4, Protein 2.8, Carbs 9.6
Make the salsa first. Place all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to the boil, then leave to simmer on low for about 3 hours, until everything is soft and the mixture is thick. Adjust seasoning to taste – you may need to add
a little sweetener to counter the acidity. Preheat oven to 200°C.
Mix the flour and cheese in a bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir, then microwave again for 45 seconds. Mix together to form a dough, add the cream cheese, salt and egg, and mix well. Roll dough into a ball and place in the centre of a sheet of baking paper. Put another sheet of paper on top and roll the dough out as thin as possible. Remove top sheet of paper. Slide the dough gently, with the sheet of baking paper underneath, onto an oven tray. Bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and cut dough into nacho shapes, turn them over and bake for another 10 minutes. Watch that they don’t burn. Allow to cool completely so that they crisp up nicely. Serve nachos with cooked salsa and toppings.
Tip No microwave? Follow the tip instructions for the pizza base on page 88.
