The DIY Diet

I admit, I have more cookbooks than any home cook needs and I’d decided I was going to be more selective about buying cookbooks in the future. The approximately 130 cookbooks and folders with recipes I’ve saved over the years nearly fill a tall bookcase that I have stashed in my walk-in bedroom closet. The kitchen cupboard space in my townhome is too limited to consider storing all the cookbooks there. I need the cookbooks nearby, however, so the walk-in closet was the next best solution. Besides, I’m not a clothes horse. Since retiring I’ve found that I haven’t worn some of my work clothes at all. I suppose I should get rid of them. I use less than half of the closet space for clothes. I use much of the space for tablecloths, napkins, video and audio tapes, an assortment of vacuum cleaners, and miscellaneous books I like to have handy to read when I’m sitting in my bed.

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Recently I was watching a re-broadcast of the Fox Channel’s "Morning Show with Mike and Juliet" when the program featured a segment about the four best diet plans according to Consumer Reports magazine.

Consumer Reports based their ranking on research published in major medical journals. Among the four best diet plans were Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and Slim-Fast.

The no. 1 best diet was The Volumetrics Eating Plan, designed and researched by Barbara Rolls, Ph.D. The Morning Show hosts, like me, said, Volumetrics, what’s that? Here was a diet plan that few people seemed to know anything about and it sounded like it would work perfectly with the calorie-based DIY Diet I had designed for myself that includes the foods I love and am accustomed to eating.

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I was recently introduced to Cuisine at Home when I saw a special issue of this magazine when I was waiting at the doctor’s office. In my opinion, it is the most beautiful, useful, and informative cooking magazine I’ve come across, bar none.

As I paged through the issue I was thoroughly impressed when I realized that virtually every recipe contained in this special issue was something I could easily make for family or friends in my home.

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A book that every cook or would-be cook, man or woman, should have in their reference library is CookWise: The Secrets of Cooking Revealed by Shirley O. Corriher. Ms. Corriher, a chef, biochemist and storyteller, explains clearly and logically the hows and whys of successful cooking and includes over 230 recipes proving the information she presents.

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Years ago an avid cook told me that all I needed was one good cookbook in order to prepare most anything.

That may well be true, but I enjoy collecting cookbooks, and have been collecting ones that interest me since I was a teenager.

I have more than 100 of them. Some I like and use far more than others; I’ve thrown very few of them away.

One cookbook that I find interesting to read is Bull Cook and Authentic Historical Recipes and Practices by George Leonard Herter and Berthe E. Herter. Mr. Herter was the owner of a sporting goods mail order company in Waseca, Minnesota until sometime in the 1970s. The cookbook was originally published in 1960.

About thirty years ago, a co-worker showed me his copy of the cookbook for the first time. I was fascinated. It covers everything from how to dress wild game to making wine and beers. The author, Mr. Herter, has strong opinions about just about everything. It makes it amusing as well as informative.

I decided at some point I’d try to obtain a copy of this cookbook for myself. I found a copy ten years ago on the used book market. I noticed that Amazon.com has used copies available if it interests you. I also discovered that there is a Volume II and a Volume III to the cookbook, and that Mr. Herter wrote some other books, equally as opinionated, according to the old reviews I’ve read. His book George, the Housewife (my version was copyrighted in 1972) sounded interesting so I recently ordered it to add to my collection.  I’m reading through it now.  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Herter thinks he has all the answers about everything from what causes cannibalism to how women should dress to stimulate men. What disturbs me is his seemingly low regard for women.  I don’t recommend the book but have provided a link in case you want to check it out for yourself.

Another old cookbook that I really enjoy reading and from which I’ve used recipes to prepare meals over many years is The Treasury of Great Recipes cookbook by actor Vincent Price and his wife, Mary. It’s a beautiful book; it resembles a Family Bible, and contains recipes from some of the finest restaurants in the world.

Some years ago a co-worker lost 50 pounds using the Charleston Program, a diet program designed by Robert M. Johnson, MD, and Shirley Linde, PhD. The book, The Charleston Program, went through several printings in the 1990s and is still available from the used book market on Amazon.com. Your local library may even have the book.

I think it’s a wonderful book. It contains a lot of excellent information. Everyone should read the first three chapters, as a minimum, in preparation for any diet.

Chapter 1 contains paragraphs with titles like: "You have a right to be thin" and "You can reshape your eating - and your body!" Chapter 2 asks "Are you Ready?" Chapter 3 is about "Setting goals and Getting Motivated". Chapter 4 launches into an explanation of the diet itself. It’s a good diet.

I tried it for a time though I don’t remember how much I lost on the diet. The authors provide you with a list of foods that you eat all you want, foods you can eat three portions per day, foods you eat two portions per day, one portion per day vegetables, one portion per day fruits, one portion per day soups, and x-rated foods for occasional consumption.

If you can follow a diet selecting foods from a list, the Charleston diet is the program for you. Even if you don’t end up following the diet, the book is worth reading. I needed more than the lists to follow. I needed more specific information. I needed to know exactly how many calories I should be eating to succeed with a diet program. I was still searching for the right diet for me. I had no idea then that I’d ultimately design my own program. I’m finding success with my own diet but I still find inspiration in The Charleston Program book.