The Fifteen Secrets

After ten years living shopping, cooking and eating in China, Lorraine has encapsulated a fascinating food culture into fifteen secrets that will enable the reader to enjoy food, eat more and feel better.

  1. Stop counting calories
    Find out how the Chinese consume more calories than Americans but keep slimmer
  2. Think of vegetables as dishes
    Learn why Chinese chefs give vegetables the same attention as the finest cut of meat
  3. Fill up on staple foods
    Dispel your fears about carbs: staple foods have kept billions of Chinese people fit and slim for thousands of years
  4. Eat until you’re full
    Accept that, if you eat the right foods,  it is possible to eat until you are satisfied three times a day
  5. Take liquid food
    See how simple soups and Chinese porridge can help you lose weight
  6. Bring yin and yang into your kitchen
    Discover a mix of different cooking methods and a range of ingredients to keep your body in balance
  7. Balance the flavours
    Understand how the Chinese diet nourishes the five energy centres of the body by encompassing five different flavours
  8. Master your ingredients
    Simple techniques from the Chinese kitchen can transform your cooking and eating experience
  9. Choose ‘live’ over ‘dead’ ingredients or processed foods
    Instead of calorie counting take on board the concept of ‘qi’ or lifeforce and improve the quality of your diet
  10. Respect the body’s climate
    Find out why salads and ice-drinks may be preventing you from losing weight
    11. Use food to keep you fit
    Learn how Chinese people go to the larder not to the chemist when they feel out of sorts
  11. Make an occasion of meals
    Explore the idea of a meal as an opportunity for giving and sharing more than just food
  12. Drink green and herbal teas
    Enhance your new diet with energizing brews
  13. Take restorative exercise
    Say goodbye to punishing regimes and learn to exercise without getting out of bed
  14. Avoid extremes in all areas of your life
    When you realise that food is only one aspect of a philosophy that has helped Chinese people live in harmony with nature for thousands of years you will be better equipped to face the stresses of modern living

    To find out more about how China’s age old food culture can keep you fit and slim while eating delicious meals read ‘Why the Chinese Don’t Count Calories’.