The Good Life

My guest this week is Nancy Baggett, co-author with Ruth Click of “The 2 Day a Week Diet Cookbook”  Learn more about Nancy and the book.

A phenomenal new weight busting plan is now taking the world by storm. Known as the 5-2 or Fast diet, it calls for counting calories only two days a week and eating normally the other five days.  But the plan requires cutting back to 500 calories (600 for men) on the diet days–which can be challenging unless you have the right recipes. That’s where The 2 Day a Week Diet Cookbook comes in. It’s designed to give you exactly what you need to succeed on your two diet days: Restricted-calorie recipes that are quick, easy, delicious, and remarkably satisfying.

Here are 200-calorie or fewer versions of favorites (ideal for anyone on a low-fat diet) including chili, New England clam chowder, baked apples, French toast, and chocolate-banana breakfast smoothie–food you can actually look forward to on your diet days.   Plus you’ll find enticing photos, sample menus, and streamlined cooking techniques to fit the recipes into your busy schedule while you shed those unwanted pounds.

Among the book’s key features:

* 75 quick and easy recipes. 50 beautiful photographs. Clear, simple-to-follow instructions.

* Helpful recipe introductions. Fat cutting techniques. Time-saving cooking methods.

* Recipes that can be made ahead or frozen. Emphasis on everyday ingredients.

* Nutritional analysis for each recipe. Cooking and shopping tips. Sample menus.

*  Diet-day strategies.

*  Gluten-free options for all recipes

Nancy Baggett is an award-winning author of a number of cookbooks, most recently The 2 Day a Week Diet Cookbook (Kindle book) written with Ruth Glick. Nancy’s work has received four International Association of Culinary Professionals and James Beard Foundation “best cookbook” nominations, three for baking books, one for a healthy cooking book. Among her best-selling titles are The All-American Cookie Book, Kneadlessly Simple, The International Cookie Cookbook, and The International Chocolate Cookbook, which was named the best dessert cookbook by the International Association of Culinary Professionals. Her recipes have appeared in Better Homes and Gardens, Eating Well, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit, The Washington Post, and many other national publications. She has guested on dozens of television and radio shows, including Good Morning America, Today and NPR.

In the second half Lancaster Estate winemaker Jesse Katz joins us to talk about his journey in wine, and this stunning wine estate in the rolling hills of Alexander Valley.  Lancaster Estate is one of Sonoma County’s elite wineries with 53 acres of vineyards micro-farmed for maximum quality.

Founded in 1995 at the southernmost tip of Alexander Valley, family-owned Lancaster Estate is recognized for crafting highly acclaimed wines under the Lancaster Estate and Roth Estate labels, exclusively from classic Bordeaux varietals, primarily Cabernet Sauvignon.

Jesse Katz

About Jesse Katz:
As a boy traveling with his well known wine country photographer father, Andy, winemaker Jesse Katz was exposed at an early age to the most famous wine regions on earth. While his father was taking photographs and creating books in Burgundy or Tuscany, the seed was being planted. Later, as a young man working summers in the vineyards and winery lab while attending Fresno State University in California it wasn’t long before Jesse had his Enology Degree with a minor in chemistry. After honing his craft in Napa and Argentina, Jesse was recruited from cult producer Screaming Eagle in 2010 and quickly established that he understood how to build on the tradition of excellence that has defined Lancaster Estate from the very first vintage. Working with legendary winemakers like Andy Ericson, David Ramey, Paul Hobbs and Hans Vinding-Diers shortcuts the process of absorbing a lifetime of winemaking insights.  Working in an array of climates and countries brings added depth.  With dust on his boots, Jesse has quickly learned what the estate vineyards promise.

The wine has an intense, deep color with rich aromas of dark chocolate, raspberries, and violets. The tannins are refined and polished giving the wine amazing structure and depth that keeps gaining power as it moves across your pallet. Black berries, cherries, coffee and vanilla that are finely strung together by a distinct minerality seem to come straight from the soil, complementing the tannin and giving way to a long, beautiful finish.