Dear Reader, 

The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet is going well. I’m two weeks in, and everything is moving in a good direction. My parameters include body mass, waist and thigh measurements, blood pressure, and heart rate. 

At the end of the twelve-week program, I’ll make an appointment with my GP and seek a pathology referral for multiple biochemistry analyses and a full blood examination. I expect my GP will also suggest a urine albumin/creatine ratio. 

The reassuring thing about this diet is that I can find something in most restaurants that will be suitable. I went to a Turkish restaurant on Tuesday for a farewell lunch for a workmate and enjoyed a duck thigh and salad. Usually, I’d enjoy zucchini puffs with yoghurt plus Turkish pizzas. 

I still have leftover lamb rump steaks and thought for tea tonight; I’d eat it with shredded cabbage, Brussels sprouts, fennel, and red onion. 

Recipe

Equipment

• No special equipment

Ingredients

• Lamb rump steak. The steak’s mass is about 100 g. I’d previously cooked it and kept it refrigerated. 
• Drumhead cabbage 
• Brussels sprouts 
• Fennel 
• Red onion 
• Salt 
• Pepper 

Instructions 

Steak 

1. Because the steak was thin and I had four of them, to save time, I cooked the lamb under a vacuum in a water bath at 52 °C for one hour. Because I’m not eating the lamb like a steak, I’m not bothered to sear the meat. 
2. For this meal, thinly slice the lamb for the soup. 

Soup 

1. Finely shred the cabbage, Brussels sprouts, fennel, and red onion. 
2. Gently sauté the vegetables in a saucepan until some colour develops. 
3. Add a couple of cups of water and bring it to a roiling boil. 
4. Season with iodised salt and freshly ground whole black peppercorns (I pound my pepper with a pestle in a mortar). 
5. Add the shredded lamb and turn off the heat. 
6. Serve in a bowl. 
7. Give thanks to the Lord. 
8. Eat with a spoon. 

Finals thoughts 

The soup is the sort of meal I make on nights after work. The great thing about the CSIRO TWD is that it’s perfect for those making meals for one. Everything can be prepared well in advance to make the cooking part simple. 

You may look at this and think, where is the flavour coming from? Trust me, when you add freshly pounded pepper and salt plus the flavour from the sautéed vegetables, you get the flavour. 

Photographs