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amyable
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I've been intrigued by Jen at Conversion Diary's mention of her "Saint Diet" lately. My diet has been horrible - it has gotten steadily worse lately as I try to meet everyone elses needs while eating for myself on the fly! (I know bad, bad  consider me chastised  )
How many of you eat unprocessed, whole foods, low on simple carbs, no sweets? What in the world do you eat every day?  I grew up on junk food and simple carbs, and coming up with a yummy, whole, EASY diet that doesn't leave me feeling starving seems impossible. I *have* eaten this way during elimination diet times when nursing new babies, and I always felt like my stomach hurt and I was HUNGRY.
Would any of you be willing to share what you ate for breakfast, lunch, snacks (my biggest needs) and also dinner for a few days? I always seem to need lots of options to look over because I have to knock out anything with dairy/egg/nuts due to allergies. (I always say I could do a GREAT wholefoods diet if I could eat all those things, because those are the "quick grab" proteins that I like )
Thanks for any thoughts. I turn 40 the day before Lent so I wanted to start my 40's and Lent by turning over a new leaf in this department. I just need a fully worked out plan by then! 
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juststartn
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Have you checked out Nourishing Traditions? Borrow it from the library or a friend before buying it, but it might have some workable options for you.
Rachel
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trish
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I second Nourishing Traditions. It has helped us alot here. Eggs are a big staple here. So I can't help with that. Another good book I found was Real Food by Nina Planck.
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amyable
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Thank you ladies! I only have a second because the baby just woke up...
I do have (and have looked through but not read cover to cover) Nourishing Traditions...have read other books from the library.
I think I'm just the kind of person who doesn't so much need a book with 150 suggestions in it, but needs to see how this works out for real women in real families - how do you put it all together on a daily basis, and do you feel healthy doing it that way (hence me asking for a list of meals you've eaten).
More book suggestions or other thoughts *are* helpful though - I am thankful - just wanted you to know where I was coming from. Thanks! Gotta run and get that baby!
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CrunchyMom
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I think that the ideas in Nourishing Traditions and Real Food are significant because you are eating whole fats. Fats will keep you satiated for longer so you aren't as hungry.
We eat a lot of steelcut oatmeal (we soak it overnight which we notice it is more easily digested and keeps us satisfied longer than when we don't) for breakfast (and also eggs, pancakes, yogurt, etc..., but you mentioned you can't do that).
For us, a big help was finding foods that we liked that I could build lots of things off of. So, we'll eat roast chicken with rice and veggies. I'll make chicken stock from that and often chicken soup and other soups (different beans, barley, rice, etc...) from the stock. We do black beans and rice often. Then we'll do taco soup (the chicken stock, the beans, rice, and taco seasoning)--sometimes adding ground beef.
In the summer, I'm more likely to do actual tacos (stretching the meat further with rice and/or beans), refried beans for dipping, and heavy salads with leftover chicken and lots of veggies. We do go a bit heavier on the meat in the summer since soups aren't as appetizing when its hot. We grill a lot, then.
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Elizabeth
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Amy, I can give you a sample low carb, whole food day and I'm hoping other people will chime in because I'm seeking ideas and recipes,too.
Breakfast: an omelet made from two farm-fresh eggs, Dubliner cheddar, and chipotle peppers. Tea with heavy cream and Truvia.
Lunch: mixed green salad with shredded chicken, a sprinkle of yogurt cheese and vinaigrette
Another cup of tea,this time with a splash of maple syrup instead of the Truvia.
Dinner: Tilapia with Patty's pecan crust, another mixed green salad, and this outrageous broccoli Michele shared with me: The Best Broccoli of Your Life
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KerryK
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I recently stopped eating gluten and so have been sort of forced to try to eat more whole foods. I like how it makes me feel, but I do find it challenging, as I think a lot of us do who didn't grow up with the best of diets! I wish I had good ideas to add, but instead I'll be watching for ideas myself!
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Jenny
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Elizabeth, that sounds great...care to share more?
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Elizabeth
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The reality is that breakfast and lunch are pretty much the same every day--I might vary the protein in the salad and switch green chiles for the chipotles.
Dinners vary. I'll try to send more later since I've been brainstorming lately.
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Elizabeth Foss is no longer a member of this forum. Discussions now reflect the current management & are not necessarily expressions of her book, *Real Learning*, her current work, or her philosophy. (posted by E. Foss, Jan 2011)
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trish
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I know I learned alot from just reading those 2 books I mentioned.
As for the sweets..... I've just been substituting sugar with something else. I use natural whole cane sugar. I think in the US it's called Rapadura. It's not as sweet as the white refined stuff but I use less anyway. We just don't eat as much sweets as before.
And soaking the oats before making oatmeal helps alot.
The one thing though I think is pretty important is planning ahead. That is a biggie if you want to eat more whole foods. I find it pretty hard to do if I'm just trying to wing it at 4 pm. That alone is the biggest ( and toughest) change I think I personally have had to make.
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Amy - I've found we have the best of luck enriching, or making whole a recipe we already like...so for example, pancakes is made with whole grain flour now, whole milk, good butter, maybe bananas, walnuts or blueberries added and maple syrup. It's all as real and as close to the way God intended it as I can possibly get it. We make our own 100% whole grain bread - so if I have a recipe calling for bread in any form, that's what we use. And, I use black beans with anything!! I use them in spaghetti, tacos, pasta salads. They're a great source of protein and they really stretch a meal.
Sample menu:
Breakfast: Marilyn's breakfast casserole (whole wheat bread on bottom, onions sauteed in olive oil, eggs ( sorry), chives, nitrate free ham or sausage crumbled in eggs, cheese on top.) Orange juice
Lunch: Baked shrimp on green salad with avocado, vinaigrette dressing, yogurt.
Dinner: Roast, veggies, and gravy (my gravy is more of a roux made with roast drippings, olive oil, flour, wine, water) over brown or arborio rice, sweet potato fries (roasted in olive oil with salt and pepper - from the meal threads here!), cucumber salad with dill, yogurt, and white wine vinegar dressing, and apple crisp made with lots of oatmeal, (hidden) wheat germ, flax, and a little unrefined brown sugar (it's richness comes from the real butter we use.)
HTH, Amy.
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MicheleQ
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Amy,
I eat low carb but I can eat eggs and dairy so it does make it easier.
Here are a few things I like:
Tilapia with broccoli (I often eat this for lunch). I don't coat the tilapia , I just saute it coconut oil with a heavy sprinkling of Old Bay --add broccoli to it when it's just about finished and that's it. If I have mushrooms I add them too (sounds odd to have mushrooms with fish but it's really good).
The roasted broccoli Elizabeth already mentioned is the bomb!
Having quick protein snacks on hand is helpful.
I keep hardboiled eggs in the fridge (I know you don't do eggs though) and cheese (but you don't do dairy) and
cooked chicken and beef strips in a container are easy.
Let's see, veggies are always good. I like to have peppers on hand and celery (which for those who do eat dairy can be had with cream cheese or sour cream for more fat).
Oh, faux rice is good --you can also make it like mashed potatoes.
I like sausage with eggs and cheese for breakfast and our family's favorite dinner is something we call chicken delight. Boneless skinless chicken breast sliced thin crosswise (so you still have large pieces but thin because it think it's juicer and more flavorful that way) baked in a 9x13 pan with a healthy dollop of coconut oil. Covered in bacon crumbs and cheddar cheese. When it's done (I cook it about an hour) I load fresh salsa on top or if the salsa wasn't on sale (or someone doesn't like garlic and the salsa I buy is garlicky) I just dice fresh tomatoes and put them on top. MY family LOVES this --there are rarely leftovers and when there are they make a GREAT cold lunch.
And I do eat some carbs but not grains as they don't seem to work well for me.
I eat at least one square of 86% Ghiardellhi chocolate everyday. it's only 4 carbs (OK sometimes I have 2) and it satisfies the chocolate need --does it ever!
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trish wrote:
The one thing though I think is pretty important is planning ahead. That is a biggie if you want to eat more whole foods. I find it pretty hard to do if I'm just trying to wing it at 4 pm. That alone is the biggest ( and toughest) change I think I personally have had to make. |
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I think this is very true!! I had to make a whole shift in how I planned, shopped, and prepared for meals. But, this does streamline as this becomes habit and routine. For example, we start the bread early in the morning, I remind myself to set out meat to thaw by using prompts on my menus, and I have very good success when I start my evening meal right after we eat lunch. Clean up the prep dishes and the meal is practically ready.
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LeeAnn
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I also am eating very low carb (no grains) and gluten free.
For breakfast, three eggs scrambled in butter with a little cheddar on top. Sometimes bacon or sausage. Tea with cream and half of a stevia packet.
For lunch/dinner (same for both meals usually): chicken sausages, burger patty w/cheese, steak or chicken breast, a little salad with oil & vinegar, sometimes carrots or peppers.
For snacks: nuts or cheese. Or occasionally a shake made with cream and a few berries/unsweetened coconut flakes and the other half of the stevia packet, plus ice water to thin it, whipped up in the magic bullet.
Not being able to eat eggs, dairy or nuts, I would concentrate on meats and a few low-carb veggies. You might like the "Zeroing in on health" forum for ideas.
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Amy, I recently wrote a blog post about how depressing I found it to read Nourishing Traditions. I sooooooo know where you are coming from. When your palate has been raised on MSG, high fructose corn syrup, and tons of white sugar, eating whole foods seems like a lot of work for very little taste. And it seems like there are so many rules if you really want to be healthy: do this/don't do that. It's not that I don't think Nourishing Traditions isn't correct, but it just seems unrealistic to apply it to my life. I think you are asking the right question...how do real people apply it without going crazy.
Of the responses that I got to my post, many of them pointed out to just try to do one thing at at time instead of everything at once. For instance, try to remove items with MSG first. It may take you some time to adapt recipes (most pre-packaged broth has MSG) or come up with new ones. Next remove "X". Then remove or reduce "Y". This way you can start to physically adjust to the "extra work", and your palate can slowly start to adjust to different tastes or flavors.
I can't wait to see how others really live the "whole foods" and "all natural" way.
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Mackfam
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Barbara C wrote:
| just try to do one thing at at time instead of everything at once. For instance, try to remove items with MSG first. It may take you some time to adapt recipes (most pre-packaged broth has MSG) or come up with new ones. Next remove "X". Then remove or reduce "Y". This way you can start to physically adjust to the "extra work", and your palate can slowly start to adjust to different tastes or flavors. |
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You know, I was thinking of this last night. How overwhelmed I felt in the face of changing it all! I've been trying to live this whole foods lifestyle for about 4 years now, and I still feel behind the learning curve sometimes.
There is good in seeing how other people do this and live this in their own homes, but then I would be back to being totally overwhelmed with how to make it all fit in my own home.
Like those that commented to Barbara, we chose (rather my husband said that the requirements of budget and sanity made it necessary) to focus on one thing at a time. Patience is not an easy thing for me.
First, we changed our source of meat. We began looking into and saving for bulk meat purchases from local farmers who fed and raised in a humane and healthy way. Then, once we felt we had a handle on that, I moved into making my own bread. I had no idea the learning curve there! Then, I tried to really focus on my menu incorporating more veggie - less carb. It's a hard shift for me. It's a totally different way of thinking. I'm still not there. But, certain health factors in our immediate and extended family are more than motivating enough for me to keep plugging away.
Anyway, I had a minute and just wanted to jump in and underline that idea of approaching one thing at a time. Keep the big picture in mind, but choose one area and begin to work in changes that complement the way you already eat. Think of it as redeeming what you already feed your family. And, focus on one aspect of your meal/menu at a time.
...sorry for the sidetrack...back to the daily menus. 
ETA: One more idea...perhaps sitting down and making a prioritized list of areas you'd most like to make changes. I found a little spiral notebook to be helpful to me and I still refer to it. I divided it up with post-its. I started categories for meats, grains, veggies, brands I started finding that included more whole-less refined, etc. It kept ideas for the big picture in one place and let me focus my work on one area at a time.
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BrendaPeter
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Hi Amy,
Just chiming in to say we eat VERY simply in my house. I'm pre-diabetic and when I changed my diet I gathered some ideas from reading "Mediterannean Diet" cookbooks.
Typically I will eat oatmeal with frozen blueberries & flax seed for breakfast (sweetened with some honey, jelly or Splenda) or peanut-butter on a slice of whole wheat toast.
For lunch, I often have some canned mackeral on WASA toast with a piece of fruit.
Afternoon snack is popcorn - 3 cups equals 1 carb serving.
Dinners are beans or meat with a green salad, raw veggies, steamed or roasted veggies, fruit salad & artisan bread, roasted garlic and olive oil on the side. I save up my carbs for dinner so I can splurge a little. I do try to fill up on the raw veggies 1st. Also I don't feel so deprived if I have a square of chocolate (like Michele mentioned) for a snack.
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gwendyt
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Amy - in all honesty, if you are starting where you say you are (food history) AND you can't have dairy, eggs, or nuts - then I do think it will be difficult for you not only in the transition, but the long run too. I don't say this to disappoint you, but just to help you look at what you want to do long term in a realistic light. My DH and I recently finished 100 days of a yeast free diet - I loved it (for the most part) - he couldn't wait to get off it. Not that he didn't admit that his tastes changed, he felt much better, etc... he does admit all that! BUT, he still wants to go back to eating many of the foods we had to eliminate. He just didn't enjoy the food like I really did. So what do you do? If it were me, I'd just try to start with some common sense - take a look at the food you have in the cupboard and what you buy regularly - is it in its natural state or as close as we can get it? Then use it! If it's boxed, canned, ingredient list a mile long, etc...then maybe you rethink that particular food. Maybe it becomes a treat or an occasional meal/ingredient only. Take oatmeal for example - instead of buying Quaker rolled oats-the quick kind, buy some steel cut oats, soak them and make homemade oatmeal topped with real butter and real maple syrup. Instantly better for you and not too much extra work or different ingreds! I love ice cream, so I look for ice cream that has as few and as natural ingreds. as possible, or better yet, we make it ourselves! Instead of store milk, I found a farmer that was willing to let us get milk directly from him. Do a search for locally made products/produce - I have been amazed by what I've found around me and how good all the food tastes vs. the "name brands" in the store.
A lot of our meals center around a cut of meat (whole chicken, a roast, ribs, chops, steaks) which I'll use the crock pot, dutch oven, or outdoor grill for - it always tastes yummy and is low fuss! You can cook veggies with the meat or not. Sometimes it's nice just to have raw fruit and veggies - then I'll serve rice (and there's all kinds here - brown, basmati, wild..!) or couscous or pasta hot on the side. Always put butter, real salt, and even coconut oil (if you like it) on the table to top everything off. Eat the juice and fat from the meat - it tastes great and keeps you full feeling (its not bad for you ). For quick meals - ground beef is still a staple around here, esp. for chili, tacos, BBQ (I make a homemade sauce and buns), hamburgers and fries, etc... We aren't big soup eaters, but leftovers go often to chix noodle soup, beef veggie soup, or pot pies (homemade pie crust). That's the main stuff behind my meal planning - nothing earth shattering really. I'd really love to eat more "gourmet" but that's impractical for a family of nine! 
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Kyra
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I haven't read Nourishing Traditions yet, but could someone summarize what the health benefits from soaking grains and beans are? I've heard it mentioned a lot, but I have no idea what it's supposed to do.
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Red Cardigan
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I read about a man who lost something like 35 pounds in six months by doing a "whole foods" type of diet--but it was very simple.
Essentially, his rule was "simple before six." Breakfast, lunch, and any snacks were fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, some nuts or a small amount of grain--nothing processed, no heavy foods, etc.
Then he would eat a normal--sometimes a large dinner, b/c he was a food critic!
I've been meaning to try it, but have been slow to get started. The way I think it would work would be to eat some fruit for breakfast with a little oatmeal if needed, a salad at lunch, sliced carrots or celery or more fruit for a snack, and then a "normal" dinner.
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Eating whole foods as a way of life
