Day 1 of a NEW plan.

October 19, 2005

As most regulars here now, I've been fighting a pretty tough plateau for a

while. Even though I still dropped another pant size, I haven't been able

to hit a new low weight in 4 or so months. To make matters worse, over the

last couple of weeks I've also been gaining and I just picked back up a pant

size. I think my body's getting ready for winter -- our furnace is out and

we've been battling the warranty company and such, so it figures I need the

insulation.

Needless to say, I've no intentions of allowing this to go unchecked.

Some years back, I went on a strictly vegetarian diet for health reasons.

It was vegan without the political side. In the first month's time I was

down 25 pounds and in no time at all, I had reached my CURRENT goal weight

(i.e., where I want the SBD to take me again). I was healthier, more

active, and had much more energy. Even better, I didn't get sick at all for

a year+.

That's a system I *KNOW* will work. The benefits of a strict vegetarian

diet are substantial and I intend to reap those benefits once more. The

diet is naturally low in fat, high in fiber, and high in nutrients while

being lower in toxins. It also lends well to fresh food preparations -- a

key to my low sodium lifestyle.

I've been gearing up to make this change for a while. My biggest hold back

has been finding my books on veg*n nutrition to make sure I get enough of

the various nutrients. After several more days of searching, I *STILL*

haven't found those blasted books but I'm not willing to wait any longer.

In keeping with my own advice, my new meal plan begins TODAY. It's not the

first day of the week, it's not over the weekend, it's not the first of the

month. It's just a day like any other and I'm starting.

My first meal of the day today consisted of Kroger brand Asian Style Garden

Blend vegetables, Nishiki premium brown rice, onion, garlic, all

sauteed/stir-fried with about a tablespoon of safflower oil and a tablespoon

or so of soy sauce for added flavor. Meals throughout the day will be

similar. Pasta and pasta sauce will figure prominently as well.

What will NOT figure prominently is anything that has animal ingredients. I

will on occasion enjoy something, such as feta on my spaghetti, but no meats

and little if any dairy.

Snacks will be nuts, raw vegetables and fruit. Soup will be an integral

player as both a quick meal and a fortifier. My occasional " treat " will be

something a bit fatty.

In the end, this will be very much an SBD way of eating as well. My grain

servings will come from whole grains, foods will be freshly prepared from

fresh ingredients, there will be little to no added sugar, and so on.

I'll report back as things progress over the coming weeks!

October 20, 2005

> Beans, tempeh, tofu all good sources of protein.

Yup! That's the plan. I'll probably use legumes mostly for now -- it's

easy and I can make a number of things from them. Eventually I'll start

doing smoothies again and that's when the tofu will come in handy.

October 20, 2005

> Over the past few weeks you have mentioned in passing that

> you use regular mayo and still cook with butter. Have you

> tried changing those types of things in your diet?

Nope. I hate to use margarine -- it's nasty stuff -- so that only leaves

butter. Another issue is that I am low sodium -- margarine products are

much higher in sodium than real butter. As for mayonnaise, there's not much

to change other than not using it at all. The low fat/fat free varieties

taste horrible and usually have added sugar to offset the reduced fat. In

either case, I do not use it enough to make it a real issue. For example, I

had about a tablespoon of mayo on a sandwich this past weekend -- 2 slices

of Pepperidge Farms whole grain bread, mayo, a WHOLE tomato (man oh MAN do I

love my maters on sandwiches!), and some turkey. However, that's all the

mayo I've had in 8 or 9 days otherwise. As for butter, I haven't used any

butter in probably 3 weeks -- last time I did was when I made up a big,

Benihana-style meal for the family.

FWIW, my dietary staples are the basics -- meat (mostly poultry, some beef,

some fish), vegetables (LOTS of vegetables), grains, and dairy in the form

of cheese. Like anyone else, I'll splurge from time to time and get more of

one thing than I should (fat seems to be my latest weakness) but in general,

it's very strictly SBD.

> p.s.. good luck with the new plan.

Thnx.

October 20, 2005

,

I know when I was on the macrobiotic diet, my doctor did allow me to

modify it to include eggs, because of the nutrients in them. If you

want to try using limited eggs/dairy at first, give it a try and see

how you do. There is always soy cheese if you want to use that for a

quiche or something like that, too, to help with cholesterol.

ann

> I think I'll have a better chance at longer-term success this time

around

> because I actually like veggies now. LOL I'm beginning to

reconsider going

> vegan right off but instead doing lacto-ovo vegetarian and just

limit the

> lacto-ovo. Going back to being strict vegan might be too much of a

shock to

> the system.

October 20, 2005

,

Do you like creamy salad dressings? Instead of mayo, I like to use

either creamy caesar dressing or bacon ranch dressing on my

sandwiches. It gives it a nice taste. Just spread it on like mayo.

ann

As for mayonnaise, there's not much

> to change other than not using it at all. The low fat/fat free

varieties

> taste horrible and usually have added sugar to offset the reduced

fat. In

> either case, I do not use it enough to make it a real issue. For

example, I

> had about a tablespoon of mayo on a sandwich this past weekend -- 2

slices

> of Pepperidge Farms whole grain bread, mayo, a WHOLE tomato (man oh

MAN do I

> love my maters on sandwiches!), and some turkey. However, that's

all the

> mayo I've had in 8 or 9 days otherwise. As for butter, I haven't

used any

> butter in probably 3 weeks -- last time I did was when I made up a

big,

> Benihana-style meal for the family.

>

> FWIW, my dietary staples are the basics -- meat (mostly poultry,

some beef,

> some fish), vegetables (LOTS of vegetables), grains, and dairy in

the form

> of cheese. Like anyone else, I'll splurge from time to time and

get more of

> one thing than I should (fat seems to be my latest weakness) but in

general,

> it's very strictly SBD.

>

> > p.s.. good luck with the new plan.

>

> Thnx.

>

October 20, 2005

,

Can you post the Gypsy Soup recipe? I'm always on the lookout for new

recipes, vegetarian or otherwise.

ann

> Mollie Katzen is one of my favorites as well -- I have several of the

> Moosewood series, including the original Moosewood Cookbook. This

is where

> my recipe for Gypsy Soup comes from and man oh man is that ever good

stuff!

>

> Mollie Katzen has put together recipes for Sweet Leaf Stevia as

well.

>

October 20, 2005

> Do you like creamy salad dressings? Instead of mayo, I like to use

> either creamy caesar dressing or bacon ranch dressing on my

> sandwiches. It gives it a nice taste. Just spread it on like mayo.

Interesting that there's such a negative opinion of mayonnaise here. A

single serving of mayo has less fat than the average single serving of salad

dressing as well as less sugar. Although a creamy salad dressing would add

a different flavor element (I've enjoyed it in the past on sandwiches and

wraps) I don't know that there's really any increased benefit.

BTW, did you know that the " secret sauce " on Mc's Big Mac is Thousand

Islands Dressing?

October 20, 2005

I don't dislike mayo. I do use it. But, the salad dressings give the

sandwich a nice flavor and you only need a little bit. So, if someone

dislikes mayo, it's a nice change.

ann

>

> > Do you like creamy salad dressings? Instead of mayo, I like to

use

> > either creamy caesar dressing or bacon ranch dressing on my

> > sandwiches. It gives it a nice taste. Just spread it on like mayo.

>

> Interesting that there's such a negative opinion of mayonnaise

here. A

> single serving of mayo has less fat than the average single serving

of salad

> dressing as well as less sugar. Although a creamy salad dressing

would add

> a different flavor element (I've enjoyed it in the past on

sandwiches and

> wraps) I don't know that there's really any increased benefit.

>

> BTW, did you know that the " secret sauce " on Mc's Big Mac is

Thousand

> Islands Dressing?

>

October 20, 2005

I don't think there is a negative opinion about Mayo here...just people offering

suggestions.

Personally I use the regular stuff myself.

MB

RE: Day 1 of a NEW plan.