Discussion Board

Good Morning ! Today is my first day on this WOE and I am sooo pumped up ! I LOVE these forums and all the friendly help ! But I am truly thrilled by the food & recipe forum and all the eye-opening things "allowed" on this plan...like who'd have thought Liptons Onion Soup would be a permitted ingredient ? I have planned my whole first week based on the recipes in The Starch Solution, but now I see how easy it will be to access the tried & true favorites and feed my family forever ! [and I really hate meal planning]

I spent all of last year on Weight Watchers (again !) and lost an amazing 60 lbs ! I was happy to be very near my goal weight, but something "snapped" in me (I blame a death in the family and the stress of dismantling the estate, but that's just an excuse) and I absolutely couldn't wrap my head around portion control/tracking/whatever anymore and have gained back almost 40 of those precious pounds. (in only 6 months...how bad is THAT ?)

I stumbled onto The Starch Solution while investigating "Why We Get Fat" by Gary Taubes on Amazon, and one of the reviewers mentioned Dr McDougall's book.......I am SO glad I chose this plan and can't wait to prove that it works !

Thanks for being here!
~ TTFN
(ta-ta for now)

Welcome aboard, Tiggerlovr!

I am glad you found us!

Please keep us posted on your journey!

A question about the Lipton onion soup. I don't recall ever seeing a McDougall recipe with Lipton onion soup. If I'm wrong, would you post a link - I'm truly curious. I just checked the ingredients and it has hydrogenated oil, so it's probably not allowed, and I don't see it on the approved products list.

I wonder if you found a recipe that a board member posted that had this soup in it. People can post what they like (and that includes opinions ) and it's not necessarily what the doctor would recommend.
See the recipe archive at the home page for old newsletter recipes.

Anyway, welcome. It's true that the culinary world on this plan is big, colorful, and tasty. Happy exploring.

Back when the McDougall forums were still on VegSource Jan Tz posted a few recipes using Lipton's Recipe Secrets, the fat-free version, and every ingredient was within McDougall's guidelines so a few other recipes appeared with it.

I don't remember for sure right now, but it *may* have also been on one of the versions of the Approved Foods lists, too. I don't see it listed in any category of the list now, though. I think Mary McDougall may have said on a video to mix it with her homemade tofu-based mayo or sour cream.

I just looked at them on-line:
http://www.makinglifebetter.com/brands/ ... pesecrets/
and none are labeled as fat-free, and every one has either some oil or chicken fat added, so I guess they're no longer safe for use on the program.

I have a recipe I found on-line ages ago that shows how you can make your own McD-safe version, and you can always use no-salt type of the bouillon powder:


* Exported from MasterCook *

Dry Onion Soup Mix

Recipe By :Ellen
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Condiment Mixes
Sauces & Gravies Soups & Stews

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
7 ounces vegetarian beef-style bouillon granules
1/4 cup instant unsweetened tea powder -- adds color and tang without more salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups dry minced onion
1/4 cup onion powder
1/4 cup parsley flakes
1/8 cup onion salt
2 tablespoons kal or red star nutritional yeast -- (2-4)
1 teaspoon ground celery seed -- (1-2)
1 tablespoon sugar -- (1-2)

Combine in order listed, mix very well but do not use blender. Keep the mixture in an airtight container such as a zippered plastic baggie with the air pressed out. Makes 2 cups (equivalent of 8 envelopes). 1/4 cup mix equals 1 envelope commercial soup mix.

TO USE: Soup-1/4 cup mix to 4 cups boiling water. Stir well until powder is dissolved. Onion dip- 4-5 tablespoon to 1 pint of sour cream or plain yogurt.

Variations These ingredients are optional but tasty: 1-2 tablespoons dried mushroom powder or 1/4 cup chopped dried mushrooms Vegetable: Use vegetable bouillon

Source:
"www.ellenskitchen.com"
S(Formatted by):
"N. Braswell, Sep-16-2002"
Yield:
"3 cups"


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 147 Calories; trace Fat (1.5% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 37g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 9609mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Fat; 1 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : I wonder how much money Lipton's has made since they introduced this 50 years ago? Yours costs less than 1/3 of the brandname mix. This also makes a great rub, and of course that traditional California onion dip.





Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Well, see ! It just goes to show how much I have to learn ! I had been scrolling through the 3 ingredient recipes and saw something - don't even remember what it was now - that called for Lipton Onion Soup. It may have even been a very old post, as I wasn't paying much attention to the dates.

I will definitely go over & over the lists of approved foods. Thanks !

Here's another question: I understand the proportions of starch to veggies & fruit on my plate, but is portion SIZE an issue ? I mean, I could really pile up the mashed potatoes and still only use 50% of my plate.
Thanks.

It needs to be 50/50 by volume. So if you have 2 c. of mashed potatoes then have 2 c. vegetables. Good questions though, keep plugging along and you will be comfortable with your food choices in no time. After just 3 months, I hardly think about what is "allowed" anymore and just throw stuff together (or follow a yummy recipe in the Starch Solution).

Good wishes on your journey to health and keep us updated!!

You don't need to use 50/50 starch/veggies, even if you're following MWL. With that many veggies you will lose weight faster, but likely have trouble with long-term adherence. I'd recommend eating more starch and treating the veggies as side dishes. This way of eating is intended to be permanent.

Re onion soup, I remember a McDougall recipe from one of his older cookbooks that used Hain onion soup mix, not Lipton. At least at that time, it was free of oil and animal products. I always read labels to make sure.

Which raises another question..... what should I be looking for when I read labels ?

Just mixed up the filling for the Potato Enchiladas..very yummy ! Could easily eat just the filling and skip the tortillas! But the Enchilada Sauce in the book is sort of a let down...I guess I could add more chili, cumin, salt & pepper, but isnt there a bottled version that I could just buy ? Here's where the label issue comes in.

Bon appetit !

Animal products (other than honey) and oils are the top things to avoid. It's gotten somewhat easier now that in the U.S. all products containing dairy are generally labeled as such, with CONTAINS MILK INGREDIENTS in bold print. Eggs are obvious as they will say eggs or egg whites. Fats can be sneakier but oils will be listed in the ingredients even if they claim it's a "trivial amount" that doesn't contribute to the fat content (as with cooking spray, which is 100% FAT). And "natural flavors" can sometimes mean meat, unfortunately; no way to tell for sure without contacting the company.

Avoiding added sugars and sodium is more of an individual preference. Sugars take many forms and spotting them all is beyond what I can give advice on personally.

ETA: Jeff Novick also has several threads on food labels on here, but I haven't read them all personally, and Jeff's guidelines are sometimes stricter than or different than McDougall's:

http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6650
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6059
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=7692
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=6550
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5990

Re: labels...the best foods have none!

Very true!

I go through many onions a week. I would never use a soup mix just because of all the sodium. I like to dice an onion and dry saute it, not oil, no water. Continually stir so it does not burn. Once the onion has browned nicely and a little water and you will get a nice brown glaze. you can add this to other vegetables and starches for a quick meal.

I like what pinkrose said about reading labels, so true. Aside from from a few starch staples, salsas, and some permissible sauces and condiments you can find all you need in the produce section of the grocery store. Don't buy anything that has too much sodium or other ingredients you can pronounce.

Kris

Thanks everyone ! So far, so good...
What can you tell me about counting calories ? I didn't think I needed to, but then I've noticed discussions about it on other boards....I guess it comes down to making conscientious choices ie: skip the bread if you can.

On the current version of Weight Watchers fruit is "free" and my leader always said nobody got fat eating fruit. So on this WOE, if I feel I need a snack, would fruit be an ok choice ?

~ ttfn

This is the way I cook my onions, too. Love to put them on top of a bowl of grits and add some Bragg's aminos or soy sauce. So good.

Also good on top of a bed of brown rice the same way.