Discussion Board

Letha, I loved the photo!

Jeff - thanks for the easy food recipe ideas.

Here is what I did today in a pressure cooker (electric):

1 cup of dried beans
1 kale chopped up
2 cups of fresh shitake mushrooms
4 carrots cut up
one onion cut in big chunks
lots of garlic
one sweet potato peeled and cut in large chunks

cooked on high pressure for 25 minutes and with natural release.
Hmmm, I can see this doesn't qualify as so easy as the frozen foods but it was so so good and we will have it for lunch and dinner for 3-4 days.
Riva

Hi Debbie,

The thread I posted was a result of my "waxing philosophical" and to show how simple, easy and inexpensive the program can really be and not to give anyone a recommended dietary intake.

Without knowing all the details of your personal situation, I can not really comment, and this forum is not the vehicle for that in anyway. However, in general, I would agree with you in thinking that 1377 calories is not sufficient for someone who is pregnant and breast-feeding.

Most all nutrient recommendations are based on "averages over time" for opulations of people" and not single daily intakes for individuals. They are also not set up to be compared to on a single day or single meal basis and trying to do so has no real benefit.

Therefore, if you were interested in analyzing your intake, I would recommend you do it for at least 7 days and also use the CRON-O-Meter which is far more accurate then FitDay. It would also have to include everything you consume and not just a partial intake.

In Health
Jeff

YIKES...of course I added a whole bunch of water!!
Riva

I pay a premium for organic - not only is it winter here (so everything is shipped) but there are VERY few organic farmers here (so everything is shipped even in season). I think organic and non-GE is important. Thankfully we grow what we can when we can, because I struggle with "old" organic produce vs "fresh" but chemical-laced produce.

Greetings everyone!

Thanks for all your versions of the SNAP meals. They all look great and delicious.

I realize there are many ways someone may want to "improve" on this (fresh produce, organic, variety, etc) but the purpose of this is to show how easily we can cover the most important issues, which is making this program, and the basic foods in it, simple, easy, affordable, and nutritious.

I have experimented some more with the concept and here is my updated "guidelines"

1- 28 oz Can No Salt Added Tomatoes
1- 16 oz Bag Frozen Mixed Veggies (any type)
1- 4 oz Frozen Green Leafy Vegetables (collard, turnip, mustard, etc)
1- Around 200-250 Calories of a Starch (Brown rice, Yam, Potato, WW Pasta, etc)
1- tsp ground flax (if desired)
1- Seasoning (to your preference)

This makes one meal of about 600-650 calories. Add in a couple pieces of fruit during the day or as a dessert if desired. You can repeat the process 2-3x a day for a simple meal plan of around 1300-1950 calories.

This will surpass every single RDA/DRI for every nutrient. The only ones that may occasionally look slightly low (85-95%) will be Zinc, Selenium and Vit E, all of which will not be issues and have been covered in this forum.

As some of you have mentioned, this is a large volume of food. But, what better problem to have then to have SO MUCH food to eat and enjoy!

250 Calories Of Starch options
~1.5 Medium Potatoes
~1.5 Cups (Cooked) Whole Wheat Penne Pasta
~ 1.25 Cups (Cooked) Brown Rice

I just made it again for lunch with potatoes, collards and a mix of California style frozen veggies.

Enjoy!

In Health
Jeff

Get download accelerator or some other download manager. You can download the cron in pieces then.

because I tend to get fancy, then not like what I make and go off plan. So I have all the ingredients for SNAP meals.

I am having problems with the frozen greens though. I did find chopped spinach in a bag just like the other frozen vegetables. However, I have checked all three major chains here and our local health food supermarket chain, New Seasons, and have not found any other greens at all. Just spinach. I do like spinach, but I also like the other greens.

I guess I will have to do what I've done before. Buy a big ole mess of kale, strip and saute it it lightly and quickly. Run under cold water then let them dry as much as possible. Then I just toss them in a freezer bag and take out what I need as I go along.

Thanks for the easy meals Jeff!

Our stores in Sacramento have packages of mixed fresh greens available in the produce department. They are more expensive than preparing them yourself, but way better than going off plan. They must be available in Portland.

Another thing you could try - just because you don't like the taste of something does not mean that you can't eat it. Try to eat it anyhow if it is at all edible. By doing this, you can eventually change your taste itself.

SAD food is always going to be more appealing to your taste, because it is more calorie dense. You can't let the taste of a dish put you off plan. You could also keep a bag of refrigerated rice or potatoes or sweet potatoes handy in case you get hungry.

Bob, you are right. I tend to get fussy sometimes. I just need to get over it. I also need to look at food as fuel for my body, not a source of pleasure necessarily.

And it can be on this plan. The problem is recalibrating your taste buds. That is the hard part. Have you seen Doug Lisle's presentation? He explains it pretty clearly.

I really do find that I enjoy my food as much as ever now - but I sure went through a rough patch during the transition. Even within the plan I am beginning to think that too much high calorie density food can put you in the same pleasure trap to a lesser degree.

I am having to fact the fact that my weight, although dramatically better than it was, is not where I want it to be, and I am stalled at about 193 on the foods I eat (better than 250, but not what I want) So I am going to have to make some more adjustments - hopefully not too painful. But change is always hard - we have to remember that it is only hard for awhile.

But as far as eating off plan, that is line that shouldn't be crossed, because it is easy to snowball.

I live in Portland, Oregon. I have no trouble finding a variety of greens in fresh, whole, bunches at Fred Meyer. I place two or three bunches of "conventional" (not organic, which is much too expensive) mustard greens in a 5 quart pot, add a cup of water, put on the lid, and steam/simmer them until they are soft. Then I roughly cut them up and fill dinner size (1 C) containers and freeze the cooked greens.

Then, every day or so, I take a couple out of the freezer and let them thaw, for use that day or the next.

Thanks so much for sharing this, Jeff.

I've been eating McDougall style for a little while now and am enjoying many of the recipes. I'm printing out the ones I like and making my own little cookbook.

But I have also felt overwhelmed. Before I embarked on this dietary journey I wasn't much of a cook, but I'm learning. I'm spending tons of time in the kitchen -- an hour or two a night, plus cleanup time. This can be a good thing, but after a long day of work, it can get tedious. And when I start feeling pressed for time, the first thing to get chucked is the time at the gym or the walk or the bike ride. So I'm eating better but sometimes my day just gets too full to put in all the great things I want to do.

And a $30 a week grocery bill would be a welcome change, too!

I'm going to poke around and try to find several recipes like this that are simple, filling, healthy and with a large volume -- and try to simplify my life for a couple of weeks.

Hi Jeff,
Forgive me if you 've answered this in another thread, but do you not eat breakfast? And if you do, what do you eat?
Thanks so much

Hey Jeff,
This is really interesting but I'm a bit confused. Can it be correct that only about 1/3 of the calories for this come from your starch?

Thanks,
Joe

Hi Joe

Good question. It is more like 50% and what is missing is that the mixed vegetables contains peas, corn, and lima beans which are really starches. The
vegetables in the mix are the carrots and the green beans. So, probably over half the calories in the mixed vegetables could be really counted as starches.

In Health
Jeff