Dr. McDougall's Online Discussion Board

Greetings,

My wife and I just finished Jeff's latest DVD in the Fast Food series--"Shopping School."

The title does not do this justice. Imagine getting to spend nearly three hours with Jeff Novick in the supermarket, learning how he shops, and how he thinks. He becomes your personal guide, trainer, and mentor. He anticipates and answers questions, and provides helpful tips and heartfelt advice.

I learned a lot from this DVD, and I'm not exactly a newbie.

One of my new year's resolutions is to lower my salt intake. This DVD arrived just in time to kick-start that effort! I didn't realize how "little mistakes" were adding up until now.

I've already made three specific diet improvements based upon his advice. Several more changes are in the works, including one which may save me the cost of the product back many times over!

If you want to take your McDougall Diet to the next level, I highly recommend this DVD!

Thanks, Jeff!

I too enjoyed it immensely. Going into a health food store is like going under the yellow tape of a crime scene.. the sodium, oil.. sugar is inclusive in almost everything. it is a trip to get in and out without leaving a marked area for a future "healthy" body:) Jeff did a wonderful job:)

Aloha, patty

Thanks for the reviews. Is there much new material beyond the basics that are covered in his label reading lectures? Only applicable when shopping for premium priced health food brands?

Three hours? What does he talk about?

Thanks for the great reviews! Glad you enjoyed the DVD.

secdroid wrote: Thanks for the reviews. Is there much new material beyond the basics that are covered in his label reading lectures?

Yes. It is two completely different lectures.

The Label Reading DVD is about understanding and setting the guidelines and I also show a few tricks of the industry and in the end, we review a few products.

The new DVD starts off where the first one ends. We take a few minutes to review the guidelines and then I spend the next 3 hours walking up and down every aisle, stopping at almost every section showing you how to apply the guidelines. In addition, we discuss specific products, good and bad and when needed, what would the best choice if no good one was available.

There are also some recipes shared for quick alternatives.

secdroid wrote:Only applicable when shopping for premium priced health food brands?

No, and this is great misconception about the principles. The exact same principles apply 100% to any store regardless of whether it is a premium health food store or a local grocery store. It is not about specific products, but about applying guidelines and principles.

In Health
Jeff

Thank you, Jeff. Very helpful.

Now if I could use your DVD to find an affordable low-sodium salsa... My budget says Brand A, but Jeff's principles say "not so fast!." Tradeoffs!

secdroid wrote:Thank you, Jeff. Very helpful.

Now if I could use your DVD to find an affordable low-sodium salsa... My budget says Brand A, but Jeff's principles say "not so fast!." Tradeoffs!

Greetings!

I agree with Jeff...There is a lot of detail on the disk. I was surprised to learn so much. I was already familiar with his label reading concepts.

Let me share my JNISQ experience (Jeff Novick Inspired Salsa Quest). I found it extremely difficult to find these items locally, although Whole Foods (about 25 miles away) did have the Enrico's brand.

Jeff's other recommendation (Frog Ranch) is actually the low sodium leader at 40mg, half of Enrico's. So I really wanted to find it. Fortunately, while not available locally, the FrogRanch website sells direct to consumers. I called today and ordered a three pack sampler with Medium, Mild, and Chipotle for $7.95 plus shipping. The nice lady I spoke with agreed to ship it as cheaply as possible, so I jumped at the chance. I wanted to try it before ordering a whole case, but by the case it comes out to $3.67 per jar with the shipping included. (That's shipping to NC--your result may vary). They even let you mix and match what you want in a case.

I have been using the lowest sodium brand available locally--240 mg per tablespoon. It really is amazing how sodium adds up from seemingly insignificant choices. I am in the process of implementing many of Jeff's recommendations.

While I can't speak to the Salsa, it has a lot of good reviews. I can speak of the DVD--highly recommended.

Tom Dylan wrote:I found it extremely difficult to find these items locally, although Whole Foods (about 25 miles away) did have the Enrico's brand.

Jeff's other recommendation (Frog Ranch) is actually the low sodium leader at 40mg, half of Enrico's.

Whole Foods is about the same distance from me and Enrico's is pricey, IIRC. Best choice in my Walmart is Pace "Garlic & Lime Verde" at 130 mg/2 Tbsp serving. I've thought about modifying the inexpensive "Great Value" WM store brand hot salsa (230 mg/2 Tbsp sodium) with the addition of some fresh white onion and a can of no-sodium diced tomatoes.

Thanks for the Frog Ranch tip. Good reviews on Amazon, but pricey there. However, it might be in an NC supermarket

Frog Ranch products are available in grocery and specialty food stores throughout the greater Midwest, including Kroger, Meijer, Outpost Natural Foods, Copps, Rainbow, Sendik's, Jungle Jim's and Pick-N-Save, and online.

http://frogranch.com/

Some Sam's Clubs carry it, but mine don't. I'm going to check to see whther my local Kroger (VA) stocks it. Otherwise, I'll order a sampler.

My wife and I finished watching this video yesterday and it is absolutely fantastic. We've been waiting for this exact kind of information - SPECIFIC recommedations and guidelines on what to look for at the grocery store in many different categories of food.

Thanks, Jeff. This information is so useful, and we had a great, healthy dinner tonight based on some insightful advice we learned on the DVD. I highly recommend this video.

Oh, and the PDF document on the disc contains a really handy set of review notes that you can use to plan your next grocery trip.

The Fast Food series has truly been a "game changer" for me. If there are any more to come, sign me up!