OCTOBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Share your McDougall successes here in order to inspire others.

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OCTOBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Lyndzie » Fri Oct 02, 2020 7:53 pm

Welcome to the McDougall Maintenance support group! Let’s join together for support and camaraderie while we strive to maintain our successes.

Many of us have lost weight and/or reached other health goals. We’re ready for that next chapter, maintaining the gains we’ve accomplished.

This group will have Friday check ins, where everyone can touch base. Weigh-ins are optional, and will not be tracked. Please feel free to share your non-scale victories (NSV) as well.

In order to foster group participation, we do ask that only participants post, so please do join! You can join at any time simply by hitting the “post reply” button and saying something along the lines of “I’d like to join.” As they say, the more, the merrier.


Hello everyone!

Fall is officially here! With the change of seasons comes a change in recipes. Time for whipping up big batches of hearty soups, stews and chilis while wearing cozy sweaters and thick socks. The gardens are winding down and the leaves are changing color. How are everyone’s gardens going? What recipes have you pulled back out for the fall?

Today I harvested the most beautiful tomato I’ve ever grown. It was so delicious. I still have kale and potatoes in the ground. As far as cooking, I made a pot of italian bean soup this week, and picked up a big bag of russets for home fries. The last monarch butterfly is going into chrysalis (that poor thing better metamorphosize quick if it wants to get to Mexico before it’s too cold!).

First check in for the month is today, Friday October 2, 2020.

Stay safe, wear a mask, and eat starch,
Lindsey
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Re: OCTOBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Suey51 » Sat Oct 03, 2020 4:48 am

Erin - wonderful to hear that your hubby is doing well after his surgery. :-D Thanks for the information about the air roaster, that’s interesting. The birthday recipes sound lovely. hope you had a good week.

Lindsey – do you know what variety the tomato was? The Italian bean soup sounds good. How’s things with you? Are your older girls going to school or still at home?

We still have kale, carrots and beetroots in the garden, plus leeks and celery that aren’t ready to harvest yet. We’re munching our way through tomatoes, potatoes and pumpkin that we harvested in the last couple of months. The only true autumn/fall recipe we’ve done so far is some spicy roast pumpkin. Have been using up soups from the freezer and this weekend I'm considering making either our taco bean soup using some of the pumpkin or a veggie and lentil chili. I’ve also made the roasted potatoes, tomatoes and onion dish and vegetable congee again.

Weight is down by half a pound after eating at home all week. Had some off program baked items, but otherwise a good week. Exercise-wise I’ve only run once this week, as I have some pain on the outside of my ankle. According to Dr Google it could be sore tendon so I’m going to leave off running for a little while. Have done some walking, plus a little yoga, pilates and a weights session at the gym.

My elder step-daughter has moved in with us for a few months so we’ve been sorting out the house to accommodate her stuff and we've restarted our walks at the end of her working day which is lovely :)

Best wishes, Sue x
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Re: OCTOBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Ejeff » Sat Oct 03, 2020 9:23 am

Lindsey, thanks for getting this months thread up and thanks for reminding me to make fries. I haven’t been making them lately and I miss them lol.

Sue, hope your ankle heals quickly. How nice you have a new walking partner.

I would highly recommend the lentil sloppy jo recipe from Monkey and me. The family did enjoy it and it had lots of flavour. I think it was better leftover the next day as more of the liquid absorbed into the lentils. Off to another family bbq tonight so I made the SOB burgers from Jane Esselstyn and also the ranch dressing from Vegan8. The ranch dressing is very fatty as it calls for coconut milk and cashews, but it really does taste like ranch. I will try to make it again using some beans.

There is another lady at pickleball who just went plant based so it’s fun to discuss recipes. No cooking plans this week, just focus on the starch and the veggies. My weight is holding steady at high end of the range. I started to do a short yoga routine this week and plan to continue that once and maybe twice per week.i haven’t been doing much walking so need to get back to that. Trying to establish a good routine in preparation for the long cold winter. :D

We are having the most beautiful weather, the sun seems so bright I feel like smiling all day long! Wishing you all a sunny starchy week ahead.

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Re: OCTOBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby wildgoose » Sat Oct 03, 2020 5:40 pm

Seems like I haven’t been around in ages! But the change of seasons agrees with me, so I’m a little more inclined to do things (including chat here).

Lindsey, we must have had the same idea. I made a huge pot of 15-Bean minestrone, and the Gander and I have been eating on it all week. Sue, how do you make your taco bean soup? I’m always looking to expand my soup collection.

Erin, glad to hear your husband is doing well. Good luck to him with the therapy. Sue, take it easy on that ankle, hope you’re better soon! Walking may be a better option for now at least, so it’s nice that you have your step-daughter to walk with.

My small stone raised garden bed is full of lush green vines with some small purple flowers. Underneath all that should be at least a few Murasaki sweet potatoes. They’ve been growing since spring. Keeping my fingers crossed. If it doesn’t frost on Sunday night, I may give them another week before harvest. But if I see the vines starting to look frostbitten, I’ll have to dig potatoes right away. I really miss my Japanese sweet potatoes. My only local source stopped carrying them shortly after the pandemic hit.

The Gander gave me an early birthday present — tuition for the new online McDougall 12-day program. I had always wanted to go to one of the 10-day live-in programs but never had the money or the inclination to travel for it. The online version is a perfect solution, and I’m really looking forward to it.

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Re: OCTOBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby elbow » Sat Oct 03, 2020 8:32 pm

I'd like to join this thread. I'm at my goal weight and I eat like MWL plan. My issue is that I have for a few years felt like the only way I could maintain or lose weight was if I "weighed and measured" my food. I'm trying to eat ad libitum now. this is my experiment. I've had 3 days of success so far!
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Re: OCTOBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Suey51 » Fri Oct 09, 2020 1:36 am

Erin – how lovely to be able to discuss recipes with the lady at pickleball. Is she seeing health/weight improvements since she became plant-based? I have to confess I’ve never had a sloppy joe as they’re not really a thing here in the UK :? That recipe sounds tasty so I might give it a try!

Wildgoose – good to hear from you! I’ll type up the taco bean soup recipe and post here as a separate message. Let us know how the sweet potatoes harvest goes! I would love to grow them but we don’t have the right climate for them sadly. What a wonderful birthday present from your very thoughtful husband! When does it start?

Elbow – congrats on being at your goal weight and welcome to the maintenance thread! How’s your week been? Would love to hear a little about your story if you’d like to share.

Weight is the same as last week. Food-wise, we’ve had hummus, coleslaw, baked potatoes, veggie/bean chili (loosely based on the Engine2 bad to the bone recipe), a veggie paella, lots of greens and soups from the freezer.

Had a phone consult with a physio who has given me some exercises for my ankle. Am really missing running, but have done some lovely local walks this week. As well as walking with my step-daughter, I’ve also done a couple of walks with other health walk leaders. We are hoping to get the health walks started again in November, so have been trained in the new Covid safety procedures and are re-visiting routes to decide which are suitable.

Best wishes, Sue x
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Re: OCTOBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Suey51 » Fri Oct 09, 2020 2:08 am

Wildgoose - here's the recipe! A friend of ours called Ann made this when she stayed with us last year and kindly wrote it down as she went along. We've made it a few times last Autumn and Winter and am going to make some this weekend. My husband refers to it as Taco Bean Soup but it's really a mixed bean and veggies stew. The tin of taco beans gives it a mild Mexican-style flavour but if you like a stronger flavour you could add some spices....

Taco Bean Soup/Stew

1 medium or small butternut squash or similar amount of other winter squash
2 smallish sweet potatoes cut into cubes
3 sticks of celery sliced
2 or 3 carrots sliced
1 white onion chopped finely
1 red onion chopped finely
Small handful green french or dwarf beans chopped
1 14oz tin chopped tomatoes
1 14oz tin taco beans*
2 14oz tins any other beans (e.g. butter, red kidney, cannelini)
2 low salt veg stock cubes
Some dried lentils (any kind) (can't remember how many we use, sorry! I'll test when I make it next and update!)
Any other veggies
Optional – peeled cubed white potatoes to thicken

Cook the onions in a large soup/stock pan until soft, using a little water as needed. Add all the other ingredients and cook for about 45 minutes on a medium/high heat until everything is cooked. Mash some of the veggies to thicken.

*We use these Taco Beans.
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Re: OCTOBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Ejeff » Fri Oct 09, 2020 9:17 am

Elbow, welcome to maintenance. Congratulations on the first few days of no weighing or measuring food. I have been in maintenance for quite awhile and I still sometimes eat too much food. Interestingly the scale doesn’t tend to rise so I hope you will find the same.

Sue, I haven’t really had a chance to ask her if she has noticed health improvements I will do that soon. I love to hear about other success stories. I hope the ankle exercises help you to heal quickly.

Weight is the same this week. I have been eating a lot of greens and the more I eat them the more I seem to enjoy them. Yesterday I streamed up a bunch of Napa cabbage and at the end threw in some lemon juice and Cajun spice it was delicious. I mixed sorghum with frozen blueberries, walnuts and raisin syrup and had that for breakfast. It was really delicious and a nice change from oats.

I made a lemony potato sauce from cooking with plants. It was really great even though I didn’t have the white pepper or the kala namak. I made it quite runny and it was super tasty over pasta, but would be nice over any vegetable. I am subscribed to too many youtubers and new recipes are always popping up :-D

This weekend is Thanksgiving, so I’m making a vegan pumpkin pie which will have fat in it. Also trying a new recipe for vegan butter chicken which is tofu or cauliflower instead of chicken. I will let you know if the family likes it or not. Beets are on sale now so I got a bag with about 7 very large ones. I pressure cooked 3 and they turned out well. I will freeze some to add to soups. Also got stocked up on frozen spinach.

I’ve been playing pickleball almost everyday...I never seem to get tired of it. Even though it almost mid October we are still outside which is fortunate. It has been chilly a couple days.

Have a great week!
Erin
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Re: OCTOBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby wildgoose » Fri Oct 09, 2020 5:35 pm

Suey51 wrote:Wildgoose - here's the recipe! A friend of ours called Ann made this when she stayed with us last year and kindly wrote it down as she went along. We've made it a few times last Autumn and Winter and am going to make some this weekend. My husband refers to it as Taco Bean Soup but it's really a mixed bean and veggies stew. The tin of taco beans gives it a mild Mexican-style flavour but if you like a stronger flavour you could add some spices....

Taco Bean Soup/Stew

1 medium or small butternut squash or similar amount of other winter squash
2 smallish sweet potatoes cut into cubes
3 sticks of celery sliced
2 or 3 carrots sliced
1 white onion chopped finely
1 red onion chopped finely
Small handful green french or dwarf beans chopped
1 14oz tin chopped tomatoes
1 14oz tin taco beans*
2 14oz tins any other beans (e.g. butter, red kidney, cannelini)
2 low salt veg stock cubes
Some dried lentils (any kind) (can't remember how many we use, sorry! I'll test when I make it next and update!)
Any other veggies
Optional – peeled cubed white potatoes to thicken

Cook the onions in a large soup/stock pan until soft, using a little water as needed. Add all the other ingredients and cook for about 45 minutes on a medium/high heat until everything is cooked. Mash some of the veggies to thicken.

*We use these Taco Beans.


Sue, the variety of things in here looks really good! With all the different kinds of beans and lentils, I’m thinking I could cook up a bag of the 15 bean mix that I use for my minestrone (I throw away the seasoning packet, but the beans are very nice) and get pretty close. I never would have thought to use sweet potato and winter squash In a bean soup, but it sounds delicious! I’d probably add some corn as well. My only question is, this seems very low on liquid. No water added?

The McDougall 12-day online program is something that they’re running fairly regularly now, since the pandemic has put a halt to the 10-day live-in program in California. I’m enrolled in the October session, running from the 16th through the 27th. Looking forward to it!

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Re: OCTOBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Plumerias » Fri Oct 09, 2020 6:17 pm

Hello all,

I have to go back to the September thread to catch up.

Erin, your kayaking day sounds so peaceful, so nourishing. Oh, envious sighing here, despite the fact that you'll never get me into a kayak.

Good news that your husband continues to improve. Especially if he can feel much stronger by the time the snows come.

Happy Thanksgiving!

How long did you pressure cook those beets please?

Sue, yes, the air quality did indeed improve for a while, then the wind changed and the valley filled back up some, capped by one of those inversion layers, giving us an "air stagnation alert" for a number of days. Phew. Then the wind changed again and it improved. But then, there are fires in all directions, so until they're all out, it may continue to be an issue. It's much worse in the southwestern portion of the state though, so I'll not complain, lol.

I looked up that seasoning you said you use. All I got was recipes for a shrimp (prawns I think is your word) dish by that same name. I think I'll have to keep looking! Maybe some kind of Middle Eastern or North African. Of course, there's always Indian as well.

Lindsay, a number of years ago we timed a visit to Pismo Beach, California to coincide with monarch migration. There is a grove there where they overwinter. If yours is a science lesson, perhaps you might also find something useful here: https://www.experiencepismobeach.com/be ... tterflies/
Likely there are also some youtube videos as well. A good lesson: https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=30273

Goose, nice birthday gift from your Gander.

Elbow, welcome!

Lindsay spoke of transitioning to heartier fare. I think we also need warmer clothes! This will be the first winter in over a decade that we've not spent somewhere warm. Hmmm, hopefully I can find some pretty flannel shirts online. What the heck, I never liked going to the mall anyways.

I think this is summer's last hurrah here. The rain is forecast to start after bedtime and to continue (in Portland fashion, she wonders) for a number of days. The temperatures after will be much cooler.

We've been stocking up on some winter squash from the farm on Wednesdays. We bought a few unfamiliar ones to try out as well as the standard butternut. We did get our pie pumpkins for the black bean and pumpkin chili, check. I thought we had a lot this week, until I saw the cart of the couple in line in front of us! I think they shopped for the entire winter in one trip. The sweet corn harvest continues, always yummy. Cauliflower is beautiful now, so my husband made cauliflower dal today. It makes a fair amount, so there will be leftovers. I also got some more apple cider, the good kind. I love this time of the growing season, when there are still summer crops coming and the fall ones are added.

I wanted some pansies, so I checked the website for the local garden center. Hmmm, what's this, an apple tasting event? Okay, that's not happening this year of course, but they sell a number of varieties of local apples, mix and match for ninety-nine cents a pound. Can you shout applesauce?! We went yesterday, they had sixteen varieties from which to choose, and three of pears. Some are familiar, some familiar in name only, but lots are new to us. So there's a huge bag of fresh apples in the garage that will be turned into applesauce in the next few days, likely in multiple batches.

Have a good week all!
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Re: OCTOBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Suey51 » Sat Oct 10, 2020 2:26 am

Erin - Happy Thanksgiving weekend!
Re: other success stories. I love hearing them too! I chatted to our electrician last year about this way of eating and shared some resources with him. We saw him recently and he has made some dietary changes, lost two stone in weight (28 pounds) and reduced/cured his joint pain. I would love people to go completely plant-based, but I realise that is difficult and people may do it in stages.... I've mellowed from my immediate post-weight loss evangelical stance and now try to applaud and support people making a step in the right direction health-wise. The lemony potato sauce sounds good. Never tried sorghum so I'll add that to the list to look out for when I'm shopping. How lovely to be still playing pickleball outside!

Goose - ooh that bean mix looks great! Sorry, yes I add water when I add the stock cubes. Usually I keep adding veg and water till the pan is full. Adding dried lentils absorbs water so I keep an eye on the overall consistency. Its a pretty versatile recipe; I chuck in more zucchini/courgette/small marrow when we have it or more green beans when we have lots of those on hand. Corn is a good idea. The sweet potato and winter squash seem to give it a comforting/stew-like feel, and you can mash them a little to thicken it. I had it last night with some slices of roasted spiced pumpkin and a little avocado added on top, plus some kale stirred in. Yummy! :-D Yes, have seen the details about the new online program and it looks great! So pleased that you are able to attend the October one. Would love to hear all about it afterwards!

Plumerias - I think Schwartz do the pil pil seasoning in packets. We have some pumpkin harvested from our allotment so will have a go at a pumpkin and black bean chili. I'm also going to try making the spice mix for roasted pumpkin from just individual spices/herbs. It's confusing to use mixes when they vary so much! Wow, all those apple varieties, how wonderful!
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Re: OCTOBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Ejeff » Sat Oct 10, 2020 9:09 am

Plumerias, glad you asked about how long to cook beets. I had no idea so I googled and found this:

https://www.lettyskitchen.com/how-to-co ... ainer-6778

And I had to weigh my beets as I had no idea how much they weighed. I did just 3 as that’s how many fit nicely on the steamer tray in my pressure cooker. I have a stove top cooker. So my beets were 14 ounces each and I cooked them for 22 minutes and left the pot to release naturally. I was a bit sceptical when I removed the lid and tested with a knife, but they were perfectly done.

So as per Letty’s advice, if you double the time for the weight of the beet it should work out. I think it was easier to cook the beets this way as opposed to having to wrap and roast in the oven which would take much longer. I also kept the liquid in the pot and will make some soup.

Erin
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Re: OCTOBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Plumerias » Sat Oct 10, 2020 10:13 am

Erin, thanks!

Sue, he uses this seasoning mix as part of his chili recipes. He just buys the pound bag, as it's so much more cost effective over the course of the chili season. At least the list of ingredients should help you find or make something similar. https://www.frontiercoop.com/frontier-c ... wder-1-lb/
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Re: OCTOBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Ejeff » Fri Oct 16, 2020 8:24 am

Well, this was a very good week for me to reconfirm why I don’t usually eat fat!! I enjoyed the pumpkin pie and the butter tofu recipes, but felt unwell afterwards. Coconut milk and my stomach really don’t agree with each other lol. Scale up a pound also. The vegan butter chicken was tasty as far as the spices go, so I will make a no fat version next time. Does anyone use coconut extract to get the flavour without the fat? I guess I better research how they make coconut extract before I decide to buy some. On the healthier side, I have been eating very large bowls of veggie beat soup which I add frozen spinach to. Very filling and tasty. Made pizza last night and it turned out very well. Made Kiki’s cheese sauce to drizzle on top. I don’t make pizza often, but the secret seems to be precook the crust a bit and sauté the veggies to remove some moisture. Usually my pizza is too soggy, but it wasn’t this time.

I plan to stick to very low fat this week as I would like to feel my best again. I also haven’t been walking as much as I used to so will improve in that this week. Our daytimes temperatures have dropped to 0 now and there has even been a bit of snow already. It’s always an adjustment to get used to the cooler air as the seasons change.

Potato Wisdom has a recipe where she makes fries from mashed potatoes. She steamed the potatoes in pressure cooker and then mashed them with garlic and onion powder. She then packed them tightly in a rectangular container. Next day you can slice into fries and either air fry or oven bake. I am going to try these as they sure came out crunchy in the video. I will let you know how they turn out.

That’s all for this week :-D

Erin
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Re: OCTOBER 2020 Maintenance Thread

Postby Suey51 » Sat Oct 17, 2020 1:51 am

Thanks Plumerias! Will let you know how I get on.

Erin - not used coconut extract, or heard of it! The pizza and veggie soup sound good. Hope you're feeling back to normal after those richer foods. I also notice how much higher fat foods affect me; as you say, it's a good reminder about why we don't usually eat them! The mashed potato fries sound interesting, do let us know how they go!

This week my weight is up by half a pound. A pretty good eating week, but got tempted by some off-program items that are now in our house since my elder-stepdaughter moved in or that my husband bought us as 'treats'. I'm not used to having some of the items around me any more and I munched them in the evenings. I've reminded myself of all the reasons why I don't usually eat them, including that I still can't eat just one square of chocolate at a sitting! :lol:

Cooking-wise its mostly been about the pumpkin: pumpkin soup, pumpkin and bean chili (thanks for the inspiration Plumerias!), sweet and sour pumpkin (Indian style), roasted spicy pumpkin with the last of my pre-made mix and some pumpkin cookies. Four new recipes, all of which when down well with my husband so likely to repeat them as we have more home-grown pumpkin to use up! After a special request from my husband, I made an aubergine/egg plant curry which we had with the sweet and sour pumpkin and brown rice. Another new recipe and again it was very tasty.

Best wishes, Sue x
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