Help! I’m NOT enjoying my new food

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Re: Help! I’m NOT enjoying my new food

Postby eaufraiche703 » Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:23 am

look over these threads, too, for some ideas:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10076

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10075

particularly these ---- easy, few ingrediants and quick to get to the table:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10924

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=5046
what would Scooby do?
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Re: Help! I’m NOT enjoying my new food

Postby UtahJane » Wed Sep 14, 2011 10:50 am

ALL of you are so wonderful to extend your support to me and give me encouragement! Thanks for being so kind. With your faith, I've decided to not worry about eating boring food the rest of my life and just be willing to feel a bit deprived for the next few months while I make a transition and see how that goes.

My story is a bit different. I actually don’t have any health problems at all (that I’m aware of) that I’m trying to address with this new diet. What happened was on August 20, I happened to see a preview of “The Last Heart Attack” on CNN which motivated me to do some research. Everything I read made so much sense and felt so right that I knew I had to do this diet. I stopped eating all the old food immediately and have actually have had no cravings for all the foods I’ve given up, it is just painful to eat the new food because I don’t know how to prepare it well and my taste buds have not changed.

I’m not on this diet primarily to lose weight, but that would be nice. I lost 5-6 pounds the first two weeks, but nothing since (may have even gained a pound). I’m 155 lbs at almost 5 feet 9 inches and have plenty of belly fat. Should I worry I’m not doing the diet right or just be more patient?
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Re: Help! I’m NOT enjoying my new food

Postby eaufraiche703 » Wed Sep 14, 2011 11:21 am

just ran into this post and melody's blog. she has a great basic SOP.... cooks beans, grains and 3 sauces every week (or month) and mixes stuff up to create different meals.

could be mcdougalled easily!


http://vegnewssavvyvegan.blogspot.com/2 ... meals.html
what would Scooby do?
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Re: Help! I’m NOT enjoying my new food

Postby Faith in DC » Thu Sep 15, 2011 1:08 pm

If you are use to fried, cheese sauced, butter veggies and dishes, or restaurant food, or frozen meals, then this will be hard. Believe me, it was hard for me and my southern cooking roots.

Since it sounds like your cooking isn't the best, do you have a friend who you admire for their cooking? Do you have a Penzy's nearby? I ask because when I started cooking I did a lot by smell. I'd smell my dish and then smell my spices and herbs and decide which I thought would go best. You can even kind of bend over the pan and smell them together. I've been known to stand there with a bunch of spices smelling it all at once. This is after you have the spices in your home though. If you liked someone's cooking you could ask what they use most often and smell it and see if you'd like it.

When i first started I did have to have all veggies covered or in a soup. If you don't like the dressings stop eating salads. I didn't for the longest time. I only ate cooked veggies. I finally made a taco salad and used salsa as a dressing and that was good. I would put salsa or tomato sauce loaded with garlic and italian herbs on veggies and usually potatoes. I'd also put my soups on rice and veggies. You could even get some of McD's cup of soups and put that over.

I'm not a fan of bragg's. I prefer light soy sauce and there is some other asian sauces out there with no oil. Keep looking. There is a lot of brands. I love my rice and veggies asian style.

I did change, and yes, it took a while. I lived mainly off soups for a long time because that was the only thing I could cook that turned out. Considering I am not a bad cook, I was in tears many evenings. I couldn't believe how hard the transistion was with my fat back, ham hocks or cheese. So it isn't only you. Tastes do change.
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Re: Help! I’m NOT enjoying my new food

Postby eaufraiche703 » Thu Sep 15, 2011 3:25 pm

you always write such great advice, Faith!

:nod:
what would Scooby do?
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Re: Help! I’m NOT enjoying my new food

Postby TominTN » Thu Sep 15, 2011 9:16 pm

UtahJane wrote:I guess I’m worried that even if I do start to enjoy this food it might only be because I’ve gotten use to very bland, boring food and that it will never be as good as all the food I’ve given up. Are people enjoying this food because it objectively tastes very yummy and delicious or because they are restricted to it and their body adjusts to boring when that is all it is given? Does that make any sense?
...
Have I given up truly delicious food for good with this diet?


Another way of looking at it is that as my palate acclimates to more natural foods without added sugar, salt, and fat, my taste buds become more sensitive to the subtleties of the flavors that come in the food naturally. Hyperstimulation of our taste buds with extra sugar, salt, and fat tends to deaden them so we need more and more stimulation to feel satisfied. It may be that we're not settling for "bland, boring" food so much as becoming sensitive to flavors we couldn't detect before, when our taste buds were used to a much higher level of stimulation.

Kind of like in the midst of listening to a loud rock concert, we might find it difficult to hear someone whispering. To hear and understand subtle sounds, we have to get away from loud noises so our ears can be more sensitive.
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Re: Help! I’m NOT enjoying my new food

Postby UtahJane » Thu Sep 15, 2011 10:00 pm

Thanks again for the encouragement and suggestions. I’ve decided to stop eating raw salads for now. Cooked veggies definitely are easier for the transition for me. I tried another recipe last night. I can’t say it tasted “good,” but at least it was not painful to consume like the raw salads and other recipe disasters were. Today, a friend gave me a baked “Korea sweet potato” which was actually yummy. I also like our American sweet potatoes and yams just fine.

I have resisted the idea of buying Jeff Novick’s Fast Food DVD because I’m already overwhelmed with the number of recipes I have. I already have 5-6 books with appropriate recipes and tons more I’ve found on-line. I’m realizing this is one of my problems. I have so many recipes I don’t know where to start. If I were more of a cook, I think I could better spot the recipes I’d like, but I’m rather paralyzed by them all.

I am trying to keep it simple, though simple is still not delicious. I guess I need to start chipping away at a few recipes until I find something that actually tastes good!
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Re: Help! I’m NOT enjoying my new food

Postby ETeSelle » Fri Sep 16, 2011 1:50 pm

UtahJane wrote:I have resisted the idea of buying Jeff Novick’s Fast Food DVD because I’m already overwhelmed with the number of recipes I have. I already have 5-6 books with appropriate recipes and tons more I’ve found on-line. I’m realizing this is one of my problems. I have so many recipes I don’t know where to start. If I were more of a cook, I think I could better spot the recipes I’d like, but I’m rather paralyzed by them all.

See, though, this is precisely why you DO need Jeff's DVD. They're not recipes. I make NOTHING using recipes anymore. I just toss in a pot whatever I want to toss, using Jeff's principles. I actually "invented" this concept myself years ago--my ex used to call it "Bess Throws Stuff in a Pot" LOL. So I was excited to see how Jeff had figured out the same thing and taken it to the next level.

Stop w/ the recipes, at least for a while. Get the DVD and a lot of different spices and play around with them. I have several combos that I can eat for DAYS without getting bored--I like them that much. And all I do is combine a few fresh veggies, some frozen veggies, some canned tomatoes and beans (no salt added) and whatever spices I fancy. SO EASY!
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Weight in 2010: 207 (33.4 BMI)
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Trust me on this: One day you'll wake up and realize that it no longer feels like "being strict." It just feels GOOD. :)
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Re: Help! I’m NOT enjoying my new food

Postby carrotlvr » Fri Sep 16, 2011 2:12 pm

I have tried so many times to make recipes. I always buy the ingredients and then I forget what I was going to make. I have a few that I fall back on, but I definitely use the fast food theory. It is a great way to use up leftovers. I always started with sauteed onions and toss in other veggies that might need to be eaten up. I add tomato juice, paste, canned tomatoes, and a little salsa. In addition to the veggies, I love to add sweet potatoes and potatoes. I leave out the beans and then add rice or beans to each serving as I eat it. I recently found that if I add about 1/2-3/4 cup quinoa at the end, it thickens it nicely as a stew. I buy a bean dip from Trader Joe's that is fat free and I always stir in a tablespoon full. So, ditto for me on the Jeff Novick DVD and spices. I also love that it makes a huge pot that I can eat all week and it always freezes well too.

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Re: Help! I’m NOT enjoying my new food

Postby UtahJane » Fri Sep 16, 2011 10:26 pm

OK. I ordered the the Jeff Novick DVD! Don't know whether it will work for me, but I'll give it a try. Thanks for the advice!
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Re: Help! I’m NOT enjoying my new food

Postby Broadbean » Sat Sep 17, 2011 2:13 pm

Everyone here really has given some good advice. But I think there's also a psychological element that's important to address. If you depend on food to be a regular source of pleasure in your life, (or THE dominant pleasure) giving up all those foods you love (and aren't good for you) is really painful -- and unless you find a new source of satisfaction, will not be a permanent change.

I found I was really dependent on my morning coffee, afternoon toast and butter, and evening wine and chocolate as rewards for getting through my life. Now THAT isn't healthy -- not that my treats were all that terrible, but because my life lacked other meaningful pleasures. I've since quit my job, gone back to school, gotten serious about running, and joined a social group.

Also, I spread my treats apart now: once a week instead of several times a day. As much as I enjoy my beans-rice-kale-salad routine, my weekly meal and drink out makes it easier for me to be strict during the week.
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Re: Help! I’m NOT enjoying my new food

Postby rosehebrew » Sat Sep 17, 2011 2:51 pm

I think that I know have the opposite of your problem. I was just thinking today that maybe I need to bland-ize my food that I cook. I use things like shitake mushroom powder made out of dried mushrooms from the Asian mkt blended to a powder, dried veggies I bought in bulk and powdered up, nutritional yeast, plus herbs and spices to make my food yummy. I make mushroom veggie powder gravies with fresh sliced mushrooms, steamed potatoes, lots veggie stir fry's with some of the above flavorings over brown rice, tempeh burgers and gluten free buns (only on busy Sundays though because I try not to eat too much bread) and a ton of other things. My thirty year old son and hubby both eat this way and love the food and never miss the other. My son makes Mexican spaghetti with fat free refried beans in it and vegges with Mex spices but I usually don't make a lot of tomato based foods because I don't care much for it although I love raw tomatoes. We take no hurt and eat better than anybody so I am getting where I am going to have to take a mental note of calories so my weight loss will keep being steady. Like I said, it is just too good. I think I would do fine if I was maintaining. I have been doing this quite a while and I think the taste buds get rather burned by processed overly salted foods so I would just encourage you to forge on and wait for your skills and habits to catch up with your new lifestyle. Anybody can bake or steam a potato and cook rice in a rice cooker. Anybody can steam veggies and even learn to make fantastic sauces with just a little bit of experience. If you have a kitchen failure don't sweat it but instead count it as cheap education, move on and remember the lesson. Try to learn the principles of cooking as you use recipes instead of just following the directions blindly so that you can learn to cook food that you want to eat and prefer. It takes time out of your life that others don't have to do but take my word for it, sickness is way more inconvenient. Be proud that you are stepping out of the cookie cutter sheep mode of just eating what the supermarket moguls choose to throw in your trough. Be proud of it, celebrate it and enjoy being a rebel for your own good cause.
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Re: Help! I’m NOT enjoying my new food

Postby terrilee317 » Sat Sep 17, 2011 5:36 pm

Hi Jane,
I'm new here and only adapted this way of life for 24 days now. I can see that many more experienced members here have already answered your frustrations, and I didn't want to put my measly 2 cents worth in. But it's been bugging me so I'm back with my 2 cents. I'm a type 2 diabetic who spent almost an entire year on Atkins, eating nothing but meat, fats, and cauliflower. When I finally learned through Dr. McDougall, and now several others in the field, that there was a better way, I feel like the prison doors have flung open and I have been set free. Yup I ate 36 eggs per payday and butter on everything. I just sat and ate my first mashed potatoes, my favorite comfort food, in over a year. Mashed spuds, nothing else but salt and pepper and nutritional yeast. And they are like Heaven. And while I was eating my "naked spuds" I was listening to a commercial on t.v. about Crestor. I know this is how God intended me to eat, and no taste of butter is worth the freedom I now have in all the marvelous foods and tastes that He has created. So far I haven't even used a recipe, I just go by what taste I want. I open the newly stocked cupboards and the sky's the limit. Don't hesitate to try different things. I made my own salad dressing using Polaner All Fruit jams and maple syrup. Incredible as both a dressing an a sauce over rice. If it's boring, keep adding ingredients until you get the taste you want. I truly haven't had a disappointing meal yet. It might start out that way, but I just keep adding until I hit that ingredient that makes it a "wow". A few nighs ago I made a "pilaf" that sounded so good to me with lentils, brown rice, and water chestnuts. It was totally blah. Added some seasonings and it was better, but not quite right. I abandoned it and went about my business until it dawned on me what taste I was missing. I opened up a can of peas and threw it in and Bingo! Keep trying, keep telling yourself how much healthier you're going to be! Don't give up!!!
Just me,
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Re: Help! I’m NOT enjoying my new food

Postby UtahJane » Sun Sep 18, 2011 3:04 pm

Wow!! ALL of you are amazing and so very encouraging. I'm so inspired by you and by your wisdom and knowledge. I know I can do this.

I was not enjoying my steamed veggies very well today at lunch, but when I added some low-sodium tamari, it started to taste yummy. I hope that is a step in the right direction. I would love to enjoy them without adding anything to them, but that hasn't happened yet.

If I get to the point where I'd like to take some professional classes or go to a retreat where they teach you how to cook like this, is there anything that is more hands-on?
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Re: Help! I’m NOT enjoying my new food

Postby rosehebrew » Sun Sep 18, 2011 3:28 pm

TerriLee, I am ashamed to say that I tried Atkins once and it was disgusting and on top of that I felt horrible. I walked into an Atkins like store a while back with someone and was just absolutely horrified at the amount of frankenfoods filled with the most bizarre chemicals one could imagine. It really made me want to throw up. And maybe I will get a flame because of this but the checkout lady was extremely obese. It was surreal in a bad way. My son, whom I was with was looking for some kind of supplement and he could not wait to run out of the door either.
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