by Bkworm » Sun Apr 29, 2018 4:13 pm
Welcome Beanjo,,
The reason I started this way of eating (WOE) was due to the extreme pain of RA. Five and a half years into the WFPB WOE and I am going strong. Had some bumps along the way and had to take a detour to an Elimination Diet to identify my personal food triggers. But since then have been primarily pain free of RA pain. Came off several meds for other medical ailments and only see my PCP once a year now.
Most of us seem to always start out the time consuming way of using complicated recipes and food prep. The complicated recipes are good for holidays, special occasions, having company for a meal, when you have time for food prep and want to cook, etc. But I finally learned to keep thing simple. Keep a large pot of rice and/or quinoa in the refrigerator which you can mix and match with other items. I fix huge pots of soup and stews that we eat on all week. Also make a huge kitchen-sink salad that lasts several days. Anything and everything you like in a salad - add beans, grains, potatoes, etc. to the salad.
Keep frozen veggies in the freezer. Jeff Novick recommends using frozen veggies. I take full advantage of them and it really helps in food prep time. Yes, when I have time for longer food prep I do use more fresh veggies. We love the organic, frozen broccoli and mixed veggies from Costco along with the Tuscany Blend and Brussels sprouts. Get frozen chopped green pepper and onion from Publix along with the steaming bags of petit green peas. You can get frozen brown rice or quick cooking brown rice.
Today I cooked a double batch of veggies burgers for my fellows using cooked rice and rolled oats. For myself I cooked a double batch of veggie burgers using cooked quinoa and quinoa flakes. Will put leftovers in the freezer to use later. Veggie burgers are also great crumbled into a salad. My fellows will make sandwiches out of the burgers with W/W buns, lettuce, sliced tomato and whatever else they want. I will use lettuce as my bun and might also dip some of the burgers in some type of sauce.
Dinner leftovers are great for breakfast , snacking, lunch, etc. My son loves dinner leftovers better than actual breakfast foods.
Some quick meals for yourself for lunch or whenever.
Baked potatoes topped with just about anything - salsa - soup and stews - oil-free BBQ sauce or mustard as a dipping sauce.
Baked potato topped with a huge serving of kitchen-sink salad with some fat-free BBQ sauce or other fat-free salad dressing.
Steamed Brussels sprouts topped with a bit of lemon juice or low-sodium tamari sauce.
Baked potato mashed with some mustard topped with cooked mixed veggies seasoned as you like them.
Plain baked sweet potato.
Baked sweet potato topped with a bit of unsweetened crushed pineapple and steamed broccoli.
Quinoa cooked with salt-free veggies broth topped with cooked mixed veggies and topped with some tamari sauce.
Quinoa or brown rice added to a huge salad of everything.
Cooked winter squash mashed or in chunks. Some recipes call to purée it with spices and use it as a sauce with pasta and broccoi. That is delicious. I get the winter squash peeled and cubed at Costco so it is a fast and easy but delicious meal.
The only grains my body tolerates are corn, quinoa, and buckwheat so it may seem my suggestions are limited. Just use your imagination to mix and match foods. I keep brown rice in the refrigerator for my guys to eat with anything and everything. When I say baked or steamed, I mean I cook them in the microwave. I know some people do not like to use a microwave.
I have lost 90 pounds so far and still have a ways to go so avoid flour products but can make a pot of Mary’s Brown Gravy in just a few minutes and my guys love it over rice topped with mixed veggies.
Mary McDougall’s recipes always seem very easy to me. Use her recipes on days you are pushed. When you want to cook try recipes from Engine 2 Diet, Dr. Esselstyn and Anne, Forks Over Knives, etc. I do have a number of favorite recipes from all of them. But you can easily keep things simple.
Good luck on your continued journey on the WFPB path.