by Raquel1002 » Thu Dec 13, 2018 2:34 pm
Hi all,
I've been sitting here for a few hours skimming these forums and posting. One of my biggest complaints these past few years (even before PB) is that in my attempts to eat healthfully, I've gotten myself held captive to the routine which includes a lot of variety, resulting in my standing/chopping for hours on end, nights and weekends, leaving me with very little time for friends/hobbies.
I copy/pasted something Jeff wrote previously in regards to simplicity (scroll down after my comments). In that forum, I was also flooooored!! to read the study that indicated the simpler the food plan, the greater results. That was astounding to me, given I've been manipulated by marketing into believing I have to eat all this variety! I'm still having trouble wrapping my mind around this new possibility of simpler and less time consuming, given this deep conditioning.
What I notice first is that there are no veg at b-fast! I have gotten myself into eating celery first thing (cuz I read that eating celery first thing is really good for you), along with cucumber, and a blend of spinach, Brussels, cauliflower, spice, and TJ Tomato Juice (Jeff said it's not good to drink your food; I need to go read that article/post. I heard it was ok so long you do a chewing motion, thereby releasing enzymes to help digestion). It doesn't taste great but it's not bad and I thought that I needed to have greens x3 daily so was getting them this way. What a relief were I to give this up! And save money!
I also notice there's no tofu, tempeh, bean spaghetti (I like Explore Cuisine) or seeds/nuts. I limit to 1 oz raw nuts at b-fast (sometimes a Lara Bar), and 1 oz raw sunflower/pumkin at lunch. So the only protein is basically beans (!) I remember reading somewhere that Jeff said many cultures don't eat a lot of protein, subsisting mainly on fruit and potatoes and some veg depending on the season.
I also noticed no Ezekiel Bread or sourdough bread (I know some are better than others). Do folks not eat these breads?
How many pounds of veg (cooked or raw) do most of you folks eat? Aaron and Jackson from Food For Thought have this motto "Eat plants and take epic dumps." This is one of the benefits I find from eating so many veg, but perhaps I don't need as many, and now I know I certainly don't need all the variety I'm currently eating.
Can you believe I currently spend close to $400/month on my food from Stop and Shop (mostly fruits and veg), and at least $50 each at Whole Foods and Trader Joes? (I get my seeds and nuts at TJ). And I'm only 1 person whose salary doesn't even cover my expenses so making this transition will save me a lot of money!
Here's Jeff's example that I was basing my comments above on:
Find out what works for you and stick to it. Create simple meals based around vegetables, fruits, whole grains and legumes.
For Breakfast..
Whole grain cereal
Fresh Fruit
For Lunch &/or Dinner
Salad
Steamed Vegetables
Soup
Complex Carbohydrate (Rice, Potato, Yam, Legumes, etc)
Legumes (beans)
Snacks
Fruits
Vegetables
Soups
Potatoes
Keep your overall program and menu simple. Look for variety within each of the food groups by using different varieties of vegetables, fruits, legumes and whole grains over the course of a day or a week.