Adventures in Eating

Share your daily McDougall menus and/or keep a journal describing your personal progress.

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Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Wed Feb 21, 2018 4:13 pm

This is going to be my second journal, which focuses on eating (and cooking food). My first journal is about my pregnancy while McDougalling, and fortunately pregnancy doesn't last forever, so I'm starting this thread to focus on my favorite part about this way of life - the preparation and consumption of food.

I follow The Starch Solution version of starch-centered eating. I have been able to maintain my health goals without needing to be more restrictive, such as following the Maximum Weight Loss program, or undergoing an elimination diet. Meals are at least half starch, with fruits and/or veggies. Salt is added to the top of food, and not used in preparation (with the exception of soy sauce and miso in Asian cuisine). Fresh fruits and veggies with hummus are common snacks. I do eat tofu, nuts and seeds, and dried fruit, though in small quantities. I eat pasta (whole wheat and white), rice (multiple kinds), and some whole wheat bread products (pita pockets and Ezekiel bread). I do restrict all refined sugar consumption (table sugar, molasses, maple syrup, honey) because it tends to head me down the wrong path, but that is a lesson I keep relearning every couple months. I do not eat oil, animals, eggs or cheese. I do wear Uggs.

I don't claim 100% compliance, but strive to eat as healthily as I can, and remind myself that this is a lifelong journey, and just get back on track when I go astray.

One thing that is a struggle for me is the simplicity of this way of eating. I like to cook and create elaborate meals. Many people find comfort in the ease of potatoes and veggies, but I crave variety, so I need more exotic dishes to stay on plan. Dr. Doug Lisle did a great webinar called The Perfect Personality where he talked about the different kinds of personalities and how they approach life differently, which really put into perspective why I wasn't satisfied eating the same sweet potatoes and broccoli every day, when others thrived. Since then, I've been focusing on creating delicious meals that keep me on track and provide the variety I enjoy.

Last week I cam eacross a package of ramen noodles with NO ADDED OIL! I was overjoyed, because I really like ramen, but haven't found any that don't have added fat and/or MSG. The brand is Simply Asia. I found them at Meijer, which is a superstore chain in the Midwest US. The sodium is a little high, with 240 mg per 200 cal, but any Asian dish is going to be a salt bomb, and this is by far the best I've seen. The package is just noodles, no scary little seasoning packet, which is perfect for making your own meal.

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MISO RAMEN

This isn't really a recipe as much as a rough idea of what I did. For broth, I simmered shiitake mushroom stems in water (I did not have any kombu, but that would have been a nice addition for this step), then used that strained broth to make a basic miso soup (I like the bold flavor of red miso). I like to add a little gochujong for some background heat and complexity, but that is completely non-traditional because it's a Korean hot pepper paste, not Japanese. In a separate saucepan, I boiled the noodles, then drained them and put them in a large soup bowl. Broth was poured over the noodles. On top, I added tofu cubes, wakame seaweed, sautéed bok choy, sliced shiitake mushrooms, scallions and sesame seeds. On the side, you can serve sambal oelek or sriracha for additional flavor and heat.
Lindsey
My food journal: Adventures in Eating
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Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby bunsofaluminum » Wed Feb 21, 2018 5:55 pm

Man that soup looks good! It'll be on my menu this week! Lucky you, finding oil free Ramen...I'll probably use the rice vermicelli I *think* I've got in my pantry. :) And yes, red miso is better.

well, it looks scrumptious!
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Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Thu Feb 22, 2018 6:58 am

Hi Buns! I checked out your journal, and the jook looks great. It's going on my list of recipes to try!

Last night for dinner we had gnocchi. I make my own sauce, and the kids use their favorite, the No Salt Added Pasta Sauce from Trader Joe's. It has olive oil listed waaaay down towards the bottom of the ingredients list, and a little sugar, so I don't use it. I top with some homemade faux parm, and it's super yummy and filling.

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QUICKY PASTA SAUCE
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, no salt added
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1-2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Combine in a saucepance and bring to a simmer. The flavors continue to mingle and develop with time, but I usually have no patience and dive right in. Makes about 4 cups.

Adding garlic will affect how long the sauce will stay in the fridge, so I add garlic when consuming if desired.

Last night, in haste, I grabbed the sauce out of the fridge and dumped some on top of my hot gnocchi. Immediately I could tell by the smell that something was off. I had grabbed my homemade ketchup by mistake and doused my dinner in it! Thinking fast, I rinsed off the ketchup and smothered it in the correct sauce. Oy vey!

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Can you see how I could have made the mistake? Ketchup is on the left, marinara on the right. Now the jars have labels, what a novel idea!
Last edited by Lyndzie on Sat Feb 24, 2018 7:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Fri Feb 23, 2018 4:49 pm

This quote really sums up my philosophy about this way of eating:
WFPB "isn't about making sacrifices or substitutions but about celebrating a new way to eat."

One of my kids' favorite meals is called "Stacy's Beans," because my friend Stacy made them once and the kids loved them. It's super easy, too, just season some black beans with taco seasoning. You can either used canned beans, and just heat them up with the seasoning added, or cook dried beans with the seasoning in the water (I'll usually add a bay leaf, too). They are super simple and delicious. The kids like theirs with rice, corn, and avocado. I eat mine on rice with avocado and salsa.

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This is my favorite taco seasoning recipe:

TACO POTION #19 (adapted from Alton Brown)
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp cayenne
Lindsey
My food journal: Adventures in Eating
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Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Sat Feb 24, 2018 7:12 am

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Dinner last night was one of my favorites - oil-free home fries! I enjoy them with homemade ketchup and cheap store bought mustard. I like to use Yukon gold potatoes, and toss them with jarred minced garlic and smoked paprika.

I feel a little silly admitting this, but High Carb Hannah is who got me back to this way of eating. Her videos from a few years ago really helped me get back on a healthy, starch-based diet. She is who I got the instructions for baking crispy fries without oil from. Put the seasoned wedges on a wire rack and put them in a cold oven. Turn on the heat to 425F, and bake for 35 min, then enjoy!

I also made a smoothie to go along with dinner. It was a combo of frozen pineapple, bananas and mixed berries, plus coconut water, and a touch of lemon juice, and a splash of orange juice. It turned out delicious. Bell peppers and carrots with hummus was also on the table. It was a simple and yummy dinner.
Lindsey
My food journal: Adventures in Eating
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Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby f00die » Sat Feb 24, 2018 9:52 am

Lyndzie wrote:...
I feel a little silly admitting this, but High Carb Hannah is who got me back to this way of eating. Her videos from a few years ago really helped me get back on a healthy, starch-based diet.
...

i used to watch durianrider and freelee; highcarbhannah was too sane and reasonable(boring)
learned the word "chegan" during one of freelee's rants
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Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Wed Feb 28, 2018 12:27 pm

Haha, foodie, I had to look up what a "chegan" is!

Today we went to my favorite grocery store, Saraga International Market. That store has everything!

I have a deep love of Korean food, which is challenging because everything contains sesame seed oil, and ridiculous amounts of salt. But, on occasion, I still enjoy it, and have found a few dishes that don't have oil.

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Naengmyeon is a spicy noodle dish that is served cold. The noodles are wheat and buckwheat, and are very springy and chewy. They cook quickly, in 2-3 minutes, then are rinsed under cold water. This brand is vegan and no oil. They do have an unbelievable amount of salt, and also contain MSG. I still eat them, though rarely.

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The weather has been warming up this week, and the first flowers of spring are starting to peek up out of the ground, so cold noodles sounded perfect with the birds chirping and the sun shining. The noodles come with a spicy sauce that you pour over top after you plate the noodles. My nose always runs like crazy, but it's so delicious! The traditional garnish is julienned cucumber and sesame seeds. I picked up some kimchi at the store to go with it, but it was disappointing as usual. My homemade kimchi is my favorite, but I don't eat it often enough to warrant the effort of making a batch.

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The kids like the noodles, but don't do spicy, so I make a little sauce of soy sauce and honey (could sub brown sugar) to toss the noodles in.
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Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Ruff » Wed Feb 28, 2018 12:56 pm

Wow! I just love looking at the photos.....my meals look NOTHING like this :lol: :lol:
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Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Thu Mar 01, 2018 5:00 pm

Katie, admittedly most of my meals look nothing like this either! I should post a pic of my boring breakfast oats to give a more rounded view.

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THIS is what most of our meals look like! Real life is not glamorous at all. Kids are having a PB&J, with sweet corn and apple slices. On the table is homemade hummus (I'm trying to perfect the recipe, then I'll post it), with cut up bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots and sugar snap peas. I just munched on the veg and hummus for dinner. It was simple and good.
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Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Thu Mar 01, 2018 5:20 pm

With the warmer weather and busy days, I've been wanting something cold and quick, straight from the fridge. The easiest dish I could think of was my old stand by, High Carb Hannah's Fiesta Salad.

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https://www.rawtillwhenever.com/vegan-fiesta-salad/

I make some adjustments to suit my tastes, and it's a little different each time. I didn't have the cumin, so I just substituted taco seasoning for the spices. I also omitted the maple syrup, since any sweetener leads me to the candy aisle really quickly. And, no onion, because the kiddos don't like it. Gosh, and do you see the recommended amount of salt? I used NSA beans and no salt. But, seriously, if you're part of this forum, you probably know that stuff by now.

This is the dish I usually take to pitch in's, and always gets positive feed back. I love how you just open some cans, toss in come diced veggies and it's done. When making it for others, I do get beans with salt, but find the lowest sodium variety.
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Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Sun Mar 04, 2018 2:06 am

Bunsofaluminum posted a recipe for congee, and it just sounded too good to pass up. It's delicious! I'm so glad I gave it a try.

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I checked a few different recipes before I came up with this. It's 5 cups water, 1 cup sticky brown rice, with sliced shiitake mushrooms and fresh ginger, cooked in the instant pot for 40 minutes. I wish the rice had broken down even more, and might cook it a full hour next time. I topped it with sautéed baby bok choy, roasted laver, sliced scallions and sesame seeds. I did not have soy sauce, but that would have been a welcome addition. It was so delicious I ate two bowls for breakfast!

Ideas for next time: make half the recipe (to avoid left overs, and overconsumption) and try a mix of brown and white rice.
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Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Sun Mar 04, 2018 2:15 am

Maangchi posted a video for Frugal Spicy Potatoes, and I had just picked up a fresh back of russets, so I threw it together really quickly. It's essentially just potatoes boiled with gochugaru (Korean hot pepper flakes). She added dried anchovies to the water, so I put in a small piece of kombu, but I'll skip that step in the future.

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It turned out fine. I think it would be way better with gochujong (spicy fermented red pepper paste), which has a deeper, more complex flavor. It tasted much better at room temperature. I like that it's served with rice, because starch + starch = awesome. It does need a cool side dish, like pickled sweet radish, seasoned spinach, or bean sprouts.
Lindsey
My food journal: Adventures in Eating
My pregnancy journal: Maybe a Baby 2017
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Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Ruff » Sun Mar 04, 2018 12:59 pm

Those potatoes look yum!

I am thinking about making my meals simpler, particularly lunch. A bowl of spuds in spicy sauce sounds great right now.
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Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby f00die » Sun Mar 04, 2018 5:24 pm

Lyndzie wrote:Ideas for next time: make half the recipe (to avoid left overs, and overconsumption) and try a mix of brown and white rice.

i eat "overcooked" brown rice plain all the time (boiled to mush)
ive found when mixing white and brown rice
the result is not as enjoyable as plain brown rice
or plain white rice. ymmv

for an especially interesting "clean" taste
try the "boiling rice with a lot of extra water to remove arsenic method"
i found it to be quite memorable
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Re: Adventures in Eating

Postby Lyndzie » Sun Mar 04, 2018 6:27 pm

Ruff - Here's the link for the potato recipe: https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/maeun-gamja-jorim. I hope you like it!

Foodie - Thanks for the rice tip. I'm afraid to I make the congee with plain white rice because I think I'll like it just a little too much. I used brown sweet rice, but next time I'm at the store I'm going to pick up brown jasmine and try that. I usually cook my long grain rice "pasta style," because I like the texture better, especially if it's the cheap domestic stuff, and reducing arsenic is an added bonus.

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Dinner for the girls tonight was Three Sisters, which is my take on the Native American tradition of growing corn, beans and squash together. This is equal parts corn, black beans and sweet potatoes (not squash, but it's what we had on hand). The girls love the name, since they are two sisters, and it gives me a chance to talk a little about Native American history in the US.

I had my left over congee for dinner. It's sooooo good. I stopped by Whole Foods today and bought some whole oat groats to try out for breakfast. I went to a WFPB cooking demo at the library last weekend, and the presenter spoke about whole oat groats, so I thought I'd give it a go. I'll let you know how it turns out.
Lindsey
My food journal: Adventures in Eating
My pregnancy journal: Maybe a Baby 2017
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