I knew we were having lunch at Chipotle's so after brekky I cooked up some brussels sprouts and leek from the fridge (in the pressure cooker for 3 minutes)---the only veggies in my fridge. So what to do with this...well, how about adding some chopped walnuts (small handful). What else? well, I had another half of a musk melon from last night. It wasn't the sweetest melon in the world so I have no great desire to relish it by eating it alone. Let's cut up and add that; and some riesling raisin vinegar. And a small apple for dessert. Well, I wasn't expecting much, but when I ate it at lunch, it was really good! The nuts added a great crunch and flavor, and the musk melon added nice texture and flavor too. I thought it was way better than what everyone else was eating. yes, I am weird.
Dinner: Fortunately I've got some veggie pot in the freezer that I took out last night. I added frozen sweet corn to it and warmed it up. That was really good too. There was some flavor that mixed nicely with the corn and made it taste like clam chowder. I'm not sure what it was, the blended hemp and almonds and relatively small amount of tomatoes? or the eggplant?
I had stopped at the grocery store for a few things and got some watermelon, so had some of that for dessert. It was great. I love watermelon and the season is probably coming to an end soon, so I relished that. Tomorrow I'll have the rest.
It was a delicious day of eating, considering I didn't work hard at it. Freezing food definitely comes in handy later.
6 comments:
What do you get at Chipotle? I like the veggie burrito in a bowl idea. Corn salsa and guacamole are my favorite condiments. If we skip the rice and add more lettuce do you think we've got an ETL meal? In the past I've gotten really 'gassy' after Chipotle so I don't go much. Still, I like that the company seems to have a conscience about their meat, fresh ingredients etc.
I wish I knew if the guacamole at typical mexican restaurants is okay. It's so much thinner than Chipotle's...makes me wonder what they might be adding. It's hard to feel good about eating out anymore.
Hi Nancy, At Chipotle, I ate what I brought with me from home--the brussels sprouts dish--maybe I wasn't clear on that.
I used to eat their veggie burrito with no cheese or sour cream. It has black beans, guacamole and salsa in a white flour tortilla. I sent an email once to them and got confirmation that this is all vegan. But since I now avoid refined grains and salt, I don't want to eat this. I tried a few bites of one a few months ago and I could feel the rush from the white flour immediately (it has the same effect as sugar) and I didn't like how it felt. I think most restaurants and stores add fillers like milk products to guacamole to make it cheaper. Yeah, I think it's pretty hard to eat healthy at any restaurant. I have gotten used to bringing my own food. It tastes better than anything "acceptable" I could get from a restaurant (baked potato with nothing on it? salad with almost nothing on it?) and I don't care anymore if people think I'm weird. Plus you can always come up with some excuse, like food allergies or doctor's orders. You can even have fun inventing different ones if you want.
I believe I'm at the point where I need to make a full committment to ETL in order to reap the health benefits I want for myself. In the 3 months since I started I've lost about half the weight I want to lose and feel alot better. I've established SOME good habits (the green smoothies for breakfast for example), but until I give up salt and refined products entirely I don't think I'll lose the last 15-20 lbs or so. And I really want to get my LDL number down below 100.
I'm still holding onto hummus and pita each day...and probably eat too much avocado and olives etc...so it's a mental battle as well. Giving up the old comfort foods, the snacking, the salt.
Do you still feel food temptations? Does your housemate ETL? Do you remember how long it took to lose your cravings and prefer this diet or did you go cold turkey? These are still problems for me. My husband and daughter don't have a problem with my food choices now but they still want to eat their normal way. Daughter cooks mostly for herself but I cook for husband.
Hi Nancy,
If you want to give up one thing at a time, I'd give up refined products and oils first. That can be limiting your weight loss and other health benefits. I gave up salt last, though by that time I wasn't eating much anyway. Store-bought hummus tends to have lots of oil and salt, but home-made has none if you so choose. You can make oil-free corn chips from corn tortillas cut and baked in the oven.
I do still feel food temptations. When I give in, I usually get sick so that's making me give in less and less often.
My housemate doesn't ETL but she'll eat what I cook. She still drinks coke and eats chocolate candy and no-salt pretzels. She hasn't lost any weight but at least she's not gaining.
It would be nice if you didn't have to cook separate food for your family. Can you ask them for their support in eating your ETL food at home and eating what they want elsewhere, or preparing their own non-ETL stuff?
It took me a while to prefer this diet. I didn't go cold turkey. But when I went vegan, I ate pretty healthy. I never ate too many refined grains. So first to go was oil, then I added more veggies and whole grains, then I decided Fuhrman's program was the best and gradually shifted more to veggies as the main dish. and then more beans and nuts and seeds and fruits. But to tell the truth, when I started adding more fruit, I started overeating more. That can be a trigger like other sweets.
Now I'm to the point that fresh and local produce is the best thing I can imagine to eat. Maybe you should seek out high-quality produce and see if that helps limit your cravings for unhealthy fake food.
Good job working on this. You are looking for solutions rather than excuses!
-barb
Hi Nancy,
here's a great post on the Fuhrman forums about commitment:
https://forums.drfuhrman.com/showpost.php?p=153250&postcount=11
Hi Barb,
So good to read how you've gotten to the place you are in your eating lifestyle. And reading the post by Kathy was great. I like how she says, "ETL is truly a deep lifestyle commitment to my best self". That's really it...not feeling deprived but instead feeling committed to my best self.
And taking joy and confidence to this lifestyle as well. I've just started "The Pleasure Trap" to learn why we seem to be so addicted to the SAD. Of course I know it's habit, upbringing, culture etc but all these things can be changed.
I am finding that I'm less tempted by my family's diet and that's becoming less of a problem.
Ah, life and health are precious ;) Feeling good, and confident!
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