Perfect Health Diet - March

[sunday]

New thread for all of our PHD'ers to gather.

The PERFECT HEALTH Plan...

Dr. Jaminet's recommendations:

•About 3 pounds of plant foods per day, including: ◦About 1 pound of safe starches, such as white rice, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and taro;
◦About 1 pound of sugary in-ground vegetables (such as beets or carrots), fruits, and berries;
◦Low-calorie vegetables to taste, including fermented vegetables and green leafy vegetables.

•One-half to one pound per day of meat or fish, which should include organ meats, and should be drawn primarily from: ◦ruminants (beef, lamb, goat);
◦birds (especially duck and wild or naturally raised birds);
◦Shellfish and freshwater and marine fish.

•Low omega-6 fats and oils from animal or tropical plant sources, to taste. Good sources include: ◦butter, sour cream, beef tallow, duck fat;
◦coconut milk or oil
◦palm oil, palm kernel oil, olive oil, avocado oil, macadamia nut butter, almond butter, cashew butter

•Acids to taste, especially citric acid (lemon juice, lime juice, orange juice, grapefruit juice), lactic acid from fermented or pickled vegetables, vinegars, tannic acids from wine, and tomatoes.
•Broths or stocks made from animal bones and joints.
•Snacks or desserts from our pleasure foods: fruits and berries, nuts, alcohol, chocolate, cream, and fructose-free sweeteners like dextrose or rice syrup.

By weight, the diet works out to about 3/4 plant foods, 1/4 animal foods. By calories, it works out to about 600 carb calories, primarily from starches; around 300 protein calories; and fats supply a majority (50-60%) of daily calories.

In the shadow of the apple are foods forbidden because of their high toxin content. Notably:
•Do not eat cereal grains — wheat, barley, oats, corn — or foods made from them — bread, pasta, breakfast cereals, oatmeal. The exception is white rice, which we count among our “safe starches.” Rice noodles, rice crackers, and the like are fine, as are gluten-free foods made from a mix of rice flour, potato starch, and tapioca starch.
•Do not eat calorie-rich legumes. Peas and green beans are fine. Soy and peanuts should be absolutely excluded. Beans might be acceptable with suitable preparation, but we recommend avoiding them.
•Do not eat foods with added sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. Do not drink anything that contains sugar: healthy drinks are water, tea, and coffee.
•Polyunsaturated fats should be a small fraction of the diet (~4% of total calories). To achieve this, do not eat seed oils such as soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, canola oil, or the like.

We highly recommend certain foods for their micronutrients. These include liver, kidney, egg yolks, seaweeds, shellfish, fermented vegetables, and bone broths.
We also recommend augmenting the diet with certain supplements. These nutrients are deficient in modern diets due to removal of minerals from drinking water by treatment, depletion of minerals from soil by agriculture, or modern lifestyles that deprive us of vitamin D by indoor living.

We recommend tweaking the diet for certain diseases. Neurological disorders often benefit from a diet that is ketogenic; other conditions may benefit from lower carb diets. These variations are discussed in the book.

Perfect Health Diet

[sunday]

[sunday]

Bev,
To answer your question, I slice the liverwurst up in several slices and then freeze. It comes in a log that is 1 lb and fully cooked, so I take out just enough for the week and it is lovely.

From their site..

Liverwurst is a mixture of grass-fed beef trim (30%), liver (30%), heart (20%) and kidney (20%). This is the tastiest way to incorporate healthy grass-fed beef organs into your diet! All of our beef products are 100% grass-fed and grass-finished.

Ingredients: beef, beef liver, beef kidneys, beef heart, water, sea salt, onion powder, white pepper, coriander, marjoram, allspice

Liverwurst comes fully cooked in a 1 lb roll, and can be kept in the refrigerator for a week to ten days. We suggest freezing for long term storage

[mttemple4]

huzzah! Thank you, Sunday!

[sunday]

Originally Posted by mttemple4

Beverly! I just posted my question. Lord help him. ha ha! You would think in all my years as an English major and teacher I could have learned to be less verbose. You would be wrong.

Here's what I asked:

Love it! Great question and I agree that it is very difficult to be concise when speaking of such indepth matter.

I know for fact that Domino's, Papa John's & BJ's has gluten free pizza. I have a fav that I pick up now and then in the organic section. Name is slipping my mind, but when I run home will post.

[mttemple4]

Thank you, Sunday! Yes, I have heard about Dominos. One of the issues is that many if not all of the gluten free pizzas that are frozen or already prepared ALSO come with seed oils. I transitioned her from her beloved frozen Ellios pizza (which has soybean oil, albeit a very small amount) to a fresh pizza that I make with no oils, but that pizza has wheat of course. I've tried a few gluten free home creations with no success so far. I know the answer is just whole foods, all the time, but it's a tricky proposition unless I really want to force the issue and say, "This is what we're eating." I don't know if a tough love approach will be forgotten in a week and lead to better days ahead or if it will just lead to the therapist's couch in the future.

At any rate, he answered!!! YAY! I feel like I talked to a celebrity.


from Paul Jaminet:

I would focus a bit on micronutrition. Does she eat liver, bone broth, vegetables? Also she's old enough to start teaching her about circadian rhythm strategies like sun exposure and daily physical activity. Both micronutrition and circadian rhythms are important for weight. ... Wheat is a funny thing for weight, inflammation leads to fat gain and some people have inflammatory reactions to wheat and some don't. So whether it is responsible for fat gain in her, you can only tell by experimentation. I would say in most people eliminating the seed oils is more important for fat loss. I think potatoes would definitely promote weight loss compared to wheat, because they have plenty of good fiber (resistant starch) leading to butyrate production and butyrate is strongly anti-obesity. ... Yes, kids can eat too much carbohydrate. It may be easier to get more saturated fat into her than to try to cut carbs. I wouldn't worry about protein, appetite is a better guide than numbers.

[sunday]

Fantastic. Excellent answer. Seed oils are everywhere!

[mttemple4]

Yes, those seed oils are everywhere!! I have logged more man hours than I care to admit reading the labels at Whole Foods. Clearly the answer is eat things without labels, but we are a work in progress in this house right now.

My favorite gluten-free pizza that my daughter will also eat is "Against the Grain" frozen pizza. It's essentially tapioca starch + cheese, so the classic Brazilian bun dough that's on the PHD blog. They make baguettes and rolls too but each of them has a small amount of canola oil so not perfect. It's mind-boggling!

[sungoddess]

Originally Posted by sunday

Bev,
To answer your question, I slice the liverwurst up in several slices and then freeze. It comes in a log that is 1 lb and fully cooked, so I take out just enough for the week and it is lovely.

From their site..

Thanks for starting the thread Sunday. Good news on the liverwurst. I may give it a whirl.

Originally Posted by sunday

Love it! Great question and I agree that it is very difficult to be concise when speaking of such indepth matter.

I know for fact that Domino's, Papa John's & BJ's has gluten free pizza. I have a fav that I pick up now and then in the organic section. Name is slipping my mind, but when I run home will post.

I was thrilled with the BJ's gluten free pizza! I also had a gluten free beer- not so PHD.

Originally Posted by mttemple4

Thank you, Sunday! Yes, I have heard about Dominos. One of the issues is that many if not all of the gluten free pizzas that are frozen or already prepared ALSO come with seed oils. I transitioned her from her beloved frozen Ellios pizza (which has soybean oil, albeit a very small amount) to a fresh pizza that I make with no oils, but that pizza has wheat of course. I've tried a few gluten free home creations with no success so far. I know the answer is just whole foods, all the time, but it's a tricky proposition unless I really want to force the issue and say, "This is what we're eating." I don't know if a tough love approach will be forgotten in a week and lead to better days ahead or if it will just lead to the therapist's couch in the future.

At any rate, he answered!!! YAY! I feel like I talked to a celebrity.


from Paul Jaminet:

You are a rock star!! Great question and great response. I am so glad you asked. It is the seed oils I am really struggling to avoid. I met a group of ladies for lunch yesterday and I did not pick the restaurant. They were all having drinks and rolls, and lobster sandwiches on bread. *sigh* I did fairly well getting an Asian salad with rice sticks, but the salad dressing was already mixed on it, couldn't get it on the side, and it was with seed oil. Of course. I LOVE Sprouts roasted beet chips, but can't eat them as they roast them in seed oil. It is really hard to avoid all processed foods. I feel like I already spend so much time preparing fermented veges, bone broth, and water kefir. I do bake my bread with tapioca flour and rice flour, and it's all time consuming!!

Originally Posted by mttemple4

Yes, those seed oils are everywhere!! I have logged more man hours than I care to admit reading the labels at Whole Foods. Clearly the answer is eat things without labels, but we are a work in progress in this house right now.

My favorite gluten-free pizza that my daughter will also eat is "Against the Grain" frozen pizza. It's essentially tapioca starch + cheese, so the classic Brazilian bun dough that's on the PHD blog. They make baguettes and rolls too but each of them has a small amount of canola oil so not perfect. It's mind-boggling!

I agree!!

I am really struggling with getting my ratios right. For the time being, I am logging in the data on a nutritional calculator and I just can't hit the mark. I am trying for the ratio for weight loss that Joyce posted in the beginning thread. Post 23 maybe? Every time I add something to decrease the protein or increase the fat, it disturbs all the other ratios. I can see I was way overeating protein because 300 calories is not much at all for me when you see how many protein calories are also in veges like my spinach leaves and brussel sprouts. I know we can't hit a perfect mark, but logging this in the calculator points that in the past month of PHD I have been too high in both carbs and protein. I am trying to focus on all the positive changes I have made with fermented and cultured foods, bone broth, 16 hours of fasting, adjusting my supplements, no wheat, and a major decrease in seed oils. But still, no weight loss. I really really want to get that scale moving down!

[mttemple4]

Good to know about the BJ's pizza, Beverly!

And yes, it is nearly impossible to avoid seed oils when dining out. Even our favorite "seems to be PHD compliant" Chipotle rice bowl features meat cooked in soybean oil. I believe that the carnitas are the only ones not cooked in oil but I will need to double check that.

For my daughter, just as an example . . . I recently discovered that she really liked hash browns/tater tots for breakfast rather than her usual wheat-laden fare. BUT the tots she really likes from Whole Foods are set in canola oil. On the other hand, I can buy fresh bagels at Whole Foods that come from the Bronx and are made with NO OILS. Of course, they are wheat though! Same with some French brioche I buy there--it's made with butter, no Frankeningredients, but it has wheat. So I wonder, is it better to have those potatoes with a smidge of canola or the devil wheat with no oils? Obviously the correct answer is "neither" but tell that to Ms. Picky here!! I have recently started making her chips from fresh potatoes, fried in non-hydrogenated palm oil from Spectrum. All good oils and whole foods, but not cooked too gently. LOL Who the heck knows?

Also, I'm almost positive that SOMEWHERE I read that our macros might be nearly evenly split while we are in weight loss mode. I'm hoping I can find that again to prove I am not dreaming it! Mine end up falling around 50% or slightly less in fat with the protein and carbs about even. RARELY is my protein 15%.

My weight is kind of at a stand still here but I have been having more calories than I should. I think. I've also been reading the "Eat More 2 Weigh Less" site, which is about women increasing calories and doing strength training and really wondering if I've had my calories too low for too long or if, conversely, they are just too high. I have lost 60 lbs and have a good 30-40 I could stand to lose before I even approach vanity pounds. Hmmm.

Hang in there, ladies!!

[svenskamae]

Thank you for starting up the March thread!

I guess I'm lucky that I only have to cook and shop for myself (except for my elderly cat, who gets high carb/low protein prescription kibble to treat her kidney disease). Ms. Picky is just me, in my household, and anything that isn't cold potatoes tastes like manna to me these days.

I just received a copy of "Rich Food Poor Food" by Mira and Jayson Calton, William Davis, and Mark Sisson. It's a guide to some of the worst and best choices for particular foods (say, ketchup) in the grocery store. I look forward to reading it, and I think other people following this thread would find it helpful.

Joyce, I'm sure you have considered lots of pizza alternatives already, so forgive me if you've already tried this ... but would your daughter eat a meatza? That's a paleo approach to pizza, with the "crust/bottom" made of seasoned ground beef, topped with pizza sauce and then with lots of veggies (and cheese, if you like). OMGPaleo has a recipe, but so do a lot of other websites. I guess whether this appeals depends on what part of the pizza your daughter likes; for me, the whole point of the pizza was the cheese on top.

I'm hoping that continuing on with the potato hack will get me past my current setpoint, but I'm really uncertain about how many calories, macro mix, and eating window to pursue when my meals are no longer potatoes, potatoes, potatoes ... So I sympathize, Joyce. My stats on weight lost and still to lose are pretty much what you note, give or take 5 pounds.

[sunday]

I appreciate all of your wisdom Joyce and I agree about the fat being less, but I still have 50/30/20. Should I make it less than that? I know I am running a deficit on cals, but don't feel that I should eat when I am not hungry? I have never had such a good satiety as I have now.

[ouizoid]

just to let you guys know, my BTF mix makes a fantastic pizza. I have made it a couple of times now, and it is the best LC pizza ever.

[sungoddess]

Originally Posted by svenskamae

Thank you for starting up the March thread!

I guess I'm lucky that I only have to cook and shop for myself (except for my elderly cat, who gets high carb/low protein prescription kibble to treat her kidney disease). Ms. Picky is just me, in my household, and anything that isn't cold potatoes tastes like manna to me these days.

I just received a copy of "Rich Food Poor Food" by Mira and Jayson Calton, William Davis, and Mark Sisson. It's a guide to some of the worst and best choices for particular foods (say, ketchup) in the grocery store. I look forward to reading it, and I think other people following this thread would find it helpful.

Joyce, I'm sure you have considered lots of pizza alternatives already, so forgive me if you've already tried this ... but would your daughter eat a meatza? That's a paleo approach to pizza, with the "crust/bottom" made of seasoned ground beef, topped with pizza sauce and then with lots of veggies (and cheese, if you like). OMGPaleo has a recipe, but so do a lot of other websites. I guess whether this appeals depends on what part of the pizza your daughter likes; for me, the whole point of the pizza was the cheese on top.

I'm hoping that continuing on with the potato hack will get me past my current setpoint, but I'm really uncertain about how many calories, macro mix, and eating window to pursue when my meals are no longer potatoes, potatoes, potatoes ... So I sympathize, Joyce. My stats on weight lost and still to lose are pretty much what you note, give or take 5 pounds.

More books to read, I love it!!!

Originally Posted by sunday

I appreciate all of your wisdom Joyce and I agree about the fat being less, but I still have 50/30/20. Should I make it less than that? I know I am running a deficit on cals, but don't feel that I should eat when I am not hungry? I have never had such a good satiety as I have now.

Joyce, is this the statement you were referring to?
For less active people, the Weight Loss Version of the Perfect Health Diet becomes similar to a lot of popular diets. Many diets recommend a roughly even calorie distribution, with 30-40% of carbs, protein, and fats. This is what a calorie-restricted version of the Perfect Health Diet should look like too.

Sunday, I want to lessen by calorie intake, but I am kind of afraid to with the possibility of not getting enough nutrients in and defeating the purpose of this. I thought he said not to take in less than 1300 calories. I did set mine for 1200, but feel unsure what to do. I figured I am getting sufficient nutrients at 1200-1300 if I do the other things he said, but I do wonder if I can go less sometimes.


What is the minimum calorie intake that meets all these nutrient considerations? Eggs, salmon, and beef have more fat than protein, so if you’re aiming for 400 carb calories and 300 protein calories, you’ll probably eat at least 500 fat calories per day. So it would seem to be impossible to go below about 1200 calories per day while still being well nourished.

This may surprise many readers, since we’re fat-friendly, but there should be no reduction in carb or protein consumption on weight loss diets. Calorie restriction should come out of fat.


Diets low in choline strongly promote obesity. Therefore, anyone seeking to lose weight should be sure to eat a choline-rich diet.
The easiest way to do that is to eat 3 eggs a day and a ¼ pound beef liver once a week.

In addition, I would recommend that every person on a weight-loss diet take our full supplement regimen: a daily multivitamin, D, K2, C, magnesium, copper, chromium, iodine, and selenium. Also, I would suggest taking our optional B vitamins: thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, and choline (note the exclusion of niacin and folic acid).

Eating less than 600 combined carb+protein calories per day raises the specter of either protein deficiency (leading to hunger) or glucose deficiency (leading to zero-carb dangers).

[mttemple4]

Originally Posted by svenskamae

Thank you for starting up the March thread!

. . . anything that isn't cold potatoes tastes like manna to me these days.

I just received a copy of "Rich Food Poor Food" by Mira and Jayson Calton, William Davis, and Mark Sisson. It's a guide to some of the worst and best choices for particular foods (say, ketchup) in the grocery store. I look forward to reading it, and I think other people following this thread would find it helpful.

Joyce, I'm sure you have considered lots of pizza alternatives already, so forgive me if you've already tried this ... but would your daughter eat a meatza? That's a paleo approach to pizza, with the "crust/bottom" made of seasoned ground beef, topped with pizza sauce and then with lots of veggies (and cheese, if you like). OMGPaleo has a recipe, but so do a lot of other websites. I guess whether this appeals depends on what part of the pizza your daughter likes; for me, the whole point of the pizza was the cheese on top.

I'm hoping that continuing on with the potato hack will get me past my current setpoint, but I'm really uncertain about how many calories, macro mix, and eating window to pursue when my meals are no longer potatoes, potatoes, potatoes ... So I sympathize, Joyce. My stats on weight lost and still to lose are pretty much what you note, give or take 5 pounds.

about the manna!! Guess what arrived in the mail for me today? "Rich Food, Poor Food" Great minds!!!

Thank you so much for your suggestions. We have tried the meatza and, sadly, for her it's the bread that is most appealing. I will keep plugging along though. I have solved some of our other problems with crafty workarounds and recipes so I know I will hit on it sooner or later! I want to try Cleochatra's (Lighter Side of Low Carb) meatza that featured ground chicken in the crust again (of course, omega 6s, LOL). Folks love it but when I tried it eons ago I think I messed it up.

I should put my stats back up. I started at 244, am now 185, and am shooting for 144 as a dream goal (5'7"). If I get to 160 and am no longer "overweight" I will be thrilled, though. Hang in there!!

Originally Posted by sunday

I appreciate all of your wisdom Joyce and I agree about the fat being less, but I still have 50/30/20. Should I make it less than that? I know I am running a deficit on cals, but don't feel that I should eat when I am not hungry? I have never had such a good satiety as I have now.

Oh, I think you're doing wonderfully, Sunday! That's about what my percentages are too, but sometimes the carbs and protein are an even 25%/25% split. As for the calorie part of it, I truly have no idea. I feel like telling myself I should have more is just something I want to hear.

Originally Posted by ouizoid

just to let you guys know, my BTF mix makes a fantastic pizza. I have made it a couple of times now, and it is the best LC pizza ever.

Thanks, Ouis! I have been meaning to try that forever and had no idea you could make a pizza with it!!! I will check it out. You are the best!

Originally Posted by sungoddess

Joyce, is this the statement you were referring to?
For less active people, the Weight Loss Version of the Perfect Health Diet becomes similar to a lot of popular diets. Many diets recommend a roughly even calorie distribution, with 30-40% of carbs, protein, and fats. This is what a calorie-restricted version of the Perfect Health Diet should look like too.

That's it, that's it! Thank you so much!!!!

[sunday]

Originally Posted by sungoddess

More books to read, I love it!!!


Eating less than 600 combined carb+protein calories per day raises the specter of either protein deficiency (leading to hunger) or glucose deficiency (leading to zero-carb dangers).

Yes, I try to get the 600 carb/protein per day. I just find at the end of the day, I am not hungry. I will try to keep better record and see if it is that much less than 1200? I just went & checked my tracker and maybe I am recording BB incorrectly? I may need to change the macros for BB, to help me get my fat higher?

[sungoddess]

Originally Posted by sunday

Yes, I try to get the 600 carb/protein per day. I just find at the end of the day, I am not hungry. I will try to keep better record and see if it is that much less than 1200? I just went & checked my tracker and maybe I am recording BB incorrectly? I may need to change the macros for BB, to help me get my fat higher?

Does your tracker give breakdowns of micronutrients? Mine only gives macro and I would like to check how much of some micronutrients I get in a day. I use an online tracker

For poultry based bone broth, my tracker listed one cup as 40 calories,
10 fat, 4 protein. You aren't doing up days, down days, right?

[svenskamae]

Originally Posted by sunday

Yes, I try to get the 600 carb/protein per day. I just find at the end of the day, I am not hungry. I will try to keep better record and see if it is that much less than 1200? I just went & checked my tracker and maybe I am recording BB incorrectly? I may need to change the macros for BB, to help me get my fat higher?

I think calories for BB would depend on how assiduous one was in skimming off the fat when it has cooled. I can usually lift off a crust of fat from the top of beef broth or lamb broth, but the poultry fat seems "stickier" (maybe less saturated), so I don't remove all of it fully, even when I try to. If you wanted fat levels higher, you could avoid skimming off all or some of the fat, or add a lump of grassfed butter or some HWC to a cup of BB.

[sungoddess]

Originally Posted by svenskamae

I think calories for BB would depend on how assiduous one was in skimming off the fat when it has cooled. I can usually lift off a crust of fat from the top of beef broth or lamb broth, but the poultry fat seems "stickier" (maybe less saturated), so I don't remove all of it fully, even when I try to. If you wanted fat levels higher, you could avoid skimming off all or some of the fat, or add a lump of grassfed butter or some HWC to a cup of BB.

That's a good idea. I have added a pat of Kerrygold butter mine and it is delicious!

[svenskamae]

I've started reading Melanie Warner's book "Pandora's Lunchbox: How Processed Food Took over the American Diet." I highly recommend it.

I imagine that the people who follow this thread are in the top percentiles of the population in terms of cooking from scratch with real food, but it can be eye-opening to read about what is going into food that looks and tastes real when we take a shortcut from time to time. For example, I might have considered ordering a Subway sandwich when in a hurry, but just specified that I wanted the sandwich innards to go on top of a bowl of lettuce instead of on bread. I don't think I'll do that again, barring emergency circumstances. Instead, I'd eat a couple of tablespoons of coconut butter or a handful of nuts as my meal, or just wait longer to eat.

"Wheat Belly" convinced me to give up anything containing wheat (so far as I can tell).

"The End of Overeating" convinced me to not eat in chain restaurants anymore, even making supposedly healthy low carb choices.

"Pandora's Lunchbox" is going to help me follow the rule of "if I didn't make it from scratch, or couldn't have made it from scratch in my kitchen with the listed ingredients, I don't eat it."

[adillenal]

Originally Posted by svenskamae

I've started reading Melanie Warner's book "Pandora's Lunchbox: How Processed Food Took over the American Diet." I highly recommend it.

I imagine that the people who follow this thread are in the top percentiles of the population in terms of cooking from scratch with real food, but it can be eye-opening to read about what is going into food that looks and tastes real when we take a shortcut from time to time. For example, I might have considered ordering a Subway sandwich when in a hurry, but just specified that I wanted the sandwich innards to go on top of a bowl of lettuce instead of on bread. I don't think I'll do that again, barring emergency circumstances. Instead, I'd eat a couple of tablespoons of coconut butter or a handful of nuts as my meal, or just wait longer to eat.

"Wheat Belly" convinced me to give up anything containing wheat (so far as I can tell).

"The End of Overeating" convinced me to not eat in chain restaurants anymore, even making supposedly healthy low carb choices.

"Pandora's Lunchbox" is going to help me follow the rule of "if I didn't make it from scratch, or couldn't have made it from scratch in my kitchen with the listed ingredients, I don't eat it."

I need to read "Pandora's Lunchbox". That sounds like good info and how I follow eating right now. Most of the time.

[gotsomeold]

I have a feeling Pandora's Lunchbox is going to depress heck out of me. Like you, more and more I prefer to fix my own meals...the things hidden in prepared foods and restaurant foods are just toooooo scarey.

FYI, I am still following the JUDDD rotations in that I eat somewhere below my online-calculated RMR one day and over the next. For me, my body really really likes DDs. If I try to eat approximately the same calories every day, I eat too little or too much and stop feeling so good and have trouble keeping my weight stable.

Actually, she blushed, I am concentrating on introducing new PHD foods in approximated proportions but I have not counted anything precisely in a long time. I bow in awe of the precision with which you guys are living.

[Blonde with a Rose]

Sunday THANK you for the March thread!!

Joyce, when I gave up wheat, pizza was my greatest loss!

Lately I've been having an occasional mini pizza made on top of my GF bread or a super thin one made from Teff wraps. After having gone so long without, these work just fine for me...although if I can get over to BJ's I'll definitely have one of theirs!

Thanks to all for the great info provided and as always the conversation is stimulating, informative (and funny, too).

~Blonde

[cici52]

Originally Posted by svenskamae
I'm jealous of you for having veal liver, Cici.

Here's what I would do with it. Rinse under cold water, and place in bowl. Cover with milk and let soak for an hour, to draw out bitterness. (Don't worry about consuming carbs or calories from the milk; you'll drain it off.)
Peel and thinly slice a yellow onion. Cook the onion until soft in butter. Drain milk from liver, thinly slice, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and saute in butter along with the onions until outside is browned on both sides and just barely pink inside or until cooked through (whichever you prefer). Enjoy, and feel virtuously healthy eating it.

This was NOT my mother's liver! Really very good. Easy to do this once/week. I had it for breakfast. Feel like such a big girl. Thanks, Sven.

[mttemple4]

I hear you, Blonde! My husband feels the same way.

"Against the Grain" is my favorite gluten-free option. You'll find it frozen at Whole Foods. Again, there is a smidge of canola oil but I don't think that there's much. I did some math wizardry last time we got it, estimating how much of the calories from fat came from the cheese and how much "leftover" might be canola oil and I can't imagine it was much. When I make pizza crust, recipes usually call for a tablespoon at most of oil in the crust, so I'm guessing that's the extent of the seed oil in that particular brand. Anyway . . . it's delicious!


Another "product" find that's unexpectedly wonderful are the Engine 2 Brown Rice tortillas. I thought to myself, "How to get tortillas without seed oils. Hmmm . . . I know! Buy the product from the fat free vegans who are afraid of ALL oils!" And it worked! These I found in Whole Foods' frozen section and last night I made enchiladas with them and Frontera enchilada sauce. "Packaged" foods that were actually all PHD legal. Glory be!!!! So delicious.

[mttemple4]

Posting photos of the aforementioned goodies so they are easier to find. Don't want to link in case that's a violation?

Gluten-free, seed oil-free tortillas . . . have brown rice flour, almond meal, flax and chia, etc. Surprisingly tasty. I had one last night with enchilada sauce, 4 ounces of chicken, and 1 ounce of cheese and it was 400 calories or so and quite filling.



My favorite pizza (the search always continues, though--beware of some seed oil here):



Ingredients: Tapioca starch, mozzarella cheese, eggs, tomato paste (vine-ripened fresh tomatoes, and naturally-derived citric acid), parmesan cheese, canola oil, cheddar cheese, water.

[Blonde with a Rose]

Oh thank you Joyce!! I have whole foods about 35 minutes from me, I'll give it a look! ~ Blonde

[mttemple4]

No problem! Again, some people might not want these because of the small amount of seed oil, but I also figure at least it's canola. Bad that it's a seed oil, but a better Omega 6:3 ratio than the soybean oil or whatever is likely in other gluten-free pizzas!

Also, another product find I've had recently are Canyon Bakehouse breads. They are in some stores (frozen) but I ordered online. Are you ready for this? They are gluten free AND the oil they use is . . . drum roll please . . . olive oil. I felt like I found the holy grail. My picky daughter ate a grilled cheese on them and my husband loved the hamburger buns. I found the buns the best GF I've had by far but I still wasn't in love. But worth a try!

[sungoddess]

Originally Posted by adillenal

I need to read "Pandora's Lunchbox". That sounds like good info and how I follow eating right now. Most of the time.

Okay another one for the reading list!

Originally Posted by gotsomeold

I have a feeling Pandora's Lunchbox is going to depress heck out of me. Like you, more and more I prefer to fix my own meals...the things hidden in prepared foods and restaurant foods are just toooooo scarey.

FYI, I am still following the JUDDD rotations in that I eat somewhere below my online-calculated RMR one day and over the next. For me, my body really really likes DDs. If I try to eat approximately the same calories every day, I eat too little or too much and stop feeling so good and have trouble keeping my weight stable.

Actually, she blushed, I am concentrating on introducing new PHD foods in approximated proportions but I have not counted anything precisely in a long time. I bow in awe of the precision with which you guys are living.

I know I am not normally precise but every now and again I try to plug stuff in to see if I am way off track. Doing that showed me I was way overeating protein. Nancy, you are maintaining and at goal, so I wouldn't see why you would need to count or be precise. If it 'aint broke....

Originally Posted by mttemple4

I hear you, Blonde! My husband feels the same way.

"Against the Grain" is my favorite gluten-free option. You'll find it frozen at Whole Foods. Again, there is a smidge of canola oil but I don't think that there's much. I did some math wizardry last time we got it, estimating how much of the calories from fat came from the cheese and how much "leftover" might be canola oil and I can't imagine it was much. When I make pizza crust, recipes usually call for a tablespoon at most of oil in the crust, so I'm guessing that's the extent of the seed oil in that particular brand. Anyway . . . it's delicious!


Another "product" find that's unexpectedly wonderful are the Engine 2 Brown Rice tortillas. I thought to myself, "How to get tortillas without seed oils. Hmmm . . . I know! Buy the product from the fat free vegans who are afraid of ALL oils!" And it worked! These I found in Whole Foods' frozen section and last night I made enchiladas with them and Frontera enchilada sauce. "Packaged" foods that were actually all PHD legal. Glory be!!!! So delicious.

I wish I had a Whole Foods near me. I am going to keep my eyes open for these products.

A lot of my entertainment with friends ends up being lunch or dinner at restaurants. I don't usually have the final say. I like to be a part of the group, but it is often quite a challenge to pick something that is okay. If available, most of the time I get a piece of grilled fish, some potatoes or rice, and vege. I have an app for gluten free restaurants on my phone and utilize that when I can as my main toxic poison I avoid is the wheat.

What I really want to find, for an occasional treat, is a potato chip that uses a good oil. I don't want them often and I don't feel like making them.

I had a really successful PHD yesterday! One day at a time.

I received my Ultimate Flora senior formula probiotic and I will report back on any results from that.

[mttemple4]

Originally Posted by sungoddess

Okay another one for the reading list!

What I really want to find, for an occasional treat, is a potato chip that uses a good oil. I don't want them often and I don't feel like making them.

Okay, I am really outing myself as a product hound here, aren't I? Just eat whole foods, Joyce!!!

But yes, I have a chip recommendation for you and I believe you can purchase it online via the big A jungle superstore. Grandma Utz Potato Chips. Fried in lard. Huzzah!

Our FAVORITE was Gibbles, made locally and also fried in lard, but they seem to have disappeared in the last 3 months or so.

I tried "Honest Foods" chips (search online to order) and wanted to love them. Small company, organic potatoes, coconut oil. I found the heaviness of the oil etc overwhelming.

Can you tell I have a deep and abiding love for packaged foods? I just want them packaged with the right ingredients!