Fruits and Veggies Help

[kpreston]

So I woke up this morning and streched, smiled at the alarm clock that still had 13 minutes before it would go off, made myself breakfast in the kitchen, and ate my glorious Steakems. Then I thought back on what I've eatin in the past 3 days, and mentally kicked myself in the ass.

Help me fix my diet. :-/

I don't want to go pure vegetarian, nor do I want to pack on muscle mass and drink exotic shakes, but I would like to move more towards a vegetarian-esk diet. That is: eating fruits and veggies and only eating meats/poultry on nights when my mom actually feels like cooking (3 days a week?).

Someone help me get the basics, though. I mean, I could go into the kitchen and eat a few stalks of celery and some carrots, but I really don't think that's the point.

[Minsc]

You should eat something like nuts or olive oil too.
Fish and poultry are better than red meat.

Here's a food pyramid that's mosly vegitarian: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritio...thypyramid.gif
EDIT: (it was made up recently after some research so it should be pretty healthy)
And here's the "Nutrition source" stuff it's on: Nutrition Source, Harvard School of Public Health

[kpreston]

But is it really as basic as it seems to me? Am I just suppost to go to the store and stock up on apples, oranges, bananas, melons, etc, and snack on those throughout the day?

[Jaben]

You can eat vegan without eating fruits and vegetables - rice, beans and soy products. But, I think you are on the right track with the munching on carrots, celery, apples, bananas and oranges. I do believe organic raw fruits, vegetables, nuts and sprouts are the purest, most nutritional food you can find. I have eaten nothing but raw vegan since September and feel absolutely great. Please read through the recipes here: vegan recipes and vegetarian recipes - living and raw - uncooked!
Make sure you eat plenty of green leafy vegetables.
And read the China Study.

[kpreston]

Ah, so it IS that simple. For some reason I thought it was going to be more complicated than that. Thanks.

Edit: What should I do about nuts? Are your average peanuts in a jar/sunflower seeds (roasted and salted)/peanuts (roasted and salted) beneficial?

Edit2: I read that I should stay away from white rice, is that true? What about parbroiled rice or couscous (sp?).

Edit3 -.-:

One thing I’ve found is that when I eat a whole foods vegan diet (as opposed to a more junky vegan diet that includes refined or processed foods) ...

What's the difference? What exactly are "whole vegan foods?"

Plus (after the initial detox period of about a week), I feel incredible when I eat this way.

Detox period? Should I do a 3 day juice fast or something?

[ReallyGoodIdeas]

I'd recommend raw nuts, not the roasted salted variety. Raw almonds are delicious as are walnuts and hazelnuts. Soaked in water overnight is even better, weirdly they become crunchier, and taste even better.

Leafy green vegies are perfect. So make yourself a quick salad if you like, with lettuce, spinach, parsley, maybe some grated carrot, dried coconut, a bit of tomato and cucumber. Yum!!

Anyway you want to mix them up vegies and fruit are good for you and taste good (IMHO).

The detox period, is the detoxing from the rubbish you previously ate(presuming you were eating refined grain products and fatty takeaways). It doesn't mean you need to fast. when you clean up your diet, you go through a detox where your body starts cleaning out the junk, and you can feel a bit off-colour. Headachy, emotional, etc. Personally I've never had this, but it happens often enough to mention it.

Enjoy!!

Happy holidays
Hazel

[escapee]

I'm fan of Mcdougall so here is his advice

Green and yellow vegetables are too low in calories to serve as the center of your meals, but can be added without restriction to your meals, particularly if you wish to lose more weight, faster. In general fruits should be limited to 3 servings a day. They are tasty, high in simple sugars and easy to over consume. The sugar in fruit is fructose, which causes triglycerides and cholesterol to rise too high in sensitive people. People with these concerns should limit fruits even more.

[Jaben]

What should I do about nuts? Are your average peanuts in a jar/sunflower seeds (roasted and salted)/peanuts (roasted and salted) beneficial?

I agree with ReallyGoodIdeas' comments on nuts. Eat them raw and always soak them first. Almonds are a staple for me as well. The reason to eat them raw is because the nutrition (enzymes and fats) is partially destroyed by roasting.

Sam's Club has great deals on raw almonds, walnuts, pecans and pine nuts. For organic and other types of nuts, I'd recommend buying bulk from your local health food store.

The reason to soak your nuts is to start the germinating process, which breaks down the enzyme inhibitors. The enzyme inhibitors are what prevent the nut from being digested and broken down by bacteria, so they can store longer. When germinated the enzyme inhibitors are gone, allowing your body to extract the nutrients.

I like to germinate my almonds and then dehydrate them. They only last a few days after soaking them unless dehydrated, then they last for weeks. They are probably healthier before dehydrating, but they are nice and light and crunchy after dehydration and you can make flour out of them to use for cookies or to thicken nut cheese cake for example.

I avoid peanuts. Most peanuts require roasting to be safe because of the mold content. There are some that are OK to eat raw after soaking.

Raw nuts are good for the fat and protein content and they are very filling, but they should not compose a large portion of your diet. The following is a good read for more information on nuts: Nut Information, Comparison -- What every raw fooder should know about nuts

[kpreston]

What about things like peanut butter (extra crunchy! ) and condiments (mayonaise, bbq sauce, etc)?

[Jaben]

Use raw almond butter instead of peanut butter. I make my own mayo from soaked almonds, lemon juice, garlic, onion powder, water, olive oil, salt and apple cider vinegar. I have seen recipes for raw barbeque sauce as well.

[kpreston]

Okay. Thanks everyone for all their advice.

[jbischke]

For me what has really helped when my diet hasn't been optimal (like now...the holidays @ home are always rough ) is to immerse myself in a bunch of material that promotes the benefits of a healthy diet. For instance, I'll try to listen to Tony Robbins' Living Health at least once a year and am just about to give that another go-round right now. Or read or listen to any of John Robbins books (Diet for a New America, The Food Revolution). Or Andrew Weil...

The problem is that (at least in the U.S.) we're constantly bombarded with a ton of pressure to eat unhealthily. 99% of commercials for food are for stuff that's bad for us. Most of our family members probably have pretty lousy diets. So unless we make some conscious steps to work positive motivation around food into our lives we end up just going with the flow...and eating Steak-ums for breakfast.

If you're interested in a little positive nutrition material you can start here (Disclaimer: That's a link to my site.). I find that popping on an audiobook about good diet while I'm in the kitchen or on the way to the grocery store can be very, very helpful in terms of making better choices.