Thanks for the brown rice advice Petra! I went to the market and found that there are oodles of whole grain rice now....I cooked a wild mushroom rice for dinner....yummy! with salmon and broccoli....so delicious!
I am not exactly following the recipes that she sends on-line....but I am following the basic principles.
Has anyone tried any of the recipes that you love?
I did buy the Laughing Cow spreadable cheese....OMG, delicious and only 35 calories!
I really want to become a delicious and nutritious chef!
Today I went to whole foods market and they had wheat-berry and couscous and the Tabbaleuh (sp?) on their salad bar.....these are strange to me so it was good to try it.....I liked the couscous....not so crazy about the wheat-berry..did not try the tabbaleuh (sp?).
How about soups....always looking for good soup recipes, especially veggie based soup.
I LOVE tabbouleh. It's not that hard to make yourself. Wheat berries are probably not very tasty by themselves. I've used it in a concotion of various grains as a breakfast cereal.
You know you can change the menus she sends you on line, you can browse through the choices there and find something the interests you more or fits with ingredients you have in the house. I really like the chile mint burgers. I'll have to think about some others. I mentioned some of the breakfast ones I use before. Also the pork chops in curry marinade but I like curry anything. I have some cooking light recipes I also use that are sonoma friendly.
I want to share a bit of something.....I now realize that to be successful at this, I need to enjoy my meals. My DH is a meat, potato and very, very plain eater....hates onions, not crazy about garlic....it's the way I love to eat!
It's time to cook for ME!!!!!!
I made a wonderful chicken cattitore (sp?) dish...with onion and garlic and mushrooms with boneless thighs and Bartilli plus pasta....OMG....ah-mazing!
My DD loved it too!
The Bertilli plus pasta was very good and seems so healthy with omega 3's! Woo-hoo....I am so happy finding delcious and nutritious foods that I love....that's the Sonoma Way (btw cooked it in EVOO).
I found the recipe on You-tube! A quick 6 minute complete meal prep....love, love, love the internet!
I wish she (the author of Sonoma) would put cooking videos on her web-site....I get scared of cookbooks...but always learning!
So far this week 4 great dinners
M~ steak, salad and corn-on the cob
T~ hearty veggie soup with rye bread and speadable laughing cow cheese
W~ salmon, wild rice and broccoli
T~ chicken cattitore with Bertilli plus pasta
Yummy!
Thinking about making chicken soup for Friday....and then maybe some seafood over the week-end.
Oh and I lost 1 lb since my last weigh in!
Thinkerbell
Last edited by thinkerbell; 11-13-2008 at 12:58 PM.
Hi Everyone,
I am so glad that this thread got started! I always wondered why there isn't more support forums for the Med Diet, especially since it's one of the only diets that keeps showing up positive results in studies .
I've pretty much had it with diets! I'm not talking about the healthy eating plans - I'm talking about diet as "die" with a "T" - I've had two years of restrictions - low carb, low fat, high protein, low protein, eat this, not that - yikes! I just want to eat REAL food that I enjoy, keep the calories low but not insanely low, and not worry about whether I'm eating too many carbs, too much fruit, too little protein, etc.
I've wanted to do a Med way of eating for a long time but I think I've been afraid because it's the one eating plan that doesn't have boundaries (except no fake stuff ). But I've made my menus and I want to start tomorrow and just take it one day at a time. I want to focus on healthy eating, working on my emotional eating issues, and not worry about weight loss, which I know will come if I keep at it.
I with you....what you wrote expresses how I feel exactly!
Welcome to this thread....I am glad you found us!
I'm still figuring it all out, especially the recipes in the Sonoma books, but I did have a great week....enjoyed my food, feel good, not hungry at all and even enjoyed cooking.
I am looking for good recipes....I am not a "cookbook" person....need a person to point the way!
But I am finding that this is a fun way to think out healthy eating plans....no DIE-its! rather have a LIVE-it!
Today, I got an email from Dr. Sonoma (oops....don't remember her name) about drinking green tea. I think I'll try it. A night tea time ritual has been part of my success.....as I was a night eater.
So I have done 3 things to help change the night-eating.....I take my vitamin, fish oil tab and a big glass of water at night and then a cup of tea. I do save a snack for about 9 pm. Also, I put a handful of bazooka joe bubble gum in the fruit bowl....for those times when I feel like "munching"....it works plus you get a joke and a fortune....takes my mind off whatever I was thinking.
Tammay I'm with you on the healthy eating thing. I tried this once before and did have some problems with the lack of restrictions but after going back to trying some things I had done before and they just weren't working for me anymore I came back to this and this just feels more comfortable this time. I've been at it again for a little over 2 months. I'm not losing weight at any incredible speed but it is coming off slowly. My blood pressure and cholesterol did come down enough to avoid having to go on medication.
I'm trying a couple new recipes off the site this week thinkerbell. The oven basked cassoulet and chicken, hummus on pita with salad or something like that. I'll tell you what I think of them. For those of you who have sugar issues (which I definately have) I will tell you something I have found to be true. Once you get to Wave 2, try drinking the wine unless there is a reason why you can't. I buy mine in the little individual serving bottles since I live alone. I have found that amazingly that seems to have prevented my sugar cravings almost completely. YMMV. I am curious if other people have this same experience. It makes sense scientifically.
Once you get to Wave 2, try drinking the wine unless there is a reason why you can't. I buy mine in the little individual serving bottles since I live alone. I have found that amazingly that seems to have prevented my sugar cravings almost completely. YMMV. I am curious if other people have this same experience. It makes sense scientifically.
What is the science behind wine preventing sugar cravings?
I made the Roasted Rataoulle (again with the spelling?) and it is delish! I plan on using it thru out the week as a side veggie....still have that WW thing that veggies are free!
I also made a "free" WW cabbage soup.....the veggies fill me up and thankfully I love 'em.
Speaking of other plans, I was lurking on the Beck Solution thread....very interesting but I swore off buying anymore DIET books....I felt guilty even buying the Sonoma books....I pretended they were just cookbooks! .....anyway, one idea I got from the thread was about "giving yourself credit" for all you do right...so, my dear Petra, I see your ticker and you have lost....that ticker is going DOWN!...woo-hoo.....that's super! Steady progress is a realistic goal!....oh, that was another tip from the Beck thread...set realistic goals!
Julie,
I am curious too about the wine....and looking forward to including it in my plan.....I promised myself I would wait until Day 10, as my blood sugar feels so steady and I lost 3 lbs this week!
Thanks for the tip Petra....I don't usually buy mangos...I'll check them out next time I'm at the maket.
Yesterday, I made a delish dessert....actually from the South Beach diet.
Ricotta cheese with a bit of vanilla extract and a bit of splenda and blueberries...wow! it is heavenly....and winds up being a protein and fruit!
I know, I know, I know....this is the sonoma diet thread! But I am taking a little bit of everything I have learned from all my dieting attempts! What I love about the sonoma plan is that it is about enjoying food, enjoying cooking and enjoying delish and nutritious foods.....so this ricotta parfait was very, very satisfying!
I did try the green tea over the week-end and I enjoyed it....was it my imagination or did I get a little "charge" from it.....for some reason, I felt really "perky" after I drank it!?
Need to go food shopping today....I did plan my week's worth of dinners....that is always a major accomplishment! Credit moi! (stolen from the Beck Diet Solution thread!)
I'm no expert.....do you have the book or are you working with it on-line?
If on-line, I say keep going!
If by the book, I say begin again as the 1st ten days are really a sugar and whilte flour cleanse.....that's why no fruit or wine for the 1st ten days.
I am doing a modified program and am on day 8 of no sugar no white flour....I lost 3 lbs this week (and I'm pre-menstrual!) and my blood sugar feels amazingly steady.....so I think the whole grains instead of the white stuff is an imprtant piece! Honestly though, I did not cut out the fruit....but it is not white sugar. Perhaps I would have lost more if I did but I like how I feel...not hungry, satisfied, not bloated or lethargic! woo-hoo
As thinkerbell said, wave 1 is really about a sugar/white flour detox so you are going to have to make that call for yourself. If you feel like you really need to start over, then that is what you should do. If you think it was not a big deal and you'll be okay if you keep going-go for it. I came to Sonoma this time from low carbing so since I was already sugar and white flour free, I just went straight to wave 2 and have not found that to be problematic.
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). But I've made my menus and I want to start tomorrow and just take it one day at a time. I want to focus on healthy eating, working on my emotional eating issues, and not worry about weight loss, which I know will come if I keep at it.
