Whole Foods
 

Hi everyone,

I just finished "In Defense of Food" and I'm wondering if there are any good whole food diets? Something that sticks with the premise of eating more greens, more whole grains, less processed food- I think SBD might be the way to go, but I don't want to go carb-less again.

Suggestions? Perhaps just a really good cookbook? Am I writing in the right forum?

I like having a plan to follow.

SBD was how I started in my direction toward whole foods.

I have a bunch of cookbooks and although none of them really say "I am whole foods", most of them support whole foods eating:
366 delicious ways to cook Rice, beans and grains
Veganomicon
Vegan with a Vengeance
Yellow Rose Recipes
Vegan Fire & Spice
Any cookbook by Dreena Burton.

(A lot of vegan cookbooks tend to focus on using whole foods including lots of veggies, legumes and alternative type grains. Of course that doesn't mean they won't use white pasta, white flour or white sugar occasionally but a large percentage of recipes seem to be on the whole foods side.)

I am a calorie counter with a VAST focus on whole foods. I am a firm believer in using as many whole foods as you can from the time you wake, until the time you sleep. Your body (including your weight) WILL thank you for it! Fruits, veggies, lean proteins, whole grains. Just get on the internet and begin reading. No need to buy books to go "whole foods!" Just Google "WHOLE FOOD RECIPES" and there will be more options than you will ever be able to cook!

South Beach even in Phase I isn't carbless, and there's no "law" that you can't skip Phase I and go directly to Phase II (which my doctor recommended for hubby and to a lesser degree me, because we're on blood sugar lowering meds - since hubby's on insulin it's more important that he reduce his carbs too low).

I have a number of whole-food cookbooks on my wish-list at amazon.com (after reading the reviews) and have been working my way through the list (ordering from my library, and then deciding whether I'm going to buy them).

So far, I can only vouch for the first one (I liked it, and have added it to my "to buy" list).


The Whole Foods Market Cookbook by Steve Petusevsky and Inc. Whole Foods (Paperback - Aug 20, 2002)


The Whole Foods Diabetic Cookbook by Michael Cook and Patricia Stevenson (Paperback - Mar 2002)

The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook: Whole Foods Recipes for Personal and Planetary Health, Second Edition by Alissa Segersten and Tom Malterre MS CN (Perfect Paperback - Oct 19, 2007)

Whole Foods Diet Cookbook: 200 Recipes for Optimal Health by Ivy Larson and Andrew Larson (Paperback - Jun 1, 2009)

The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook: With More Than 1,000 Recipes for Choosing, Cooking, & Preserving Natural Ingredients by Dara Demoelt

The Natural Foods Cookbook by Beatrice Trum Hunter

Super Natural Cooking: Five Delicious Ways to Incorporate Whole and Natural Foods into Your Cooking by Heidi Swanson (Paperback - Mar 1, 2007)

The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia: A Comprehensive Resource for Healthy Eating (Compass) by Rebecca Wood (Paperback - Jul 1, 1999)

Cooking the Whole Foods Way: Your Complete, Everyday Guide to Healthy Eating by Christina Pirello (Paperback - Mar 1, 1997)

Look into Clean Eating Magazine. For each issue they post several weeks of meal plans with calorie totals.

There are also books by Tosca Reno, a diet book and cook books. I think the diet diet is called Eating Clean. Amazon sells them.

South Beach is a good carb plan, with the exception of the first 2 weeks, when you effectively detox from sugar and unhealthy carbs. I wanted to eat healthier, more greens, more whole grains, and less processed food. I happily accomplish that following SB. You could check out the book from your library and peruse it.

I have found my weight loss to be more consistent when following this plan rather than going with my own plan.

Best wishes!

Sonoma is also a whole foods type of diet, although I disagree with the low calorie first phase.

Great suggestions, all. Thanks! I did SB for a year, and it helped immensely, but I can't seem to get jumpstarted back into it. I've kept a lot of what I learned there- whole grains, ect. I eat lots of veggies. I think though that I'd like something new, and I'm going to go to the library and see if I can find some of these resources! Thanks!

I just wanted to advocate for Tosca Reno's "eat clean diet" cookbook. I had tried South Beach but found it somewhat difficult at times. I recently joined a gym, and asked my trainer about what the best simple, easily adaptable, whole foods diet to slim down was. She told me the above book. The next day my physician told me the same thing.

I bought it and have lost 17 pounds in three weeks (Alot I know, it wasn't my intention)

The premise is very simple, clean eating, meaning in essence, whole foods. Eat every three hours or so, and eat around 300 - 400 a meal. Each meal is one lean protein and two complex carbs.

For me it looks like this
Early morning smoothie (frozen berries, soy milk, protein powder (not "whole food but my doc insists) and frozen banana blended up.

early snack, apple and peanut butter

lunch usually chicken breasts sauteed with veggies, brown rice

snack in afternoon, hummus and sliced veggies

dinner similar to snacks.

I bought her new cookbook as well and have had a blast with the recipes. My kids love them too. Last night we had chicken fajitas cooked with orange, lime and lemon juices. There was very little leftover because they devoured it.

Anyway, I love her style. You can google her, she has a website and a forum there as well,


By the way, its not low carb or low calorie, its about making good choices. I found it much easier to follow then south beach for some reason (though it actually looks pretty similar)
Kat

Great suggestions for cookbooks! I will check some of them out...

I concur with the South Beach ideas. It jump-started me to getting volumes of veggies in. I just try to avoid the fake sweeteners.

I just received "The Balanced Plate" by Renee Loux. It is not advertised as vegan, but I think it is; I didn't find a single egg or milk in the book yet (the cauliflower creme chowder is made with pine nuts and almonds... )

She has wraps using collard green wrappers, pad thai made with shirataki or tofu noodles, edamame hummus ... haven't tried any recipes yet but I am excited about it; the recipes are interesting.

The best part? It's on sale for $3.98 at Daedalus:
http://www.daedalusbooks.com/Product...26Special%3DOP

My other recent purchase, which I :love::love::love:, is the Healthy Slow Cooker. I took it out from the library and wanted to copy so many recipes that I went ahead and ordered the book:

http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Slow-C.../dp/0778801330

You can peek inside that one for an idea of the recipes.

Happy cooking :D

Eating Well magazine also has a lot good whole foods recipies, as does Cooking Light. I agree that there is no need to find a particular diet unless that works better for you. I eat mostly whole foods, and count calories, and that works for me. :)

Whole foods are the way to go. I think processed foods are like poisen to your body. If it doesn't have a mother or come from the ground, don't eat it! It's the only thing that has helped me lose weight and feel great and I enjoy all the foods, I never get cravings for sweets. You can also eat much more so you never get sick of it. I eat alot of fruits( especially fruits), nuts,veggies, alot of fiber and I make sure I protein at every meal. I eat no red meats, just a bit of fish or chicken w/ my salad for dinner. I don't eat after my 5:30pm. dinner unless I can't stand it. Then I will have a few grapes or carrot sticks. I eat the same foods and meals everyday now for 13mo. Just need to change up my choices for dinner when it gets boring. I keep my carb intake low at after 3:00pm. Eating lots of fruits during the day will give you plenty of energy and carbs. Hope this helps. I found the eating well website and diet enlighted websites to be very helpful with recipes.

I have to also advocate for Tosca's Books. Her method, the Eat-Clean Diet has completely changed my life. I tried SB as well as so many others and have never felt better or looked better than I do now. (My story's in the Success Stories thread).
You eat mostly whole foods, nothing that's been processed or refined, and again every 2-3 hours. I don't count calories, which I think is my favorite part!
I would definitely recommend her books, especially either of her cookbooks. The one that just came out in October is a hardcover, with full page pictures of every recipe! It's so nice looking (let alone the great recipes!) that I'm buying it for friends and family as Christmas presents!

Yeah I would suggest south beach as well