[LakeGirl]

Thanks, Robin! I'm in Maryland and have never heard of it before...but then again, I've never looked for it before either! I'll keep my eye out next week on shopping day!

[RitzyFritz]

To me, this is a most valuable thread! I'm learning so much! You ladies are totally grand!!

Avsfan2: I have sent you the link to the waffles in a PM. If anyone else would like it, just let me know and I will send it. I cannot wait to try them myself!!

Mrs Quadcrew: Those roasted veggies sound OOOOH soooo good!!! We love all of those veggies - and roasted too! I will definitely be trying this too! Thanks so very much!! I appreciate all your time and effort to help!

Wyllenn: Thanks for that web site! That is great!!

LakeGirl: I will have to try to locate the Barilla! I just bought a spaghetti squash last night in my regular grocery store produce section right with the squash. As for the Afave nectar, put it in Google and and you will find LOTS of info on it as well as a place where you can either buy on the net or find a store near you that carries it (mostly health food stores, although some of our larger grocery chains here carry it, I was surprised to discover!). I'm definitely going to get some, as we are a little leery about the negative info out there about Splenda. Would prefer something natural instead of chemical. Thanks for that tip on the tea! I just bought some green tea bags last night that have raspberry flavor! I had not seen that before and am going to enjoy a cup tonight! I will let you know if it is good (or maybe you have had it and already know if it is or not).

Nelie: Your garbanzo bean salad sounds good! I will be trying that too! WOW....you all have supplied me with enough recipes to last a LOOOONG time! This is wonderful!! Let us know how you like the recipes in "The Splendid Grain." I have been looking for books of this sort myself.

Robin: Your bean salad sounds good too! Definitely will be making!! Thanks....again! LOL!!

Jillybean720: I'm like Robin, I cannot ever remember not being able to find spaghetti squash either! Maybe you need to request your store to keep it in their produce year round? They usually try to accomodate the shoppers when it is possible. Worth the shot!

As always....thanks a million for your input! This is all wonderful information and I'm even putting some of it to use for supper right this very minute! It smells WONDERFUL and cannot wait to try!! Everyone have a wonderful evening!

[Anniechick]

Originally Posted by RitzyFritz

Okay....I guess this is "normal" but a few questions come to my mind again for those who are eating this way...

1. Do you not bake anything (breads, biscuits, healthy cookies, etc?)
2. Do you saute anything (using cooking spray)?
3. Do you even use recipes or just put together some vegetables with meat and not add anything "processed"?

I really do want to get the hang of this! Thanks for being willing to bear with me on my questions and help me learn!

1. I've never been a baker, I've lived with a cranky, uneven-heating oven for 20 years, and the only thing I bake is cornbread, which I make from a local stone-ground whole cornmeal. It's definitely an indulgence that I only make once in a blue moon!

2. I do saute, either in a tiny amount of EVOO or Pam. I also use my George Forman grill quite a bit, it does mushrooms/peppers/onions very nicely, along with a chicken breast or some tilapia. We like stir-fry, usually mushrooms, peppers, carrots, onions, water chestnuts, with black-bean sauce. I serve it with chicken and some whole wheat pasta or brown rice. Yum!

3. I'm like Jill, I get ideas from recipes, then craft my own. I'm a big fan of Master-Cook - I enter my ingredient and it calculates the nutritional information. That lets me calculate my points for WW and my carb exchanges because I'm diabetic. I can also play around with ingredients and portion sizes to get the nutritional information down to what fits my eating plan. I love to read new cookbooks and try foods from all over, but I also am a big fan of having good ingredients on hand so I can throw something together at the last minute that will be healthy and tasty as well. Rarely use processed ingredients at all.

[RitzyFritz]

Anniechick: I'm looking forward to being familiar enough with this new way of eating! I can't wait for the day to have that confidence that I can just "throw something together" and not worry whether I'm doing it "right" or not. :-)

[fiddler]

Originally Posted by RitzyFritz

Okay....I guess this is "normal" but a few questions come to my mind again for those who are eating this way...

1. Do you not bake anything (breads, biscuits, healthy cookies, etc?)
2. Do you saute anything (using cooking spray)?
3. Do you even use recipes or just put together some vegetables with meat and not add anything "processed"?

I really do want to get the hang of this! Thanks for being willing to bear with me on my questions and help me learn!

1. I don't bake very much. Cheesecake occasionally, but no cookies, breads, pies, etc.

2. Yes, I saute a lot. I usually use olive oil, canola oil, occasionally butter, or a combination.

3. Recipes are a great help, especially if you never learned to cook very well. I have a LOT of cookbooks and I use them regularly. Although at this point I have been cooking for 30 years so I'm pretty good at coming up with my own concoctions. But if you don't have experience with lots of different types of produce and ingredients, it can be difficult to eat predominantly whole foods without them seeming boring, in my opinion. I would suggest you get a couple of good cookbooks that use whole foods. They don't have to necessarily have "whole foods" in the title--just flip through and see what kind of ingredients the recipes use. Make sure there are no references to canned cream of mushroom soup, etc.

Here is a good cookbook for starting out: http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Winter-...e=UTF8&s=books All the recipes use chicken, and not too many scary ingredients. They're quite simple to make but taste really good.

[RitzyFritz]

Thanks, Fiddler! I'm going to see if my library has that book! We do lots of chicken....this will be a help! I appreciate your advice.