My aunt (vegetarian for 20+ years) was reading a book by these two women who are vegan and she said they were pretty radical even for her. But they said that mother's milk is to help a newborn double its weight in the first year. And cow's milk is meant to help a newborn calf double its weight in the first year to over a ton. So why would you think that any diet advocating drinking cow;s milk 3 x/day would help you lose weight? Funny thought when you put it together.

Did you see the news article about the vegan couple who ended up starving their baby to death as they only fed the newborn soy milk and apple juice? The poor baby only weighed 3 and a half pounds. :( *sad*

For the OP: the slim-fast meal replacement bars have roughly the same carbs and protein as a Lite.


Now as the eco-friendly mother-earth womyn-studies degree holding feminist, my opinion on the whole organic thing. :carrot:

I try to follow the basic principals of a whole foods diet. I only shop the outside isles of the supermarket. I buy produce that's as local as possible, meaning it's local grapes over organic chilean grapes. I spend the summer eating freshly picked tomatos (literally I pick them, I wash them, I eat them) and am so enamored by them I'm ready to turn a windowsill into a hydroponic garden so I can have fresh tomatos all year round. :p

I only buy fresh ground organic peanut butter, I'm a food snob when it comes to peanut butter from the jar. Plus, when I grind it at Whole Foods myself, I know it's nothing but peanuts. My Ricotta cheese--hello I'm in New York, I don't buy the part-skim from the supermarket. I go to the Itilain Deli and buy the fresh made stuff, yes the fat is higher, but the chemicals are less.

I try to eat as fresh as possible. Eating fresh means I get the best nutrients for my body. It's as simple as that.

Salt is a part of nature, thus I'll eat it when I'm craving it.

Thanks to all and thanks Joni for the newbie info, I will read thru that again, since I am new to this board. You all have so much info! I hope I can do this w/o the COD:?: I feel like I can, but when I hit the "slump" I won't have the COD to give me suggestions, figure out what to do...I figured ALL that money I spent$$$$$ Yikes!! I better at least try to get this done on my own! I will definatlely appreciate reading all your tips everyone! I spent waaaay to much, as you all have, to not finish the weight loss OP.
;)

I also have to say, although this thread did not start as an organic topic...that is one of the things that I love about this plan, you are not eating boxed "crap". I buy about 90% of my food, dairy, meat, etc organic. This plan fits into a "real" life w/o needing to break away from all the packaged stuff after you've met goal. I know those plans work for some and they are convenient, but I just "feel" better when I eat real food...:smug: And I think it's better to "train" yourself to eat better, so the weight stays off!!

I too think that's the biggest plus to this plan. While others are trying to figure out how to eat when they get off the packaged food we already know. You are trained from day one how to make the lifestyle change.

Megan in MO - that is so sad about the baby...I just can't even imagine...

Megan in NY - I totally agree with you, grocery shop the outside of the supermarket, buy local fruits and veggies over anything else - I'm in a very rural area surrounded by lots of farms which means fruit and veggies stands...yummmmm!!! We don't have a place to ground your own peanuts at our supermarket...I usually buy organic almond butter.

Lysa and Shannon.. Truer words are seldom spoken!!!

As for organic... Meh... I feel that a lot of the stuff at Whole Foods and Wild Oats is overpriced crap that is no better for you than the stuff you can get at Wally World.. A co-worker here used to work at Wild Oats and has some real horror stories about the processed foods they serve in their deli.. As for produce... If I'm wanting something organic, I'll seek it out locally.. I won't pay more for organic stuff that's been on a truck longer than the stuff I get at Wally World... \

As for grinding my own peanut butter... That sounds like a cool idea.. Guess I've never seen that at the local Whole Foods when I've been there for a trip to the salad bar at lunchtime.. I'll have to check that out... Thanks for the tip...

AMEN!!;)

I agree with you Dan...

I Love the "Whole Foods" eye candy appeal, it is a lovely place, but very overpriced!! Truthfully, I shop almost entirely at Trader Joe's, as they really offer great products and their prices I think are very good. I can get almost everything organic that I care to have and they have a good quallity product. And for peanut butter...oh my, try their creamy, or crunchy (valencia peanuts), organic...it is to die for! I really have to measure out those portions carefully!:D

Oh and Wild Oats, truly ridiculous, waaaay to much $$$$ for the same stuff elsewhere...

OK I know nothing about organic so lets sum up here:

DO buy organic Dairy and Meat

Produce - buy local if possible - I only know of the farmers markets for this and I've always wondered about them since there is no policing. Is this really safe?

There was mention in another thread somewhere about different fruits. I can't remember the rule though.

Strawberries - do buy organic?

Anything with a shell or protective covering no need for organic just wash really well?

Peanut Butter - organic is the one I want. I worried that I'd bought the wrong kind as I got organic instead of reduced fat.

Only shopping "outside isles" confused me - what's the reasoning ?

Shannon - The farmer's markets are policed, the road side stands, sometimes, but these are the same farmers who sell the stuff to your grocery store where it goes to a central distribution center before being sent to your store so you're just cutting out the middle man and getting it before they do. Just like you would the produce you get from the store, wash it very well. As for the outside of the store, that's because the perimeter of the store is where you will find the dairy, produce, meat, fresh breads, etc. In the middle is where you will find the processed foods, canned foods, cookies, chips, sodas, chemicals, etc.

I'm all about the Valencia peanuts... The biggest producer of that variety is right here in New Mexico, in and around a small town called Portales.. I go there once a year for an agriculture expo and alway come home loaded with nuts... wait.. Let me rephrase that..

The only thing I worry about grinding my own peanut butter is the potential taste... I LOVE JIF... I've had "natural" peanut butter before and have not really liked it...

Outside Aisle Theory
 

In most supermarkets 90% of the healthy stuff is on the outside aisles of the supermarket.

Typically you walk in and start at produce/bakery, you then walk that to the back where the meat, chicken, and fish are. As you walk around--typically the dairy and bread are on the aisle on the opposite side of the store. By the time you reach the end of that hour you're back at the front of the supermarket. I now only go down the inside aisles for oil, vinegar, seltzer water, and in the rare case I want something odd frozen veggies and Whole Grain frozen waffles. :faint:

As for the natural thing vs the processed thing. Favorite counselor at COD is a nutrionist, she actually advocates eating whole fat and fresh. Typically they up the sugar when they remove the fat. So if I have the option of 2 oz of the low salt fresh mozerella over the 2 % polly-o, I'd go for the fresh which doesn't have the sugare or the salt of the processed cheese.

We do organic milk, too. It DOES taste better. When I shop at TJ's, I will also buy their non-o milk because it's clearly labeled that it does not contain hormones. I also do most of our produce shopping at local farmer's markets. Those are great if you have access to them! The prices are usually less than what I pay in the supermarket. They sell conventional, organic and non-o produce that's spray-free (they just don't have an organic cert because o-certs cost money and overhead to maintain). I buy conventional citrus and melons, but organic or spray-free berries, apples, spinach, stone fruit (cherries, peaches, etc) - anything we're going to eat the skin on.

Here's a good article about which organics give you the most bang for your buck: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/gu...od-worth-money

Duh... I didn't read the second page before responding. If you are looking for a local farmer's market, there is a directory of them here: http://www.ams.usda.gov/farmersmarkets/map.htm