Hi everyone, I'm new here - trying to figure out a couple of things before I start, since the book is lacking some info.

First, can you use low sodium broth to cook with during Phase I? My aunt makes a Mexican rice dish that is pretty much just chicken broth, rice, tomatoes, and garlic.. it's incredibly good and I can definitely see it sufficing as a dinner in itself.

Second, has anyone ever heard of Martinelli's apple juice? It's 100% apples with no preservatives, additives, extra flavorings, and no concentrates. I usually only drink water, or the apple juice, so I'm trying to figure out of it's acceptable for Phase I since it doesn't contain anything he advised against in the FAQ thread.

I'm looking forward to starting - I think the only things I'm going to miss are the white potatoes (I'm from a southern family so those are practically a staple food) and the bread. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

According to the good Dr. He says no to fruit juices during phase 1 because they contain preservatives and no fiber.

The broth can be used for cooking but an even better alternative would be to use vegetable broth instead.

Good luck with the plan!! I am LOVING it. I used to be a big potato and bread fan myself but I havent missed them not once! Once you get that sugar and white processed stuff out of your system you'll be amazed at what you dont even think about anymore.

~melissa

Some grocery stores sell a no sodium beef and chicken boullion (add it to water to make broth). It is called Herb-Ox. The box for the chicken one is green and the beef one is red. I've been using it for about a year now and you *can not* tell the difference!! I've cooked for friends and family several times and they had no idea that their food had no salt in it! I cook all the time and am the worlds pickest eater so coming from me...that means its good. haha :P

No juice huh?Well if you look in the back of the book where he gives suggestions for phase 1 breakfasts he lists 1 glass of orange juice.

Melissa - Martinelli's AJ doesn't contain any preservatives, additives, etc. The only ingredient they list is apples - whether that's completely true or not I can't say. My logic was that if it's made of just apples then it's the same as fruit BUT I could also see how if the one 10 oz bottle of AJ is equal to eating.. say.. 9 apples (on the assumption that that is how many apples you'd have to eat to get that amount of juice) then that's a LOT of apples for one day. And it's good to know that you're loving it without the potatoes.. that definitely makes me feel better.

Lesset - thanks! I will try the bullion. This Mexican rice dish is the only one I've ever had where I could eat just the rice and nothing else.

Katherine - the book is a little hit and miss for me, so I'm glad I found this forum. If you read the FAQs it answers a little bit about the juice, but didn't have any info on juices without all of the extras in it.

Aside from the Martinellis not having any preservatives, I think Melissa was saying it doesn't have any fiber either. So not only are you drinking (theoretically) 9 apples in a bottle, but you aren't getting any of the fiber that those apples would have had. So its probably best to stick with the fruit and save the juice for later....Thats a toughy for me too. All I want is ONE SIP of apple juice....I love it.

I'm surprised that I haven't craved potatoes or white rice one bit. I am kind of wanting to have some pasta though, like maybe the protein enriched kind or brown rice pasta...something.

It amazes me how quickly I have become sensitive to sweet flavor....today I had regular frozen corn in my bean and rice casserole, and each kernel tasted very sweet.....nice, cuz the dish is spicy...are you all in love with basmati brown rice? It smells like popcorn cooking, and it is SOOOO good!

Karen have you ever tried the Martinelli's AJ? It tastes better to me than any other juice I've ever had.

We tried wheat pasta a few months ago (I decided to make spaghetti for dinner and then came to find out that we only had whole wheat spaghetti) and to be honest, I thought it was gross. The texture was really different and just kind of weird. I've not tried the brown rice pasta, though. If you try it as the phases progress, I'd love to know how it was

No I haven't tried it, but I guess I'm to have to now that you say that!! haha I could drink a whole bottle of apple juice in one day if you let me....

I had whole wheat pasta once a while back when I made homemade baked mac and cheese and it was fine, but then again it was a while ago and I don't really remember. I've tried the protein-enriched pasta before and it takes more than 2x longer to cook than regular pasta and the texture is a little chewy but the flavor wasn't off or anything. I guess I'll have to give it another go.