The Great American Pastime: Chapter 1

I guess I need to forewarn that this is a lengthy post. And yet, still worth reading!! Mouth-watering, too.

So my sister is on this diet through her work, and she's already lost over 20 pounds in the first few weeks. John and I decided to look into it.

The diet is based on the Eat to Live book, by Dr. Joel Fuhrman; if you want a shorter overview, you can visit his website. (But if you end up being really interested, you need to read the book.)

I have never been on a diet and have never considered doing one. John has really been the impetus for starting this diet. Having read 8 of the 10 chapters so far of the book, however, I have begun to look at food in a completely different way. Like any book about a diet, it touts the weight loss that people will experience if they go on this diet. But I don't really need to lose weight (sure, 5-10 pounds would be nice, but I still consider myself to be thin enough). I am going on this diet for my health.

Dr. Fuhrman's conclusions are backed up by data that the reader can understand, and like any good debater, he also addresses the competition's pros and cons (mostly cons). The thing about diets is that "going on" one implies that you will eventually "go off" it. Not so with this one. Because of the health aspect, it's a diet for life.

When people today hear diet, they think of "a limitation on the amount a person eats for reducing weight," and it's usually temporary so people can get back to "the good stuff." But the FIRST definition of diet is "food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effects on health." THAT is what I mean by saying, I am going on this diet.

Eat to Live is a vegan diet, or if you feel you can't eliminate meat and dairy entirely, then it can also be modified into a vegetarian diet that includes very little animal food. Basically, over 90% of the diet consists of vegetables, fruits, and beans/legumes.

Saying that this is a radical change in the way we'll eat is an understatement. I have slowly switched out the items in the pantry and refrigerator that aren't needed anymore (giving them away to a food pantry and my in-laws - AND feeling very guilty for giving them food that I now know is not very healthy!!).

I'll chronicle the journey with recipes that ANYONE can use, whether on a diet or not, as well as my usual stunning commentary.

I'm starting off the diet by using the one-week sample menu plan that's outlined in Ch. 9, with some modification, since I don't have the powerful veggie blender he talks about in some of the recipes. Officially, today is Day 2 on the diet. Since I've slowly been phasing out meat and dairy, however, we've already sort of experienced some effects.

For example, today I felt full ALL day, and only ate lunch and supper because it was time to do so. No snacks were necessary today (snacks are "allowed" - as much as you want of fruits/veggies/beans). (See Eat to Live Ch. 6, especially p. 118 for the reason behind this phenomenon of feeling full.)

Last night for supper, we had salad - every lunch and supper is to begin with a big salad - and the suggested Acorn Squash Supreme and Swiss chard with vegetables.

HOLY COW. For preparing my first truly vegan meal, I have to say it kicked butt. It was SOOOOO good, and I am not exaggerating. The squash didn't even taste like squash. The recipes are at the bottom of the post.

I read some of the online reviews of the book at Barnes & Noble, and I had to agree with one guy, who said that the recipes are aimed more at people who are more familiar with cooking than today's generation; some of the meal suggestions leave out a lot of detail.

Here's an example of what I mean, using last night's Swiss chard: "Steamed Swiss chard and zucchini cooked with onions, mushrooms, and stewed tomatoes."

Now, as a VERY pedantic person, I'll translate that into how I actually read it: "Swiss chard? What the heck is that? (Note: call sister and ask.) How much zucchini? What kind of onions? How many mushrooms, onions, and stewed tomatoes? What ARE stewed tomatoes, and is that a separate step? (Note: call sister and ask.) What do I cook these WITH, since olive oil is taboo? Do I cook them all together, or cook the vegetables together, then put them on top of the separately steamed Swiss chard?"

I almost broke out in hives just worrying about it. After calling my culinary encyclopedia, I got a better idea of what to do, and - this is a testimony to how far I have come in the kitchen, as well as in my personal psychological journey - I WINGED IT and got great results. Note: Usually, me "winging it" brings about culinary catastrophe.

Such as this morning, when breakfast for Day 2 called for, among other things, "1 cup of oatmeal." We're talking, using OATS FROM SCRATCH instead of Quaker's Already Flavored stuff. It was your typical terrible oatmeal, BLAH and thick and dry, but I'm working on it. I also learned the recipe probably means "1 cup of COOKED oatmeal," not dry.

And so the recipes:

Acorn Squash Supreme
(which John said he liked, and he doesn't like squash at all)
Makes 2 servings

1 large acorn squash
4 T. diced dried apricots
2 T. chopped raw cashews
1 (15-oz.) can unsweetened, crushed pineapple, juice reserved
2 T. raisins
cinnamon

Turn on the oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash in half, remove seeds, and bake facedown in 1 inch of water for 45 minutes.

Dice the apricots, then cover them in a bowl with some of the pineapple juice. On top, add the pineapple, raisins, and cashews. Let stand and soak while the squash is cooking.

After the squash has cooked, mix up the fruit in the bowl and scoop it into the squash's center. Cover with aluminum foil and bake covered for an additional 30 minutes. [Paranoid Cook's Comment: Leave the 1 inch of water in there, or dump it?! I left it. Just be careful that all the topping doesn't fall into the water.] Sprinkle with cinnamon, then put it back in the oven for 5 more minutes.

Swiss Chard and Vegetables for Dummies (for lack of an official title)
Makes 3 servings

1 shock/pack/bunch? of Swiss chard (found at Publix in the lettuce section, but not available at Walmart, alas)
1 zucchini, sliced
1/4 c. chopped white onion
1/2 package of sliced mushrooms
1 tomato, sliced
1/2 c. or so of vegetable broth (enough to cook/saute)

Cut off stems of Swiss chard up to the leaves. Cut leaves in half or thirds. Steam until wilted. (It wilts to only about half its size, as opposed to spinach, which loses about 99.9% of its volume.)

After getting the Swiss chard started, slice the zucchini, dice the onion, and slice the tomato. Put them, and the mushrooms and broth, in a skillet and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently or occasionally, whichever makes you less nervous, until vegetables are tender. Serve the veggies on top of the Swiss chard (which tastes similar to spinach but not quite; for a recipe that contains no salt, it was quite salty! thanks to the Swiss chard).