Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Is there a thread yet? I searched and didn't see one. Also, not sure if this is the best forum. It's not a cookbook, really.

Anyways! I've been eating total crepe for a year, but the end is in sight and within two months I will be home, in my fabulous kitchen (vitamix!) with access to fresh produce. Finally! I've started reading this book in anticipation of at least 2 months of healthy eating, focused on whole foods.

I'd love to hear thoughts, successes, failures, recipes, whatever you guys have for me!

I loved ETL, as kind of a detox. I didn't find it practical for long term, only b.c for starters, the immense amounts of greens took ages to eat. I do support the principles.

I'm doing it right now. I've been having a lot of ETL meals on and off lately, but tomorrow is when I start it full time. The bean dip in the book is really good. And FatFree Vegan Kitchen has some amazing recipes for it. I'm pretty excited to be doing it full time now.

I find that following the meal plans wouldn't work for me. He does outline a "simple, simple, simple" plan that I'll be following.

Down-side? Massive amounts of food. I'm taking a salad, bean dip, veggies, and fruit to school tomorrow. Everything is in separate containers, so it's kind of a lot to carry from class to class.

Yeah, that could be a hassle. My schedule should be really flexible the first month I'm following it, so that'll help. I also understand it takes a lot of time to just eat the food, like the giant, giant salads and all.

you could start off on a "lighter" version of etl which is basically no salt, sugar or oil. it's less overwhelming and you'll eat significantly better by just limiting those three things.

I've been eating way too much processed stuff lately, and want to get back to eating more fresh foods, so I think I'm going to try Eat To Live again. Anybody else? I just got the Eat for Health books, and I'm reading them now, and trying to figure out what that plan actually is. It seems to be way too much counting and measuring stuff for me, and the list of how to do the plan if you don't want to count things seems really vague. I think I'll just stick with the way the plan was described in the first Eat to Live book, since that one seemed to work well for me.

Dr. Fuhrman is doing a 6 week free trial for his membership at his site and ongoing support if you're interested.

www.diseaseproof.com

Thanks! I'll take a look at that -- I was planning on just going sort of halfway until the holidays are over, and then getting back on the plan when I'm not traveling so much, and that six-week challenge looks like pretty much what I needed.

I'm thinking of starting this on Jan.1, if you're interested in having a buddy to share tips and/or recipes with. I've only got ETL, not the Eat for Health books, and I'd really like to read through it again, and possibly the EFH ones as well before I start.

Also, there's an ETL thread in the cookbook subsection of the kitchen, started by Invictus who was going to start when she gets home. viewtopic.php?f=32&t=2242

Thanks for that link, Tofulish :) It looks like just what I need to get going.

I'm going to merge the threads. Hang on to your hat!

Since we're all combined into one thread now, I thought I'd repost two salad dressing recipes that jessica had posted in the ETL thread in the now-gone diet forum.

Dressing 1 :
2 oranges, peeled
1/3 cup raw cashews (or cashew pieces)
2 Tbs Blood orange vinegar (find in the vinegar aisle of Whole foods/trader joes/etc)

Throw all in the Vita-Mix or regular blender and blend til very smooth.

Dressing 2 :
1/4 cup cashews
1/3 cup plain soymilk (or almond milk, whatever)
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 tablespoons raisins or dried currants

Blend everything except raisins until smooth. Then add the raisins and blend for a few seconds.

I have been doing E2L off and on for over a year now. No, it is not an easy diet to follow which is why I say I have been off and on. It does do a lot for my health, though. My complexion has improved, no problems with my weight and my already low blood pressure went even lower. I was able to adapt many of the Veganomicon and VWAV recipes for E2L by simply removing the oil and salt. I just received Appetite for Reduction and except for the sodium levels in some recipes being too high and removing any liquid oil--another E2L friendly cookbook.

Julie

Hurray for Invictus at home! I might be persuaded to retry ETL.



Whoo I got dizzy!

I'm sort of doing ETL now, but not completely -- I've got a really weird schedule the next two weeks, and then I'll be traveling the next three, so I can't really do anything where I need to plan all my meals, but I'm doing as much as I can for now, and I'm going to do it fully after New Years. I made Caesar salad this weekend. I always forget how much I love that, and how easy it is, because I never think of it unless I'm specifically thinking, "What salads do I like?"

I just posted this in the Bathroom, and an re-posting here thanks to Gaia's gentle suggestion:

I'd love to hear from those of you who have followed ETL--what are your experiences with this program? How strict were you? Did you feel more healthy? Did you lose weight? How hard is it to maintain? Did you buy the book, or use online resources? What are the perks and drawbacks of this plan? Is it just crazytalk?

(should this thread be in here as it is not a cookbook and may get more traffic elsewhere?)

I'm interested in trying Eat to Live, but I'm worried that I won't be able to keep it going once I get busy with work and stuff (I will have a hectic schedule for the next 8 months), so I might end up doing a modified version of it. Is it possible to manage on a busy schedule?

I did find it possible to manage on a busy schedule; I made up my salads on Sunday afternoon and then grabbed what I needed throughout the week. My problem is a 30-minute lunch period, I barely have time to eat so I'm usually eating/snatching bites through 3rd period. My students get used to it.

I always feel like such a weirdo when I'm in the break room at work chewing for a solid 30 minutes on raw veggies/fruit, and everyone else inhales their food in a few minutes. I'm still working on packable lunches that are both healthy and quick to eat. I have to eat a BIG salad to feel full.

I feel like ETL would be too strict for me, but I want to move more in that direction. I've been eating way too much sugar lately.

For anyone who was starting this for the new year, Dr. Furhman runs another website called http://eatrightamerica.com, and there's free registration unlike his main website. Unfortunately, it's not very active yet. But there's a serving tracker so you can keep track of how many servings of cooked and raw vegetables and so on that you're eating. It also gives you dietary recommendations based on how you're eating now, so it's an easier transition than going full on eat to live.

I just bought ETL as a Vook for my iPad (it's kinda cool, an ebook sprinkled with video clips) and I've started trying to incorporate some of the principles. I work near a sandwich store that does GF corn wraps with loads of veggies, I can get fresh fruit salad at a nearby cafe, there's a veggie store on my way home from work, and I'm stocking up on salad greens (rocket/arugula, baby spinach, baby cos hearts, fancy lettuce) whenever I get to the supermarket. So far I haven't made any of the recipes from ETL - I've just been making a big salad of mixed greens, a whole diced red pepper, apple, tomato, chickpeas, sometimes avocado, and dressing it with fruit juice, ACV, and a little sesame oil. I actually love eating it and I love snacking on fruit for dessert - this week I had watermelon and peaches and they're just as delicious as baked goods. So far, anyway.

So I haven't got my head around doing the all-out six week thing, yet, but I figure if I can rethink breakfast and lunch and at least fill up on a decent salad before eating more processed foods it's a start. My goals are to lose a few pounds and wean myself off my daily soy mocha. I work out a lot and work long hours, so I need the energy and I'm not willing to drastically restrict my fat intake - I'm more sold on the maintenance version of ETL than the strict six-week plan.

Any advice on combining ETL with life? I want it to be sustainable for me and frankly I don't want a life with absolutely no added salt or coffee or cake, but I do know that I don't have to feel addicted to those things. Any tips would be appreciated!

I'm about to start doing ETL in June, and echo what others have asked, any tips for making it fit into a normal schedule and everyday life? I figure I could just do a ton of smoothies to help with the massive amount of greens and other vegetables...but any other ideas would be great.

Cook ahead. Get everything ready on a day off if you can. If you're doing smoothies for breakfasts prep them so you can take them out of the freezer and dump them in the blender with some liquid and go.

Prep salads as much as you can too. I also used to make and freeze individual portions of soup on the weekends as well. The more you have planned ahead the easier it is to stick to.

In the beginning don't worry too much on the 1lb per day each of raw and cooked veggies. Just eat what seems appropriate for you. It will get easier with time if you keep up the prep!

I need to get back on the ETL bandwagon, but this time I am going to make it stick. A few years ago I lost 100 pounds with ETL and exercise but didn't work enough to make it my lifestyle and unfortunately backslid somewhat. I'm at the point now where I'm unhappy with the way I feel and the way I look and I know it's the healthiest thing I can do.

I echo Nicole's thoughts: plan ahead! I make my breakfast smoothie the night before (while dinner's cooking, or while cleaning up), and I make planned leftovers (for example, making a 1.5 or double recipe for dinner so that I have lunches. I also package my lunches before dishing up dinner (helps my hubby & me with portion control).

I buy my salad greens & fresh veg, beans, quinoa (etc) at Costco, come home, and make up my salads. Put beans, tomatoes, cut veg (anything wet) on the bottom of the container, and salad greens on the top. This way you'll avoid soggy salads.

Prepping ahead definitely seems like the best idea, thanks ladies! I am trying to get my mom to do this too, but I think she has her doubts about whether it works or not, but we'll see :) Good luck with getting back on the wagon, Nicole!

I never even thought of making the salads ahead with the wet ingredients on the bottom. Ha, such common sense, thanks for that idea, Kelvia. When you make your smoothies ahead of time do you freeze them? I guess I always assumed they would end up really gross if I made them beforehand.

Some people will probably say that smoothies that are made and then sit lose nutrition, but it's not a huge deal. You wouldn't have to freeze it but could get by with just shaking it up before you drink it. The way that I do it is to portion the fruit (and spinach if you're into that kind of thing) into the gladware containers and then just defrost them slightly in the morning before blending. It really doesn't take all that long when you have everything ready to go.

It definitely works, but if you focus on the deprivation (like with any diet) it's tough to maintain.

Kelvia - thank you for the tip about the salads! I never thought of that either!