DF28: Eat Clean Cooler Plan 1

As I mentioned, Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet book is pretty hardcore, and even a bit grim. Given that she expects you to pack a cooler full of "clean" food to take to work with you (or even out to run errands), her "diet" plans are organized into Cooler Plans 1, 2, and 3.

Cooler Plan 1 is definitely spartan. It's designed for: breaking plateaus, that last 10-5 lbs., contest preparation (as if!), photo shoots (as if!), showing increased muscle definition, and quick weight loss.

On this plan, you are not allowed to have dairy, juice, bread, salad dressing, butter, margarine, mayo or other spreads, or high-sodium food.

You may have 1 apple or pear per day. That's if for fruit. The main source of "complex carbs" on this plan comes from high-water content, non-starchy, low-glycemic index veggies (cucumbers, radishes, greens, tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, celery, bok choy, etc.) You're supposed to eat "2 cupped handfuls" of this stuff 5 times per day, or at each meal. This plan only allows 5 meals per day.

For grains, you get 1 serving per day of cooked whole grains (e.g, quinoa, brown rice, oatmeal, millet or Cream of Wheat), eaten as hot cereal in the morning (no sweeteners); also, 1 sweet potato per day, half in the morning and half in the evening. The grains are to be eaten with a tablespoon each of ground flaxseed, wheatgerm, and bee pollen. (Bee pollen? Seriously?)

For protein, 1 "palm-sized portion" (4-5 oz.) of chicken, tuna, egg whites, turkey, bison, elk, or non-oily white fish, 5 times per day, or at each meal. You can also substitute sugar, chemical-free protein powder for any of the protein servings.

To drink, 1 gallon of distilled water, no-sodium water, or clear, unsweetened herbal tea.

Sounds boring AND not fun!

Cooler Plan 2 is for steady weight loss or maintenance once your goal weight is reached. This plan is much more do-able.
You get 6 portions of fruits/veggies per day, a fruit portion being "1 cupped handful" or piece of fruit; recommended fruits are berries, grapefruit, melon, apples, and mangoes. A veggie portion is "2 cupped handfuls" 0f veggies, including broth-based/veggie puree soups. (I'll pass on using my hands to measure soup.)

You get 2-4 servings of grains, this time besides cooked whole grains you can also have high-protein sugar-free cereal, whole grain bread or wraps (7 in. size on the wrap). Also included in this group is sweet potato, yam, banana, corn, carrots, or winter squash.

5-6 portions of lean protein, including low-fat soy, almond, hemp, rice or lactose-free milk, cottage cheese, kefir, yogurt cheese, plain fat-free, sugar-free yogurt. Also included are raw unsalted nuts, 2 T of all-natural nut butters, the same meats and protein powders as in Cooler 1.

For beverages, 2-3 liters of no-sodium water, clear, unsweetened herbal tea, black coffee (in moderation) and green or black tea.

The following sweeteners can be used in moderation: honey, agave nectar, stevia, sucanat, rapidura sugar.

Healthy fats are allowed in moderation: olive, pumpkin, safflower, and flaxseed oil; olive-oil based spreads, fish and fish oils.

Not allowed: Juice, commercial salad dressings or sauces, or fried, refined or processed foods.

Cooler 3 is supposed to ease you into the Clean-Eating lifestyle, but she's not very specific about what you can eat, though she does allow low-fat cheese and fruit juice diluted with water.

There are guidelines for vegetarian substitutes for the protein portions, but I didn't find them very helpful, especially as I am aiming to get at least 20 g. of protein at each "meal."

After looking carefully at Cooler Plans 1 and 2, I decided to go for the all-out sugar detox of Cooler Plan 1. Thankfully, she doesn't allow you to use it for more than 2 weeks at a time. I figure I can probably make it through 1 week of dietary hell. I want to see if cutting out all this stuff does make a difference in how I feel.

Helpfully, she includes a menu plan for the cooler plans. I am pretty much following the menu plan as written, with a few modifications. One of the things this plan is severely lacking in, in my opinion, is healthy fat. My particular body needs at least SOME fat daily (in addition to what's in the food). I am therefore eating 1-3 t. of olive oil per day with my food. I am also putting unsweetened almond milk on my cooked cereal, as I am concerned about not getting enough calcium. At only 40 cals. per cup, I don't think the almond milk is adding significantly to my caloric intake. I am also eating 1 egg yolk per day. A LITTLE far helps me to feel satisfied longer and is beneficial to my own personal blood sugar levels.

I survived Day 1 on Cooler Plan 1 and actually only had time to squeeze in 4 meals of the 5 meals. It's not so bad, for just one week. The primary issue with it is that it is awfully boring. I'm determined to figure out how to make delicious, clean, dairy and sugar free food.

For dinner, I gave the guys leftover white chili, with cheddar cheese and sour cream if they wanted, and also made them some corn muffins to go with it. DS hadn't had the chili yet and really enjoyed his. DC was in heaven since I piled his bowl with sour cream and shredded cheese, and he ate 2 corn muffins. My own dinner consisted of scrambled egg whites with chopped tomatoes and some spinach leaves throw in.

I also squeezed in a workout, my first in months! I have noticed my energy level is better. Curses!! This plan may actually be working.

DF27: Eat-Clean White Chili

While flipping through the recipes in Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet book, I found a white chili recipe that looked pretty good. I did adapt it a little from the way it's written, as I was using canned white beans rather than dry ones. It was just DC and me for dinner and I was pretty sure he'd enjoy the chili.

The Eat-Clean Philosophy is to eat 5-6 small meals a day that include a serving of lean protein and complex carbs. Also, the emphasis is on whole, natural non-processed foods.

Here is the recipe:

Tosca Reno's Hearty White Bean Chili
Makes 6-8 servings

Ingredients:
1 lb. dry great northern beans or white kidney beans, rinsed and picked over
(I used 2 cans of Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained)
4 c. low-sodium chicken broth
2 c. yellow onions, chopped
2 lg. garlic cloves, minced
2 t. ground cumin
1 1/2 t. dried oregano
1 t. ground coriander
1/8 t. ground cloves
1 4 oz. can chopped green chiles
2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken or turkey breast, grilled and cubed
1 t. sea salt

Instructions:
Place beans in a soup kettle or Dutch oven. Add enough water to cover beans by 2 in. Bring to a boil. Let boil for 5 min. Remove from heat and let stand covered for 1 hr. Drain and rinse. Discard liquid.

Place beans in a slow cooker. Add the chicken broth, onions, garlic, and seasonings. Cover and cook on low heat for 7 hrs. or until beans are not quite tender. Add the chiles, chicken and sea salt., Cook for another hr. until beans are tender.

I was able to prepare this soup on the stovetop in about 35 minutes by using canned beans.
Since I don't have a grill, the first thing I did was to season my skinless, boneless chicken breasts and pop them into the oven to roast at 350 for about 30 min.

Meanwhile, I sprayed my soup pot with non-stick spray and added a scant T of extra-virgin olive oil. Oil isn't called for in the original recipe, but since I wasn't going to be slow cooking this soup, I needed the oil to saute the onion and garlic. After the onion and garlic were tender, I added the spices and sauteed for a minute or two; then added the broth, beans, and chiles. I brought the soup to a boil, reduced the heat, and let simmer until the chicken was done.

I cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and added it and the liquid from the baking sheet to the soup pot.

DC's bowl:


I was feeling pretty good about my so-far sugar free day until I happened to glance at the ingredients in the chicken broth. As I was using the Whole Foods Store Brand Organic Chicken Broth, I had not thought to check its ingredient list first. I was really surprised to see "evaporated cane juice" as one of the ingredients towards the end of the list. Sugar!! Drat!!

I ate the soup anyway. DC and I both thought it was terrific. Two thumbs up! I just need to be sure to get sugar-free broth next time.

I served the chili with crushed blue corn chips on top, and DC had more chips and some of our favorite Jack's Special salsa with his. After having promised him some salsa, I found that ALL the salsa in the refrigerated section at WF contain sugar. Frustrating! So I did not eat any. The chips are sugar free, so I did have just a few of them. But it looks like I may need to make my own salsa if I want it to be sugar-free.

My only criticism of the white chili is that it doesn't include any veggies to speak of, except for the onions, garlic, and small amount of chiles. I'm not sure what would be good in here (that DC would eat), but next time I fix this, I will definitely experiment with adding veggies of some kind to the pot.

DF25: Bracing for the Sugar Ban

Yesterday I saw the acupuncture doc again for a treatment. She did a quick exam and said there is still too much "dampness" in my liver and lungs. And sinuses. She was surprised that I have been dairy-free for 24 days, and said I should be exhibiting fewer symptoms of dampness by now. She is blaming the continued dampness on my continued consumption of sugar. Which I have cut way down on, but have not eliminated from my diet completely. She also recommends eating more fruit. And barley.

If it will make me better, I'll give it a try. Dampness or not, I've noticed a big improvement in my sinuses since going dairy free. It has been easier than I thought it would be. Surprisingly, I haven't had cheese cravings. Instead, I crave stuff like creamy sauces, hot chocolate, custards, and yogurt more than cheese. Also tea with milk. Tea with either Almond Breeze or Silk in it is just yucky. However, a vegan I met recently highly recommends the Pacific Hazelnut milk to put in tea. I was surprised to find our WF carries it. But I didn't buy it because it has 14 grams of sugar per serving (from where, I do not know, since all that's in there is hazelnuts and water, I think).

To assist with making this transition to sugar-free living, I just ordered Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Diet. It has been recommended more than once on the forums at Cathe.com, my favorite fitness site. I previewed some of the content before ordering, and it's pretty hard-core. Also pretty grim. The reason I'm looking at this is that unless you're eating whole, unprocessed foods, it's hard to avoid sugar. And that's what her book is all about.

From the brief amount of surfing I've done, it appears there are several "levels" of sugar-freeness. Some people just cut out sugar, but use natural sweeteners (like agave) and artifical sweetners (like Splenda). Other people don't even use alternative sweetners, or foods containing "sugar alcohols" like sugar-free gum and sugar-free protein bars, as they find these can trigger "sugar cravings." And some people apparently even eliminate perfectly good foods like raisins and oranges, that are high in natural sugar, for the same reason. All I can say is, wow-- with a lifestyle that strict, you probably spend more time obsessing over sugar: what NOT to eat, than focusing on and enjoying the food you can eat. But who am I to judge? These people consider themselves "sugar addicts" and find that their health is so much improved by their dietary practices that for them, it's worth it.

As for me, I'll probably be in that first group. I've recently tried agave and found it to be fine, especially on the whole-grain, 0 grams of sugar cereal I purchased recently.

Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find a cereal that has at least 6 grams of fiber per serving (for the blood sugar) AND 0 grams of sugar? At Whole Foods I only found 1 yesterday. The Ezekiel brand "sprouted grain" stuff, which I think also contains lentils (I'm supposed to be eating "Ezekiel" bread instead of real bread so I'm somewhat familiar with the basic idea). The cereal tastes kind of like Grape Nuts, only more boring. It doesn't taste BAD, but it doesn't taste especially good either.

Oh yeah, try that stuff with some sugar-free Almond Breeze on it and you might find yourself reaching for the Agave bottle too. Next time I have some, I'm going to see if I can avoid using the Agave (which may be sugar-free, but certainly is not calorie-free), by adding some fresh blueberries to the cereal.

Even though I'm gonna do the sugar-free thing, I do have to wonder if I'm overall doing better nutritionally. Remember, I'm also supposed to avoid refined soy products like soy milk. (Though miso is ok. Certainly not on cereal, though!)

For instance, I usually eat Kashi Go-Lean Crunch Cereal, which has 9 g of protein, 12 g of sugar and 8 g of fiber per serving, plus another 6 g of protein or so and calcium and some fiber if I top it with Silk. The Ezekiel stuff (I got the Almond kind) has 0 g sugar, 6 g fiber, and 8 g of protein per serving. Which is not bad. But the Almond Breeze has about 40 calories per CUP, but no protein at all. If not for the fact that the Almond Breeze is fortified with calcium, I might as well be topping the cereal with tap water for all the nutritional value I'm getting. Plus, the dr. wants me to eat an egg with my cereal, so I have to mess with cooking that too. Cold hard boiled eggs in the morning just don't sit well with me.

I agree with the basic ideas of the Tosca Reno Eat Clean Diet, which is not a diet at all, but a lifestyle change. One of the most important ideas is only whole foods, no processed foods-- so no bread, just cooked whole grains. Canned tomatoes are probably a no-no too. Although if my usual brand has no sugar, I don't plan to stop using them.

Tosca recommends you eat 5-6 small meals throughout the day, each with a serving of lean protein and a complex carb. When I'm weight-training, that's pretty much my routine, as I feel best that way. I'm gonna get back to weight-training this week. Really. But it's a lot easier to do this if you can eat dairy-- a Fage yogurt and a piece of fruit, and you're all set.

But holy crap, the portion sizes are miniscule, especially for the carbs. And the way she talks about them is (to me) exceedingly annoying: Two handsful of this. A scant palm-ful of that. Could you please for heaven's sake just give me an actual measurement, either by weight or volume, I don't care which, if the portion size is such a big deal?

Plus she wants you to pack a cooler full of "approved" food every day. I can see the wisdom of doing this if you work outside your home, and are going to be eating every 3 hrs. or so, but I think my fridge will work just fine, thank you. I will even do my best to prep the food ahead of time. And since I do need to lose all those pounds I've gained over the past year, portion control is probably not a bad idea.

You all know how much I love desserts. And baking. And eating out. So I honestly don't know how well this is going to go. But on the positive side, several people who've eliminated sugar from their diets have said that after the first 2 or 3 days, you no longer crave sugar. We'll see about that. The dr. also said that my palate has to get "adjusted."

Yeah... is that like when my Weight Watchers lecturer told me I would learn to enjoy liver if I kept trying it? Because that is certainly never worked for me. I cannot abide liver, despite numerous attempts. Don't even come near me with pate. The only liver I've ever eaten and enjoyed is whitefish livers, and you can only get those if you live near Lake Superior. Personally, I think my palate is in tip-top shape and works just fine.

The one big question mark in my mind is what to do about DC. Since I can barely get ONE dinner on the table most days, let alone TWO, I think he may just have to live with sugar-free, dairy-free dinners, at least for a while. DS probably won't care much, as long as I don't make him eat stuff he actively hates. Several reviews commented that the book does contain some really good recipes in it. There is also a separate cookbook available, which I may end up buying. As to how all this is going to work when I'm on the road, which I am 1-2 times a month, I have no clue.

All I know is that I have to come up with a system I can reasonably live with most of the time, that includes food that is not only nutritious, but also delicious and satisfying.