Front Office Football Central - View Single Post - Forks Over Knives (Or, the Western diet vs. a plant-based diet)

QuikSand · 01-21-2012, 07:55 AM

It might serve this thread well to post a few food ideas anyway, I will toss out a couple that I strongly endorse:

Dr. McDougall's Right Foods Vegetable Soup, 18.0-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 6): Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food

Eden Organic Black Beans, No Salt Added, 15-Ounce Cans (Pack of 12): Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food

Erewhon Rice Twice Whole Grain Cereal, Gluten Free, 10-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 4): Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food

Steamed Brown Rice Bowl, Organic, Microwaveable, 7.4-Ounce Bowls (Pack of 12): Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food

* - If you're unfamiliar, use the Subscribe-and-Save option through Amazon, you save 15% (and get free shipping) by agreeing to buy again after a fixed time period, but can cancel it literally two minutes later and keep the savings.

Amazon.com: Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Gluten Free Hot Cereal -- 24 oz: Grocery & Gourmet Food

If you're hurting for time, or not sure what to do at the grocery store (and no, you don't have to go to a foo-foo special store), here's a good shopping list to work with, IMO:

whole wheat pasta
low fat spaghetti sauce
frozen peas
sliced olives
(put those together, less pasta more veggies, for a good and easy dinner)

darker greens for salads - skip the iceberg, but romaine is good, spinach even better, and stuff like kale and collard greens are off the charts healthy

citrus fruits are all great with their ratios of fiber and vitamins per calorie

apples and pears are sugary but very high in fiber and filling

among vegetables, pick stuff that's easy to prep in the microwave -- broccoli is amazingly good for you (microwave a cup of rinsed fresh broccoli in a covered bowl for about 90 seconds, let it stand in its steam
for another few minutes, and it's ready to go -- honestly, no butter or cheez needed)... similar for asparagus (cook a little less, and prefer the smaller stems)

for snacking around the house, most grocery stores will sell pre-sliced carrots and celery (or prep your own, it's not big deal to do) but that's a great item to have around... get some fairly low fat hummus as a dip to replace the dairy stuff and it's suddenly a protein rich and more substantive dish... sliced peppers and raw snap peas are also great, though a bit more labor/dollar intensive

grab a few sweet potatoes, rinse them off, poke them with a fork in a couple of places, and bake them for about an hour at 450 degrees... they come out of the oven with the inside about the consistency of mashed potatoes, sprinkle on cinnamon (I just use combined seasonings like pumpkin pie spice, or chinese five spice) for a fantastic side dish that's a ton better for you than white potatoes

fresh green beans are really easy to make into a delicious dish if you can spend a few minutes -- sautee some shallots/onion and garlic in vegetable broth (or oil if you must) and sizzle the beans on high heat with some soy sauce for about 5 minutes until they brown up... it's fantastic dish, sodium is the only drawback (green beans also microwave pretty much like broccoli above)

sauerkraut isn't popular with that many people, but if you like contrasting textures in your food and don't mind its taste (I took to it late in life but now love it myself) it's a great addition to many dishes -- I add it around beans, potatoes, and all sorts of things

beans in a can tend to be salty and loaded with BPA (Amazon link above is to a brand that is BPA free and organic, for well under $2 a can), but rinse them off and the convenience is hard to beat... stay away from baked beans that are loaded with sugary syrupy sauce, and go with canned black beans, chick peas, black eyes peas, or whatever you like. mix in some salsa, taco seasoning, frozen corn, water chestnuts, okra, whatever you like to come up with an easy dish that holds its own against high-fat, high-animal options. mix around with whole wheat or corn tortillas, brown rice, quinoa, etc. if you like "rich" foods, guacamole is animal-free in almost all cases - it's high in fat, but it's a tremendous complement to stuff tending in the mexican direction

among packaged foods, give a look at Indian stuff - TastyBite is getting onto shelves fairly often (and is available on Amazon too) and they have some very good options - my favorite is Bombay Potatoes

Not everything is easy to do, but there are a ton of options in any grocery store that are very healthy, often cheaper than prepared foods, and relatively easy to pull together.

01-21-2012, 07:55 AM	#116
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	It might serve this thread well to post a few food ideas anyway, I will toss out a couple that I strongly endorse: Dr. McDougall's Right Foods Vegetable Soup, 18.0-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 6): Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food Eden Organic Black Beans, No Salt Added, 15-Ounce Cans (Pack of 12): Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food Erewhon Rice Twice Whole Grain Cereal, Gluten Free, 10-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 4): Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food Steamed Brown Rice Bowl, Organic, Microwaveable, 7.4-Ounce Bowls (Pack of 12): Amazon.com: Grocery & Gourmet Food * - If you're unfamiliar, use the Subscribe-and-Save option through Amazon, you save 15% (and get free shipping) by agreeing to buy again after a fixed time period, but can cancel it literally two minutes later and keep the savings. Amazon.com: Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Gluten Free Hot Cereal -- 24 oz: Grocery & Gourmet Food If you're hurting for time, or not sure what to do at the grocery store (and no, you don't have to go to a foo-foo special store), here's a good shopping list to work with, IMO: whole wheat pasta low fat spaghetti sauce frozen peas sliced olives (put those together, less pasta more veggies, for a good and easy dinner) darker greens for salads - skip the iceberg, but romaine is good, spinach even better, and stuff like kale and collard greens are off the charts healthy citrus fruits are all great with their ratios of fiber and vitamins per calorie apples and pears are sugary but very high in fiber and filling among vegetables, pick stuff that's easy to prep in the microwave -- broccoli is amazingly good for you (microwave a cup of rinsed fresh broccoli in a covered bowl for about 90 seconds, let it stand in its steam for another few minutes, and it's ready to go -- honestly, no butter or cheez needed)... similar for asparagus (cook a little less, and prefer the smaller stems) for snacking around the house, most grocery stores will sell pre-sliced carrots and celery (or prep your own, it's not big deal to do) but that's a great item to have around... get some fairly low fat hummus as a dip to replace the dairy stuff and it's suddenly a protein rich and more substantive dish... sliced peppers and raw snap peas are also great, though a bit more labor/dollar intensive grab a few sweet potatoes, rinse them off, poke them with a fork in a couple of places, and bake them for about an hour at 450 degrees... they come out of the oven with the inside about the consistency of mashed potatoes, sprinkle on cinnamon (I just use combined seasonings like pumpkin pie spice, or chinese five spice) for a fantastic side dish that's a ton better for you than white potatoes fresh green beans are really easy to make into a delicious dish if you can spend a few minutes -- sautee some shallots/onion and garlic in vegetable broth (or oil if you must) and sizzle the beans on high heat with some soy sauce for about 5 minutes until they brown up... it's fantastic dish, sodium is the only drawback (green beans also microwave pretty much like broccoli above) sauerkraut isn't popular with that many people, but if you like contrasting textures in your food and don't mind its taste (I took to it late in life but now love it myself) it's a great addition to many dishes -- I add it around beans, potatoes, and all sorts of things beans in a can tend to be salty and loaded with BPA (Amazon link above is to a brand that is BPA free and organic, for well under $2 a can), but rinse them off and the convenience is hard to beat... stay away from baked beans that are loaded with sugary syrupy sauce, and go with canned black beans, chick peas, black eyes peas, or whatever you like. mix in some salsa, taco seasoning, frozen corn, water chestnuts, okra, whatever you like to come up with an easy dish that holds its own against high-fat, high-animal options. mix around with whole wheat or corn tortillas, brown rice, quinoa, etc. if you like "rich" foods, guacamole is animal-free in almost all cases - it's high in fat, but it's a tremendous complement to stuff tending in the mexican direction among packaged foods, give a look at Indian stuff - TastyBite is getting onto shelves fairly often (and is available on Amazon too) and they have some very good options - my favorite is Bombay Potatoes Not everything is easy to do, but there are a ton of options in any grocery store that are very healthy, often cheaper than prepared foods, and relatively easy to pull together. Last edited by QuikSand : 01-21-2012 at 10:11 AM.