Making two meals & family dinner time.

[Guest guest]

Ok, I just don't get this -- why are some of you making two meals for dinner

every night?

The main premise of the SBD is healthy eating -- period. It isn't a " diet "

in the common sense of the word and weight loss isn't the goal of the plan

in its original form. You lose weight because you're no longer eating the

garbage that so many of us in the West eat -- the body simply re-asserts

itself and acts more efficiently because it's getting the right nutrients.

This thing of making multiple meals at each sitting is insane. The standard

American dinner consists of a meat, a vegetable, and a starch -- this was

hammered into most of us as children, and the same goes for generations on

either side of us. There's absolutely no reason this concept cannot work in

an SBD friendly manner.

Meat -- Get lean cuts and bake, broil, boil, or even saute/lightly fry them.

Just don't immerse them in oil or bread them first.

Vegetables -- You can have any vegetable you want on this diet. The only

limits on veggies occur during P1 and it's only carrots and peas (corn is a

grain). Make 2 vegetables for dinner.

Starch -- There are plenty of SBD friendly starches. If you MUST have a

potato, get a sweet potato -- it's allowed on phase 2. If your family likes

their white/russett/Idaho potatoes, then fine -- make them. Just don't eat

them. It's only ONE part of the dinner.

A simple dinner -- baked chicken, sprinkled with spices and herbs; 2

vegetables, get them in the can and nuke them if you like; baked potatoes

for the family. It's a single meal, quick and easy to cook.

If you're a bit more modern and like to try some variations on this tired

old theme of meat/vegetable/starch, then the world of food is wide open.

There are TONS of pasta dishes you can make and equally as many casseroles.

Soups and stews galore. Want mac 'n cheese? No problem -- just get soy or

whole grain elbows when you make it. How about some Chinese tonight -- whip

up a stir fry with chicken and vegetables, then make a pot of brown rice for

yourself and a pot of white rice for anyone who wants it.

No time to cook? Get a crock pot. Even setting aside the fact that MANY of

our meals are prepared in under 30 minutes ( would be so proud), the

crock pot is hands down the best way to make a roast when you're on the go.

The modern family does not have lunch together -- kids are at school, one or

both spouses are at work, one spouse may be at home. That means lunch is

pot luck -- let the kids make their own or buy at school.

Breakfast is seldom a combined meal either. Little ny wants cereal,

while Pamela wants toast and eggs, but Daddy likes his coffee and a danish.

So have whatever you like and what is SBD friendly.

I realize this may represent a change in habit for yourself and your family.

Is the family going to balk when they can't have a ton of nasty fat, sodium

and sugar at every meal? Probably but here's the question -- what's more

important, their health and longevity or maintaining the unhealthy status

quo? The key is to NOT look at this as a weight loss plan but rather a

HEALTHY WAY OF EATING. It isn't about taking off pounds and inches -- it's

about getting the nutrients your body needs to properly function. Our taste

buds adjust to suit our diet -- not the other way around. That means you

and your family are used to eating the way you eat. Change the way you eat

and you'll get used to that as well. Case in point: I am both low sodium as

well as low sugar. As a result, it takes VERY little sugar or salt to

oversweeten or oversalt foods for me. For example, my pasta sauces are

super sweet to me even though there isn't a single bit of added sugar in

there.

It is the responsibility of every parent, especially if you're a homemaker,

to ensure that our families are getting what they need to be healthy. We

just had trick-or-treat and my kids are CONSTANTLY badgering me for candy.

It never ends -- all they want are Kit Kats, Reese Cups, and the sugar du

jour. Do I give it to them? Absolutely not -- I tell them to eat their

dinner of vegetables, meat, and starch. I tell them to finish their lunch

of lunchmeat, cheese, and pickles (they're toddlers and that's their

favorite meal). I tell them that Kit Kats are not for breakfast, now eat

your Cheerios. My wife knows that we need to eat healthy and she goes along

with much of it because it's just common sense. She gets lots of cravings

and we satisfy them from time to time but it's not a nightly thing.

As I keep on saying, the cornerstone, the very foundation of the SBD is

healthy eating. Low glycemic foods are simply healthier for us to consume

than high glycemic foods. That's not a fad diet, that's nutritional

science. If you look at the " adapting your meal plan " writing, take note of

the basic meal -- protein, dairy, starch, fruit, and vegetable. I don't see

Kraft Mac'n Cheesy in there. I don't see Spaghetti O's. I don't see Hungry

Man TV Dinners. It's protein, dairy, starch, fruit and veggies. The same

things that every nutritionist out there will recommend comprise a balanced

diet. The only question is where you get these from and THAT'S the biggest

issue.