I was recently diagnosed with a thyroid tumor. The doctor wanted to immediately remove my thyroid; I opted to wait a few months and make that decision. In the meantime, I have been following an eating program much like the one Alan from Elko speaks of. I eliminated the following: wheat, alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and most animal products (no red meat at all). My tumor shrank within just a few weeks and I lost weight like I couldn't believe. Every day the scale changed slightly. It has been the most amazing experience. Plus, my grocery bill is a fraction of what it used to be and my weekly shopping trip is easy. I make a big pot of rice or quinoa in advance and add fresh vegetables for each meal. I exercise intensely (I am on the women's racing team for our local rowing club) so I added canned beans as my protein. It really is a magical formula. Everyone should try it.

Dear Mark,

I recently have been diagnosed with PCOS and I was wondering if you have a food/lifestyle plan to accomodate us. I have really enjoyed reading your articles these past months. I have actually cut out all foods (well most all foods) that contain High Fructose Corn Syrup and Cellulose. Thank you so much for enlightening me and some of my family members,co workers and friends that I have told. Thank you also for the time it takes to write your articles. I am so sure I am not the only person this helps. I just hope that you can keep doing it.

Dolores from PA

Quick and inexpensive I've been able to handle, but I'm having a litle difficulty with the fact that I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian (for philosophical reasons - I'm a Zen Buddhist) and so many of your recipe ideas call for fish. I have to pay a lot of attention to getting enough protein from other sources, so I eat a lot of legumes and brown rice and omega 3 eggs. Any suggestions?

Dear Dr. Mark:
I've been detoxing this week. The first thing I've noticed is :(a) I'm not hungry; and (b) I feel very calm. I love your website and book. I've recommended your book to bunches of people. Hopefully the weight loss will be successful.

When time is short, I like to pick up a container of precut raw veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, red onion, red and yellow peppers, mushrooms and scallions from the salad bar (or already in containers at some stores), take them home and stirfry them for dinner, adding a bit of organic stiryfry or fajita seasoning and whatever protein I have on hand -- shrimp, tofu or chicken breast. I don't even need the rice -- it's delicious. I also spend weekend time making up a pot of vegetable soup or baking a huge pan of ratatouille, which can last me for days. I love oven-roasting vegetables, and have different combinations, sometimes just cauliflower with sea salt and XV olive oil, or broccoli/red onion/cherry tomatoes with XV olive oil or a mix of vegies like eggplant, carrot, red onion and peppers. Oven-roasting at 450 makes them taste wonderful!

I don't like salmon or sardines or soy? What can I
choose that is just as healthy and still lose?

I keep trying to "be good" about eating whole foods. I have a husband whom I believe wants me fat and insists on cooking. He loves his red meat and pasta and is always trying to coerce me to "just try it". I give in more than I would like to admit. The result....yo-yoing between whole foods and poor foods. The point...I'm weak. The question...how do I resist his constant pressure to "be good to youself" "have a candy bar" "you deserve it". What I deserve is to eat healthy and feel well. I will now stop my rambling and go put in my order for UltraMetabolism. p.s. I love what I've learned so far!

Hi Mark, my friend Trudy forwarded your site to me and told me how alike we were. Surprise, she is right. It isn't very often I run across someone with the same food philosophy as mine. You sound like my twin. Everything I have read so far is what I have taught for over 20 years. Thanks so much for putting it out there in such a big way. Sue Moon, Co-Founder Morning Star Center, Omaha, Nebraska

I save time by buying frozen veggies and I bought a rice cooker - I make batches of brown rice and other grains (quinoa, buckwheat, etc...)and freeze them too in individual portions. All I have to do then is take out one bag of grains, a bag of veggies, heat up (microwave first, then in a pan with a little olive oil) - I mix everything and add a little humus or an Indian sauce bought at the healthfood store - 1 jar is good for 2-3 meals.
And voila! I am eating more veggies than I ever did before, have become vegetarian - except for fish and seafood (occasionally). And I make sure I eat lentils or other legumes regularly, especially when I don't have even fish (for iron).

My husband and I eat well by prepping simple meals well in advance. For instance, we might make a pot of stew on the weekend, and then freeze 10 servings of it. That way, we each have a lunch entree ready to go every workday.

We also prep "veggie bags" for the week--whenever we shop, we stock up on about 10 servings of vegetables that keep well. Carrots, celery, bell peppers, snap peas, radishes, etc. While we're waiting for the big pot of stew to cook up, we parcel out the veggies into 10 bags, and now we have side dishes for both our lunches, for all week.

Finally, we make up small bags of nuts and seeds. Add to that any fruits we might be eating, or a tupperware of salad, and it's an ample, easy lunch. The whole week has grab-and-go food, with a total prep time of maybe 1 hour.

I also like to brew green tea in room temperature water, letting it soak for several hours. This makes a mild, pleasant tea with no time or energy spent.

Part of this message is for "Holly" who posted that she trys to eat good and then her husband entices her into eating poorly.

I had the same problem with my husband because he did not want to change his poor eating habits-even though he should because of health issues. I no longer feel tempted to eat the way he does. I always have my veggies, cleaned, cut up and either in tupperware containers or plastic baggies. When I feel the urge to eat, I open the fridge and I see them right on the top shelf. I also don't buy quick and easy foods-saved me a ton of money, since I rarely shop the inside aisles of the supermarket. I shop the outer areas and forgot about the middle aisles. I also shop the local Farmer's Market three times a month. I also cook up two large meals on Sunday and then I freeze them so that we have a change for the week. It's easier and I'm not tempted to run through a drive through on my way home from work.

I read your book and saw so many of my complaints as symptoms of eating poorly and allergies that I asked my husband to read the book and do the diet with me. Even though my husband is in better shape now than when he entered the military 24 years ago (he is still active duty)he said that he would join me in the entire plan. We cleaned out our pantry of everything that we could not eat, and searched online and in healthfood stores for all the items we had never heard of before. We started the one week of preparation on Sept. 3 2006, and Phase 1 on Sept. 10, 2006. Though the preparation of our pantry was a little costly the weekly grocery bill has gone down by about a third. I make out my menu and buy only what I need. I go shopping twice a week to be sure that the fruits and vegetables are fresh. I have set up one drawer in the refrigerator to keep washed, portioned snacks so that the ingredients for my meals are not eaten.

So - you are writing a cookbook - GREAT news!
Please include recipes for one or two servings. Most recipes serve four. This is fine for soups and other one-dish-meals. It would be great to have some of those quick meals (yes - I do use sardines and love them -) to serve just one or two.
Thanks,

Inge

The sardines and brown rice are good ideas which I use, and always have salmon and good tuna handy as well. Steaming several fresh or frozen vegetables takes little time and no cooking skill, yet offers a filling and fiber-rich part of any meal. I often broil fish or chicken breasts or lean steak in olive oil for a quick protein part of my dinner. Portion size is the key - train yourself to eat 5-6oz. portions max and when you eat at a restaurant, have them bring a to-go box when they serve the meal, and immediately transfer half of the meal to the box, so you are not tempted to eat it all. You will be surprised how satisfying the "half" portion meal is, as Americans eat way too large of portions. I have apples, oranges, almonds, walnuts, dried cranberries, pecans, raw sunflower seeds, flax and pumpkin seed granola, etc. at home and in the office for my mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks. I have organic peanut butter on Ezekiel whole grain muffins, along with kiwi or banana for my workday breakfasts, and it is very satisfying and quick. Above and beyond that, I just don't let my tastebuds or others' preferences dictate my food choices. I enjoy my red wine and occasional desserts (in small sizes), and eat a huge variety of foods, but I NEVER stop at the fast food places, as they are poison, and I have totally eliminated soda pop, except for an occasional Hansen's root beer. I supplement with chlorella, fish oil, and a good multi-vitamin, and power walk for 40 minutes 5 mornings a week. I rarely get any sickness, and when I do, it is a 24-hour variety of fever and some body aches, and it quickly passes. Drinking 100-120 oz. of good water every day helps as well.

Dear Mark,

Your book prescribes Cashew Nut Butter or Almond Nut Butter. Why not peanut butter? I compared the nutrition label on both and the only difference is the amount of sodium in peanut butter. Is this the reason? I just finished my Phase I detoxifying plan for two weeks and lost 11 pounds! I'm psyched now! The pounds are just dropping off and I'm never hungry! Another question I had was I love to eat almonds and raisons together. Are raisons really bad for you?

I shop at Trader Joe's for all my food now instead of Costco or the local supermarket. Not only do I save money, I know I am buying good quality whole foods that have no trans fatty acids, are organic, and/or are minimally processed. My son and I are eating more fish, more fruits and more veggies because they TASTE better than what Costco or the local supermarket sells. Trader Joe's is even less expensive than buying at my local health food store too! Cheers to good health and good tasting food!

My wife is a ovo lacto vegetarian. Has been for over 30 years. She also has reactions to dark green vegetables. How about a 14 day menu for her? I'm the cook, but her eating is boring and limited, plus it's too many carbohydrates. Over the top with soy, too.

It is extremely easy to eat healthy on a budget. A can of wild alaskan salmon from Trader Joes is only a couple of dollars and you can mix that with whole wheat bread crumbs, an egg or egg substitute and spices and you have salmon patties! Hello omega 3's!! Add fresh veggies as a side and a baked sweet potato in the microwave. How easy and cheap is that? Plus, it makes enough patties for more then one meal if you are by yourself. I lost 40 pounds eating healthy whole foods on a budget AND eating smaller portions, more meals all day long. It totally works!

I agree that for many of us, with just a little effort we can go to a local grocery store or Trader Joe's to get our nutritious foods. I personally have found that asian supermarkets sell fresh produce for a lot less as well, mostly to attract non-asian customers. I just finished getting everything on the shopping list and am very excited to start phase one! However, I still feel like this prescription and diet (diet in terms of the way of eating) leaves out a large population of low-income households. Not a fault of the diet itself, but public health policies do not make it easy for low-income families to be able to afford even the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables a day, let alone whole foods. I have seen neighborhoods with no access to a grocery store within a 5 to 10 mile radius, only liquor stores and convenience stores.. I have seen farmers markets being pulled out or reluctant to accept EBT cards or food stamps. And I must (respectully) say that yes, it is cheaper to buy fast food than it is to buy produce or whole foods. A few dollars will buy a low income mother and her children a full "meal" - a burger, fries and a coke. Five or six pieces of fruit will often times cost more than an entire meal for these individuals. When the USDA in 2005 raised its recommended requirements of fruits and vegetables, many practically gave up, thinking, why even try, I can't even afford 5 servings. I believe it is the leaders in this nutrition space who truly understand the sobering necessity of healthy nutrition for a better society to speak out on current health policies that make it more difficult for low income families to access fruits and vegetables, and support efforts to make produce more affordable for everyone.

If you are talking quick meals...I love stir fry, so I cut up veggies like cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, celery, etc. and thrown them in a big ziploc to store in the 'frig. When I'm hungry, I take out a couple of handfuls and throw them into a hot pan of olive oil and voila...I have a great stir fry meal. I add soy sauce that is lower in sodium for a great taste! Also, put it over hot rice. I also add peanuts or beans, as I don't eat a lot of meat.

Hi Mark,
I agree that it is just as easy and cheap to eat really well. I alway say-it is much harder work to raise a bad child as to raise a good one-meaning you will pay for taking short cuts later. Yeah? Years ago I was left (at age 20) with two small children and no means of support. Until I could get back on my feet I used food stamps so that my kids would be healthy. I was in the market with a cart full of fresh fruit and the woman behind me starting yelling at me because SHE could not afford fresh fruit. She was agast that I was spending HER money on fresh fruit. I turned around to address her and realized that her cart was full of HO HO's, cupcakes and candy. YIKES! I simply asked her to compare the per pound price. Well the cherries were by far less per pound than the MM's. Despite the desperate situation I was in I went on to become successful and have two lovely children who know how to eat correctly. Now I shop at Whole Foods and find that it is less or equal in price to the other stores. I hear it called Whole Paycheck but I challenge them to prove it.

The big issue my husband and I have is sugar. It was organic-but sugar non-the-less. We have both decided to get it out of our lives.

So-yes I do think eating healthy is less expensive and much better in the long run. I tell people "As long as what I am buying is less than See's Candy I will continue". I think See's cand is around $20 per pound now. Whoo Hooo that means I can eat a nice grass feed beef steak once in a while.

I believe you are making a big difference with your books and your paractice! Keep it up.

The best "to-go" foods I have found are: hard boiled eggs, and drinkable yogurt, Mini-wheat cereal, and nuts!! You can't go wrong with any of them. I keep a container of cereal and one with nuts in my car, for when I am on the road and hungry.

I have never like foods with high-fructose corn syrup because I can't taste the food, only the sweet. And I've avoided foods with hydrogenated oils since they came out with the info that hydrogenated oils cause plaques in blood vessels and raise cholestrol counts -- my father's side is prone to high cholestrol. "UltraMetobolism" confirmed everything I've learned since I started eating organically grown vegeies in 1970.

But what got me to read the book was the need for more energy. When I took the self-assessment tests, sure enough I was moderate in stress response, detox, and thyroid. So now I'm searching for a local sauna/steamroom/hot tub, all of which I used to do but have stopped due to a move to a new city.

What is interesting is that I weigh 8 lbs lighter than I was in High School, but have gained two waist sizes. Hmm.

Dr Mark.
I am a college student who has been on your plan from your book over two months now and find it amazing. Being a college student I am always on a budget and was a little nervous having a higher grocery bill. In the end though my bills are actually less overall since my portions are smaller and I eat out less. I used to be a big overeater and I am amazed on how my portions are controlled naturally. I still have a little bit of problem of waking up in the middle of the night and wanting to eat. Always a work in progress.

I am just starting today, 9/20/06. I have tried to start some type of change to my diet probably almost every Monday of every week over the last 30 years. I am so frustrated and tired of this and I am getting older so I really need to make this work. So far today, I had the berriest smoothie, apple, white beans of a bed of green, and a piece of chocolate with walnuts. This is going very good so far. So wish me luck. If I would go by the suggested weights, I probably need to lose 100 lbs, but I would simply be thrilled & content with 50. So here goes!!

Dr. Mark,
Well, I am going to just say upfront that your 5 minute meal is NOT for me. I don't like sardines, salmon or fish steaks,and yes, I have tried them.
The way I save money is buying my meats and frozen foods when they are on sale, and I buy as many as possible.
I also buy frozen blueberries and strawberries for snacks.
That way, when I don't have fresh vegetables on hand, and do not have the money to go to the store, I raid the freezer.
I too cook my whole wheat, whole grain pasta by the package and cook a whole bag of boneless, skinless chicken breast and put them in the refrigerator in plastic storage bowls.
My favorite, fast, recipe:
Spray your nonstick skillet with cooking spray,
cut up some onions and yellow,summer, squash into the skillet, add a can of petite diced tomatoes, some minced garlic and simmer on medium heat for about 7 minutes.
Then chop up your precooked chicken into bite size chunks and add to the sauce, fold in some of your precooked pasta, cover with a lid and put on low heat while you prepare your vegetalbes.
I usually make a slaw out of prechopped cabbage, olive oil and apple cider vinegar. I use 2 cups of cabbage, 1 TBSP olive oil, and 2 TBSP vinegar.
When I have them, I cut up a few cherry tomatoes into it.
Put some brussel sprouts in a microwave safe, glass dish, with a couple of tablespoons of water, cover and microwave for 3 minutes.
When you serve your pasta dish onto your plate, add a teaspoon of olive oil right on top on it.
This is a delicious, nutritious, lunch or dinner.
You could have a salad instead of slaw, but lettuce has very little fiber, and I make sure I have as much fiber as possible at every meal and snack, in order to get 20 - 30 grams a day.
I have jalapeno peppers, the pickled kind, on the table to eat along with the pasta dish. It is really good. I do not add them to the dish when I cook it in case some one does not want them.

Thank you Dr. Mark for your information.
I started paying attention to what we were eating right after I found you on the internet and read some of your information. I need to lose a lot of weight, and have tried every diet out there.
I now eat 3 meals and 2 snacks a day, making my portions smaller.
I am one of those people who would get up and not eat anything at all until late afternoon. Usually around 3 o'clock. I very rarely ate over 800 - 1200 calories a day, but continued to gain weight.
I am going to rewire my brain to believe that you have to eat to increase your metabolism.
Even when I am eating healthy and count my calories at the end of the day and it is over 1200, I literally freak out.
I am really trying very hard to increase my caloric intake to 1400 - 1700, and unless you have been there, you can not imagine how emmotionally scary this is for me. But I am truly trying hard to change my thought patterns, and to know that I can do it.
Every time I receive information from you, it is like someone throwing out a life preserver to someone who can not swim.
And with each tip I get closer and closer to being saved.
Again, THANK YOU.

I must say that if your cookbook ends up containing recipes like the sardines, brown rice and kale then I will pass! Yuck! What an awful meal. You must have no palate. I think Julia Child would be turning over in her grave.

Another EASY lunch or dinner: 1/2 or 1 cup canned pinto beans heated up and thrown on top of a handful of arrugula (can buy it prewashed) and a handful of cherry tomatoes..top it with a 1/4 cup low fat shredded cheese and it's fantastic and filling!

I have a great recipe for those of you who really miss your Italian food and have little time for a slow cooked taste...
Boil your chicken breasts in low salt organic chicken stock until done.
Let them cool off 10-15 min in pot with stock. Remove and store in frige for the week.
Toast a whole wheat pita.
While it's toasting, add a small amount of olive oil and garlic to a pan, warm and enjoy the smells. Add cherry tomatoes and raise heat to med-high. Just before tomato skins burst, add spinach, a pinch of sea salt, fresh ground pepper, pinch of fresh ground nutmeg and a 1/2 teaspoon of very finely ground flax seeds. The flax adds a great nuttiness to the spinach and ups the fiber.
Stir ingredients, add a chicken breast, cover and lower to a simmer, for about 3 mins, turn chicken and simmer about 5 min more. Turn off heat.
Remove pita, slice in half, divide chicken and mixture into halves of pita, add basil leaves and enjoy with a glass of red wine! It's so satisfying and yummy.

I have been becoming very good at these quick meals. It's funny how easily we've had to adapt. It's not hard, you just have to be creative!

Crying poor is an excuse.

A can of organic beans is $.99 in Manhattan. How much is a big mac? A one pound bag of brown rice is $3.00. What's a loaf of Wonder bread run? Fruits and vegetables are much cheaper than prepared foods. Water vs. Soda? Come on. I can put a quality meal on the table for the cost of a happy meal - in Manhattan!

Like most things, one has to make choices. Choices have consequences. People are very quick to take the victim roll. Get outside the States to see some real poverty. And notice that they still eat better quality than a lot of us in the land of plenty. I saw a t-shirt the other day "I wish somebody would do something about how fat I am". That about sums it up.

Can't wait for your cookbook! When will it be out?

I have celiac disease. I found out a year ago. I always keep some good crackers like nut thins around to put almond butter on, and sometime all fruit jam as a treat. Also I have one of those alligator choppers I got at William Sonoma (now they have them at Bed Bath and Beyond.) Its great to toss a few veggies on like onion and pepper and chop it quick to make a quick omlette.

SMOOTHIES, SMOOTHIES, SMOOTHIES!! Make a big blender full of lite silken tofu, soy protein powder if desired, raw nuts, flax meal (it's cheap to grind flax seeds yourself), frozen berries (buy a bunch of organic in the Summer, they keep for a very long time; if not use frozen from Trader Joe's), cinammon, unsweetened soy or almond milk, 1/2 banana or stevia. Even throw in a clove or two of garlic! I also put supergreen powder in these. This is the best meal in the world and is chock full of everything! Another trick is to cook up a batch of several things one day a week, usually on a Sunday, like chicken breasts, healthy meatloaf (all grass-fed, free range meat if possible) using instead of breadcrumbs, either oatmeal or brown rice bread crumbs (for gluten-free)in the meatloaf, salmon,brown rice, quinoa, and put these in portions in zip-loc bags in the freezer, thaw them out the night before, add some greens and make a wilted salad for dinner. This worked well when I lived alone. Now that I'm married I have to share my smoothies and dinners! Oh well. This, plus a good crockpot is a great way to eat healthily and economically. The only problem...getting sick of the lack of variety. I'd love to read some posts about how to fix that! Otherwise, I hope you find my tips and smoothie recipe helpful.

My favorite quick meal is to drain and heat a can of organic black beans, add some frozen corn, and a can of Rotel tomatoes.

I recently returned to Florida from a trip to California, where I experienced shopping at Trader Joe's for the first time. I sure wish they would come to Florida!

My husband and I are what you might call new-bees.I picked up your book, a couple of weeks ago, the same day I bought a Vita Mix blender at Costco. Talk about making smoothies...Ive made all kinds of fruit combos and in most cases you put the fruit in the blender skin,seeds and all, there's tons of fiber in them and NO refined sugar. I add plain yogurt and soy milk along with omega 3 oil I purchased at Trader Joes. They're quick, easy and very tasty! I've also used it to puree vegetables like broccoli stalks(saving the crowns for whole wheat or rice pasta primavera)celery, onion, fresh garlic, cabbage and carrots with a cup or 2 of low sodium vegetable stock and used the puree as a base for vegetable soup with barley and beans and more fresh vegetables for added fiber. An important factor in making this commitment is removing the temptations to use the old processed stand by's you used in the past. I cleaned out my cupboards, read all the labels and got rid of the HFCS an hydrogenated vegetable oil, etc products. If they're not there I won't use them to cook!! I donated all that food to a local homeless shelter(I hope God forgives me for giving those poor people my poisionous food, although it is better quality food than the food companies donate)You have to start somewhere. My husband is almost finished reading the book and has already committed to join me in changing both what and the way we eat. I'm actually looking forward to detox...which we'll do together. Thank-you Dr. Mark for putting it all together...It just makes SOOOO much sense!

Hello Dr Mark
Thank you for helping people with their health. You have a lot of good information. After lending my brother-in-law a video on "How to Eliminate Sickness" by Dr George Malkmus, he said, "We are not taught how to eat properly." My family have been brought up on mostly lacto-ovo-vegetarian diet. Lots of fruit, salads and veges. I made patties up to go with meals. The five children have long gone from home but I still make up big amounts. The other day I made up patties and found them very nice and I'll tell you what I did. I had made coconut milk from two fresh coconuts and had all this lovely fibre. I hate wasting anything so I put it in a large dish and added one large onion chopped finely, one large carrot grated finely, finely chopped parsley,chives,garlic greens,cilantro and a bunch of mint. I added a cup of finely ground (in my blender)raw almonds and a 1/2 cup ground linseed. Three cups of finely ground rolled oats (put through the blender briefly), about 3 teaspoons celtic salt (organic unrefined)2 or 3 teaspoons of dried marjoram, about 1 plus of chinese five spice, 6 eggs. Mix it all up adding a little bit of water and some plain flour to bind it. Use an icecream scoop to measure mix for a pattie, It keeps uniform sizes.Flatten the mix to about a half inch height. I use the back of the scoop to gently flatten. I use a cast iron pan, some olive oil and fry them both sides on medium heat. This made 24 good sized tasty patties. They will freeze. We have them with veges and make a gravy to cover, or with salad and also as a burger/sandwich ingredient.You can make patties out of just about anything and I usually do not measure what I use. A bit of this and a bit of that. You can't go wrong really. To change the subject now....quite a number of health helpers tell us that peanut paste/butter is one of the worst things one can eat. I have recently found out that in roasting the peanuts to make the butter, the nuts(legumes) are heated to 600 degrees. This would change the natural oil to a trans fat.....not good.

Dr. Mark,
I love reading your e-mails/blogs. Though I am having trouble converting our family of 5's eating habits, your messages keep encouraging me to continue trying. I know in the end it will be a change for the better. The best advice is definitely be prepared with good foods on hand because it is so easy to grab the sugary snacks when I have 3 "whiners" demanding something to eat. I look forward to your cookbook. (I also look forward to reading your book again but have loaned it to a friend!)

Thanks for sharing,
TL

Thanks for the tips on eating healthy on a budget! I was just telling my husband this morning that if we cut back on dining out, we can certainly afford to eat better. Why not use the "good stuff" to cook a fancy dinner at home that you can feel good about eating?! After all, what's more important than what we use to fuel our bodies?! Thank you for all that you do, Dr. Mark and I, like others, am anxiously awaiting your cookbook!

Desert is a wonderful thing that should not be over looked. I bought a wand mixer(hand held) which makes perfect icecream. Fill 3/4 of mixing container with frozen berries(Trader Joe's are good) add enough cream(milk works also)to almost cover fruit and blend. SIMPLY delicious. This has many possibilities: frozen pinapple w/coconut milk, frozen bannanas w/ milk or even orange juice. I have even added a little vanilla extract, walnuts and a good quality chocolate to the bannana and cream for yet another tasty treat.
For cold weather fruit breads using nut flour to replace grain flour is devine.
Who says eating healty is a depravation? Not me, no need to be.

Just a quick note to encourange everyone not to forget your pets! If you wouldn't feed your kids junk please don't feed it to your dogs/cats either.
They'll love you for changing to REAL FOOD and it is just as cost effictive the dry junk, and worth the extra effort in health benefits.

You are definitely on the right track.
I know that I need to keep it simple, and I still want to eat right for my health.
There is much information out there on how to prepare exotic dishes with many ingredients (that I don't have). Recipes that take too much time to prepare.
Thank you for keeping it SIMPLE

Do you have any recipes for teenagers? My son who is 16 used to eat everything I gave him. Now everything is gross to him. I have always cooked good meals, none of us are overweight. My concern is internal health, just because bad health doesn't show on the outside, it could be lurking inside!Help please....

Hello Mark. I have just this week decided to include exercise in my routine, I have some health problems at 74 almost. I have great recipes. I just boiled some pumkin,after thowing the seeds in the garden for the wildlife.I mashed the pumkin including the skin and added just a bit of vanilla. cumin and cinnamin.I added a small amount of sugar and one or two crushed walnuts as a topping, and baked for 20 minutes. Great side dish for Turkey, Chicken, or any

I work full-time, so a crock pot is the answer for me. I cook a pot of garbanzas or pintos and then freeze them in small containers for lunches and meals. I make a big container of hummus or add salsa to the pintos. A whole chicken in the crock pot is another one of my favorite meals. Just wash the chicken and put it in the crock pot. You can pour anything healthy over it and put it on low for 8-10 hours, and it's a meal for several days for my husband and myself. We like homemade bbq sauce poured in and over the chicken. Stir-fry some veggies, and you have a meal. A breadmaker is great, too. I make whole grain bread and use a combination of flax oil and olive oil and golden flax seeds. The bread is yummy.

I agree with the post from Manhattan. Cost is an excuse. Keep it simple and the portions small and it's not that expensive.

I recently noticed the the organic cereal I buy for my kids with no white sugar or flour is actually LESS expensive than the "name brand" all sugar cereals. I have been buying it for a long time, my kids love it! I had no idea I was saving money too!

It's definitely cheaper to switch to whole foods, especially if your previous diet consisted mostly of packaged processed food. The bigger concern is the time factor. I was glad to see this blog give a few ideas for quick meals. My only gripe was not enough meal ideas, especially in Phase I. More quick recipes would have been great, so I'm glad to hear you're preparing a cookbook, even though I'm past the first phase now. (By the way, I lost 7 lbs. the first week, 3 the second week and 2 the third week). I think the website should have a place where readers can share their own recipes and meal ideas to give us all more variety. And if it's OK, mention brand names of healthy packaged products (breads, crackers, etc.) that they like. Thanks, Dr. Mark, for helping so many people. I never would have thought that I would ever be a health food "nut."

I have traveled a lot and love to cook, and am always so impressed that people in other countries make nearly everything from scratch. It was great to read in your book that there is evidence that shows eating processed food is bad for you.

My tip for healthy “fast-food” eating: I love to cook and cook nearly everything “from scratch.” I live by myself, and it is hard to make small quantities of some of my favorite foods. My solution is to prepare several meals, then freeze them into meal-size portions. You can store them easily in the freezer and pull them out for quick meals. You can do this with almost anything; soups, meatloaf, cabbage rolls, black beans, garbanzos, chicken, brown rice. Any freezer-safe container works. With a bit of knowledge on safe freezing guidelines this can turn into a big time-saver.

By the way, I started Phase I on September 18th and have lost 3 lbs (it’s September 22nd). Last year, before reading your book, I started eating very similar to your suggestions and went to the gym, and was able to go from 157 to around 135-140 (I am 5’3 and started with 37% body fat). I stopped losing weight and reached a plateau, but it seems like by cutting out gluten and dairy in Phase I it seems to be able to help me get those last few pounds I was looking for.

I also agree with the previous post that there could be more recipes added for Phase I. Many people are so used to processed foods in boxes that they might not have the creativity or cooking experience to think of other recipes using the foods you buy for Phase I.

Dr. Mark,

I live in a rural area and the ONLY organic produce I can locate is at the Sam's Club in the next largest town, and they only have a few things. We have to rely on what we grow ourselves. I know processing food is not as ideal as fresh, but we freeze and can all the we are able to in order to eat out of our garden all year. At least it is organic! So I'm not sure if that is better or not, but I still am limitied by where I live.
Summer and fall are great because we eat fresh right out of our garden.

We have been able to locate a few local farmers to get meat from, and we recently traded several flats of our own organic raspberries we grew for home butchered Elk and venison. The meat is lean, organic, and of course--range fed! Not to mention absolutely delicious!

I feed a family of six, which includes a 6'3'' 14 year old boy who eats massive amounts of food. My best healthy food:

1. fruit smoothies: plain yogurt, tofu, soy milk, fruit, ice, cottage cheese, ground flaxseed--the possibilities are limitless.

2. SOUPS & STEWS!!!! This is such a great way to make lots of volume for not much money. I have some really incredible recipes for soups, and we love them.

3. Hot cereals for breakfast made with soy milk or nonfat instant milk. We like Bob's red mill cereals the best. Irish oats are some favorites. We top with nuts, coconut, cocoa nibs (these are so yummy on oatmeal), fruit, nuts, and seeds. Sweeten w/honey or agave syrup.

4. Homemade granola. Power pack it with nuts, seeds, and dried fruit. A little will keep you going all morning!

5. Grilled meats & roasted veggies--another favorite summer/fall meal. You can make fabulous marinades with common ingredients!

6. Stir-Frys with Brown Rice.

7. Indian & Thai food. The ingredients are hard to find, but when my husband goes out of town to the next really big city (4 hours away) he stocks up at the foreign grocer on ingredients. You can also find brown Basmati and Jasmine rice if you look hard enough.

8. I do make baked goods, but I grind the flour fresh and use it right away. I also add pureed beans in place of shortening. I often sub honey for sugar, and add nuts and freshly ground flaxseed. This is very economical and filling, so I am hoping this is better than wonder bread!

Well anyway, just some ideas for healthy eating from a busy homeschooling/working mom of 4.

Thanks for the continued inspiration!

Dear Dr. Mark:
I love reading your emails/blog. Thanks for all the ideas. I can't wait until your recipe book comes out because I am always on the lookout for new healthful recipes.

I try to encourage my husband to eat healthy too and it is a slow process. I dont' want to try to change his diet too fast and so far it is working. Of course, some things he just doesn't like. But he has come a very long way to eating right.

I am 62 and my husband is 63 -- I think we have to be more careful now than ever to eat right and keep healthy! Neither of us is on any medications and I want to keep it that way.

I would really like to see a recipe book using items from Trader Joe's and Costco. I am super busy and these are two stores I consistently use - quick, healthy recipes using products from these stores would make my life much easier and much healthier! Thanks!