2nd Question -- Simple Living Guide

[BeckyM]

I'm going to propose a second question for discussion about the Simple Living Guide, since no one else has yet.

I'm wondering how you all felt about the author's suggestions about eating. Since this IS a Cooking Light group, I thought that would be an interesting thing to discuss.

My personal thoughts were that some of her suggestions were right on. I liked how she talked about trying to eat things that are as close as possible to the state in which they came out of the ground. I also liked that she wasn't militant about it and acknowledged that sometimes we need to make exceptions.

The part I thought was really different from most of what I've heard regarding nutrition was her point about NOT snacking between meals, because the digestive system needs to rest. That was very contradictory to what I keep hearing about the benefits of eating more smaller meals throughout the day. I'm particularly curious to hear what dieticians/nutritionists think about that suggestion, since I really don't have expertise on this topic.

Hopefully this question will spur some further discussion. Of course there are other parts of the book I want to talk about more too, so I'll be looking for someone to pose Question #3!

Becky :)

[KValley]

Thanks, Becky, for keeping us moving on!

Well, other than the suggestions that I slow down and relish the removal of each layer of the onion as I peel it, or to enjoy the sensuality of thrusting my hands into my container of brown rice, or that I should not eat aged, or "irritating" foods (GIVE UP CHEESE? NOT ON YOUR SIMPLE LIFE!! AND I LOVE CHIPOTLE PEPPERS, THANK YOU!!!), I thought what Janet had to say was pretty much right on with my values. You've got to get past the new-agey b.s. to the core of what she's getting at, IMHO.

Cooking has become a hobby and a joy and I feel that a part of my spirit and love goes into what I make; I love simple recipes that make the most out of the ingredients' natural textures and flavors; I have noticed in the last year as I have been cooking more that I need fewer "gadgets"- I have gotten more creative and skillful using a few core tools and cookware. I just got rid of my bread machine, special pasta cooker/vegetable steamer and a fancy cheese grater I never used at a garage sale this weekend, along with assorted dishes. It felt so good to clean out those drawers and cupboards!! I sold a set of fussy, funky Pier One type dishes, after finding a set of plain ivory dinner dishes for $5 earlier in the summer. I love the way food looks on the classic plates- so clean and fresh!

I think snacking is an individual thing. I know I can't make it more than four hours without fueling my body, even if the snack is just an apple or a TBL of peanut butter. DH, who just returned from France, lost about 5 lbs in his 6 weeks there, despite eating more meat protein, and bread and pasta (we rarely eat the latter two). He said his weight loss was because his "family" there just didn't snack between meals, ever.

The Adventist diet is not for me, but its general principles: whole grains, eating breakfast, and eating to satisfy hunger, not appetite are things that I do or am working on (the eating part!!) . I am also cutting back on meat protein- trying to have meat only once or twice/week, fish twice a week, and make more main dishes from beans and grains.

[SusanMac]

One thing she did in the book was diss packaged cereals. DH and I are *huge* packaged cereal fans. While I do think they give you lots of extra minerals, etc, Janet has a point that it's all chemicals/fake stuff, and that it's better for your system to have more natural foods. I thought that was a pretty good point, although I'll never convince DH to give up his Rice Krispies (and few people on this BB will give up their Kashi Go Lean)

Anyway, I had some bulgar in the house and actually made some for breakfast last week. With some raisins, nuts and brown sugar...it was really awesome. And, I just felt good for not pouring yet more chemicals and processed food in my system.

I also looked on my box of Quaker instant oatmeal and, guess what......the list of ingredients contains at least a dozen chemicals and I have no idea what they do. I found another instant oatmeal at the store (made by Quaker, might I add) and the only thing listed in the ingredients was "oatmeal."

We do a pretty good job of eating healthy, balanced meals. But Janet reminded me to look closely at ingredients and cut back on processed junk.

[jane]

I agree with the person who said that snacking between meals (or not snacking) should be a personal thing. I just finished reading Perfect Health by Deepak Chopra a few months ago and his theory agrees directly with Janet Luhr's theory (in fact, I think she got it from Ayerveda which is the founding principles of Perfect Health.) HOWEVER, my mother is going to an Ayervedic nutritionist who has told her she shouldn't go more than 3-4 hours without eating something because her bloodsugar drops. So... I think the whole idea is to give your system enough time to digest what you've put into it without starving yourself or making yourself feel sick.

As for Janet's suggestions about cooking I think they make a lot of sense too. The only problem here is that when I shop like that I end up spending a lot of money for what seems like not a lot of stuff. I figure it's worth it, but there are still some things she suggests (giving up, that is) that I won't ever do-like Cheese!!!! As for the breakfast suggestions, it makes sense, but first off, I don't like cooked cereal too much and right now its between 95 and 105 in Philly so the last thing I want to think about is hot anything. Maybe I'll try it this winter (but I'll probably stick to my Kashi Go Lean Crunch!) I figure that the more we can adopt the better, but if her whole premise is to be able to take time to enjoy what we have, then we better be eating things we enjoy (reasonably) rather than eating things we don't enjoy that are "good for us."

[Sara Emily]

Glad you asked, Becky!

I don't think any knowledgeable, sensible person could disagree that the whole foods concept is most condusive to good health and it makes us rethink SOME of the things we may be eating but, as Janet said about other things through the book - Balance, Balance, Balance!

I had a most interest experience with the Seven Day Adventist system a number of years back. I had been working and pushing myself so hard and so long that I was really EXHAUSTED and couldn't seem to bounce back. Through a long series of connections, I wound up at a SDA center that was highly touted with one of their doctors in charge. It was vegetarian, of course, and NO animal products were use (honey, eggs, Julie's and my beloved cheese!), but yeast and SPICES could not be used either. The little salad bars were fine (You can't mess that up!), but everything cooked was bland and dense and edible ONLY because you were hungry! In the two weeks I spent there, the "patients" all agreed that the best thing they cooked was a pizza but, we all also agreed that if we had made this, or any other of the dishes at home, we would have thrown them out, thinking we had messed up!

They were also big on not PUSHING yourself, really CHALLENGING yourself in exercise, as Janet seems to echo in the book. Instead, they want you to take hot and cold bath treatments each day and down MOUNTAINS of the yukiest medicinal herb teas and pills you can imagine! The first two days they made me really sick, so I stopped taking them without telling anyone, and the doc told me how much they had helped me by the time I left! They were also big on balancing the number of acid/alkaline foods you eat (sort of like a yin/yang thing). Are any of you devotees of that???

It was a good experience and an interesting one, but not one I want to continue living out - except for the emphasis on whole foods.

[lisas3575]

The eating/nutrition section was one of the few that I didn't get much out of... I'm sure it's great for some people, and it's not something for me.