Liz Vaccariello - The Digest Diet Cookbook

APPENDIX Menus

I ve tried my best to make the Digest Diet as accessible and delicious for as many kinds of eaters as possible. Some of you, however, simply cant stick to the diet exactly as written. And thats okay! The Digest Diet is about making healthy and sustainable lifestyle changes using wholesome, nutrient-packed foods that you can incorporate into your diet for life. And, as I hope youve learned by now, accepting not perfect and striving for the middle ground is key to your success on the Digest Diet. So, weve also identified common dieting hurdles many of you face: Quick-Fix, Vegetarian, Dairy-Free, Cooking for One, and On a Budget.

For each dieting challenge, weve included 2 days worth of menus for Phase 2 and Phase 3. Please note that these are intended only as examples. You should feel free to swap out recipes or meals (just keep them within the same phase) and substitute ingredients (check out our list of suitable swaps that follows, youll see that weve flagged the recipes that are best suited for each dieting challenge.

Men, note that these menus are designed to meet the ladies calorie requirements. If you find the menus satisfying as written, thats fine; but if you find that youre hungry, try adding another 150 to 200 calories per day (either in the form of an extra snack or a slightly bigger portion of your meals). Also, if you choose to have red wine for dinner, you can opt for a 6-ounce glass.

Here are some other things to keep in mind when designing your own menus:

QUICK FIX

In addition to choosing recipes that take a short amount of time to prepare, here are some tips for saving time in the kitchen.

Choose recipes that can be prepared ahead or in stages. Put them together on the weekend, or whenever you have spare time. Then, at mealtime, youll have little to no prep to get dinner on the table.

Buy vegetables or meat that has already been trimmed and cut up.

You can use frozen vegetables to save time, but avoid canned unless the vegetables are no-salt-added.

Grilling and broiling are fast cooking methods with minimal cleanup. Microwaving or steaming vegetables is another timesaver.

VEGETARIAN

Protein is a key nutrient for successful weight loss. So in planning your vegetarian menus for the Digest Diet, choose foods that provide significant amounts of protein, such as eggs and dairy (extremely important for calcium, too). For plant sources of protein, concentrate on soy products and quinoa because both have what is called complete protein (significant amounts of all the essential amino acids). Legumes (such as beans, lentils, or chickpeas) are also good plant sources of protein.

DAIRY-FREE

Calcium is a cornerstone of the Digest Diet (you should strive to get at least 1,000 milligrams daily), and dairy is one of the best sources of calcium, so we do encourage you to try to consume some dairy if you can. Some people find that they can tolerate ice cream or hard cheese but not milk or yogurt. If you truly cant eat dairy products, there are plenty of substitutions you can make. And take special care to consume other foods that are either naturally rich in calcium, such as dark leafy greens, or that have been fortified with calcium. See the list .

COOKING FOR ONE

Most of the recipes in this book are designed to serve 4 so that you can make them for your whole family. But if youre on your own and dont want to be stuck with lots of leftovers (or your family just doesnt want to eat your diet foodthough they may change their minds once they taste it!), look for recipes that have Cooking for One instructions to help you scale down the quantities. In addition:

Choose recipes that will keep well so you can refrigerate or freeze the remainder for future meals.

When shopping for meat and poultry that come prepackaged, remove what you dont need right away, divide it into single servings (about 4 ounces each), spread it out on a parchment-lined tray, and freeze it. Once the meat or poultry is frozen, place it in plastic food storage bags labeled with the date.

If buying fresh vegetables in quantities larger than you can consume in the space of 2 or 3 days, briefly cook them in a vegetable steamer or a pot of boiling water; they should still be slightly on the raw side, since you will be cooking them more later. This will help them last longer in the fridge.

ON A BUDGET

Dieting can sometimes be a pretty expensive proposition. Luckily, the lean cuts of meat that are called for in this diet also happen to be the most modestly priced. Here are some tips for saving money on other ingredients:

Buy family packs of skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, remove them from the packaging, spread them out on a parchment-lined tray, and freeze them. Pop them into a large plastic food storage bag and label it with the date.

Although fish is a good, low-calorie source of protein, it can be quite costly. Choose fish on special at your market, since most white-fleshed fish are interchangeable in recipes.

Buy frozen, farmed shrimp; they are considerably less expensive than other shrimp.

Buy one type of nut in bulk and sub it in for other nuts. Just be sure to get unsalted nuts (whether roasted or raw).

Buy large bags of your favorite nonstarchy frozen vegetables (for example, cauliflower, mixed stir-fry vegetables, spinach) and use them as regular side dishes.

Fresh herbs can certainly make a difference to a dish, but in most cases you can sub in dried. As a general rule, use one-third the quantity of the fresh.

QUICK-FIX Fade Away

Menu 1

Breakfast

Salsa Omelet: Whisk together 1 egg, 2 egg whites, 1 tablespoon fat-free milk, teaspoon ground cumin, and a pinch each of salt and ground black pepper. Coat a medium nonstick skillet with cooking spray and cook the egg mixture, without stirring, over medium heat until set around the edges but a little wet in the center (1 to 2 minutes). Sprinkle the omelet with 1 tablespoon Parmesan, cover, and cook until the top is set, about 1 minute. Spread the finished omelet with 1 tablespoon salsa and fold in half to serve. Serve with 2 ounces deli-sliced roast turkey and 1 cup fat-free milk.

Snack 1

1 , 10 raw almonds, bell pepper (any color)

Lunch

Snack 2

2 teaspoons natural peanut butter spread on 1 . Serve with cup fat-free milk.

Dinner

and 2 cups steamed broccoli. Have a 4-ounce glass of red wine with dinner or a handful of red grapes for dessert.

QUICK-FIX Fade Away

Menu 2

Breakfast

Snack 1

10 baby carrots, 20 pistachio nuts, cup fat-free milk

Lunch

and Turkey-Swiss Sticks: Halve 2 thin stalks of celery crosswise and then halve again to make 4 sticks. Spread teaspoon Dijon mustard on to each of the celery sticks. Top each of 4 slices (2 ounces total) of reduced-sodium deli-sliced turkey with slice reduced-fat Swiss cheese (2 ounces total) and roll a turkey-cheese stack around each celery stick.

Snack 2

1 tablespoon sunflower seeds and a pinch of , if desired, stirred into cup nonfat yogurt. Serve with 1 plum tomato cut into wedges.

Dinner

. Have a 4-ounce glass of red wine with dinner or a handful of red grapes for dessert.

QUICK-FIX Finish Strong

Menu 1

Breakfast

with cup chopped fresh fruit (whatever you have on hand). Have with cup fat-free milk.