Which meal planning program is best?
ShredWeek1
Posts: 188 Member
I've seen that Forks Over Knives has one, as does Hello, Nutriatian, who is an ETL program. Which is best? I'm looking for something that doesn't require hours in the kitchen! Also, I'd love to have more Plant Eaters as friends, so feel free to send me an invite.
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Hi there... and welcome! I haven't tried too many meal plans but I did buy the Hello Nutritarian plan a while back. I use some of the recipes (which are great) but haven't yet tried the entire prep plan because it does require a lot of time. If you could devote the time I think it would be well worth it though. I think highly of both Forks Over Knives and Engine 2, but haven't tried their meal plans. Dr. McDougall and PCRM both have free plans I believe, that could give you a start and get a feel for whether meal plans are right for you.
I love the Engine 2 Seven Day Rescue Diet plan. You can buy the book but there's also a free download of the basics https://plantstrong.com/7day-rescue-challenge. It's very simple and honestly taught me a lot about prepping for a week of bowls and flats. Dr. Fuhrman permits less starches than most of the other plans so if you are trying to limit starches probably best to stick with Dr. F.
The easiest way for me to stick with healthy meals is to make sure I have a "salad bar" in the fridge. I hired a friend to prep my salads every week and it has been a life saver because I work a lot. From what she gives me I generally get 6 or 7 big salads plus I use some of the veggies to make a big mix of cooked veggies and throw in 3 or 4 bunches of greens (kale, collards, chard, etc. or a mixture). Then I just have to make a salad dressing, a soup or some hummus (lots of good no-oil hummus ideas on the web), and cook up some starches like quinoa, rice or potatoes. I only cook once or twice a week. I also like to double up on soups that I know I like and freeze half in serving size containers.
It honestly depends on how much time you want to invest, and how much time you have to invest. I like to keep it simple. When I'm stuck in the office late and come home hungry and cranky, nothing like having everything ready to go already. If I don't have things prepped I get into trouble!
We have a monthly thread where we check in with each other and you are more than welcome to join in there. Right now we only have 3 regulars but we're fun and supportive, in my humble opinion.
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Welcome, Shred...come join us in Jetting into June. We post our menus daily and inspire and motivate each other...love to have you!0
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Welcome, Shred!
For sure, there are many ways to Eat Plants, and the best for you will be a match to your time, palate, dietary needs. I am not an expert on all the meal plans out there, so I may not be much help!
When I got started and decided that the Eat to Live plan was going to be something I seriously wanted to try, what I did was just start by having one meal be a big salad. I bought ingredients to make something I would enjoy and found a couple of recipes for no-oil salad dressings to try.
I really liked this => https://www.drfuhrman.com/content-image.ashx?id=64tkxaaieglx41kuoe08ag
Also good => https://www.drfuhrman.com/get-started/quick-start
I am in some ways kinda lazy and am also willing to eat the same thing several days running. So getting started for me was (A) figure out a good breakfast for me, (B) get the big salad thing set up, and then (C) tackle making a soup, stew, casserole -- something I could eat helpings of for several days running. Since I was doing Eat to Live, an easy way to do this was have a "beans and greens" meal.
Hello Nutritarian site has a few great breakfast ideas => https://hellonutritarian.com/category/recipes/breakfast/
I hope this is some help!
And do join us in the June discussion thread if interested! This is a small, friendly, health-focused group -- a really nice bunch!
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10799045/jetting-into-june#latest1 -
That just helped me!
Soaking almonds right now for my oatmeal.
Making up mason jars salad’s tomorrow.
Veggie Sammy for evening next five days! (I also have Ezekiel large tortillas … so I might use them as a wrap...and I have rice tortillas... might use that...in any case, it will be a Sammy or a Wrap!)
Work on something for dinner after the five days!0 -
Austin, love the formula for a perfect salad...going to add broccoli to mine for sure. Thanks.1
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I love this salad that has broccoli and cauliflower. I cut back on the raisins and currants and it is definitely best after it sits overnight, but after that it lasts all week. https://ohsheglows.com/2011/09/27/detox-salad/
I haven't made it for a while but definitely worth the effort. It makes a HUGE batch so you will be eating it all week for sure. I use my shredding and slicing tools on the food processor to make it easier. The broccoli and cauliflower turn to pulp with the shredding tool so I use the slicer for those, then use the shredding tool for the carrots. It doesn't turn out quite as pretty but it's fine for me. I never added the optional maple syrup as I found the raisins and currants, even when reduced, made it sweet enough.
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