Testing favorite foods

kayceeme

Hi Planners,

During the 20 day testing period The Plan provides very specific menus. While I discovered that I enjoyed some foods that were not previously part of my normal diet, I would also say that few of my favorite foods are on the menu.

Happily, I discovered that I cheeseburgers, one of my all time favorite foods, are a "pass" for me. I've tried expensive restaurant burgers with grass fed beef, McDonald's cheeseburgers and even ground my own ribeye steak to make a delicious homemade burger topped with cow's cheese, sauteed onions and mushrooms and accompanied it with a plan-friendly salad. In all these instances I lost weight. Certainly open up options when dining out at lunch.

What are your favorite foods that you've tested and passed? What foods you love have turned out to be reactive?

GmaQueenBee

I love McDonald's cheeseburgers! Unfortunately they're off the menu since I tested reactive to wheat. That is until McDonald's gets a gluten-free bun, which I don't see any of the burger chains doing.

My favorite breakfast is 2 fried eggs on top of hash browns with a side of bacon. After testing reactive to pork and potatoes all I have left is the eggs. I've tested good with egg whites but haven't tested the whole egg yet. I'm going to test grits and turkey bacon so I can use them as a substitute. I loved grits as a kid. I lived in Virginia and they were at every restaurant. Most people here in Idaho don't know what they are.

kayceeme

Yes, grits are pretty rare in Idaho, I imagine. Hope they work for you! I heard today the McD's is coming out with an egg white version of their egg McMuffin. I haven't tested eggs yet, but have a feeling that they won't work for me as I usually get an upset stomach after eating them. But I love them enough to occasionally pay the price.

I wonder if I'd do better on just the egg whites? Need to test that.

GmaQueenBee

Lyn suggests eggs whites or egg substitute (about the same thing, just branded different) as a test. Egg yolks or whole eggs is another separate test and boiled eggs a different test. They all have a different reactivity. Good luck in testing.

bry8iyze

Happily, most of the foods on the diet were already things I'd eat regularly, except for the flax granola which I've grown to love. Though I tested fine on wheat and rye, all the grains, even rice cause heartburn! I've had a real problem with it since gaining all this weight 8 years ago, so getting off the daily antacids is a huge incentive to stick to one grain a day. I was disappointed that I tested reactive to steak so I haven't tested any kind of burger except for buffalo, which was good! I might re-test beef with grass fed, organic since I do love a good burger. I also tested reactive to duck but it was a duck leg confit which is a cured meat so I might try it again since Lyn says it's about as low reactive as chicken. It's just hard to find a small cut of fresh duck for testing. I also was ok with lamb which I don't like very much, but Lyn's Lamb Burger recipe is pretty great. I find it's best to get a high quality, low fat ground lamb since the fatty kind is gross to me! I still haven't tested tomatoes. Still having trouble with restaurant foods except for plain garden salads. Nothing I've tried so far doesn't cause a 1-2 lb gain the next day! Wait, except for McDonalds fish bites! I tested ok for pollock and flounder so I tried the bites when traveling. They are breaded and probably too salty but one serving with lemon juice was fine! Ok so that's one, unexpected safe restaurant food for me! If I have to take a long trip, I am all set to live on fish bites and salad!

kayceeme

Hi bry8lyze,

Got a chuckle on your "Fish Bites" find. Hope for your sake that wasn't just a Lenten special for McD's. If you do ok with breaded, fried foods maybe some of the popcorn chicken type foods would work in moderation. Lamb is definitely hard to find on the road!

Regarding burgers, you might try grinding your own. Pretty easily done with a good food processor. That way you know exactly what you're getting plus it tastes so much better. Cook mine on a cast iron grill pan and feel like it compares favorably to most restaurant burgers.

I have not yet tested fish of any kind but want to try soon. Right now I'm alternating between chicken and beef and getting tired of it for sure.

Indigestion can be a huge issue for people and you are wise to get it under control. Not only is it uncomfortable, but can lead to esophageal issues. I have a friend whose chronic cough, lightheadedness and even fainting was diagnosed as a gastric reflux problem.

GmaQueenBee

I've missed the Atheno's Roasted Red Pepper Hummus but haven't been using it until I could test the Tahini. Well, I was able to test it 2 days ago and gained 1.5 pounds. I did a rest day yesterday and only lost .5 pound. Hopefully today's rest day will have a bigger loss so I can move on to testing asparagus.

My Mom is so enjoying the food I test negative to and pass on to her.

GmaQueenBee

I thought Wholly Guacamole would be safe to have without testing so added it to my shopping basket. I had some on rice crackers for an afternoon snack and was up more than a pound the next day. After looking at the ingredients again (Hass Avocados, Jalapeno Puree (white vinegar, jalapeno peppers, salt), Dehydrated Onion, Salt, Granulated Garlic) the Jalapeno Puree is the only ingredient I can see to be the culprit. I haven't tested white vinegar or jalapeno peppers. Another thing that's going into the freezer until I can test it properly.

On the up side, I was doing a rest day yesterday and was tempted by a farewell party for a co-worker. This was a taco bar so I had some corn tortilla chips, beef taco meat, shredded cheddar cheese, and salsa. I was down .8 this morning!! My first loss in 5 days!

kayceeme

Hi Jocymc,
I inadvertently purchased some salsa with a lot of jalepenos in it the other day and gained weight both times I ate it. I wonder if the heat of fresh jalepenos is the culprit. Although I'm still not 100% sure if tomatoes are safe either. But I love them!

Lucky you to do so well with the taco bar! Mexican food is one of my favorites and I've been missing my corn tortilla chips. I haven't tested corn yet. Congrats on the weight loss!

I haven't lost since before Easter, but I've been way off plan this week. Got back on today.

GmaQueenBee

Kayceeme - glad you're back on track. I haven't tried corn either. I just decided to go for it since I wasn't testing anything that day. Since then I've had low salt tortilla chips with no problems.

Today I tried a breakfast taco (egg substitute, corn tortilla, and 4 blend shredded cheese) and had heartburn within an hour. I consider that a definite reaction since I haven't had any heartburn since starting TP. Now the mystery is whether it was the corn tortilla or the two proteins in one meal.

I'm with you on the tomatoes. I tested it and was mildly reactive so I've tried to limit them to once or twice a week in my salad. I did try a prepared marinara sauce and gained the next day. Again, was it the sodium or the tomatoes? I'm going to try making my own sauce from scratch and see what the reaction is.

kayceeme

Jocymc, that is a good idea to make your own sauce. That way you can control what is in it and make enough to last a long time.

I do remember reading in The Plan book that there is extra citric acid incorporated into all canned tomato products sold in the US and that can cause reactivity. So if you really want to be true to the Plan, you could consider making your sauce from fresh tomatoes. But that's a lot more work, of course, but something to consider if you're really in the cooking mood!