I agree CP ...I like to tell people I am making lifestyle changes instead of on a diet...I have to remind my husband of this frequently. He is back to eating a lot of sugar. I understand he works out longer and harder than I do but he was so close to his goal weight. He is only up a few lbs. but it is his choice. He bought a package of Oreo cookies for work and left them on the front seat of our SUV, he forgot we were switching vehicles....so I am going to throw them way in the back when I get into the car. Ultimately I am responsible for what I eat and he is responsible for what he eats. Not going to spend any more energy on this.

Keep sharing what you read that impacts you. I find it always interesting what other people take away from his books. I think in Dec. Mihani was reading an interesting book and sharing insightful information.

Oh, I just had a moment of insightfulness....I frequently said I would lose weight faster if Brooks was 100% on board....which makes me the weak link. If I can be 100% or close despite what others including my husband eat then it will only make me stronger ( if it doesn't kill me....hahahah). It is totally up to me what we eat for dinner and he has what ever he wants at work.

Have a great day everyone!

Hi Everyone,

I just joined the group. I was excited to find an active group on MFP for Nutritarians. I'm on a journey from dieter to Nutritarian. I've spent a lot of time increasing GBOMBS and decreasing meat and dairy in my diet. I feel like I've laid the ground work and I'm ready to dive in and take it to the next level. Looking forward to sharing recipes and ideas with everyone. Coming up with dinners every day has been the biggest challenge for me. Breakfast and lunch were much easier to adjust.

One thing that has helped me a lot, my son's girlfriend is a vegetarian. He is 16 and suddenly he's happy if I make a big salad or a meatless entree so he can invite her for dinner! Lucky break

C&P, tofu scrambles are an easy way to try out cooking tofu for the first time. This is my favorite recipe for scramble, and easily made ETL by leaving out the oil: https://minimalistbaker.com/southwest-tofu-scramble/ A tofu press comes in super handy if you start making tofu often. This is the one I have… https://www.amazon.com/Gourmet-Tofu-Press-Marinating-Dish/dp/B002QO5LY8/ref=sr_1_2/142-3508640-1645254?ie=UTF8&qid=1519259136&sr=8-2&keywords=tofu+xpress&dpID=518OIt4wIQL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

I had not heard of ETL Daily. Honestly, for the 6 week plan, I think the best thing is to just keep it simple and not try to worry about making fancy dishes or meals. Just make big batches of steamed and roasted veggies and greens, cut up stuff for salads, make some bean soups, etc. I am a big fan of bowls, a little rice or quinoa topped with lots of veggies, some beans or baked tofu, and topped with some sort of ETL friendly dressing or vinegar. I am planning to start the 6 week plan again on Monday (this weekend is a party and I know I won’t be totally compliant) so if you do start you’ll have some company.

Donna, pup is doing great! He is getting really bored and frustrated with the cone though. We spent some time in the back yard and I let him tear around and work off some energy without the cone on. It’s healing beautifully. Checked the area tonight and no swelling or irritation. That’s great you are choosing to follow ETL whether your husband is totally on board or not. The stuffed peppers sound tasty.

Carla, that dinner looks beautiful, and I love your dishes too. What’s on top of the peppers? I don’t think I’ve ever had jicama. Maybe at a restaurant or something, but I’ve never bought it. How is Ruby doing?

Welcome Pat… I’m going to be doing the 6 week plan again starting Monday so I will be joining you! I think dinners are more difficult too, but like I said above, bowls are your friend when you’re pressed for time. Being prepared is probably 90% of sticking to it for me. I just don’t feel like cooking after a long day at work. When I’m on my game it takes me about 3 to 4 hours on the weekend to prep and cook. It’s a lot of work and time, but then it takes no effort at all the rest of the week.

Carla, your meal looks delicious! You and Donna have me hankerin' for a stuffed pepper soon. Must try the salad too.

Mihana, thanks for the links. I'm trying the scramble for lunch! Glad your pup is doing well with recovery.

Donna, how did the solo swim go? I'm not a strong swimmer - I never learned to be comfortable with my face in the water. Too bad since I live in the land of 10,000 lakes!

Welcome, Pat! I just started a few days ago and am just about ready for the 6 week challenge. I need to sit down and plan my grocery list and do a prep day before I kick off. Sweet pup! We have a Bichon-Poo (Tucker) who is about 13-14 years old. He was a shelter dog and we are celebrating his 10 year anniversary with us at the end of May. He's slowing down nowadays, but still gets excited and has a "bichon blitz" every once in a while.

Donna, your sharing about your choices vs. Brooks reminded me of something I watched on youtube the other day - a video on how best to be a nutritarian if the family is not on board. I think it was Elisha Lee who said she decided to be an example but never to push her eating lifestyle on her family, but rather to be encouraging. When she prepares their meal - for example, pizza - she will also set out an array of nutritarian options. They no longer wolf down pizza alone but will add some of the nutritious options to their plate and she fills up on the good stuff. Her daughter eventually joined her! This was encouraging to me as we have a son in college and a daughter who is a high school senior still at home. But when those Oreo's are on the seat next to you? Challenging moment! I love your outlook!

Happy Thursday!

Mihani - I am happy your pup is recovering well. I too like big veggie bowls with a little rice and/or quinoa.

Pat - I love lab and golden doodles. They are so clever and sweet. We had a golden named Tucker...such a good name for a male dog (C &P post a picture of your Tucker). Now we have 3 little terrors - all 2nd hand dogs. A yorkie, a westie and a min. schnauzer. All 3 are oversized for their breed, not in weight but in height. My friend the Veterinarium calls Cleo, my black schnauzer, Ragno...which is spider in Italian. She has this funny little body with extra long legs and when she gets excited she gets low to the ground and scuttles around like a spider. When she sleeps she tucks this long legs under her and looks little.

C&P - the solo swim did not happen! Brooks is working evenings tonight - boo but he gets tomorrow off...so we met at the pool today and I swam 60 minutes with him. The important thing was I drove south to BAMC (Brooks Army Medical Center) and then North to YMCA by myself....totally out of my comfort. I moved to San Antonio in June from living in Italy for 2 years. My comfort zone of driving is slowly expanding. SA is the 7th biggest city in USA and the traffic & highways are scary. Never lived in Texas before. Lots of accidents. When Brooks (hubby, not the medical center) has trauma call he knows he will be up all night with MVA or gun shots. Sigh.

Brooks is so funny, I went shopping for groceries before swimming at commissary and he "stole" my salad. I bought a spinach, pecan cranberry salad that I was going to have after swimming because I am always so starved. Good thing I bought oranges too. They are in season here and I seem to be craving oranges now. I had plenty of left overs from last night.

Carla - can't wait to hear how the fusion bowl goes. My stuffed peppers were okay...I liked the ingredients on top of a salad better than I did stuffed in peppers. The soup was fantastic! It called for fennel which I love but some people don't..Also I substituted cilantro for parsley because I had that on hand for the stuffed peppers. I also doubled the amount of garlic.
Here is a link to the soup:

http://www.theharvestkitchen.com/vegetarian-tuscan-white-bean-soup/

Carla, that sounds all so charming...a walk in the cold by the ocean and then hot tea and maybe a little sketching with your mother. Something like a victorian movie. I picture you wearing a hat you made. I know real life has its ups and downs but your planned day sounds wonderful. Raining here, I can walk in snow, wind, sun and cold but not rain... Please post some pictures for me of the ocean. I don't care if it is cloudy or not.

Pictures of Tucker (one with daughter) and my first tofu scramble!

That's a very happy looking dog C&P!

I'm really interested in starting this plan...would love to know if it's been successful for you? Weight loss?? Health issues feeling better?? I would like to use it for both.

Hi all,

Well another trip to the base. My yorkie has developed an eye infection and had to get meds.
I finally got this driving to base which will save me $$ on groceries. I was going to the local store a lot.

C& P that tofu scramble looks delicious! Congratulations on your weight loss this week. You are doing so well. Tucker is darling!

Pat I only started swimming laps a little bit last year and I just love how aerobic it is but gentle on my joints.

Carla, you meals sound amazing! Esp. eggplant parmesan over spaghetti squash.

Mihani - fennel will be in season when I go to Italy and it is usually served slightly charred. Can't wait. I have never had brussel sprouts and fennel together. Everyones meals sound delicious.

Welcome Valley Vixen. In answer to your question I have lost 30 lbs since about October 2018, almost 40 lbs total. Still have a ways to go. I became serious at end of Sept/Oct and did the 6 week ETL, now on the level 2 in Dr. F's book Eat for Health. My cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides were all down in November and A1C was high side of normal...but still considered normal and blood sugar was normal. I have so much more energy it is scary some days. After moving back from two years in Italy I was sleeping a lot and could barely walk dogs up to 2 miles.

Big goal of 2 lbs. in 10 days before we leave for Italy...

Mornin' all! This will be a big, big prep day for me. I will be doing a lot of chopping for the vegan sushi, and will chop plenty of veggies for salad this week as long as I'm at it. Plus roasting, steaming and sauteeing other veggies ready for bowls at dinner, and making a batch of cheezy chickpeas. Have laundry going and need to do some other household chores. Kind of nice to plan an entire day off to do things other than playing catch up with work.

Excited to start the 6 week plan tomorrow and get back on track!

The boy has one more day in the cone after today. We're both going to be happy when this is over. He managed to Houdini himself out of the cone a couple times, but he didn't chew himself up thank goodness.

Carla, I was just about to post pictures of our snow, too! We got about 6 inches a couple ago and are in the midst of a big snowstorm right now. By the way, the caribbean-cuban fusion bowl looks absolutely delicious! Did you add a dressing? (Or maybe you shared that already).

I'd planned to grocery shop today and get things prepped and in the fridge for the coming week. However, shopping took forever as everyone was getting their groceries before the storm hit. I'll have to put off prepping until tomorrow. I'll be making homemade hummus, salsa, and lentils & will prepare veggies and make soup (maybe with the lentils?).

valleyvixen2018, I started dabbling with Eat to Live 2-3 weeks ago and am experiencing steady weight loss. I wasn't really getting anywhere before: lose a pound, gain it on the weekend, repeat. Based on all the reading I've done, I'm anticipating this will help with my heart disease, prediabetes, and much needed weight loss. I'm planning on starting the 6 week plan on Monday.

I'm a little nervous about keeping ahead of the food prep that ETL requires. I "threw" something together last night and it was not good so I didn't finish. Then we were at our daughter's basketball game where there was end-of-the-season pizza. So tempting - a real trigger food for me - but I abstained and ate something healthy when we got home. It made me realize that preparation is incredibly important with ETL.

So much for an early start... slept in until 7 a.m. and have been puttering around. Had a big ol' smoothie made with water, baby kale, frozen blueberries, half a banana, and a tablespoon of chia seeds for breakfast, along with 4 walnut halves (the walnuts are recommended in End of Diabetes). Packed a big container of salad to take for lunch with romaine, grape tomatoes, cucumber, carrot, green onion, red pepper, lightly steamed broccoli. Will just have some nooch and balsamic for dressing. The nooch helps the balsamic stick. I am not sure what I'll have for dinner, but I have loads of veggies steamed and roasted ready to go so it will be easy enough. I will make a pot of cheezy chickpeas tonight.

I got a package of cookies for my birthday, I ate a couple last night with my tea, and going to take the rest to the office for my boss. I am ready to start the 6 week plan today and don't want any temptation in the house. Sweets aren't generally something I crave or go out of my way for, but if I have cookies in the house I'll eat 'em.

C&P are you still planning to start the 6 week plan tomorrow? Happy to have some company. I was planning to start tomorrow but since I did food prep yesterday I figured may as well get at it.

To quote the comic strip Cathy, "ack!!!!!" I've typed a lengthy entry twice now and both times my computer glitched and I lost the post. Rather than retype it again, I'll just say that I got a lot of food prep done this evening (wahoo!) and, after a lot of soul searching, I have decided to continue ETL as I am doing it right now (about 85-90% on plan). So, I won't be starting the 6 week challenge tomorrow. I had a very lovely, lengthy explanation written out for that but it's in cyberspace now.

Mihani, best wishes as you begin tomorrow! We're rooting for you!

I'm starting the 6-week plan today. I'm going to make some white bean and greens soup for dinner with a big salad. I made mushroom barley soup in my instant pot yesterday and it was amazing! I think the key ingredient was the Better than Bouillon Vegetable Base.

C&P: Great pics of Tucker and your daughter My sister in law has a bichon about the same age. We love her! I know what a bichon blitz is I take B12, kelp, zinc, and D every day.

Carla: My friend has an Australian Shepherd/Poodle mix who looks just like Finn - he's such a sweet doggy! I made some brown rice over the weekend so I would be ready to make bowls this week.

Donna: Sounds like you have a full house with those doggies; I love Westies! I also love what you said about having more energy following Eat to Live. I experienced the same thing.

Mihani - Yes, we have a local YMCA with a pool. I used to swim there. Right now I'm focused on walking the dog 2x a day, that's a good exercise goal for me!

Valley Vixen: I followed Eat to Live 100% for about 3 months...during that time all of my joint aches and pains went away, and I found that my 'brain fog' cleared. And I was able to get to a lower weight than I had seen in years. I drifted away from the program, I was in a pretty deep hole emotionally at that time; powerless would be the best adjective. But what I learned from Dr. Fuhrman caused me to add fresh fruits and vegetables into my daily diet no matter what. And my interest in meat has decreased over time. I have been on this upward spiral since then; I have slowly gained my power back. I just joined this group about a week ago, ready to dive back in with both feet and start the 6-week program, which I'm starting today. I would say it works at whatever level you can follow it. The beauty is, its not a diet its the truth about food.