I seem to have started eating for the holidays sometime back in September. Though I had spent much of the early part of the year watching what I ate, exercising regularly, and losing around 25 pounds, a sinus infection in late August coupled with a quick trip to Portland (vegan Mecca) threw me off balance. Maybe I thought I needed comfort food, maybe I was just looking for an excuse. Whatever. Today I sit here having regained 5 of those hard-lost pounds and, even more troubling, a couple of food addictions I thought I’d put behind me–sugar and its partner in crime, flour. Both drive me crazy with cravings but make me feel bloated, lethargic, and queasy when I give in to them; of course, by the time the cravings hit again, I’ve managed to forget the effects indulging will have on me, so the cycle repeats.
I know from experience that the only way for me to get control over my eating is the tough love approach. Like any addiction, a compulsive desire to eat sugar and starch won’t go away if I string it along with small doses. For me it’s all or nothing. But just as important as getting rid of the anti-nutrients (which is what I consider sugar and flour to be) is filling my body with nutritious plant foods. I’m talking vegetables, beans, and fruit. A few raw nuts. A couple servings of whole grains. Simple whole foods.
Changing What You Crave
I know that at this time of year, a lot of people are taking stock of their health and committing (or recommitting) to healthy eating plans. Some are doing cleanses or detoxes, which, for the record, I don’t believe in. I think that you should start in the way you hope to continue, and short-term, stringent detoxes, which often are downright dangerous, don’t do the body any long-term good or lead to healthy eating practices. My goals are to make vegetables the center of my diet, loosen the grip that sugary foods have on me, and change my habits so that I’m not reaching for a gooey granola bar or bowl of vegan ice cream every night after dinner. I know from experience that with time and effort I can change what I crave. It’s been a long time since I’ve really craved a big honkin’ salad, but I will get back there!
This is not about weight loss, though I could stand to lose quite a few pounds and expect that I will. It’s about eating the way I know is healthiest for me. It’s about feeling better, more energetic, more focused, more alive.
I would love for you to join me on this journey, even if you just try it for a week or two. But I have to point out that I have absolutely no nutritional training (B.A. in English, M.A. in English, and 1/2 of a Ph.D. in–you guessed it–English). If you have health issues and decide to follow my plan, please okay it with your doctor or at least let her know so she can monitor your need for medication. If you’re coming to this from the Standard American Diet and are taking medication for blood pressure, cholesterol, or high blood sugar, your need for it may decrease after you start eating this way, so get check-ups at regular intervals.
Keep It Simple, Soups and Salads
I have a tendency to make things overly complex, so while I was figuring out exactly what my healthy meal plan would be and what I wanted to say to you about it, I kept telling myself, “Keep It Simple, Soups and Salads.” Abbreviated, that’s KISSAS, which I shortened to KISSS because, well, think about it.
My plan looks a lot like Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s Eat to Live 6-Week plan, and I’ve adopted his mantra, “The salad is the Main Dish,” though I often stretch my definition of salads to include cooked ones. I’m a little less rigid about amounts and tend to eat more grains and starchy vegetables and fewer nuts and seeds than he advocates, but overall, if you’re strictly following the 6-week plan, you’re basically doing what I’m doing. I also tend to view salt as a necessary evil–a little bit helps me enjoy my meals so much more than without it, helping me stick to my vegetable-centric diet–though hard-core ETLers would tell me (and you) to cut it out.
I concentrate on soups and stews, in addition to the salads, because it’s possible to pack a lot of vegetables into a soup, eliminating the need for vegetable side dishes. When the soup contains plenty of veggies, all I need to add is a starter salad and perhaps a serving of whole grain or potato to have a filling dinner.
So Here are the Details
(Click “Print” to print this section.)
Do Eat
- at least 4 fruits per day
- At least 1 huge and 1 regular salad per day (containing fresh greens such as lettuce, spinach, kale, cabbage)
- As many cooked, non-starchy vegetables as you can (broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, onions, carrots, kale, peppers, zucchini, etc.)
- At least one cup of cooked beans/legumes/lentils
- 1-2 tablespoons of raw nuts or seeds (try to have walnuts and ground flax seeds daily—good sprinkled on salad)
- About 1 cup of cooked whole grains or potato
Don’t Eat
- Meat (including poultry or fish), dairy, or eggs, of course!
- Oil, including olive and coconut oil and margarine
- Sugar, including agave nectar, maple syrup, Sucanat, date syrup, dried fruits (including dates)
- Flour or flour products (bread, pasta, etc.)
- Alcohol
Meal Plan
I find that getting into the habit of eating the same basic breakfast and lunch every day helps me stay on-track. Where I shake it up is at dinner because I’m one of those people who don’t like to eat the same thing two nights in a row. I tend to eat fruit for breakfast, but not everyone feels satisfied with that, so I’m including some other options.
Breakfast
- Fruit
- Or 1 bowl bean/veg soup plus fruit
- Or 1 cup cooked oatmeal plus fruit
- Or 1 serving Chickpea Omelets
- Or fruit or green smoothie
Lunch
- Mega-huge salad with beans and dressing (plus 1 tablespoon nuts if dressing is fat-free). Consider Taco Salad or Hummus Salad.
- Or bean and vegetable soup
- Or soup and salad
Dinner
- Starter salad
- Vegetable and bean soup or stew
- Whole grain, potato, sweet potato, or winter squash, if desired
Snacks
I try to stick to fruit for snacks, but I’ve listed some other options to include only if you don’t feel satisfied after eating your fruit. Eat your fruit first! After that, if you’re still hungry, have more of anything on the “Do Eat” list.
- Fruit, including frozen all-fruit desserts.
- Raw vegetables and fat-free or nut-based dressing, hummus, or baba ganoush
- Air-popped popcorn with nutritional yeast
- Roasted chickpeas, homemade potato chips, or kale chips
Soups and Stews for the Week
Having a nutritious meal already made can mean the difference between staying on-track and reaching for some processed junk. I usually start every week by making a big pot of my “Dirty Little Secret Soup,” which I keep on-hand for lunch when I don’t feel like a salad or for dinner when my family is eating something else. I always plan for at least 4 different dinners during the week and count on a combination of leftovers and the secret soup to feed us the other nights.
Here are my dinner soups and stews for this week:
- Spicy Collards and Black-eyed Pea Soup (for New Year’s Day) served over brown rice
- Eat the Rainbow Black Bean Soup with a sweet potato
- Ridiculously Easy Lentil Stew
- Curried Split-Pea Soup with Cauliflower (delicious served over a baked sweet potato)
For lots of choices for soups and stews, check my recipe index pages.
About the Salads
Eating a big enough salad is essential to both feeling full and taking in enough nutrients on this plan. When I talk about Mega-Huge, ginormous, or big honkin’salads, I mean a salad that fills a serving bowl. Start with greens–lettuce and spinach are my base–and add tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli slaw (basically shredded broccoli stems, which you can make or buy), and any other vegetables you like. Toss it with an oil-free dressing (I have a new ranch dressing that I will be sharing soon), add a heaping serving of beans (hot or cold) or hummus and, if your dressing doesn’t contain nuts, a tablespoon of raw walnuts or other nuts. (Walnuts have the most Omega 3’s, so I tend to stick with them.) Add some ground flax seeds if your dressing doesn’t contain any. Even this small amount of nuts and seeds helps the absorption of nutrients, provides essential fatty acids, and makes us feel full longer.
My two favorite salads are Taco Salad (made with canned chili beans for the sake of time) and Hummus Salad. Other times I top my salad with my vegan buttermilk dressing along with chickpeas and slices of apple or pear. Don’t be afraid to get creative with your salads and your salad dressings. See this post for some tips on removing the oil from your favorite dressing recipes.
More Resources
If you decide to join me, I’m happy to answer any questions in the comments below. Feel free to post here or on my Facebook wall and tell me how you’re doing.
If you need more support, please join my Facebook Group or Eat-2-Live Yahoogroup, two great groups of people who love to share their knowledge and enthusiasm.
For much more nutritional information than I can supply, be sure to read Eat to Live.
For more recipes, be sure to check out my Eat to Live archives both here and on the website.
A few other sites that support this way of eating (though possibly more or less strict in some of the details) are
- The Engine 2 Diet
- Healthy Girl’s Kitchen
- Happy Healthy Long Life
- Chef AJ UNPROCESSED
- Dr. Fuhrman’s Holiday Challenge
- Dr. McDougall
- Forks Over Knives
- Vegan Hope
- 21-Day Vegan Kickstart
sage
January 29, 2012 at 10:36 pmHey Susan!
Congratulations and I commend you for setting your intentions for yourself and acting upon what you’d like your life to look like. Beautiful!
I can so relate, and I’ve made the same changes in my life as well – all the good natural stuff, to keep me in balance. I just wanted to share with you that the one thing I’ve discovered that has helped me kick my cravings for sugar (says the QUEEN of sugar addiction) and lose weight (I was stuck at the same weight for 2 years even with trying everything) was to incorporate more healthy fats in my diet. I had it in my head from my dieting days that fat was bad. Strangely enough, making sure that I have plenty of nuts, almond butter, olive oil, flaxseed oil, flaxseed, and avocados, in combination with lots of greens, vegetables, and legumes, has kicked my sugar cravings out the window the way I never could before. Just wanted to share my experience, wishing you best of luck on your journey!
~Seema
Tash
February 14, 2012 at 4:20 amwhen i was growing up, in summer when mum and me made the salads we always added pineapple, apple, orange to our summer salads (mainly because australia is so hot so this keep us hydrated along with eating lots of watermelon during the day) for a really yummy dressing we would mix apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, fresh squeezed lemon and just the tiniest bit of salt and pepper (really not needed though) this is the best salad vinegarette and all the flavours are so good together, …. another favourite is cutting come cucumber adding a little hommus and some pineapple (so i use the cucumber lil little crackers) yummy 😀
As for salt in gerneral, i only use a lil in my cooking to get the right flavours, but nothing more, i don’t actually like the taste of salt myself, and it dehydrates me to quickly.
Shirley
February 22, 2012 at 9:13 amHow would you define a starter salad? same contents as the mega salad just smaller? Do you include avocados and or olives in either the mega or starter salad.
Susan Voisin
February 22, 2012 at 9:23 amYes, the starter salad is just a smaller version of the mega salad (I usually made a big salad to share with my family). About avocadoes, I try to use one form of fat in a salad, either nuts, avocado, or a nut-based dressing. So if I use a cashew dressing, I don’t include nuts or avocado. I don’t use olives because they’re so salty.
Shirley
February 22, 2012 at 1:17 pmDo you omit the beans in the starter salad? I am trying to gauge portion size to aim for would you say about half the size of the mega salad?
Susan Voisin
February 22, 2012 at 1:28 pmYes, if I’m eating it as part of a meal that contains protein, I leave the beans off the salad. I would guess that it would be about 2-3 cups of lettuce and then add to that tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. I usually fill up about 1/3 of my plate with salad, 1/3 with whatever main dish (often beans and rice), and 1/3 with a cooked vegetable like asparagus or broccoli. Then I feel free to go back for a second helping of everything.
Shirley
February 22, 2012 at 1:49 pmThank you for taking the time to answer my questions.
Lara
March 3, 2012 at 10:03 amHello All! I’m making a commitment to follow this program starting today! Thank you Susan for you that you do for us! Bless you!
Lara in CA
debbie
January 1, 2013 at 10:39 amThis sounds great. I’ve been a healthy eater for many, many years and have adopted the low fat vegan approach for about the past year. I have lost weight and feel great! I am not hungry and not often tempted by unhealthy foods although I have had some over the holidays. I am probably somewhere in between Fuhrman and McDougall. I eat less salad and in the winter I only eat one piece of fruit a day in the winter as this works for me. Thanks for your wealth of info and support!!!
Andrea
January 1, 2013 at 12:23 pmGreat plan!!! I recently started a fb page to give super simple ideas to eat more fruits and vegetables. For me fruits, and specially dates helped me to overcome my chocolate addiction. And gluten has this thing that makes us eat about 500 cals more per day, it makes us hungrier among many other side effects. So, definitively going gluten free is one of the best things to do, but gluten free doesn’t mean I’m going to start replacing flour with gluten free flour or I’m going to start buying all this processed stuff, no it means replacing it with more fruits and vegetables 🙂 http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fruity-Vegetalleza/534089679943871
Lisa
January 1, 2013 at 2:57 pmI am starting a 21 day cleanse tomorrow and this plan will be a good support with the soup recipes you have! So happy to have seen this today on Facebook! Love your recipes.
I too have been eating well and lost a lot of weight but once the Holidays hit in November I got into some old, bad habits such as sugar, bread and coffee. I am actually looking forward to eliminating them again. Luckily, I did not give up exercising or the pounds would have really piled on!
Ainsley
January 8, 2013 at 7:54 amI swear, finding your blog has been the BEST thing I’ve found in a long, long time. I never use recipe books anymore, since everything I make from your site has been freakishly delicious! Now, this eating plan is going to be part of my life. I honestly cannot thank you enough.
Katharine in Brussels
January 26, 2013 at 6:28 amHi Susan! Thanks for this. I just kept KISSS in mind as my central portion of calories but allowed myself to veer from it daily, yet I’ve lost 2kg out of 10 in two weeks since beginning my NYR 🙂 + kettlebells 25″ x 3/wk + my usual bike commuting which was not taking off the baby weight. I eat chocolate every day (this is Belgium). When I tried a diet to take off a kilo/week it was too restrictive and I was ready to quit. Shooting for just under a pound/week and I’m alright, so the diet plan is working. Just finished my big lunch salad of tempeh bac’n over a standard salad. Tonight it’s lentil soup with winter veg. Thanks so much for your tips.
Susan Voisin
January 26, 2013 at 9:19 amThat’s so terrific, Katharine! Congratulations! 😀
mabatmaroochy
September 17, 2013 at 6:01 pmThis is an amazing site, and you are incredibly giving. Thank you so much. 6 days ago I decided enough was enough – even though I am already Vegan and don’t drink coffee, I am still overweight. I started just eating fruit, vegies, whole grains and cold-turkey gave up wheat, sugar and oil and tea. I didn’t even know about this post, was looking for ‘fat-free vegan’ recipes and remembered about your site. That you had already done the same thing was so helpful! After excrutiating headaches for 3 days, I now feel so much better. Again, thank you for all the time and effort you put into giving so much information to people. We are the same age (I think), on different sides of the planet, and I don’t know how you do it.
Ainsley
November 14, 2013 at 8:30 amHi Susan!! Can you PLEASE do a KISSS challenge again? I love your site and make almost all my meals from here, it would be so amazing if I could use the recipes and be a part of the FFV community to do this eating plan.
Your devoted fan,
Ainsley
Jos
December 29, 2013 at 6:59 pmI love your newsletter. Count me in – I don’t want to lose weight, but I love to follow you in this easy KISSS plan. Sounds easy and very feasible as I cook only for myself. A little bit of exercise added in and I will be the New Fit Queen for the new year. Thanks Susan. Best Wishes for a Happy New Year for you and your family.
Cara O'Sullivan
December 29, 2013 at 7:08 pmI like your plan and it’s very timely. It dovetails with my plan to do the ETL 6-week challenge. I find I “behave” if I can have some sort of healthy starch besides beans to help me feel satisfied. Your plan strikes me as a smart blend of Dr. McDougal (starchivore) and Dr. Fuhrman (nutritarian). Thanks for posting this.
Theresa R.
December 30, 2013 at 10:22 amThanks for posting this! I’m a newer visitor to your site and love everything about it. Your information, philosophy and recipes will go a long way toward helping me with my commitment to a healthier life. Happy New Year!!
Alison
January 2, 2014 at 12:14 pmSO excited to start this with you!!!!!
Thank you so much for doing all the prep work.
I follow you on FB and have always enjoyed your recipes and insight.
OK……here we go!!!!!
susan beterbide
January 3, 2015 at 3:23 pmWould pasta made from other than wheat flour be OK?
Carol U
January 3, 2015 at 9:58 pmI’m ready. This past year has been awful for me, eating wise. My husband is fighting a blood disorder that caused liver cirrhosis. He doesn’t eat vegan. Cooking 3 meals a day for him, plus care, left me exhausted and I totally fell off the ETL Fuhrman program.
I have loved your blog for years and follow it on FB too. But hearing that you also struggle with sugar and simple carbs helps me so much. I know now I can get back on program.
I need your ridiculously simple recipes to help me, since I don’t have the time I used to have to cook ETL recipes much.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your time to cook, test, write up, photograph and publish these recipes. And just managing your blog.
I know you have had your own health challenges, and your time and efforts are so very appreciated.
Pam
January 6, 2015 at 4:02 pmI love your site and make many of your recipes!! I will follow along (and do it too) with your journey and love it that you are posting what you will be eating. That is the hardest thing for me to decide is what to eat. I am in trouble if I don’t plan ahead. So I hope you will continue to let us know your menu. That would help me so much. Thank you for all you do to inspire and help all of us doing the ETL plan.
Christine
February 3, 2015 at 9:18 amThis is exactly what I was looking for that follows my eating beliefs and keeps it as simple as possible! Thank you!
Donna Barker
January 3, 2016 at 12:09 pmI am in! I have been struggling to get back on track for almost 2 years! Starting my own business has been stressful and I gained 15 pounds. I want to get it off and fatfreevegan and many other plant strong blogs have helped in the past. I am committing to starting as of right now!
Thanks!
Ann Charpentier
January 4, 2016 at 8:49 amThank you so much for all your wisdom and simplicity with your meal plan. It sounds like Dr. Fuhrman’s plan.
Have you thought of putting your plan and recipes in a book? That would be amazing.
Thanks again!
Ann
Theresa Hargrove
January 2, 2018 at 9:27 amThank you for this “pep talk.” I did basically the same thing with my eating regime…falling into the sugar and flour cravings, beginning with Thanksgiving and not slowing down. Normally, I follow Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn’s diet recommendations in order to lower my cholesterol and for general good heart health. Aside from the fact that Dr. Esselstyn’s and your recommendations are better for my health, I just “feel” so much better…healthier. Also, I feel that is helps my mental health in that I am doing something positive.
Thanks again!