Curing the carb on a vegetarian diet

Adapting the Fast Track, No Backtracking and Keep on Tracking plans for vegetarians raises all sorts of issues. It certainly isn't impossible, but your level of choice will be somewhat restricted in the initial phases of the plan — especially if you are a bona fide vegetarian who doesn't eat fish or eggs, as well as meat. A balanced healthy diet is the ultimate aim of these plans.

Many people adopt a vegetarian diet for reasons of health rather than ethics, but unless you are careful about menu-planning, the average vegetarian diet isn't necessarily any healthier or less fattening than that of a non- vegetarian. There is often a tendency to combine too many complex carbohydrates with high levels of saturated fats — think pizza, jacket potato and cheese, fries with manufactured mayonnaise or sugar—ridden ketchup. In fact the chances are your diet could be less healthy. This is because vegetarians need to eat a variety of plant-based foods to provide all the essential amino acids that are readily available in animal protein. If just one of the essential amino acids is low or missing then protein synthesis will fall to a very low level or stop altogether.

Complimentary proteins

The key to ensuring that you recive the full compliment of essential amino acids on a vegetarian diet is to combine beans and grains. If you always choose a protein and a grain from the two lists below then your protein intake should be balanced.

The risks of a diet too low in protein

If you arenot careful then you may not have enough protein in your diet. Protein deficiencies in adults may result in lack of vigour and stamina, mental depression, weakness and poor resistance to infection. Antibodies will not function as well as they could — a condition that impairs the healing of wounds and recovery from disease. If you have been through a period of ill health then a higher intake of protein is vital in order to rebuild or replace tissues that are no longer functioning properly.

Good nutrition

In addition to making sure that you eat enough protein, a vegetarian diet may also be lacking in iron, zinc, calcium and vitamin B12 and D — all of which are normally found in animal products. However, these vitamins and minerals can all be found in alternative animal-free sources, and these foods should be staple foods on a vegetarian diet.

Low-carb plans for vegetarians

You may think that it is impossible to follow the Fast Track, No Backtracking and Keep on Tracking plans if you are vegetarian, but you would be wrong. If you want to create vegetarian versions of these plans then there are a number of simple rules that you will find it helpful to follow:

• Eradicate all processed and refined carbohydrates from your diet.
• Follow all the general guidelines for the individual diet plans, such as drinking lots of water and eating the bulk of your fruits and vegetables raw.
• Use the individual plans as a starting point and adapt the recipes to suit your diet.
• Use tofu, whey protein drinks, certain cheeses, eggs and nuts to provide adequate levels of protein and help you to balance your blood sugar levels.
• Always carry snacks such as nuts, protein drinks or hard-boiled eggs with you as it may sometimes be difficult to stick to your diet when you are eating out.
• Try to avoid situations where it would be very easy to break your resolve, such as when you are hungry and the only lunch option available is a sandwich.
• If a book exists called A million and one things to do with tofu — buy it.
  

• Make food as interesting as possible by experimenting with fresh herbs, spices and oils rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as flaxseed oil.
• Boost the nutritional value of your food by adding fresh sprouts, such as alfalfa, to your salads, soups and smoothies.
• If you start to feel tired and lacking in energy, add small amounts of brown rice or other wholegrains to your meals.

No Backtracking

No Backtracking principles

This is a plan for life. You will carefully reintroduce certain carbohydrates into your diet — and find the balance that maintains your weight and keeps you feeling trim. This crucial phase will allow you to:

• Establish the carbohydrate levels that you can eat in order to remain slim and supply your energy requirements
• Break totally with bad habits made in the past
• Never return to yo-yo dieting
• Find a healthy attitude to food and a viable eating plan for the rest of your life.

No Backtracking rules

During this phase you need to:

• Increase your daily carb intake by no more than 10g (1/3oz) each week

• Add new foods one at a time

• Eliminate a new food if it provokes weight gain; a return of physical symptoms lost during the Fast-Track Plan; increased appetite, cravings or water retention

• Drop back to the next-lowest level of carbohydrate intake if you gain weight

• Carry on eating adequate amounts of healthy fats and lean protein at every meal to ensure a balanced diet

• Continue to take vitamin and mineral supplements regularly, drink masses of water and, of course, exercise regularly.

Make this diet the one that works

Once you have reached your target weight, you can start on the No Backtracking plan. Increase your intake of carbohydrates by 5-10 grams per day until you reach your optimum level for weight management This will probably be around 40 per cent of your total daily calorific intake, but remember that everybody differs, especially when you consider activity levels.

If you have high insulin resistance, then you may have to Keep on Tracking and be careful about how many carbohydrates you consume on a daily basis. But if you're one of the lucky ones with low insulin resistance, you may be able to eat most vegetables (including starchy vegetables), fruit, pulses andwholegrains such as oats, barley, millet, wild rice, couscous and buckwheat. You can also begin to use recipes containing carbohydrate ingredients such as breadcrumbs; you may even be able to handle an occasional potato. But don't eat all these things in one day. You still have to monitor your carbohydrate intake to stay where you are - healthy and energized. Remember the eating habits that got you here in the first place. You should have successfully gauged your ideal carbohydrate level, and be maintaining a stable weight and energy levels, within 4-12 weeks of following the No Backtracking plan.

Stick to the basic weight management tips and try to be good 80 per cent of the time. We are all allowed the odd slip up - if you want a slab of chocolate cake from time to time, make sure it is the best you find and enjoy it. If you ever see the scales creeping up, cut back, even go back to the Fast Track plan for a few days until your weight is back to normal, and then gradually raise your carbohydrate levels once again.

A template for life

Two portions of higher GI carbohydrates are included per day on the suggested eating plan. Treat this as the template you ought to follow from now on. And try some of these tricks to keep your carbohydrates at a moderate, healthy level:

• Opt for rye bread, oatcakes and rye crackers instead of wheat-based bread. Even if you are not wheat-intolerant, it is worth considering this.

• Eat fruit 20 minutes before eating anything else, not afterwards. Fruit takes less time to digest, but if eaten on top of a heavy meal, can cause bloating.

• If you are going to drink alcohol, choose dry white wine or, even better, red, which contains flavonoids with antioxidant and anti-platelet properties thought to reduce deaths from coronary artery disease. If you have managed to kick the alcohol habit, opt for grape juice, which contains flavonoids similar to those in red wine.

• Mix sweet potato with cauliflower as a mash or purée to go with roast chicken. The aim is to mix a high GI vegetable with a low one, to reduce the total carbohydrate level.

• When making a rice dish such as risotto, reverse your ratio of vegetables to rice: add a little rice to a heap of vegetables. And try grating raw vegetables such as carrots and courgettes into the dish at the last moment - it adds texture and you get the benefit of all those raw phytonutrients.

• Don't give up on those whey-protein smoothies - they are still the most effective way of getting high-value biological protein.

My recommendation: The 3-step dietary programme Do what I did, look the results

The dietary plans that follow offer simple, nutritious and delicious recipes on a staged regime that should take you from overweight to optimum weight and enhanced well-being.

The reason many people depend on junk and convenience foods is because they lead such busy lives. Most of the recipes in these plans are quick to prepare, and should be within the capabilities of even the most reluctant cook. There are exceptions: preparing the Chicken Soup will take a couple of hours, but it makes a lot and you can freeze separate portions, ensuring that you can have a nutritious low-carb meal even when the clock is ticking away.

So blitz your cupboards and discard any foodstuffs that don't fit the bill. The journey to a healthy, lean body begins here.

The Plans

The 3-step programme includes 3 eating plans. The Fast-Track Plan will help you lose weight quickly and give you that all-important boost on a 50 per cent protein/20 per cent carbohydrate/30 per cent fat regime that will initiate benign dietary ketosis. It should last for 7-21 days, after which you are ready to move on to the next stage. Your weight loss should be around 2-5.5kg (4-121b) if you are a woman and 4-7.25kg (8-161b) if you are a man, depending on how long you remain on this plan.

During the Keep on Tracking Plan you increase your levels of low-tomedium GI carbohydrates and move into a 35 per cent protein/35 per cent carbohydrate/30 per cent fat regime. You still monitor ketosis and watch how introducing higher levels of carbohydrates affects your weight loss, which should now even out to 0.25-1 kg (¹/2-21b) per week.

The No Backtracking Plan is your eating regime for life. You can gradually introduce fruit and vegetables, grains and pulses from the higher GI ranges, in moderation. It is important to keep an eye on how your body reacts to these and to establish your perfect weight-management level.

If you are a vegetarian, there is plenty of advice on how to adapt the plans and recipes to suit your dietary requirements. Granted, your choice isn't as varied as that of a non-vegetarian, but don't use this as an excuse not to give it a go. If you follow the basic guidelines and make simple changes to the recipes where necessary, you should lose weight and eradicate insulin resistance successfully.

FOOD TO THROW OUT

• White flour and sugar
• Honey
• Biscuits
• Crisps
• Sweets
• Sugary drinks
• White rice, bread, pasta
• Processed foods high in carbohydrates
• Ready-made sauces
• Gravy mixes

Customize the plans to suit your lifestyle and dietary preferences

The suggested menu plans are not set in stone - they are templates to encourage you to eat the right sort and amount of food.

If you wish to change a recipe - because you don't like lamb and would rather have chicken, say - it really doesn't matter. Just try to use foods of a similar dietary value. When swapping vegetables and fruit, go for ones in the same GI category; try to exchange meat for meat, or fish for fish, in the same amounts. If you change a recipe from meat to fish, you may need to use slightly more fish to give you the same level of protein. For example, 125g (4oz) of poultry or lean meat should be replaced with 175g (6oz) of fish.

Simplify the recipes

If you are short of time, or like your food a bit plainer, simplify the recipe. If you don't fancy Baked Tuna with Tomato and Herbs, adapt the ingredients, ensuring that you still have sufficient protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats - have a tuna salad with tomatoes and dark green leaves.

On a budget

If money is short and you find some of the suggested ingredients a little expensive, use some budgetary ingenuity to bring down the cost. Fresh salmon can be replaced with coley or whiting, or even tinned salmon.

Use the suggested meals as inspiration. In order to manage your weight in the future, you will have to experiment and be prepared to adapt.

Reading Labels at Supermarket

We' recommend you take the following steps when purchasing products to go in your supermarket trolley:

The information on the front of the product is designed to attract your attention and encourage you to buy it. Ignore it and turn to the back

1. Most foods will give the nutrition information per 100 g. This is handy to compare with other foods, but may not be the amount of each serving. Check the serving size so you know how much you will actually eat.

2. Check the fat content. Aim for 5 g of fat per 100 g or less.

3. Check the Ingredients List for the types of fats present. If you see things like 'trans fats' or 'partially hydrogenated vegetable oil', it may be a good product to avoid.

4. Check the carbohydrate total. Of that, how much is total sugars? Identify the various forms of sugar in the Ingredients List; 5 g of sugar per 100 g is the maximum - try for less. Remember that 5 g of sugar is about 1 teaspoon.

5. Look at the fibre content. Foods with about 3-5 g of fibre per 100 g are ideal.

6. Check sodium levels. Aim for 150 mg or less per 100 g.

7. Look at the Ingredients List for additives and preservatives. If you are concerned with these
or have a sensitivity to them, check their numbers in the box on the following page.

Additives

Sadly, convenience foods have become a staple part of the modern diet. Food additives are common in most convenience foods like biscuits, canned goods, soups, ready-made meals, frozen foods, ice cream, breads, dairy foods, cereals - you name it. An additive is regarded as any ingredient not normally eaten as a food by itself or normally found as a natural ingredient of food. Additives can be used for preserving, adding colour or flavour to a product, and also help the manufacturer process ingredients.

It is now a legal requirement in most developed countries for all ingredients and additives to be listed according to weight. However, if the manufacturer did not add the additive (it may have been added before they received the ingredient), then they are not required to list it. How scary is that? It means that even though you have a list of ingredients on the label, they may not necessarily be all of the ingredients in that food.

A lot of additives have numbers as well as a name. The manufacturer may choose to list the name or number of the additive and is not required to list both. It may be a good idea to get to know what the different numbers mean so you can easily identify what they are. Below is a list of the most common food additives, some of which are known to cause adverse reactions, with symptoms such as hyperactivity, upset stomach, suspected carcinogens and nausea to name a few. Some are even carcinogenic in test animals, depending on dosage.

Soy Recipes - Low-Fat NO-Cholesterol Pumpkin Pie and Sour Cream

LOW-FAT NO-CHOLESTEROL PUMPKIN PIE

This version of the Thanksgiving classic is high in protein and good for people with high cholesterol.

• 1 pound drained tofu
• 2 cups plain canned pumpkin (not pumpkin-pie filling)
• 1/2 cup fructose or honey or 1 tablespoon barley malt concentrate or 1 cup barley malt syrup or rice syrup
• 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 9-inch unbarred pie shell

1. Preheat the oven to 400°E
2. In a blender or food processor, mix all of the ingredients thoroughly. Pour the mixture into the pie shell.
3. Bake for fifteen minutes. Reduce temperature to 350°F and bake an additional fifty to fifty-five minutes. The pie is done when a toothpick conies out clean after being inserted in the center of the pie Let cool and serve topped with chopped or halved pecans.

LOW-FAT SOUR CREAM

• 1/2 pound tofu
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice 3 tablespoons canola oil

1. In a blender or food processor, blend the tofu and lemon juice until creamy.
2. While mixing, gradually add the oil through the feeder tube and continue to process until the mixture is thick. If it is too thick, blend in a little duality water, as needed.

Soy Recipes - Tofu Eggless Mayonnaise

This healthy spread is easy to make, and is good for people with heart disorders.

• 1/2 pound tofu
• 1/2 cup cold-pressed oil
• 3 tablespoons yogurt
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar 2 teaspoons prepared mustard 1 teaspoon Tamara
• 1 teaspoon seasoning of your choice 1 dash of cayenne
• 3 tablespoons honey or % teaspoon barley malt sweetener (optional)
• 2 tablespoons sesame Tahiti (optional)
• 1 teaspoon horseradish powder (optional) 1 teaspoon liquid lecithin (optional)
• 1 dash granulated or powdered garlic (optional)

1. In a blender, nix all of the ingredients at medium speed until smooth.

2. Store in the refrigerator. If the mayonnaise separates, just stir again. Use within two weeks.

Soy Recipes - Ageless Egg Salad

Even without the eggs, the dish is still high in protein.

• 1 pound tofu, cubed
• 1/2 onion, minced
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped sweet honey pickles or pickle relish
• 1 teaspoon chopped parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dill
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 dash sea salt or seasoning of your choice, to taste
• 2 tablespoons Tofu Ageless Mayonnaise

1. In a large mixing bowl, toss all of the ingredients together lightly.
2. Chill and serve on a bed of greens, stuffed in pocket bread, or on a slice of whole-grain bread.

Variation: In place of pure mayonnaise, use equal parts of plain yogurt and mayonnaise with a little honey or other sweetener added.

Soy Recipes - Carob Tofu Cheesecake

Everybody loves this dessert! It is delicious and easy to wake.

• 3 cups tofu or 1`/ cups tofu plus 11/2 cups cream cheese
• 1/2 cup liquid fructose or honey
• 2 bananas
• 1/2 to 1 cup carob powder, depending on desired taste and darkness
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/3 cup nonfat powdered soymilk or cow's milk (optional; add it if you like a firmer-textured cheesecake)
• crumbled sugar-free cookies or graham crackers to line the pan

1. Blend the tofu, fructose, bananas, carob, and lemon juice together in a food processor at medium speed until smooth. If you like it firmer, add the powdered milk. (The mixture will not be firm until frozen)
2. Lightly oil or butter a 9-inch cake pan. Place 1/2 inch layer of crumbled cookies in the pan. Pour the tofu mixture over the cookies.
3. Put the pan in the freezer until the cake is firm, at least two hours. Take the cake out of the freezer a half-hour before serving.

Variations:

1. Before freezing, top with carob chips and/ or nuts if desired.
2. Before freezing, top with fruit topping made from preserves or cooked-down fruit and honey or fresh fruit such as strawberries, blueberries, or peaches.
3. Blend in 1/2 to 1 cup of preserves in place of carob powder and liquid fructose.

Soy Recipes - Soy Burgers

These burgers are healthy and taste great!

• 1 cup cooked, mashed soy beans 1 cap uncooked oats
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons dried or fresh oregano I teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt or other seasoning of your choice 1 cup grated soy cheese or other cheese of your choice
• 1 teaspoon dried or 2 teaspoons fresh minced basil

1. In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients together well. The batter should be quite stiff.
2. Roll the batter into a balls that are slightly larger than a golf ball. Flatten them to 1/2 inch thick.
3. Fry in hot oil until crisp.

Variation: For cheeseburgers, just before serving, put a slice of cheese on top. Broil for a few seconds until the cheese melts.

Tofu Recipes - Cottage Tofu Salad

This is great used either as a salad or a dressing

• l pound drained tofu, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1'1/2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1'1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (optional)
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1'1/2 teaspoon dried chives
• 1/4 teaspoon dill weed

1. In a blender or food processor, blend ¼ cup of the tofu, olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, and, if desired, sea salt.
2. Place the remaining tofu, parsley, chives, and dill in a mixing bowl. Add the dressing and toss lightly. Use it as a sandwich spread or serve on a bed of lettuce and tomato as a salad.

Tofu Recipes - Creamy Italian Dressing

A creamy dressing that's better than any containing dairy products.

• 1/2 pound drained tofu
• 4 tablespoons virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic or apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried onion flakes or 1 tablespoon minced fresh onion (optional)
• 4 cloves garlic, minced, or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)
• 2 tablespoons honey or sweet pickled relish
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or 1 packet hail's Italian seasoning mix
• 1/4 teaspoon barley malt sweetener (optional)

1. In a blender, combine the tofu and olive oil, and, if desired, sea salt and/or onion flakes.
2. Fold in the garlic, honey or relish, Italian seasoning, and, if desired, barley malt sweetener. Store in the refrigerator.

Tofu Recipes - Grilled Tofu Sandwiches

These make a tasty lunch that is a great source of protein for vegetarians.

• 8 ounce, firm tofu, drained and sliced
• 2 tablespoons miss or tuatara sauce
• 1 tablespoon expeller-pressed vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon soy mayonnaise
• 4 slices whole-grain bread
• 1 or 2 scallions, finely chopped

1. Mix oil and miss together, and spread mixture on tofu slices. (It you arc using Tamara, marinate the tofu for one hour iii the sauce.)
2. Preheat the broiler.
3. Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Place the tofu slices on the cookie sheet and broil, without turning, for about eight to ten minutes, until hot.
4. Spread half of the soy mayonnaise on one slice of the bread, sprinkle with half of the scallions, top with half of the broiled tofu slices, and close with another slice of bread. Repeat this procedure for the second sandwich.

Variation: (1) Prepare open-faced sandwiches topped with sautéed sliced mushrooms and onions with barbecue sauce or Hain's, or Mayacamas prepared dry gravy mix. (2) Substitute a slice of onion and tomato for the scallions.

Healthy Dietary Food Portion Serving Sizes Guides (Grains, Vegetables & Fruits)

Fruits and vegetables

Fruits and vegetables form the next layer of the pyramid. Both provide important vitamins, minerals, and fiber. Green leafy vegetables and vitamin C rich fruits had the greatest effect on anti heart disease.

Most of the news in nutrition research is about the health benefits of a group of nutrients concentrated in vegetables and fruits called antioxidants. These nutrients help minimize the normal wear and tear that comes from living and can reduce the risk of cancer and stroke as well as heart disease.

Fruits (2 to 4 servings)

Breakfast is a good place to begin building up fruit servings. You may already start your day with a glass of juice. Add a midmorning snack of fruit and have some for dessert at lunch or dinner, and you've made your goal of three to four servings a day.

Make at least one serving each day a citrus fruit. Orange and grapefruit juice are standard options, but don't forget about the many varieties of oranges (navel, temple, Valencia, blood, and mandarin) and grapefruits (Ruby Red, white, and pink) that are available, as well as tangerines, tangelos, kumquats, and Ugh fruit, which are also considered citrus fruits. When possible, select fresh fruit in season. Instead, choosing oranges and grapefruit in winter and berries in spring, means there's a better chance that the fruit was grown locally and will end up tasting juicy and fresh.

Canned or frozen fruit can be a good substitute when a recipe or your appetite demands an out of season fruit. Be sure to reach for ones packed without added sugar.

Experiment with new fruits that you haven't tried before - figs, guava, star fruit, or prickly pears, for example.

With so many fruitfully delicious options to choose from, you'll never have to eat the same fruit twice in a week. Use these guidelines to determine serving sizes for fruits:

One whole fruit (a medium apple, banana, peach, or orange; or a small pear)

i. 1/2 grapefruit to Melon wedge (1/4 medium cantaloupe or 1/8 medium honeydew)

ii. 3/4a cup juice

iii. 1/2 cup mandarin or clementine orange sections

iv. 1/2 cup cut-up fresh fruit

v. 1/2 cup cooked or canned fruit

vi. 1/2 cup frozen fruit

vii. 1/4cup dried fruit

viii. 5 large strawberries or 7 medium strawberries

ix. 1/2 cup raspberries, blueberries, or blackberries

x. 11 large cherries

xi. 12 grapes

xii. 11/2 medium plums

xiii. 2 medium apricots or clementines

xiv. 1/8 medium avocado (but beware of its high fat content!)

xv. 7 melon balls (or %z cup melon)

xvi. 1/2 cup fruit salad (made without mayonnaise)

xvii. 1/2 medium mango

xviii. 1/4 medium papaya

xix. 1 large kiwi fruit

xx. 4 canned apricot halves, drained 14 canned cherries, drained

xxi. 11/2 canned peach halves, drained 2 canned pear halves, drained

xxii. 21/2 canned pineapple slices, drained 3 canned plums, drained

xxiii. 9 dried apricot halves

xxiv. 5 prunes

Vegetables (3 to 5 servings)

If it weren't for French-fried potatoes and tomato sauce on pizza and pasta, many people wouldn't get any vegetables at all. Too bad, because vegetables are mostly water, so they're a great way for dieters to expand their meals. Vegetables are a great source of vitamin C, foliate, beta carotene, minerals, and fiber - and practically no fat.

Use these guidelines to determine serving sizes for vegetables:

i. 1/2 cup vegetables, cooked or chopped raw

ii. 1 cup leafy raw vegetables, such as lettuce or spinach

iii. 1 medium tomato or 5 cherry tomatoes

iv. Seven to eight 21/2-inch carrot or celery sticks

v. 3 broccoli florets

vi. 1/3 medium cucumber

vii. 10 medium green onions

viii. 13 medium radishes

ix. 9 snow or sugar peas

x. 6 slices summer squash (yellow or zucchini)

xi. 1 cup mixed green salad

xii. 1/2 cup cole slaw or potato salad

xiii. 1/2 cup leafy cooked greens, such as kale, Swiss chard, or spinach v

xiv. 2 spears broccoli

xv. 1 medium whole green or red pepper, or 8 rings

xvi. 1 artichoke

xvii. 6 asparagus spears

xviii. 2 whole beets, about 2 inches in diameter

xix. 4 medium Brussels sprouts

xx. 1 medium ear of corn

xxi. 7 medium mushrooms

xxii. 8 okra pods

xxiii. 1 medium whole onion or 6 pearl onions

xxiv. 1 medium whole turnip

xxv. 10 French fries

xxvi. 1 medium baked potato

xxvii. 3/4 cup sweet potato

xxviii. 1/2 cup tomato or spaghetti sauce

xxix. 1/4 cup tomato paste

xxx. 1/2 cup cooked dry beans (if not counted as a meat alternate)

xxxi. 3/4 cup vegetable juice

xxxii. 1 cup bean soup

xxxiii. 1 cup vegetable soup

Some vegetables are "starchy" and calorie dense; others are mostly water. If you're watching your weight, limit your starchy vegetables to one or two servings per day, and make the remainder of your veggie servings nonstarchy.

Nonstarchy Vegetables	Starchy Vegetables
Asparagus	Beets
Broccoli	Cassava (yuca)
Brussels sprouts	Corn
Cabbage	Lima Beans
Cauliflower	Peas
Celery	Potatoes
Chicory	Pumpkin
Cucumbers	Rutabaga
Eggplant	Sweet Potatoes
Escarole	Taro
Green beans	Turnips
Greens (such as collard, kale, mustard and turnip)	Winter squash
Lettuce	Yams
Mushrooms
Okra
Peppers
Radishes
Sprouts

Grains (6 to 11 servings)

Grains form the foundation of eating healthfully; they're low in fat and provide essential vitamins, minerals, and fiber. This group is the source of complex carbohydrates in your diet. But eating too many calories without getting beneficial nutrients is also common.

It's true that croissants, donuts, cookies, muffins, cake, and other high fat and sugar items are in this group because they can fit into a healthy diet - just not everyday and probably not more than once a week if you're trying to lose weight. Because they provide more calories than nutrients, keep them to a minimum. The healthier choice is anything whole grain in a reasonable portion.

Make sure that at least three of your grain servings each day are whole grains - whole-wheat bread or cereal, for example. Use the ingredient labels to find the products with whole grains: You want whole wheat or other whole grain to be the first ingredient. Sugar, oil, and fats should be last on the list, if they appear at all.

Serving sizes for grains include the following:

a) 4-inch pima bread (white or wheat)

b) 1/16 of a two-layer cake

c) 2 to 3 large crackers (graham cracker square size)

d) 1/2 cup cooked cereal, pasta, or rice

e) 3 rice or popcorn cakes

f) 12 tortilla chips

g) 3 medium hard breadsticks, about 43/n inches long

h) One 7-inch flour or corn tortilla

i) 2 corn taco shells

j) Nine 3-ring pretzels or 2 pretzel rods

k) 1/5 of a 10-inch angel food cake

l) 9 animal crackers

m) 1 slice of bread

n) Half a hamburger or hot dog bun

o) Half an English muffin or a 21/2-inch bagel

p) 1 small roll, biscuit, or muffin (about 1 ounce each)

q) 1 ounce ready-to-eat cereal V 5 to 6 small crackers (saltine size)

r) 2 cups air-popped popcorn

Remember, some of the foods in the various groups may be higher in fat or added sugars than others, so when you're watching calories, focus on the lower-fat options that contain less added sugar.

Fiber comes from the grains group, the fruit and vegetable group, legumes in the meat group and from nuts. Essentially, fiber is a carbohydrate that can't be digested. A healthy diet has 25 to 35 grams each day. High-fiber diets are associated with less heart disease and diabetes.

Filling up with fiber, Fiber is Good for your Health

Looking for quick and easy ways to add fiber to your diet? Try some of these delicious tips:

For a side dish, have 1/2 cup of any one of the following: lentils (5 grams), cooked dried beans (7 grams), cooked whole grains, such as wheat berries (2 grams) or cracked wheat (3 grams). Mix it with '/2 cup of one of these vegetables: peas (3 grams), green beans (2 grams), or spinach (1 gram).

Make an opened-face sandwich with a sliced tomato (1 gram) and a slice of whole grain toast (2 grams). Top it with 1 ounce of low-fat mozzarella.

Select your cereals wisely. You have tons of high-fiber cereals to choose from now some offering up to 10 grams per serving. Look for cereals that provide at least 2 grams of fiber per serving.

Reach for fiber-rich fruits and think of them as ingredients, not just as snacks - especially a pear (4 grams), an apple (3 grams), a couple of figs (3 grams), 1 cup of strawberries (3 grams), or a banana (2 grams). Add them to salads, cereal, and yogurt or use them as a topping for pancakes and waffles.

Make short-grain brown rice a staple (4 grams of fiber per cup). It has a rich, nutty flavor and tastes much better than the long grain variety. If you can't find it at your local supermarket, check health food stores or Asian supermarkets.

Sneak vegetables in wherever you can - pizza, soups, stir-fries, rice, sandwiches, and pasta dishes. The sky's the limit!

A surprising source of soluble fiber is reduced-fat foods. The guar gum that many reduced-fat foods contain in place of fats is soluble fiber. Caution: This doesn't give you license to replace fresh produce and whole grain products with faux fats, but they do contribute a marginal amount of healthful fiber. For example, one piece of a brandname fat-free chocolate loaf cake contains 1 gram of fiber, as does one fat-free oatmeal cookie, a full-fat one contains only 1/2 gram. Surprisingly, even 2 tablespoons of fat-free ranch dressing has1/2 gram of fiber.