The Virgin Diet (23 page)

MY FAVORITE STOUP

• Low-sodium, organic chicken broth
  
• Lentils
  
• Sautéed, chopped onions, garlic, red and yellow peppers and zucchini
  
• Diced, roasted chicken breast
  
• Side salad (mixed field greens and herb salad with 1 tablespoon chopped walnuts)
  

THE WRAP

START WITH RICE WRAP, ROMAINE OR BUTTER LEAF LETTUCE

	Add protein.
	Add chopped nonstarchy veggies and leafy greens.
	Add healthy fat, such as chopped nuts or avocado.

MY FAVORITE WRAP

• Rice wrap
  
• Turkey slices
  
• Arugula, basil and heirloom tomato
  
• Sliced avocado
  
• Gluten-free Dijon mustard
  

Think of these as a minimeal. Your snacks should include: 0 or 1 starchy carb, 2 to 4 ounces protein, 1 fat and lots of nonstarchy veggies.

• Celery with hummus
  
• Apples with almond butter
  
• Minishake (one-half of the normal recipe)
  
• Cup of lentil soup (See the Resources section on my website for some gluten-free brands.)
  
• Turkey rollup (a slice of turkey rolled up with a slice of avocado and a slice of tomato)
  
• Freeze-dried berries mixed with raw nuts
  
• Crudités with black bean dip or guacamole
  

Don’t worry, you don’t have to give up all of your faves to achieve your ideal weight and maintain it for life. Part of the success of this program is training yourself to think about food and what’s really healthy in a new way, and there are lots of healthy substitutions that will leave you feeling satisfied and slim at the same time. Here are some of my favorite ways of subbing in a healing or low-FI choice instead of a high-FI one. So, swap and enjoy!

I am not a fan of rice, hemp or most almond milks. They often contain too much sugar, and even the sugar-free ones are carb dumps. I don’t see the nutritional benefit. Drink coconut milk instead. Coconut milk is a rock star—just make sure that it’s unsweetened.

Milky, creamy mashed potatoes are high-glycemic. Would you eat ice cream as a side dish for dinner? Well, the sugar in the potato plus the added pro-inflammatory fat to mash them makes this food choice way too unhealthy for anything but an occasional dessert. Trade your mashed potatoes and milk for mashed cauliflower with olive oil or coconut milk.

This favorite salty treat is made out of potatoes, and as far as I’m concerned, a potato is just a big lump of sugar. Do you know what sugar does
inside your body? It turns almost immediately into fat. So I say, pass on the potato chips. Instead, roast some finely chopped Brussels sprouts until they are crunchy to satisfy your chip craving. I have turned the most die-hard Brussels sprouts haters into fans with these (and saved the most die-hard chip addicts with them, too!). Roasted kale seasoned with sea salt is another nutrient-dense chip alternative. (See the recipe on page 271.)

If you love pie, you can bake apples, peaches, blueberries, sweet potatoes or a mix of these to satisfy your sweet craving. Try using cinnamon instead of sugar or perhaps add a dash of unsweetened vanilla extract. Nutmeg and cloves also give the fruit a little extra zing. Then, use crunchy nuts on the top or bottom as a crust. It is delicious, like a graham cracker crust. Or you can make your own crust with almond flour, coconut oil and vanilla. (See the recipe on page 282.)

Here are a few more cool substitutions:

• Instead of soy sauce, try coconut aminos (see the Resources section on my website).
  
• Instead of cow’s or goat’s milk yogurt, have coconut yogurt.
  
• Instead of flours with gluten, have almond or coconut flour.
  
• Instead of peanut butter, have almond butter, cashew butter or macadamia nut butter.
  
• Instead of regular butter, try ghee (clarified butter), hummus or guacamole.
  
• Instead of ketchup, try marinara or salsa.
  
• Instead of pasta, try spaghetti squash.
  
• If you like sandwiches, wraps or pitas, try lettuce wraps.
  
• For little pizzas, use sliced eggplant, portobello mushrooms or a rice cake.
  
• If you love hot chocolate, you will adore vegan pea–rice chocolate powder with coconut milk. It is amazing.
  
• If you’re addicted to frappuccinos or coffee mocha drinks, try coffee powder mixed with coconut milk, cinnamon, chocolate protein powder and ice. You can either do it shaken or blended. Either way, it is awesome.
  

Okay, you’re committing yourself to 64 ounces of water each day—either plain or the sparkling kind in the glass bottles. (See Doing Water Right on pages 173–174.) Now, what else can you drink?

You don’t have to cut caffeine out altogether (I certainly haven’t) because it’s actually good for weight loss—
in low doses.
So, I want you to get down to a reasonable amount—about one or two cups of coffee or green tea per day. Again, take it slow. Start by switching to half caffeine/half decaf. If you have tea or coffee in the afternoon, transition to decaf or caffeine-free and only drink the strong stuff in the morning.

Cutting back on the caffeine is important for weight loss because higher levels of caffeine can raise your stress hormones and keep them up, which can lead to higher fasting blood sugar levels and weight gain. Caffeine can also disrupt sleep, which also raises stress hormones. So, all the good you are doing with your Virgin Diet and your healing foods could be undone by too much caffeine.

• Green tea.
  I love green tea! The studies are amazing on green tea. It helps improve insulin sensitivity, it helps your body handle
  stress better, it is a great antioxidant, and it lowers appetite and boosts metabolism.
  
• Coffee.
  I fight with my fellow nutritionists often about this. I believe that coffee is a health food—in the right amounts. It is a very rich antioxidant crop. But the right amounts are crucial: 1 or 2 cups is great, 5 cups is a problem, and a whole pot of coffee is a big problem.
  

  Buy organic coffee. Coffee beans are a very pesticide-laden crop.
  

  I personally get Americanos because espresso is lower in caffeine. My own preference is a half-decaf Americano, or if I want a treat in the afternoon, I have an iced decaf Americano.
  

  So, you can have your coffee as long as you watch the dose and don’t turn it into dessert by loading it with syrups, milk and sugar. A little xylitol, stevia and coconut milk are fine. Track your coffee intake, your mood and your sleep habits in your food journal. If you’re feeling jumpy or not sleeping well, switch to decaf.
  

• Alcohol.
  In Cycles 1 and 2, I want you to pass on the alcohol. A healthy liver is essential for metabolizing fat and processing toxins, which will help speed your weight loss, so for the next 3 weeks, I want you to give your liver a rest. Plus, I’ve often found that drinking can cloud your judgment and make it easier to indulge. Check out pages 215–216 in
  Chapter 10
  for the good news about what you
  can
  drink in Cycle 3!
  
• Green drinks.
  I love these. I want people to have 10 servings of nonstarchy vegetables per day, and green drinks are a great way to boost your intake. They are also very detoxifying. You want to be careful to have a green drink that’s all green. I find that most
  green drinks are just juice in disguise. A green drink should contain cabbage, kale, broccoli, spinach and celery. No beets, apples, carrots or any of the other high-glycemic vegetables or fruits. Find a juice bar to get fresh green drinks or make them at home if you have a juicer. You can even do the powdered green drinks as long as they don’t have sugar in them.
  

  If you are juicing at home, toss in some fresh ginger to help soothe and heal your gastrointestinal tract. Plus, it adds a great little zing! If you are really adventurous and don’t have a hot date, add some fresh garlic as well.
  

I’m on the road all the time, and more of my meals are eaten out than in. So, I don’t want to hear any excuses about a restaurant lifestyle keeping you from following the Virgin Diet! If I can do it, so can you—and I’m going to help you.

This doesn’t mean that you can throw caution to the wind and order a double cheeseburger, fries and then that monster piece of cheesecake for dessert. There are easy ways to dine at restaurants and eat healthy and wonderful creations while you continue to follow the plan and enjoy the company of your family and friends (and avoid doing the dishes!).

Here are my favorite tips for eating out:

• Survey the entire menu when you sit down.
  You don’t have to stick to whatever side dish is listed with a specific entrée. Let’s say you want the salmon, which comes with high-FI risotto, but
  the steak dinner has a great side of sautéed spinach and garlic. You can easily ask your server to switch the sides.
  
• Always start with a salad with olive oil and lemon juice or your favorite vinegar.
  Beware of salad killers that up the calories, including sugared nuts, bacon, tortilla strips, rice noodles and wontons. Pass on the creamy salad dressings and be careful of sugary vinaigrettes (raspberry, Asian and so on). Order olive oil and vinegar and/or lemon on the side and make your own dressing.
  
• Double your veggies and skip the starch.
  Ask for 2 servings of veggies as your side instead of the starch. You really don’t need the loaded potato or the buttery rice.
  
• Try a new veggie that you don’t normally make in your kitchen.
  If kale is a question mark, then try it when you’re out. Make this an adventure.
  
• Never order anything with these words attached to them:
  breaded, fried, crunchy, crispy, glazed
  or
  creamy.
  That saves you a world of trouble right there.
  
• Never assume.
  Before I learned this one, I was unpleasantly surprised all too often. I’d order “simply broiled” fish and discover that it was loaded with butter. I’d ask for a dish described as “chicken breast sautéed in olive oil” and find out that it had been dipped in egg and breadcrumbs before it went into the oil. I’ve found unannounced croutons in my salad and unexpected crème fraîche garnishing my soup. Explain your dietary needs to the server and then repeat the same questions for every single dish: Does it have
  dairy? Does it have eggs? Is there any wheat or bread in there? Does it have soy? Remember, ignorance is never an excuse!
  
• Don’t invite the enemy to the table.
  Send the bread basket away before it even touches the table. Don’t even invite the temptation.
  
• Pick two appetizers as your main course for better portion control.
  Choose wisely to make sure you get some high-quality proteins and some healthy veggies. For example, you might ask for hummus with veggies and grilled chicken kabobs with salsa.
  
• Share a large entrée with a friend who has a very fast fork.
  Let your friend have the last bite. Your waistline will thank you for it.
  
• Take home half of your protein portion and extra veggies.
  Use them to make a yummy wrap for lunch the next day. I love to take grilled chicken and veggies home and put them into a brown rice wrap.