Chaplain Mike - thanks for starting this thread. I'm back on the MWL wagon after a detour into regular 12 day soft foods for a couple months. I gained weight - long story - and am now back because I can chew salad again, as long as I let it sit out on the counter until it's room temperature.
I think your compromise of beans and salad when eating out is just fine. I remember someone recently posted about attending the live in program, which is MWL, and one day for lunch sandwiches were served. Someone mentioned to Dr. McDougall that they were surprised to see bread on the table, since this was MWL, and he responded with something like "What, you're a perfectionist?" Ha. So, I say you're doing fine.
I've been in a Mexican restaurant lately where I couldn't get anything legal but plain lettuce, I ordered beans but they came mashed with lard melted on top, and the warm tortillas I asked for came drenched in melted lard. I couldn't think of how to say "without fat" in Spanish and the waiter didn't speak English. And this was in MICHIGAN!! Anyway, I think you're doing fine with beans and a salad.
I'm trying the Mini for a while to see if I can budge this weight and feel better. I've been recently diagnosed with hypothyroidism and also need to prove to my old doctor, in case I ever run into him again, that he was wrong and I was right about my potatoes. He told me eating potatoes was just like eating a Mars bar. Really, he was serious. He told me I would never lose weight eating potatoes.
Kitkat - I tried a daikon radish once, it was pretty good. It reminded me of the nice long white radishes I used to grow when I was a girl. I loved those! I think the daikon ones are good sliced in big flat pieces and used with hummus, or grated as part of a grated salad mixture.