Juice question...help needed before starting the 12 day.

[bikinglady]

I am commited to starting the 12 day program and since I could not get to CA for the session with these great people I am moving to an isolated cabin for at least a week just to get a jumpstart away from my kitchen and food stores.

So here is the question: the recipes call for apple juice and while I assume this is some natural/unsweetened variety I cannot find a brand or description on the website or in the book. What should I buy?

Thanks in advance for you answer - am getting all my ducks in a row for the May first starting bell!

[Faith in DC]

since it's not to drink but used in a recipe I don't think it matters, get the best you can. I personally get the tiny boxes (for toddlers) of apple juice since that's all I need it for is recipes.

[Letha.]

Welcome Bikinglady,

Most apple juice that you find in the stores now will contain Water, Apple Juice Concentrate, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C). That’s fine for McDougall recipes. I think back a few years you would find other things in apple juice like added sweeteners or grape juice that were used to cut production costs but you don’t really see that any more. If you’re not pinching pennies my favorite juice brand in R.W. Knudsen. They have apple juice from whole apples not concentrate.

The maximum weight loss diet (MWL) is a little different than the 12 day McDougall diet (also called the regular plan). The 12 day plan is from one of McDougall’s first books which emphasizes overall health improvement, and the maximum weight loss plan is from a later book that emphasizes weight loss. You’ll also see references to Mary’s Mini which is intended to be a short term, fast start weight loss plan. Here are some links with more info on each plus my own summary of the plans.
McDougall program outline links

Here are a couple of links to the program outlines.
http://www.fatfree.com/diets/mcdougall.html
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2006nl/ ... 0marys.pdf

To summarize:
Regular Plan: No meat, diary, oil/fat of any kind
MWL: Also no flour products, soy foods like tofu, avocado, coconut, nuts/seeds, fruit juice, dried fruit
Mary’s Mini: Generally limited to one starch eaten at every meal. If you choose grain/rice you can add a little fruit and veggies – but you could just eat sweet potatoes and nothing else. This is more of a diet then a lifetime eating plan.

If you look in the food forum you’ll see two sticky posts with recipes from the McDougall newsletter that I’ve divided into MWL and Non-MWL. http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=5 This should also help you to see the different choices available to you. I also have blog that has only MWL recipes on it. http://mwlfood.wordpress.com/

Finally, we have a MWL support group that’s been going on since last November over in the MWL forum. Check it out. We share recipes & tips and exercise progress and challenges. It’s very friendly and casual. We have an optional weigh in every Thursday. We’d love to have you participate. I look forward to hearing about your progress on this wonderful McDougall eating plan. Best wishes.
Letha

[bikinglady]

Thanks so much for the information. Getting the box juices sounds like an excellent idea. Yes, I am planning to use them for cooking only.

Thanks so much for your responses and detailed information.

Christi