Finding my Groove

[Marla]

Back from Thanksgiving visit with my dad and catching up on the last 3 days.....



1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes

2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.
Yes

3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Yes. For dinner I used a little of the gravy I made for Thanksgiving, which had some reduced sodium soy sauce and mellow white miso in it, so that was a bit higher in sodium than my usual fare.

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Yes

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Yes

6. Eliminate any added oil.
Yes

7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.
Yes

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
Yes

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
Yes

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
No intentional exercise on this day. Had a long dentist appointment in the morning, and was cooking in the afternoon/evening.

Thoughts:
I made almost all of our Thanksgiving meal in advance, except for the mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. Dad said he wanted to eat at 1:00, so I knew I wouldn't have time to make much in the morning before getting on the road. Making it in advance was definitely the way to go; it made the holiday much less stressful. I managed not to nibble on what I was cooking, except the smallest amount necessary in order to make sure it tasted okay.

[Marla]

Thanksgiving Day!



1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
No

2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.
No, didn't achieve 50/50, but I included as many non-starchy vegetables as was practical.

3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
I used more salt and sugar than I usually do, but I was mindful of both and made an effort to minimize them. The neatloaf cups had 3 tablespoons of reduced sodium soy sauce in the recipe, the mushroom gravy had 2 tablespoons of reduced-sodium soy sauce and a teaspoon of miso, the cranberry sauce (from Trader Joe's) had sugar, and I used a little sugar in the fruit compote.

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Yes

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
This was a feast day and contained some richer foods. There was tofu in the neatloaf, soymilk in the creamed corn and in the mashed potatoes, the pear whip on top of the fruit dessert had a few cashews in it this time (I don't normally add them when I make pear whip), the topping on the sweet potato streusel bites had pecans, but there was just a little of it sprinkled on top of each piece.

6. Eliminate any added oil.
Yes

7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.
There were dates in the sweet potato streusel bites and also dates in the streusel topping. The sweet potato streusel bites were calorie dense overall, due to containing dry oats, being blended, and being baked. I had a very modest portion and didn't overeat them.

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
I had the cup of Dandy Blend with soymilk pictured, and had sparkling water with a generous splash of cranberry juice with the Thanksgiving meal, so those both had some calories.

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
Yes, actually managed to leave the table not stuffed.

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes, did 30 minutes on the treadmill in the morning, and had a 30 minute walk outside after the main meal.

Thoughts:
I feel really good about Thanksgiving! It was a feast day, and for me that meant enjoying some of the richer foods allowed on the regular McDougall plan. But I adhered to the regular plan, and didn't consume excessive amounts of the richer ingredients. Because we've been avoiding those ingredients for some time, the slightly richer fare tasted amazing and felt like a real treat. We had a good visit with my dad (and stayed overnight), and the holiday was enjoyable and memorable. And now it's over and I can get back to my normal food and my normal routine.

[Marla]

Yesterday's food:



1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes for breakfast and lunch, no for dinner.

2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.
Yes

3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Yes

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Yes

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Yes

6. Eliminate any added oil.
Yes

7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.
Yes

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
Yes

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
Yes

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes, did 30 minutes on the elliptical at my dad's in the morning, and did a 30 minute outdoor walk before we left to go back home.

Thoughts:
I'm not having any problems getting right back to MWL after the holiday.

My weight is now 157. I lost .8 pounds this week, which I'm happy with considering I had a pre-Thanksgiving celebration meal on Sunday and the holiday on Thursday. I still have a birthday/anniversary celebration to contend with this coming Tuesday, then no other feast days on the horizon until Christmas. Onward!

[Marla]

Today's food:



1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes for breakfast and lunch, no for dinner.

2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.
Yes

3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Yes

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Yes

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Yes

6. Eliminate any added oil.
Yes

7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.
Yes

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
Yes

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
Yes

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes, did an hour combined time on treadmill and exercise bike.

Thoughts:
I need to make some soup that I can use for preloading before dinner. I haven't done item #1 from the checklist for the last couple of dinners because I don't have any soup ready (except for my vegetable soup that is already portioned into meal-sized containers), and I don't have much in the way of salad materials in the fridge at the moment. Tomato soup seems to work well for me for preloading and is quick and easy to make, so I'll make that.

I never seem to get tired of my breakfast and lunch choices, so that part of my "groove" feels like it's getting pretty solid!

[Marla]

Today's food:



1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes for breakfast and lunch, no for dinner.

2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.
Yes

3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Yes. Made gravy without any high-sodium ingredients. I had a leftover neatloaf cup which had some low-sodium soy sauce in the recipe, but I it was a moderate amount and I only had one.

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Yes

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
The leftover neatloaf cup had tofu in it. Otherwise none.

6. Eliminate any added oil.
Yes

7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.
Yes

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
Yes

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
Yes

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes, did 40 minutes on the treadmill with some high intensity intervals.

Thoughts:
Back in September before the current wave of Covid hit, my husband and I had booked flights and a hotel room for a trip to Seattle where we would have been celebrating our anniversary this weekend. That all got canceled a couple of weeks ago. I guess if we'd gone to Seattle, there would have been a couple of non-compliant vegan restaurant meals and a few soy lattes (Seattle, right?) over a three-day period. Instead, we're spending the weekend at home, which is disappointing, but healthier.

I really enjoyed the warm fruit dessert tonight. I took some peeled and chopped apples, chopped pears, chopped orange, and cranberries, and put them in the pressure cooker. Added a bit of the juice saved from a can of pears, and some apple pie spice. Cooked for 5 minutes at high pressure, then released the pressure and put on sauté for a few minutes until the liquid reduced. It reminded me of eating a (not very sweet, crustless) fruit pie.

I was thinking today how my tastes have changed over time, and how true it is that we tend to enjoy and even crave whatever it is that we eat every day. I wasn't thrilled initially about eating vegetables with breakfast, but after a little while I got used to them and genuinely like them now, especially kale! To prepare it for breakfast, I put the kale in a silicone steamer basket in the Instant Pot, add a cup of water, and cook for 2 minutes at high pressure with an instant release. It comes out perfectly tender and delicious every time. This morning I was out of kale and had cabbage instead, cooked the same way. I liked it, but I will be happy to go back to my kale tomorrow. I love my plain oat groats too. I used to eat old-fashioned oats with maple syrup and soymilk...then it was old-fashioned oats with mashed banana for the sweetener, still with soymilk....then just oats with mashed banana.....then switched to whole groats with mashed banana....then finally plain whole groats with some chopped fresh fruit on top. I enjoy the chewy texture of the groats, and I appreciate the flavor even with nothing on them. Who would have thought? Not me, that's for sure.

[VivianS]

VivianS November 30, 2020
Marla, thank you for your question to Jeff Novick about sugar or any sweeter (less than 5% of total calories!). I was not aware of that guideline . His answers were very helpful to me. You have experience that has helped me immensely. You are doing a fine job of leading the charge past temptation into a healthy new year!
In Proverbs, a wise man instructed his son: Do not eat too much honey or you will vomit. Some foods are self limiting. It is wise to know the limits for anything.

[Marla]

Thanks for your comment Vivian

I am also glad I asked the question about sugar. What prompted me to ask it was that today is my husband's birthday (as well as our anniversary) and he has requested his favorite meal, a rice bowl with kale and tofu in a sweet-spicy sauce, which has no oil but is moderately high in sugar, salt, and fat. This was a meal we used to eat frequently in the past when were following the regular program, but we haven't eaten it recently. The tofu certainly makes it non-compliant with MWL, but I wondered about the sugar.

I think I previously misunderstood how much sugar was actually allowed or recommended on the regular program. If most caloric sweeteners (sugar, maple syrup, agave, date syrup, brown rice syrup, etc.) are somewhere around 50 calories per tablespoon, and if my daily caloric intake is somewhere around 1500 calories (give or take depending on activity and hunger), then I really should not be adding more than about 1.5 tablespoons (75 calories) of sweetener to my food, which includes any sweetener coming from packaged products or added during cooking.

My main source of added sugar is balsamic vinegar (the concentrated 4% kind, although I use the ordinary 6% acidity kind too), and I typically use a teaspoon or so lightly drizzled. I've measured a "drizzle" which is how I know it's roughly a teaspoon. I infrequently use other types of added sugar, but there are a few dishes I make on occasion that have some added during cooking, and a few condiments I use in small amounts that have some kind of sugar in the ingredients, such as a no-salt salsa from Trader Joe's. It's really helpful to know that regardless of whether I follow the MWLP or the regular plan, the limit on added sugar is the same.
I'll paste the question and answer here in my journal so I can find it easily later if I need to.

I have a question about added sugars. I am familiar with the rule of thumb that added sugars should make up less than 5% of calories. Is this guideline different for the MWLP program and the regular program, or is it the same guideline for both?

Same.

The best way to meet the guidelines

1) is if you use packaged products, make sure there are not any added sugars,
2) prepare your food without any added sugars and
3) to sprinkle the sugar on top at the table.

I have read (but cannot now find) posts by Jeff where he explains that it does not really matter what type of sugar it is; the important thing is making sure the amount consumed is below the recommended threshold. If it is truly such a small amount, then it doesn't really matter in terms of health whether it is sugar, sucanat, maple syrup, agave, date syrup, coconut sugar, ultra-reduced balsamic vinegar, or whatever the next trendy sweetener turns out to be.

Correct.

The main differences between the 2 programs are

1) MWL eliminates calorie dense foods while the regular program limits them

2) MWL eliminates high fat foods while the regular program limits them.

3) MWL recommends up to 50% of your plate be non-starchy vegetables, while the regular program recommends about 10-30%.

In Health
Jeff

[Marla]

Today's food (special occasion):



1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes for breakfast and lunch, no for dinner.

2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.
Yes

3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Dinner had a tablespoon of brown sugar, two tablespoons of Huy Fong chili-garlic sauce (95mg sodium per teaspoon), and a tablespoon of reduced-sodium soy sauce in the recipe (I ate 1/3 of a recipe). Dessert had a teaspoon of raspberry all-fruit jam.

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Yes

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Dinner had tofu (my portion had about 4 ounces) and a small amount of sesame seeds. Dessert had cocoa powder (my portion had about 2 tablespoons).

6. Eliminate any added oil.
Yes

7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.
Yes

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
Yes

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
Yes

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes, did 50 minutes on the treadmill.

Thoughts:
Dinner and dessert were definitely richer. I believe they were in line with what is allowed on the regular program for special occasions if someone has no serious health issues. And now I'm done with special occasions until Christmas.

I think chocolate nice cream "cake" (which is just chocolate nice cream frozen in a mini springform pan, with or without a date-oat-nut crust) is going to be our default birthday cake forever. We love it, and it seems indulgent without being *too* indulgent. But guess what....today my Vitamix died while I was making the nice cream It was 10 years old. I wonder if all the nice cream I've been making this year was just too much for it? It does (or did) have to work pretty hard sometimes to process it. Anyway I am going to have to buy a new Vitamix because it is one of the very few appliances I just can't be without (the others being my microwave and Instant Pot). I don't own a food processor, bread maker, dehydrator, juicer, stand mixer, rice cooker, or electric steamer. I use my stick blender regularly, but I could live without it. I use my Griddler for potato waffles and hash browns, but I could live without it too. I have a Ninja air fryer oven, but don't use it all that often. I have a small kitchen, not too much cupboard or counter space, and a small budget....but the Vitamix for sure has to be replaced!

Edited to add: Maybe I can repair the Vitamix. I'm going to try replacing the drive socket. If that doesn't fix it, I'll look into taking advantage of the trade-in program to at least get $100 back for my old one.

[Marla]

Yesterday's food:



1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes for breakfast and lunch, no for dinner. I seem to have trouble adhering to this one at dinnertime lately. If I'm failing to adhere to something that I think I should be doing, it likely means that the cost-benefit calculator in my brain doesn't think it is worth the extra effort. Why would that be? Maybe because I tend to plate appropriate portions for dinner, and I finish them whether or not I have soup/salad first, so all I am accomplishing is adding additional calories and nutrients that I don't need. I'm not really displacing more calorie dense food with less calorie dense food (which is the whole point of preloading). In fact, even if I did stop eating before I finished my starch, that wouldn't necessarily be beneficial because I'd be unsatisfied and get hungry again before long. If my starch at dinner is a cup of mashed potatoes, do I really want to fill up on more soup or salad to try to reduce my mashed potato consumption down to say half a cup? On top of all that, it's extra work to make a salad or prepare soups for this. And I was getting good enough results without doing this, so the motivation isn't there. That's what I think is going on in my brain, despite my conscious desire to comply with this item. I'll keep trying.

2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.
Yes

3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Yes

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Yes

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Yes

6. Eliminate any added oil.
Yes

7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.
Yes

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
Yes

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
Yes

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes, did 30 minutes on the treadmill.

Thoughts:
I batched some more non-starchy vegetable soup. For the past 10 months lunch has been 5 or 6 days of soup, followed by 5 or 6 days of salad, followed by soup again, rinse and repeat. But when my soup ran out this time, I didn't want salad. Could be the colder weather, or could be that I am unhappy with my dressing choices. In any case I have plenty of soup for lunch now.

I had to do some difficult DIY up in the attic, cutting a larger hole in the plywood roof decking and connecting some ductwork for a bath fan. It's a very tight space, difficult to get into and difficult to work in. I had to wriggle on my back into a space that is about 14" high. I couldn't have done it when I was 70 pounds heavier. I think they call that a non-scale victory.

[bunsofaluminum]

1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes for breakfast and lunch, no for dinner. I seem to have trouble adhering to this one at dinnertime lately. If I'm failing to adhere to something that I think I should be doing, it likely means that the cost-benefit calculator in my brain doesn't think it is worth the extra effort. Why would that be? Maybe because I tend to plate appropriate portions for dinner, and I finish them whether or not I have soup/salad first, so all I am accomplishing is adding additional calories and nutrients that I don't need. I'm not really displacing more calorie dense food with less calorie dense food (which is the whole point of preloading). In fact, even if I did stop eating before I finished my starch, that wouldn't necessarily be beneficial because I'd be unsatisfied and get hungry again before long. If my starch at dinner is a cup of mashed potatoes, do I really want to fill up on more soup or salad to try to reduce my mashed potato consumption down to say half a cup? On top of all that, it's extra work to make a salad or prepare soups for this. And I was getting good enough results without doing this, so the motivation isn't there. That's what I think is going on in my brain, despite my conscious desire to comply with this item. I'll keep trying.

This has always seemed strange to me, as well. Soup BEFORE my meal? Well, in my book, soup IS the meal and the one time I tried it, I was full before my first bite of non-starchy vegs on my plate. Let alone the starches. Didn't hardly touch them. And I agree with you... how many calories are you actually saving by eating a bit less than your cup of mashed potatoes? There's not much calories in them thar to begin with, prepared the McDougall way. They are well down on the density scale. I wouldn't worry about it, esp since it seems you're following this guideline somewhat for some of your meals.

Well done, though. You're clicking along. Keep it up!

[JeffN]

This has always seemed strange to me, as well.!

It is a well known evidence-based protocol called pre-loading. You can read my review of the science here.

On Salad, Soup, and Success
Jeff Novick, MS, RDN

https://us4.campaign-archive.com/?u=5e5 ... ZaN8LkbERo

In Health
Jeff

[Marla]

Just to clarify, in yesterday's comments I was not questioning the efficacy of preloading as a strategy for lowering overall calorie density. I was trying to get inside my own head a little and figure out why I haven't been as diligent in following this particular checklist item as I have with the others.

Dr. Lisle's lectures have helped me to understand that if I'm not complying with something I should be doing, it probably means that at some level I'm not seeing a perceived benefit (health, status, pleasure, conservation of energy, etc.) that outweighs the perceived cost (time, energy, money, pain, inconvenience, etc). I can tackle this in a couple of ways. I can try to lessen the "cost," generally by changing something in the environment to remove an obstacle or make it easier to comply. Or I can try to change the way that I am perceiving the value of the benefit, for example by educating myself more on the topic or by conducting an "experiment" so that I can experience the benefit directly, and thus be motivated to continue the behavior.

I think preloading probably has a larger beneficial impact for some people than it has for others, depending on their eating habits and the quality of their overall diet. A volume eater might benefit more than someone who naturally eats smaller portions, and someone who habitually eats higher on the calorie density scale will see more of a reduction in total density when they add soup or salad, than someone who typically eats lower on the calorie density scale. That is why it is part of a set of guidelines that can be fine-tuned as needed. It's a fabulous thing to have in my toolkit, and at this time my goal is to get familiar with all the tools available to me and learn to use them effectively. In that spirit, I am going to continue trying to improve my compliance with all of the checklist items, including that pesky item #1

[Marla]

Yesterday's food:



1. Start each meal with a soup and/or salad and/or fruit.
Yes

2. Follow the 50/50 plate method for your meals, filling half your plate (by visual volume) with non-starchy vegetables and 50% (by visual volume) with minimally processed starches. Choose fruit for dessert.
Yes

3. Greatly reduce or eliminate added sugars and added salts. This includes gourmet sugars and salts, too. If either is troublesome for you, you can eliminate them.
Yes

4. Eliminate all animal foods (dairy, meat, eggs, fish, seafood).
Yes

5. Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).
Yes

6. Eliminate any added oil.
Yes

7. Eliminate all higher calorie-dense foods including flour products (i.e., bread, bagels, muffins, crackers, dry cereals, cookies, cakes), puffed cereals, air-popped popcorn and dried fruit.
Yes

8. Don't drink your calories (especially from juices & sugar-sweetened beverages).
Yes

9. Follow these principles, eating whenever you are hungry until you are comfortably full. Don't starve yourself and don't stuff yourself.
Yes

10. Avoid being sedentary and aim for at least 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily (i.e., brisk walking).
Yes, used treadmill for 30 minutes.

Thoughts:
10/10 ain't bad

My hippie stew is similar to Dillon's (from Well Your World) Starch Blaster. My mom used to make it in the 70s, with a bunch of different lentils, grains, pasta, and whatever vegetables needed to be used up. This was my first time making it without any kind of high sodium flavor enhancer. I've been avoiding making it for months because I knew it would taste bland without something like bouillon, miso, soy sauce, or salt. But I was hoping my taste buds would have adapted enough by now to find it palatable. It wasn't bad! Okay, yes, it was a little bland and I sprinkled Benson's Table Tasty and hot sauce on my bowl. But I am sure that a few months ago I would have declared it unfit to eat, and now I think it's okay. Progress.

I fixed my Vitamix! The drive socket (the thing on top of the base that spins and connects to the container) looked ok from the outside, but it was all chewed up and broken inside, which was only apparent after removing the part. With a new drive socket, the machine is working again. Happy about that.

[Daydream]

I am sure that a few months ago I would have declared it unfit to eat, and now I think it's okay.

Yes, that is progress! I'm happy for you. How do you season your vegetable soup?

[Marla]

Yes, that is progress! I'm happy for you. How do you season your vegetable soup?

Hi Daydream,

Thank you for the encouragement

I find that tomato-y soups and sauces often taste fine without adding saltiness, and my regular vegetable soup is one of those. I start with a base of no-salt tomato puree, I add vegetables and spices, and I add a tablespoon or two of regular 6% acidity balsamic vinegar at the end of cooking to brighten up the flavor even more. Then when I eat it, I add a sprinkle of Benson's Table Tasty on top and often add hot sauce as well.

One seasoning I use is a homemade vegetable broth powder. I'll put the recipe for that below, after the recipe for the soup.

Like with most veggie soups, you can use whatever vegetables you like. These are the ones I like, though I might substitute sometimes depending on what I have available.

I would make this in the Instant Pot if I had an 8-quart. But I don't, so I don't.

Vegetable Soup

1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 28-ounce can tomato puree (no salt added)*
1 15-ounce can tomato sauce (no salt added)*
6 cups water
2 Tablespoons homemade vegetable broth powder
1 Tablespoon (or more to taste) no-salt seasoning, such as Kirkland or Mrs. Dash
1 Tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
3 cups green cabbage, chopped
3 cups mushrooms, chopped
3 cups green beans, chopped
3 cups cauliflower, chopped
3 cups zucchini, chopped
6 cups (loosely packed) kale
1 cup frozen sliced okra
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen peas
Splash of balsamic vinegar


In a large (at least 8 quart) soup pot, sauté onion, carrot, and celery in a little water until onion begins to brown. Add the tomato puree, tomato sauce, water, broth powder, and seasonings, and stir to combine.

Add the remaining vegetables and simmer until vegetables are completely tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in balsamic vinegar.

*Note: I use a 28-ounce can of Cento tomato puree, plus a 15-ounce can of store brand no-salt added tomato sauce, which is basically the same thing. The Cento tastes slightly better and only comes in a 28-ounce can. You could use 3 15-ounce cans of tomato sauce instead.

No-salt Vegetable Broth Powder

½ cup dehydrated vegetable flakes
½ cup nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon parsley
½ teaspoon turmeric

Add all ingredients into a food processor, blender, or spice grinder and blend into a powder.