The Food Plan

I've learned a few basics of designing a wholesome diet. First, don't listen to the media about nutrition: seriously, they focus on fads and skew research results to maximize sensationalism. In other words, articles from popular sources confuse the issue. Second, remember: the one component of healthy diets that remains consistent across the board is appropriate calorie consumption. We need to eat enough and not too much. Third, organic whole foods are vastly superior to commercially processed food-like substances. Regionally produced foods in season are also better choices nutritionally, aesthetically, and ecologically than imports. Fourth, understand that the corporate food industry is very--very--good at exploiting our perfectly natural desires for sweets, fats, and salt. Avoiding an overindulgence of any of these food components is countercultural--not merely a matter of personal willpower. Lastly, establishing personal or family customs for preparing and eating good food is a vital factor for transitioning into and sustaining a healthy diet.

With all this in mind, I've built a 2010 food and eating plan. It applies primarily to me, but, since I'm the chef in my household, it also applies to meals that I prepare for Ecaep too. This is actually a good arrangement for us: I cook, he washes dishes.

Da Plan

It's pretty simple. My day is broken into meals of various sizes. I have breakfast, a morning snack, lunch, an afternoon snack, and dinner. Each meal is comprised of a certain arrangement of food servings. Think of the following pie charts as a plate, with each plate just large enough to accommodate the number of servings listed. Thus, a lunch plate is three servings of vegetables, 1 fruit serving, 1 serving of whole grains, and one protein source. This would be a regular-sized plate. A snack, however, would be a smaller plate as it offers only one serving of, say, fruit and one protein serving.

Like so:
Lunch, Dinner, and Snacks retain their essential serving structure from day to day. Breakfast has three composition options. I might have a hot cereal breakfast, a cold cereal breakfast, or a fresh fruit smoothie-centered breakfast. My meal options for any given day might look like this.

Sample Cold Cereal Breakfast

1 cup cereal 240kcal
1 cup silk 100kcal
1 serving strawberries 53kcal
= 393 kcal

Fat Cal 93
Total Fat 10g
Sat. Fat 1g

Cholesterol 0g

Sodium 332mg

Total Carb 63g
Fiber 7g
Sugars 25g

Protein 13g

VitA 10%
VitC 20%
Calcium 35%
Iron 16%
*******************************

Sample Hot Cereal Breakfast

1 cup oatmeal 147kcal
1 cup silk 100kcal
1 apple 72kcal
.5 tsp cinnamon 3kcal

= 322 kcal

Fat Cal 59
Total Fat 7g
Sat. Fat 1g

Cholesterol 0g

Sodium 124mg

Total Carb 53g
Fiber 9g
Sugars 24g

Protein 13g

VitA 12%
VitC 1%
Calcium 34%
Iron 18%
*******************************

Sample Smoothie Breakfast

1 banana 105kcal
1 cup silk 100kcal
1 serving blueberries 79kcal
1 romaine lettuce (1/2 cup shred) 5kcal

= 289kcal

Fat Cal 47
Total Fat 5g
Sat. Fat 1g

Cholesterol 0g

Sodium 125 mg

Total Carb 55g
Fiber 9g
Sugars 34g

Protein 9g

VitA 45%
VitC 4%
Calcium 33%
Iron 11%
*******************************

Sample Lunch

2 cups homemade cabbage vegetable soup 55kcal
1 cup salad greens 8 kcal
1 cup baby spinach 10 kcal
1/4 beet, shredded 9 kcal
1 med. tomato 22kcal
1 serving Newman's Own Low Fat Sesame Ginger Dressing 35kcal
1 T. almond butter 101kcal
1 slice whole grain bread 65kcal
1 T. jam 56kcal

= 360kcal

Fat Cal 187
Total Fat 22g
Sat. Fat 2g

Cholesterol 0g

Sodium 735mg

Total Carb 58g
Fiber 11g
Sugars 23g

Protein 14g

VitA 170%
VitC 12%
Calcium 20%
Iron 33%
*******************************

Sample Dinner

1 cup broccoli 52kcal
1/2 cup onions 29kcal
1 cup carrots 54kcal
1 serving extra firm tofu 83kcal
1 serving low sodium teriyaki sauce 24kcal
1 T. sesame seeds 52kcal
1 cup med. grain brown rice 218kcal
.5 mango 67kcal

= 579kcal

Fat Cal 110
Total Fat 13g
Sat. Fat 2g

Cholesterol 0g

Sodium 635mg

Total Carb 100g
Fiber 19g
Sugars 28g

Protein 25g

VitA 543%
VitC 22%
Calcium 41%
Iron 38%
*******************************

Sample Morning Snack

1 raw vegan bay crab cake 189kcal
12 crimini mushrooms 37kcal

= 192kcal

Fat Cal 108
Total Fat 13g
Sat. Fat 2g

Cholesterol 0g

Sodium 206mg

Total Carb 18g
Fiber 3g
Sugars 11g

Protein 5g

VitA 20%
VitC 1%
Calcium 7%
Iron 6%
*******************************

Sample Afternoon Snack

1 cup seedless grapes 110kcal
1/4 cup sea palm (a seaweed from northern California) 18kcal

= 128kcal

Fat Cal 2
Total Fat 0g
Sat. Fat 0g

Cholesterol 0g

Sodium 150mg

Total Carb 33g
Fiber 2g
Sugars 25g

Protein 2g

VitA 2%
VitC 4%
Calcium 10%
Iron 9%
*******************************

Add up all the nutrition numbers, and I'd get these nutrition analyses for the day:

Cold Cereal + Daily Food = 1687kcal

Fat Cal 423
Total Fat 50g
Sat. Fat 6g

Cholesterol 0g

Sodium 2067mg

Total Carb 275g
Fiber 42g
Sugars 113g

Protein 58g

VitA 744%
VitC 58%
Calcium 112%
Iron 99%


+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Hot Cereal + Daily Food = 1616kcal

Fat Cal 389
Total Fat 46g
Sat. Fat 6g

Cholesterol 0g

Sodium 1859mg

Total Carb 265g
Fiber 43g
Sugars 112g

Protein 59g

VitA 746%
VitC 40%
Calcium 112%
Iron 101%

+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Smoothie + Daily Food = 1583kcal

Fat Cal 376
Total Fat 45g
Sat. Fat 5g

Cholesterol 0g

Sodium 1860mg

Total Carb 267g
Fiber 43g
Sugars 123g

Protein 54g

VitA 779%
VitC 43%
Calcium 111%
Iron 94%

+++++++++++++++++++++++++

I can also organize the meals according to the food group servings consumed. Lets say I refer to this Vegetarian Food Pyramid. Using this pyramid's food groups, I would categorize my day's planned servings thus:

(Hot and Cold) Cereal Options Menu

Whole Grains: 3
Legumes and Soy: 2
Vegetables: 7
Fruits: 3.5
Nuts and Seeds: 3
Vegetable Oils: 1
Sweets: (optional) 1


Smoothie Option Menu

Whole Grains: 2
Legumes and Soy: 2
Vegetables: 7.25
Fruits: 4.5
Nuts and Seeds: 3
Vegetable Oils: 1
Sweets: (optional) 1

What's nice about this plan is that it does remain flexible in some ways. If I decide I'd like more legumes to boost my protein intake, I can add some sprouted lentils to my lunchtime salad. Or if I'm expecting to lug a lot of firewood around that day, I might add a zucchini bran muffin to my breakfast (whichever breakfast option I choose) to increase my carbohydrates and calories to fuel that particular exercise occasion. Because I am trying to lose weight, I am going easy on the whole grains, which are full of wonderful nutrients, but also very calorie-dense. For weight-maintenance or physically active days, however, whole grains are a great food because they are filling and full of nutritional goodness that keeps the body well-fueled. (Just don't confuse whole grains with the white or corn flour fluff that passes for much of American bread and cereals. The "bleached, enriched" stuff is nasty and unfriendly to the human body.)

The way that I live and exercise doesn't burn a drastic amount of calories. Mostly, I am exercising to gradually tone my body, boost my metabolism, and improve my cardiovascular endurance. In accordance with my personalized requirements, I need 2150.7 calories per day to maintain my current weight without exercise. 1916.7 calories per day will let me reach my goal weight slowly and maintain that weight without exercise. If I reduce my current caloric intake to 1650.7 calories per day I will lose one pound per week without exercise. If I increase my current caloric intake to 2650.7 calories per day, I will gain one pound per week. We're aiming for weight loss here.

Losing 1-2 pounds per week is my current desired rate of improvement. So my anticipated calorie intake (allowing for adjustments here and there, as needed) is about right. I do take nutritional supplements. My primary beverages are purified water and herbal tea. Also, I season my recipes with herbs and spices whenever I can, rather than oils, salt, or salty sauces.

The real challenge for me is actually learning serving sizes for various foods. I am starting out on this journey by measuring most of my foods. But I also get to plate my meals and make my food look pretty. This helps me enjoy my snacks and meals more. As I learn what appropriate servings sizes are, I won't have to rely so much on my measuring cups and nutritional database.

Ignore what the grown-ups told you when you were a kid. It is so totally okay to play with your food!