The Starch Solution (31 page)

     Corn thins

     Crackers (rice or wheat; fat free)

     Hummus or other spreads (fat free)

     Popcorn (just corn; avoid instant popcorn with added fat)

Having the right cookware can help you turn out delicious foods without added fats. We recommend cookware made from cast iron, stainless steel, glass, or ceramic. Nonstick cookware is helpful, but please avoid any that puts aluminum in direct contact with your foods. (Aluminum is associated with Alzheimer’s disease.) You can find baking pans in a variety of shapes and sizes made from silicone, which releases foods easily without coating them with fat or oil. They clean up quickly and easily.

     The following items make a good cookware starter kit:

     Baking pans (square, round, and rectangular)

     Baking sheets (nonstick or lined with silicone baking mats)

     Cake pans (nonstick, silicone, or lined with parchment paper)

     Casserole dishes

     Colanders and strainers

     Frying pans (nonstick)

     Griddle (nonstick)

     Kitchen tools (cutting board, forks, knives, slotted spoons, spatulas)

     Loaf pans (nonstick, silicone, or lined with parchment paper)

     Muffin cups (nonstick, silicone, or lined with cupcake liners)

     Pasta pot with strainer insert

     Pressure cooker

     Rice cooker

     Saucepans in various sizes

     Slow cooker

     Soup pots

     Teakettle

There will be times when you just don’t feel like cooking, or don’t have time. It is for these occasions that we’ve suggested keeping your pantry shelves, refrigerator, and freezer well stocked. Preparing, portioning, and refrigerating or freezing foods in advance when you do have time to cook leaves you with easy meals for later. In fact, many soups, stews, and casseroles taste even better the second day. Freezing prepared foods gives you the chance to enjoy a meal a second time without having the same thing several days in a row.

Remember, if your favorite dinner is a plate of beans and rice with salsa and corn tortillas, or a big bowl of soup with whole grain bread, or a sweet potato with steamed broccoli, there is absolutely no reason not to enjoy that same food, day after day and night after night. These foods are healthy. There is no reason to eat them only occasionally or in moderation. Variety is good if you
like
variety, but some people find comfort in eating the foods they know and love on a regular basis.

Frozen cooked brown rice and frozen vegetables make quick and easy work of preparing a meal when there is no time to cook. Microwave the rice, bake a potato, or boil some pasta, then throw in some cooked frozen vegetables and add some sauces you have purchased or made earlier. Fresh or bottled salsa or even soups make great toppings for potatoes, rice, and vegetables.

You might also wish to take advantage of the packaged Dr. McDougall’s Right Foods soups, cereals, and cup meals. Keeping these foods on hand ensures that you always have something good to eat.

Some supermarkets and restaurants sell foods that can be brought home for a quick meal. Also look in natural food stores for prewashed, precut, packaged salad greens and other salad ingredients. At the salad bar, you can easily make up a satisfying salad of leafy greens, carrots, radishes, onions, cucumbers, celery, corn, peas, and beans, or purchase ingredients that are all ready to cook, although at a premium compared with unprepared raw ingredients. Some stores also sell precut carrots, onions, and celery to use in soups; peeled, cubed squash; and other prepared ingredients that make cooking quick and easy.

Low-fat dressings and seasoned or balsamic vinegars are a great way to quickly and easily dress up tossed salads or steamed vegetables.

If you can afford it, you might consider hiring someone to prepare your meals. Private chefs are available to cook in your home—often making a week’s worth of meals for you in just a day—or deliver prepared meals. Just be sure that they fully understand the requirements of your diet. Try
www.hireachef.com
or the bulletin board at your local natural foods store as useful resources for finding a personal chef.

When you go out to eat with friends or family, as a break from cooking at home or to celebrate a special occasion, you will have to put some thought into it. You will also need to be prepared to politely stick to your plan when dining in a friend’s home.

Ethnic restaurants like Mexican, Chinese, or Thai tend to offer the best options. (Remember that these populations have traditionally followed a starch-based diet.) Speak directly with the chef if you are able, making it clear that you wish to eat mostly starches such as rice, beans, and potatoes, with a few added vegetables, and that your food must be prepared without any oil or animal products. You cannot rely on vegetarian and vegan restaurants or options as they are listed in the menu, as typically they are loaded with vegetable oils. Don’t be bashful about sending your meal back if it doesn’t match the starch-based, low-fat meal you asked for.

At other types of restaurants, look for side dishes that can be put together into a plate, such as potatoes, pasta, and/or rice with some plain steamed vegetables. For breakfast, you can often get oatmeal prepared without milk or butter (be sure to specify this), cold whole grain cereals with fruit juice, dry whole grain toast with jam, or hash browns cooked “dry,” and a cup of fruit. For lunch, if the soups, sandwiches, and salads on the menu don’t meet the requirements of your plan, ask for whole grain bread, some mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, and the like. You can always put these together into your own sandwich.

For many families, food is one of the greatest monthly expenditures. Luckily, grains, legumes, and starchy vegetables are some of the least expensive foods you can buy. Other vegetables and fruits may be more costly, especially if you purchase organic. You won’t be eating as much of these as you will the starchier foods, and it will be worth the extra cost to get fresh fruits and vegetables, especially those in season.

You can easily figure the cost savings of a starch-based diet. On average, moderately active women consume about 2,000 calories per day and men 2,500 calories. The cost of a typical home-cooked meal featuring animal foods could easily be $10 per person or more per day.

People often underestimate the cost of eating at fast-food or other restaurants. Roughly half of US food dollars are spent eating out—about 40 percent in full-service restaurants and 40 percent in fast-food establishments. At least one in three Americans (adults and children) eats at a fast-food restaurant daily, although this expensive habit has been declining with increasing economic pressures; more than half of restaurant operators reported a decline in sales in January 2010.

Based on Northern California prices.

Many consumers turn to fast-food restaurants to reduce their dining-out costs. But if you compare the “bargain” of a fast-food meal to the cost of a starch-based diet, you will quickly see the outrageous cost of eating in fast-food outlets: from $9 to $21 per person for a full day’s worth of fast-food meals (2,500 calories). About $14 per person per day is the average cost.

In comparison, a starch-based diet with added fruits, vegetables, and condiments will cost you about $3 per person per day. Starches are among the least expensive foods in the supermarket. Getting your full daily supply of calories from starches alone would cost you less than $1.50 (for 2,500 calories). Perishable fruits and vegetables cost a little more, but you will not be eating them in as large quantities as the starches. Choosing fruits and vegetables in season will also help keep your food bill affordable. (Add another $1.50 daily for fruits and vegetables, for a total of $3.00 a day for your starch-based diet.)

Keeping grains, potatoes, and legumes on hand at home cuts your transportation costs by requiring fewer trips to the market, especially compared to eating at restaurants and fast-food outlets, which requires a trip for each and every meal.

Dry goods (beans, rice, grains) are easily stored for long periods without refrigeration, cutting another hidden food cost: the energy associated with refrigeration. Since these foods do not easily spoil, there is little waste. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, and winter squashes may also be stored at cool room temperature away from light for up to several months.

Cleaning up after a plant-based, low-fat meal is relatively easy and cheap. What takes the most soap and elbow grease to scrub? Fats and oils.

The net savings from switching your 2,500 calories per day from fast foods to starch-based meals is $11 per person, per day ($14 minus $3). Over the course of a year, this puts savings in your pocket of more than $4,000. If you are feeding a family of four, this means an additional $16,000 saved annually on food costs alone that you could save for other expenses. Of course, these savings do not take into consideration the indirect financial benefits: reduced medical expenses, reduced medication costs, decreased need for supplements, increased productivity, and more. Nor do they reflect your contribution to creating a healthier environment and alleviating senseless suffering of animals.