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harmony
6-7-11, 12:49pm
Deleted.

KayLR
6-7-11, 12:59pm
Really interesting idea, harmony. I'll be interested to know how you do. You appear to be vegetarian somewhat (you do eat eggs). I know one thing I could not do without is salmon. That would be on my list. I think I'll sit down during my lunch break today and see if I can come up with a list of 25. Intriguing.

peggy
6-7-11, 3:06pm
I think i would get rid of the grapes and add bell peppers of all colors since they are so good for you. I would also get rid of the pineapple juice and cucumbers and add more beans/peas for the incredible protein they have. And of course tea. And you do need some fat for optimum health, like olive oil. Good on a salad and for stir fry and such.
Is this list based on what you grow or can get locally? Just curious.
There are cultures that eat the same thing day after day for their entire lives, so I guess it can be done. I guess the real trick, as you said, is to do it without doing harm to your health. this is an interesting idea. I'd have to think a bit on what my 25 would be.

Just out of curiosity, why are you aiming for extreme minimalism? Do you mean like a monk? Perhaps that's the sort of diet you could start with then add to it. I think oatmeal figures a lot in their diet. Oh, that's another one for the list. Oatmeal.

puglogic
6-7-11, 4:13pm
This is very attractive to me as well. I like your list a lot! I probably could not do without at least one regular bean source (black and adzuki are my favorites), and oatmeal. I'd likely trade out the pineapple juice for a citrus of some kind too, and swap in some more nutrient dense greens like kale, collards, or rapini. But what a terrific experiment.....wonderful idea.

So, not that you asked, but I guess mine would look like this:

Lowfat Yogurt (good quality)
Pears
Bananas
Berries
Citrus fruit
Peppers (bell or chili)
Lettuce or Hearty Greens
Sprouts (homegrown)
Broccoli or Cauliflower ( a brassica, in other words)
Carrots
Tomatoes
Sweet Potatoes
Almonds
Walnuts
Fish (wild-caught, occasionally)
Brown Rice
Quinoa
Oats
V-8 juice (low sodium, or homemade equivalent)
Black Beans
Hummus
Crackers of some kind
Local Eggs
Local Goat Milk/Cheese
Whole Grain Bread

madgeylou
6-7-11, 7:02pm
i have been doing something similar for the last month, and have finally dropped the 15 pounds (15!!!) i put on over the holidays in scotland. but i am following a lower-carb diet as i know from experiences that's what works best for me.

like you, i often have the same foods throughout the week, with more variety on the weekends. i tend to consume more calories on sundays (my only day off) but still pretty low carb. my list would be:

dark chocolate (PRIORITIES!)
peanut butter
lettuce
tahini salad dressing
organic chicken
bacon
pork
grass-fed beef
peppers
onions
guacamole
tomatoes
cheese
local milk/half and half
coconut milk
eggs
hot sauce
almonds
apples
cabbage
cauliflower
carrots
did i say cheese? :)

Zoebird
6-7-11, 7:30pm
Here is our food list weekly:

meats: beef, venison, bacon, fish, and chicken (all local, sustainably fished, grass fed, organic, and free range -- it's NZ).

dairy and eggs: butter, yogurt, milk, and eggs -- all through the milk share (so raw milk).

vegetables: 2 kilo frozen (mixed veg and broccoli); salad greens, peppers, cucumber, tomato, carrot, fennel, avocado; kumara (NZ sweet potato).

fruit: seasonal fresh (currently pears, apples, mandarin oranges; kiwi fruit; feijoa; and bananas which are not local but fair trade) and frozen berries (usually two kinds).

nuts and seeds: pumpkin seeds, sunflower, almonds, macadamia nuts, brazil nuts, coconut cream.

beverages: coffee and tea

total: 35

I think that's simple enough. We follow a paleolithic diet, get most everything from local farms (except bananas and the nuts/seeds which are imported), get everything organic/fair trade, and eat pretty seasonally too. We are going to set up our little green house to grow some of our own veg and herbs.

If you are interested in some good information about the paleo diet, I recommend Mark's Daily Apple (http://www.marksdailyapple.com) and his book The Primal Blueprint. I find it to be a very comfortable, sustainable, and healthy way of eating. :)

jania
6-7-11, 9:49pm
I've had the same thoughts concerning simplification/minimalism in my material world transferring over into my food choices. As I have reduced kitchen gadgets, numbers of utensils, pots and pans, etc my food preparation has simplified. I eat a lot more raw food now and very easy to prepare meals and because most of my food is fresh I don't keep a large quantity on hand to reduce the possibility of it all spoiling before I can eat it. I've gradually lost 9 pounds since about February.

Of course weight loss has more to do with what you are putting in your mouth. If someone uses only 25 foods but those foods are ice cream, potato chips, etc. weight loss would be pretty hard to come by. But Harmony it looks like you are making good food choices so if you have some extra weight that can come off it probably will, nice and easy.

peggy
6-8-11, 9:09am
Avocado is a good choice as it has good fat and fiber, not to mention it tastes yummy! I still think you need at least one bean, like pintos or black beans, or both. Oh and black eyed peas, yum.
So, with your list, I think I could make
a filling salad/main dish with the brown rice, the avocado, and chickpeas(hummus).
A stir fry with a combination of several vegs and some brown rice.
Stir fry broccoli with shrimp and almonds
Omelet with eggs, zucchini, and onion (I'd be inclined to add some sort of cheese to my list)
berries and yogurt (actually what I have every morning for breakfast now)
baked pears with lemon yogurt and almonds
soup with the v-8 juice and a combination of vegs, rice with crackers
french toasted sandwich (dip bread in egg and pan fry on both sides ) with lettuce, tomatoes and shrimp
stir fry rice with egg and shrimp
what else?

Tammy
6-9-11, 2:18pm
instead of limiting myself to a list of foods, I like to limit myself to having only a few groceries in my house at a time. that way I don't waste food by it going bad, and I tend to eat less. But the variety comes by choosing different things each time I'm at the store.

Amaranth
6-21-11, 3:37pm
Intriguing idea!

Another way to do it that would be more natural and also improve the nutritional aspects of it would be to have some core pantry and fridge foods such as grains, beans, nuts, oil, vinegar, potatoes, eggs, yogurt, and salmon. If your selection is grown locally/regionally, all the better. Then twice a week if possible, go to a farmers market and buy different colors of seasonal foods. Get some things that need to be eaten within 48 hours and some others that will last 4 days or longer. Just get enough for 3-4 days--about 5 pounds (but not more than 9) of edible portions of vegetables per person.

So for the spring on Tuesday you might get
1 pound salad mix
1 pound carrots
.5 pound sugar snap peas
.5 pound radishes
1 pound onions
1 pound mixed cooking greens

Then on Saturday at another farmer's market, you might get
1.5 pound head of cabbage
1 pound head of broccoli
1 pound turnips with greens
.5 pound scallions
1 pound beets

So each time you would have a simple collection of foods on which to focus. Over time, you would have an excellent diversity of nutrition. It's a sort of fun version of being a modern hunter-gatherer without having to dodge the bears in the woods.:laff:

reader99
6-21-11, 4:41pm
Interesting concept! I'm sensitive to a lot of foods, plus I just naturally get in a rut, so it's possible I may already be doing this.

Chocolate
Chicken (if you are what you eat, I'm going to turn in to a giant choclate chicken)
Eggs
Lentils
Sweet potatos
Potatos
Kefir
Yogurt
Blueberries
10 Beef
Green beans
yellow squash
cucumber
garlic
green onions
spinach
carrots
mushrooms
tunafish
20 tomatoes
Avocado
Broccoli

Madsen
6-23-11, 12:57am
Look in to intermittent fasting as well --- you can become minimalist in how often you eat as well as in what you eat. :)

www.leangains.com (http://www.leangains.com) is a good place to start. Martin Berkhan cites many good studies to support his ideas.
(summary of the philosophy: link (http://www.leangains.com/2008/06/sure-fire-fat-loss.html) ... in-depth interview: link (http://www.leighpeele.com/martin-berkhan-and-intermittent-fasting-interview))

Art De Vany has a few IF articles: http://www.arthurdevany.com/categories/20091020_10 (and other good stuff on his site as well)

Some of the paleo-type folks do intermittent fasting too.

puglogic
6-23-11, 1:27pm
I'm curious about intermittent fasting, but I'm having trouble wading through the text to get at the science....plus I can't get past the photos the leangains guy has posted of himself. They give me the creeps.....a little bit.

madgeylou
6-26-11, 11:00am
as i've been living very low carb/paleo the last 7 weeks, i've noticed that i end up doing intermittent fasting just naturally, without much intention. some days i'm just not hungry until 3 pm or so. for instance, yesterday i wasn't very hungry. i ate a little bit before going to work, and then a few chicken thighs later in the evening and that's it.

today i am a bit hungrier, and will honor that by eating more calories (but still almost no carbs).

it seems to be working -- i am down 20 pounds from the beginning of may! (i'm 5'10" and still have a good 40 lbs to go so it's not as impressive as if i were 5'4" and already close to my goal weight, but i feel good about it!)

puglogic
6-26-11, 2:01pm
Good for you, harmony!! You sound awesome!

catherine
6-27-11, 8:30am
Yesterday I went to the farm stand that is very close to my house--(this past week fresh Jersey corn became available--yay!!). I love this little market, and I was looking around thinking, I could probably get away with never having to go to the supermarket if I just went there every day/every other day. They have some VERY basic packaged items like rice and local jams and local honey. They also partner with a local chicken/quail/turkey farm and they sell their stuff. And they have stuff from a local bakery brought in a couple of times a week. So, I essentially have everything I would need.

Your post has made me want to take up that challenge to just eat from that market every day until they close in November. I can see myself buying regularly:

peppers
corn
tomatoes
eggs
cucumber
lettuce or some kind of leafy mix
feta cheese
zucchini
eggplant
mushrooms
rice
potatoes
celery
garlic
apples
bananas
oranges
watermelon
berries
milk
Griggstown chicken sausages
Griggstown homemade frozen turkey pot pie
pasta
jam
honey
canned beans (they don't sell dried beans)
bread
onions

Mrs.B
6-28-11, 9:18pm
OK I just have to post a LOL, I worked with a gentleman who you would have loved. His entire diet consisted of: Hamburger and layes potato chips. every night that was dinner, he cooked his patties ahead of time so he just reheated them. I can't remember if he ate breakfast or lunch, but if he did it was the same thing every day. He would not stray. If we went out to a company dinner, he would scan the menu forever trying to find something that looked close. I use to think he would drop over any minute from this diet, but at 46 he was still going strong. Not to mention the pack of cigs each day.
Mrs. B.

cynergyou
7-15-11, 10:17am
harmony - one thing you might consider is instead of eating lettuce/spinach, you might want to try alternate leafy greens. i've been told that lettuce is nutritionally pretty empty and some folks have also told me that too much spinach isn't too healthy. in our family, we like to eat kale and swiss chard instead of lettuce or spinach (although we do eat a lot of lettuce too because it's easy to grow in our garden).

Also, another vegetable to try is kohlrabi (also known as german turnip). we tried some from a local farmer's market and it was excellent. we peeled it, and then sliced it and served it in a salad. it has a nice, slightly sweet and juicy taste to it. it was very good.

CropCircleDancer
7-23-11, 12:35am
I have also gone paleo/primal, and so simplified my food plate by getting rid of entire food groups. There's just meat and veggies, and a bit of dairy on the side.

Rosemary
7-24-11, 6:58am
harmony, I also particularly enjoy fruits & veggies in the summer. I think that the high water content has something to do with it, in addition to not needing to cook them!