I'm a vegan, and try to stay mostly "whole foods" (though when I eat badly, I can eat pretty badly,and my weaknesses--the "don't even have it around the house or I'll eat it all kind--are chips and cookies, etc. But usually when I eat something that is naturally high in carbohydrates, I make sure it has at least 2 grams of naturally occurring fiber per serving. That cuts out pretzels, most crackers and cookies and other stuff that I really don't need)
I don't eat white bread (in fact, it makes me feel nausated), avoid processed foods and sugars, and try to eat a lot of veggies (tnough I sometimes fall short). When I'm eating at my best, I eat some raw fruit and/or veggies with every meal (preferably at the beginning) and snack on veggies like red peppers (in strips) and cucumber slices, fruit like apples and oranges, and soy jerkey or maybe a handful of raw, unsalted nuts.
I eat three meals and usually two snacks per day , basically eating a full breakfast most times(Kashi "go lean crunch" which has whole grains as the primary ingredient, with Silk enhanced soymilk on it and about 1/2 cup blueberries, for example), and splitting my lunch and dinner into two parts (to make a "meal" and a "snack" out of what would usually be just one meal.
For beverages, I drink lots of water, green, red (Rooibos) and white tea (unsweetened when I'm really doing well..I just found a fantastic new white tea with ginger and spearmint that is unsweetened), soy milk, sometimes some orange juice, but I've been replacing that with actual oranges lately. I abhor and avoid soft drinks and think they sould be banned from school vending machines (I teach at a university, and am disgusted by the number of Pepsi machines around campus. They even put one in the hallway outside my office, until I started a deparmental petition and basically said that merchandising doesn't belong in the class hallways...what are we, an institution of higher learning, or a grocery store. They moved it to the outside of the building!)
One book that really motivates me to eat well when I'm feeling like junking it out is "Picture perfect weight loss." It shows calorie comparisons between differents foods with pictures, and basically prompts you to make the better choice.
I don't count calories, or go "low carb" (though, as I said, I limit and try to eliminate PROCESSED carbs). I also don't go "high protein," because from all the reading I've done on nutrition and diet, I believe it is not necessary and can actually be harmful by stressing the kidneys and the immune system, and making one more predisposed to certain cancers (though veggie protein is much healthier in this respect than animal proteins).
Some of my favorite quick foods: lentil soup, microwaved yams (6 minutes), bean salad (I call it my "can opener salad"! I mix 1 can each drained and rinsed black beans (or, more often,black soy beans), kidney beans, garbanzo beans, green beans. Add 1 jar drained and rinsed pimentos and 1 jar drained artichoke hearts (when I feel like it). I top it off with a drizzle of Zesty Italian dressing (just enough to moisten a bit) and serve on a bed of romaine lettuce. I often futz with the basic recipe by adding other things or replacing ingredients. Some other substitutions: edamame (green soy beans), tomato, olives. I've also made a similar "bean salsa" that I use in wraps or as a dip (black soy, canned tomato chunks (drain and save the liquid), can of corn, 1 chopped avocado. Add a package of salsa mix to the tomato juice and use as a dressing.)
...Carole
