The Rules
All
of the recipes are in the order
that you will use them. If you
want to substitute a recipe,
consult the Dinner
Menu Index for
an equivalent, Coumadin-safe
item. For instance, you could have
Candied Carrots with your Creamy
Mac and Cheese instead of the
Pan Grilled Asparagus. Or you
could trade Oven Fried Chicken
for the Crab Louis.
Shopping
lists are provided for you to
print out, with all the ingredients
needed for each week's menus.
The plan is designed to run Sunday
through Saturday so that you
can shop on Saturday, although
you can start any day you wish
and adjust the menu days accordingly.
Take some time to read
through the recipes and the plan on Saturday before
going to the store. There may be ingredients or techniques
that you are not familiar with, or you may need to
marinate a recipe the night before it is to be served.
Likewise, there are equipment lists for each week that
can help you to make sure that you have all the gear
needed.
The plan does call for making some food on Sunday afternoon
or evening to eat during the week (those are usually
recipes that take more than 30 minutes).
Breakfast
and lunch, when not specified
in the weekly menu, are outlined
in the Breakfast
and Lunch Guidelines with options
for menus for both meals.
There
are meals scheduled for eating
out. The rule is that you can order any entree on the
menu and eat
half of it. The other half is eaten the following
day for lunch.
Lastly,
there is no between meal snacking. Patients
have told me that the first week
or two can be a little more difficult,
so you can have a piece
of fruit for a snack if you really need
one.
A word or two about what to drink:
For the first six weeks I recommend that you don’t drink any alcohol that is not on the diet. You will find that I feel alcohol can be good for you but at first you should avoid it primarily due to the calories in wine, beer or mixed drinks. There are a few meals that call for a beer or margarita and this is part of the plan. After you have reached your maintenance weight, drink in moderation, remembering that all alcohol has calories.
Coffee and tea are not bad for you, in my opinion, but many of us do drink too much and cutting back may be something you want to think about. If you use sugar, change to Splenda® or another non-calorie product. If you use cream or half and half, switch to 2% milk.
As far as other liquids go, you may drink pretty much anything that doesn’t have calories. I am not much of a fan of sodas (diet or regular) but if you are going to have them, drink only calorie free products. I do feel that you would be better off to eliminate them from your life and drink water.
Water is great for you and you almost can’t drink too much. The idea that it can fill you up and help you eat less may actually be true. Either way, this is good stuff. For many of us it is an acquired taste after having been saturated with so many sodas and sugary drinks. Work on drinking less soda and more water.
Ready to get cooking?
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