Determining My Eating Philosophy

I stumbled across the Eat-Clean Diet (Tosca Reno) and thought, hmmmm... this looks relatively close to the nutrition philosophy I subscribe to.

I finished The Eat-Clean Diet Recharged! a day and a half after finding my amazon box at the post office.  What I love about this eating lifestyle...

• The combination of protein and complex carbs w/ healthy fats to keep you feel and energized
• Frequent small meals (5-6/day) to keep blood sugar level and hunger at bay
• Focus on natural foods, even for those who really can't cook (I cook... and am good at it but not everyone is!)
• Honesty... Tosca shares her story including what our bodies really look like after significant weight loss and how she made decisions regarding cosmetic surgery after weight loss. 
• The fact that Tosca is 51 years old and looks STUNNING... but 10 years ago she was a frumpy, overweight housewife.  She's lost 70+/- lbs!
• The website and forums (FREE!)
• Tosca explains how we sabotage our metabolisms (too few calories = starvation mode) and hit weight loss slumps

Tosca also emphasizes the beautiful body formula 80% Nutrition, 10% Exercise, 10% Genetics.   She goes on to say that working out isn't necessary to weight loss when you eat clean, but if you don't work out/tone then you will just be a smaller (soft, squishy) version of your former, chunkier self.  (My wording, not hers here).

What I'm not on board with:

• The emphasize on low fat dairy (dairy fat is essential to health)
• The focus on egg whites (the yolk of free range eggs is healthy)

So, I'm going to combine Tosca's Eat-Clean Diet with the standard Mediterranean diet (minus white carbs) and a Traditional (WAPF) diet.

Tosca says there is no need to count calories and fat... that by eating clean foods we are fueling our bodies efficiently and that foods are not equal in our bodies... we might be able to lose weight on 2000 cals/day of clean foods but gain on 1600 cals/day of junk foods. This makes sense.  I'll still be recording what I do eat and drink so that if I'm not losing, I can look back and figure out why.  

Here's my menu for today:

Breakfast (7am): GF oatmeal (1/2 cup oats + 1 cup water), 1/2 cup mixed frozen berries, 1 scant handful raw almonds + 1 heaping teaspoon of palm sugar (I can't go sans sweetener yet).
AM Snack 10am: 2 eggs scrambled w/ 1/2 cup sauteed mushrooms and half a sliced apple
Lunch 1pm: chicken breast (palm sized) + 1 cup brown rice + large garden salad
PM Snack 4pm: 1/2 sliced apple + 1 Tbs natural almond butter + drizzle of local raw honey
Dinner 7PM: Tilapia fish + 1/2 baked sweet potato + zucchini and mushrooms sauteed w/ coconut oil
Before Bed snack (if needed) 10pm: kefir smoothie

Fish Dinner... Skinny Girl Style

Fish is GOOD for you... but you already knew that, right?  Wild caught fish is better than farmed fish (that's a no brainer).  Fish is low in fat and calories.  And it tastes so darn good.  To reduce calories further, skip the noodles.  For a more Nourishing food, replace the noodles with soaked, prepared brown rice.

This recipe is from Alton Brown's, I'm Just Here For The Food, with some minor alterations.

Ramen Radiator
Serves 2
Each serving provides 9 grams fat & 370 calories, 8 WW points*

1 tsp EVOO (extra virgin olive oil, cloudy is good!)
1 tsp sesame oil (I like coconut oil or real butter here instead)
1/2 lb BROWN mushrooms, washed and sliced
1 package ramen style noodles (or Asian rice noodles for GF)
2 Tilapia fillets (or other mild white fish)
8 ounces scallops *not in the original recipe
2 GIANT shrimp (or several small shrimp)
Celtic sea salt
Pepper
Chili flakes
1/2 white onion
4 scallons, biased sliced
2 Tbs soy sauce/gluten free tamari
1/4 cup mirin (sweet rice wine or other cooking wine)
2 cups vegetable stock

Directions:
Heat saucepan over medium-high.  Add oils and saute mushrooms until caramelized.  Transfer to a plate and set aside.  Line two serving bowls with (recycled) aluminum foil**, leaving excess over the edges for later folding.  Break the ramen loaf in half, place in the bottom of foil lined boils.  Lay fish on top of the ramen, pour honey over fish, season with salt and pepper.  Add a few chili flakes.  Place the mushrooms & onions around the fish and noodles.  Lay the GIANT shrimp on top of the fish.  Top with scallions.  Fold the foil and crimp to seal, leave an opening in the top.  Now, mix the liquids together and pour half into each foil pouch, seal pouches.  Transfer to a baking sheet. Place in oven at 400F for about 25 minutes.   Place foil pouches back into serving bowls, open at table to enjoy aroma and steam.  Enjoy with chopsticks.

*Calorie and fat content will be altered based on your choice of seafood, oils and noodles or rice.
**I simply make the pouches on a baking sheet and skip the bowl step... seems simpler to me!
***Don't forget to have a bunch of veggies with it.