Meal Prep Tools For WFPB Eating
If you’ve looked at any of the popular WFPB cookbooks that are out there, you may have noticed how complex some of the recipes are. Even some of the recipe videos on Youtube are 20 minutes or longer with a dozen or more ingredients. I know when I was starting to think about adopting a WFPB eating plan, I had to wonder if it was worth the effort. Some youtubers made it seem like you practically have to be a gourmet chef to make WFPB meals.
But after doing a little more research, I realized that putting together a plant-based meal didn’t have to be complicated. In fact, I’m going to teach you just how simple it can be by introducing you to two WFPB concepts, one created by Dr. John McDougall and another created by Dr. Michael Gregor. There are other similar tools to be found in some of the other programs out there, but I think these two are the best and they could work well in conjunction with one another if you choose to use them that way.
McDougall’s 50/50 Plate
McDougall created what’s known as the 50/50 plate to go along with his “Maximum Weight Loss” program. This program is discussed in “The Starch Solution” as an option for those looking to get accelerated weight loss. Despite its original intent, many use the 50/50 plate when following the regular “Starch Solution” program and I don’t see why it couldn’t be used with any of the other WFPB programs.
Now, I’m going to introduce you to two different concepts in this post, but if you are going to choose to follow just one of them, this is the one. It makes throwing together a healthy plate of food so simple that you barely need to think about anything.
A 50/50 plate is a plate that is filled half with your starchy foods and half with non-starchy foods. Lets talk about your starchy foods first.
Starchy foods come in three categories, according to McDougall: whole grains, legumes and starchy vegetables.
Whole grains are things like brown rice, wheat and quinoa, corn, millet, barley and, well, you get the idea. Next you got your legumes. These are important because this is where most of your protein will come from. These are things like beans, lentils, split peas, soy beans and so forth. Tofu and tempeh are part of this category as well, as they are derived from the soy bean. McDougall does caution against overdoing it with these two foods. Soy is high in fat. Also, even though peanuts are technically legumes, they are not a part of this category. Due to their high fat content, McDougall categorizes them with the other nuts and seeds.
Last, you have your starchy vegetables. This includes winter squashes such as butternut, acorn, hubbard and pumpkin. It also includes your tubers such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, cassava and taro.
You can combine these starchy foods in any way you wish as you fill up the first half of your plate.
That brings us to the non-starchy side of the plate. The other side of your plate can be filled with any of the non-starchy vegetables. This includes your greens, your cruciferous vegetables, your peppers, your summer squash and any other vegetable that isn’t included in the starchy category. You can pile all you want on the second half of the plate.
Lastly, you’re going to want to add spices, seasonings, low sugar and fat free condiments to make your food tasty. Follow your specific program to find what’s allowed. You can also add some other higher fat foods for accent. Try some nuts and seeds or some avocado.
You see how simple it is? Let me give you an example of a 50/50 plate just to solidify the concept in your mind. You come home from work and check your fridge. You pull out the brown rice that you made last night and fill up one fourth of your plate. You grab the seasoned pinto beans you made two nights ago and fill up another quarter of your plate. That fills up the starchy half of your plate. Lastly you fill the second half of your plate with the fajita vegetables that your husband just made and top it off with some tomato salsa and a quarter of a medium avocado. And there you go. That sounds like a tasty meal to me and you threw it together in 15 minutes. Could it be any easier?
Michael Gregor’s Daily Dozen
Several of the WFPB doctors have said that eating a large variety of plant foods regularly is very beneficial to the gut, but it can be hard to keep track of exactly which plants you’ve eaten and to be sure you’re eating from the various categories of plant foods. Enter Michael Gregor with his Daily Dozen.
Gregor has created a checklist of 12 foods that, in his opinion, you should be eating every day. There’s one box for each serving you should eat and Gregor has made specific recommendations for how many servings you should eat from each of the different categories. Each time you eat a food you mark off a box from the category. The goal is to check off all of the boxes by the end of your eating day.
I won’t go into how many boxes each category has, but there is a category for beans, berries, other fruits, cruciferous vegetables, greens, other vegetables, flaxseeds, nuts and seeds, herbs and spices, whole grains, beverages, exercise and Vitamin B12.
And don’t worry. You’re not going to have to tote around some bulky notebook to keep track. There’s a handy, dandy little app for your phone or mobile device that’s easy as pie to use. Its got the checklist and information on portion sizes for each of the foods.
I think Gregor’s Daily Dozen could be a nice complement to McDougall’s 50/50 plate. As you’re preparing your plate and figuring out what to add, you can be thinking about your checklist and what isn’t yet checked off. For example, Let’s say you’re preparing a salad for your dinner. Your having some quinoa and kidney beans for your starch, a mix of salad greens and a whole slew of other non-starchy vegetables. You look at your list and realize that you haven’t had your nuts and seeds for the day. So you grab your walnuts from the pantry and throw a small handful on the salad. You also realize that you haven’t had all three servings of “other fruit”, so you dice half of an apple and toss that on the salad too. I think you get the idea.
Conclusion
Following a WFPB diet may seem daunting when you see some of the complex recipes out there, but it doesn’t have to be that way. Dr. McDougall simplified healthy eating using his 50/50 plate concept. So even if you’re just home from a busy day, throwing together a meal can be simple. Couple that with Gregor’s daily dozen and you can also make sure you’re eating the right variety of foods to further promote your good health. Use these two tools together or just choose one. Either way, its going to simplify your new way of eating and put you on the road towards achieving your dietary goals.
To follow my journey follow me here at wholefoodplantbest.medium.com and at www.pinterest.com/wholefoodplantbest.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or a medical professional. The information provided on the site is for educational purposes only and does not substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your doctor before making dietary changes or using any advice given here.