Re: 80/20

I started out sort of "working up to" the BED diet principles rather than making a cold turkey change, and that seemed to make it less overwhelming. I didn't cut out rice right away, I had a few questionable sauces in restaurants, and I wasn't 100% on the combining right off the bat. I still actually waver occasionally, and I don't think it's a huge issue since they are small cheats. Last night I got a tuna Nicoise salad at a restaurant and brought my own dressing. The only thing off the diet was it had a few cubed yukon gold potatoes, and I ate a couple of those cubes. They were not the right kind of potatoes, and I ate them along with the protein. I don't feel like it set me back, but I suppose everyone is different.

The combinining is really not that hard once you get used to it, though. Just remember than whenever you eat meat, eggs, or a protein food, just don't have anything starchy with it like potatoes or grains, and the protein should be the smaller portion of the meal (i.e. 20%), with the rest veggies. I do things like dupming a half can of tuna or salmon on a big green salad with shredded daikon & zucchini, and make my own dressing with apple cider vinegar, flax oil and mustard. You can make a week's worthing of dressing up at one time. If you want to eat one of the grains, or red potatoes or fresh corn, don't eat any protein food with that meal. I made the kasha loaf from the book with the ginger carrot sauce, and that was pretty good. Lotsa leftovers, too. The kids might even like it. You can mix up any of the starchy foods together, and keep it the smaller portion of your meal, with non-starchy veggies as the balance. Mainly, the starchier veggies are potatoes, peas, butternut squash, and I think carrots, but I'm not positive about those. The sea vegetables and non-starchy vegetables like greens, zucchini, red pepper, etc., go with anything. The sea veggies are really, really healthy, too. Arame seems to be the mildest and most versatile.

The way it seems to me - the stuff that feels satisfying and filling- the dense protein and the carbs - are the smaller portion of your meal, and the rest is a lot of bunny stuff! Pretty simple. I occasionally add a little extra protein or a little extra carbs when I feel I need it (like a 30/70 or 40/60 ratio), and I think that's working just fine.

As for the cultured foods - kefir and veggies, it's an acquired taste, but honestly, I've grown to love the stuff. I'd say start by picking up a jar of saurkraut from Rejuvinative Foods in the refrigerated section of your health food store if they carry it - "Flavor #1 with dill" is pretty mild, and that will give you an idea of what to expect. It's just kind of tangy and sour, but really tasty. I don't know if you were a fan of saurkraut or pickled vegetables, before. These are totally different from a health perspective, but taste pretty similar. I put up my first batch of cultured veggies the other day and tasted them last night after 4 days fermenting, and they are surprisingly REALLY, really nice. I'm going to leave them a little longer, since they still seem a little raw. You will be amazed at how much the lacto-fermented foods help your digestion, too - you'll wonder how you ever did without them. good luck!