Neutrals that I have
Ann,
Sorry I’ve not answered your question for awhile. Sometimes it is a little
hectic around here! We were specifically talking about how to add more
variety to the “O” diet, and I find that is done with neutrals. If you try
to eat only HB, then the list is indeed very limited. The neutrals list in
each category is quite large. The list of everything I buy would be too long
to post here, but here is my method.
I went through the food lists, and I made a master list. For instance, under
“vegetables”, I went through Dr. D’s list, and I made my own list of HB and
Neutral items. But, I only listed the items I like. I did this for each
category, such as fruit, herb & spice, meat, etc. I wrote this all down in a
little three-ring binder (pocket size) that I keep in my kitchen. I use this
list as the basis for my shopping list every week, and also as my
“inventory”. Each week before I go to the store, I check the supplies I have
on hand of everything on my list, and then I prepare my shopping list from
that. I don’t buy ALL of the veggies every week, I will usually pick
something different for variety. So, last week I may have purchased red bell
pepper, spinach, ginger, romaine and okra. This week I will purchase onion,
garlic, butter lettuce, asparagus, carrots and broccoli. I do this for every
category. The only category where I keep some of everything on hand is the
dried herbs and spices category. I keep all of my HB and Neutrals stocked
there.
If you do this, you should come up with a pretty big list, and then you can
“mix and match” the meat, veg, herb, & spice for each meal. Occasionally
throw in the dairy or grain too (I tend to do that on the weekend). Buy
whatever HB, Neutral fruit is in season and looks good, and you’re set. In
warm weather, I grill the meats, and eat the veggies raw or grilled, and have
salads. In colder weather, I get out the crock pot, and make a lot of stews
and pot roasts, or put whole roasts in the oven (turkey, lamb, beef, duck,
etc.) with the the veggies, like parsnips and broccoli, or turnips, carrots
and brussels sprouts.
I have not updated my lists since LR came out, so I am aware that I need to
get the food lists off the web site, and create new “master lists”. For this
reason if I quoted any food in the above paragraphs that should not be on our
shopping list, please overlook that, as the point is more about how I keep
variety in my diet, and made it easier to come up with a list quickly every
week, and I’m not talking about what food you should eat. Making your own
master list does not take too much time. I did it when I first got ER, and
did it again when LR came out, and I realized there were many updates to the
food lists. Each time, it took less than one hour. I did it by hand in a
notebook, it might be even faster if you’re more computer-literate than me,
and create a spreadsheet.
Good luck! It’s getting cold here, time to take the crock pot out of “deep
storage” (that means, I wonder where I put it six months ago………)