Phase 1 Foods to Enjoy
BEEF:
lean cuts only, such as eye of round, round
tip, bottom round, top round, tenderloin, top loin, sirloin, flank,
London broil, lean or
extra lean ground beef; jerky only if homemade without sugar
VEAL:
lean cuts only (chop, leg cutlet, top round)
POULTRY:
chicken breast, turkey breast, Cornish
hen, duck (do not eat the skin of any of these)
FISH:
fresh or frozen salmon,
tuna, tilapia, haddock, trout, orange roughy,
whitefish, herring, halibut, cod, grouper, mahi mahi, sea bass,
mackerel, sole, scrod, pompano; salmon canned in spring water, tuna
canned in spring water;
fresh or canned sardines
LAMB:
lean cuts only
OTHER
MEAT: buffalo
(bison), elk, goat
Note: Trim all meats of
as much excess fat as possible.
DELI LUNCHMEAT:
turkey breast, chicken breast (low fat or
fat free); roast beef, beef pastrami (trimmed of fat), turkey pastrami
MEAT SUBSTITUTES
Choose products with 6 grams of
fat or less per serving. Limit serving size to those listed on the
package.
Soy
bacon, soy burgers, soy chicken patties and nuggets, soy hot dogs,
soy veggie sausage, seiten, soy crumbles, tofu (soft low fat, or
light varieties), tempeh, yuba
Note: There is some controversy about
eating soy. See the Controversies About
Foods page.
CHEESE (LOW-FAT)
Any reduced fat varieties (2%, low fat, part-skim):
- American,
cheddar,
feta, mozzarella, parmesan, provolone
- cottage cheese, ricotta
cheese
- string cheese
- cream cheese substitute (nondairy)
- goat's
milk and sheep's milk cheese
- Laughing Cow Light
Note: Cheese is counted as a protein, not as
dairy.
DAIRY—MILK AND MILK PRODUCTS*
Low fat:
-
Milk
- Buttermilk
- Kefir
- Powdered skim milk
- Canned evaporated milk
- Goat's milk
- Half and half
(limited)
- Yogurt, plain and
no-added-sugar vanilla
only
SOY "DAIRY"
Look
for soy milk or soy yogurt with no added sugars
*Note: No more than 2 cups
(16 oz) total per day of
dairy (including soy "dairy")
in Phase 1. (cheese is not counted as dairy, it counts as protein)
EGGS
Whole eggs
(preferably the high omega-3, less saturated fat kind from
vegetarian fed hens): chicken eggs, duck eggs
Egg
substitutes, such as Egg Beaters
LEGUMES (Beans and Peas)
-
Adzuki Beans
- Black Beans
-
Black-eyed peas
-
Broad Beans
- Butter Beans
- Garbanzos (Chickpeas)
- Fava Beans
- Green beans and Italian green beans
- Green peas (English peas)
- Kidney
- Lentils
- Lima beans
- Mung
- Pinto
- Pigeon Peas
- Soy Beans (edamame)
- Split Peas
- Wax
- White beans (cannellini,
great northern, navy)
Note 1: In Phase
1, eat beans in moderation.
Note
2: All meat, soy meat
substitutes, cheeses, beans, and eggs are counted as protein
(although not all are complete protein).
VEGETABLES
Fresh is best, frozen is good, canned is okay
for some foods, such as tomatoes.
- Artichokes
- Arugula
- Asparagus
- Bok Choy
- Broccoli, broccoli rabe,
broccoli sprouts
- Brussels sprouts
- Cabbage (green or red)
- Capers
- Cauliflower
- Celery
- Chayote squash
- Chicory
- Chives
- Cilantro
- Collard Greens
- Cucumbers
- Eggplant
- Endive
- Fennel
- Garlic
- Green beans*
- Hearts of palm
- Italian green
beans*
- Jicama
- Kale greens
- Leeks
- Lettuce (all varieties, but iceberg is the
least desirable)
- Mushrooms (all varieties)
- Mustard Greens
- Okra
- Onions (all varieties)
- Parsley
- Peppers (all varieties)
- Pickles (dill or others with no sugar)
- Radicchio
- Radishes (all varieties)
-
Rhubarb
- Sauerkraut
- Scallions (green onions)
-
Sea Vegetables
- Shallots
- Sea Vegetables (kelp, dulse, nori, kombu,
hijiki)
- Snow peas
- Spaghetti squash
- Spinach
- Sprouts (bean, alfalfa)
- Snap peas, sugar snap peas
- Swiss chard greens
- Tomatoes
- Turnip greens
- Water Chestnuts
- Watercress
- Wax beans*
- Winter
squash
- Yellow
squash
-
Zucchini squash
*Green beans, Italian beans, and
wax beans are considered veggies, rather than legumes, on this diet.
FRUITS—FRESH and
FROZEN
One serving of fruit
per day in Phase 1 (increase to 2 servings in Phase 2 and 3 servings
in Phase 3).
- Berries
Blackberries
Blueberries
Cranberries
Raspberries
Strawberries
- Cherries
- Citrus
Grapefruit
Lemon
Lime
NUTS and SEEDS
Limit to one serving per day
because nuts and seeds are high-calorie foods and can be
diet-busters, even though they are healthy foods. Raw is best, as
heat destroys enzymes. Next best is dry roasted, unsalted. Serving
size is 1 oz (about 1/4 cup for most nuts and 3 tablespoons for
seeds).
- Almonds
- Brazil nuts
- Cashews
- Filberts (hazelnuts roasted)
- Flax seeds - 3 TB (1 oz)
- Hazelnuts
- Pecans
- Macadamia nuts
- Mixed nuts
- Peanut butter, natural, and other nut
butters - 2 TB
- Peanuts (are legumes, not nuts)
- Pine nuts (Pignolia)
- Pistachios
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sesame seeds
- Soy nuts (roasted)
- Sunflower seeds
- Walnuts
OILS
The best oil choices are:
- Olive (extra virgin is best)
- Coconut oil (virgin, unrefined, organic,
not hydrogenated)
Other oil choices are:
- Canola oil (from rape seed)*
- Flaxseed
- Grapeseed oil
- Peanut oil (limited)
- Sesame oil (limited)
- Walnut Oil, other nut oils
*Canola oil should be used in
moderation until further studies. Recent studies indicate that
canola oil might actually be harmful to your health. See the
Controversies
About Foods page.
FOOD SOURCES OF FATS
Eat
these foods in moderation because they are high calorie foods.
- Avocado
- Butter (see
note below)*
- Margarines—Choose only those that do not contain
hydrogenated oils (trans fatty acids)
- Guacamole
- Mayonnaise (with
no added sugars)
- Olives, green and black
*Note:
The issue of
butter vs. margarine is a controversial one—see
Controversies About Foods
page. Butter
might not be the "bad" food that some advocate. It's recommended as
actually being good for you by some doctors and researchers.
SALAD DRESSINGS
Best are those you make yourself with olive
oil and vinegar.
When
buying prepared dressings, choose those with no
added sugars in the ingredient list;
especially avoid any with corn syrup or
high fructose corn syrup; natural sweeteners such as honey are okay
as long as there are no more than 2 grams of sugars per serving listed on the nutrition label.
SUGAR SUBSTITUTES
This is a list of
choices, NOT recommendations.
See
Tips About
Foods and
Controversies About Foods
for help in deciding which of
these, if any, you want to use.
- Aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal)
- Acesulfame K (Sunette, Sweet One, Sweet 'n
Safe)
- Fructose (see
Tips About Foods)
before using fructose
- Saccharin (Sweet N' Low, Sprinkle Sweet,
Sugar Twin, Sweet Ten)
- Stevia
- Sucralose (Splenda)
-
Whey Low
and Whey Low Type D
SUGAR ALCOHOLS
(see note below)*
isomalt,
lactitol, maltitol,
mannitol,
sorbitol, xylitol
*Sugar
alcohols could have associated side effects such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, and gas if consumed in excessive amounts.
Experiment and determine what is excessive for you, as it can vary
with individuals—some can tolerate more than others, and it could be
more or less than the 75 calories as advised by one popular diet.
NATURAL SWEETENERS
Use these instead of refined sugars or artificial sweeteners *IF*
you are not trying to lose weight, because they are high in
calories. See Phase 3 Food List.
MISCELLANEOUS
- Chocolate/cocoa powder for recipes (such as
Hershey's, Ghiradelli, and store brands)
- Chocolate sauce/syrup, sugar free
- Hot chocolate mixes,
sugar free and with no hydrogenated oils (trans fat free)
-
Syrups, sugar free
CONDIMENTS, SPICES,
and SEASONINGS*
-
Broths (nonfat or very low fat chicken,
turkey, vegetarian)
- Coffee and espresso powder (instant type)
- Cream Cheese, fat-free
or light, limit to 2 tablespoons daily
- Extracts
(pure vanilla, almond, or others)
- Herbs and spices, fresh and dried (such as
basil,
oregano, parsley, cumin, curry, red pepper, garlic, nutmeg,
cinnamon, cloves, dill, mint, rosemary, and
others).
- Horseradish sauce
- Hot sauce
- Condiments (such as
ketchup, barbecue sauce, etc., as long as they are sugar free)
- Marinades (any
without added sugars)
- Mayonnaise (with no added sugars)
- Mustard (except honey mustard)
- Pepper (black, cayenne, red, white)
- Salsa (with no added
sugars and preferably no oil)
- Sour cream, low fat, limit to 2 tablespoons
daily
- I Can't Believe It's
Not Butter! (spray only, not the tubs or sticks because they have
trans fats)
- Lemon, lime, and
grapefruit juices
- Soy sauce and Tamari
sauce (limit to 1/2 tablespoon daily)
- Spices mixes (if you're
totally avoiding sugar, read the labels)
- Steak sauce, limit to 1/2 tablespoon daily
- Worcestershire sauce, limit to 1 tablespoon
daily
*Note: Always read
labels, and only buy those that contain no added sugars (especially
corn syrups) and no hydrogenated oils (trans fats), or other
ingredients that should be avoided.
BEVERAGES
Water
Club sodas and seltzers
Beverages containing caffeine (coffee, tea,
sodas) are limited to 2
cups (16 oz) per day
Coffee, decaf, unlimited
Tea, decaf, unlimited
Herb teas
Sodas (diet, decaf,
and sugar-free), in moderation, but preferably none
Flavored waters without sweeteners
Tomato juice and mixed vegetable juices
(such as V8)
