Simplicity is the key during these first 10 days to make it
easier while you are suffering the energy and mood impairment of the
detoxification/withdrawal process.
Start with dishes that you are familiar with and already
include in your diet, though perhaps modified with healthier ingredients. This
way, preparation is simplified and you won’t even need a recipe. Having three
scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast is perfectly fine—no recipe needed, but
consistent with this lifestyle and easy to prepare. You can, of course, dive
further into the recipes and draw from some of the more interesting choices,
but do so only if the detox/withdrawal is not slowing you down.
While you will find simple breakfast dishes specified below
that are typically considered part of breakfast, don’t hesitate to introduce
lunch or dinner foods into your morning meal, such as a salad, leftover steak
or hamburger, or a baked dish. Much of the typical American breakfast ritual
was invented by the processed food industry, trapping you into the habit of
consuming grains and sugars. The farther you get away from such practices, the
healthier you will become. Conversely, if you feel like having an omelet or
scrambled eggs for dinner, go right ahead.
Rather than follow conventional advice such as “Breakfast is
the most important meal of the day,” we listen to our bodies: If you are hungry
for breakfast, eat breakfast; if you are not hungry for breakfast, don’t eat
breakfast, then eat later when you perceive the softer form of hunger we
experience in the grain-free world. We find this to be a more rational and
effective approach.
We introduce Prebiotic Shakes on day 3 for breakfast that
are very filling and can serve as a meal replacement. If you remain hungry
after the shake, go ahead and have something more, such as some eggs or
full-fat yogurt with berries. If you don’t use the shakes on any day, be sure
to obtain prebiotic fibers from other sources, such as small servings of
legumes, sliced jicama dipped into guacamole, hummus, inulin or FOS powders
added to other foods, or other root vegetables (while not exceeding our 15 gram
net carb rule per meal).
Once you are beyond the initial 10 days and finished with
the fatigue, nausea, headaches, and low moods of the detox/withdrawal, then you
can graduate to the more varied dishes of the menu plan.
The majority of people engaging in this lifestyle should
feel pretty darned good after completing the initial unpleasant, often
tumultuous, 10 days. You should therefore be ready to explore some of the new
recipes in this Undoctored lifestyle, including those that seem indulgent—like
cookies or pizza—that now become health foods that should raise no concerns
about weight gain or health impairment (aside from the dairy issue).
If you are among the minority whose detox/withdrawal
symptoms continue longer than 10 days, it is perfectly fine to continue the
simplified program of the initial 10 days. Join in with the more elaborate menu
plan when you start feeling stronger and more energetic, which should not be
too far off.
Three meals per day are specified, but this does not mean
that you need to adhere to a three-meal-per-day schedule. Eat if you wish, do
not eat if you are not hungry. Also, only some desserts are specified, but feel
free to add the dessert recipes included whenever the impulse hits. All dessert
recipes are compliant with this lifestyle and can even be used to replace other
breakfast, lunch, or dinner foods, since all unhealthy ingredients have been
removed and replaced with healthy alternatives.
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