Tofu and Tahini...

[Mrs. Doodlepunk]

are like cocaine. Not that I have ever used cocaine and not wanting to make light of a truly difficult thing to overcome in the case of someone who is actually addicted to cocaine, but fat is addictive for me. I've been thinking since early this morning that I have to really do something about my Bryanna's Cheesy Salad dressing habit because i know I'm enjoying it way too much, so it must be bad for me. It has to be the little bit of fat in it.

The thing is, that when I enter all my food into Fitday (which I have been doing to keep myself on the straight and narrow so to speak) my fat percentages are 10 percent or below. So, I figure that my 4 or 5 tablespoons of dressing a day aren't hurting anything. I've lost 3 pounds this week, too!

But, then I thought about it more this morning. Maybe I'm eating the salad because of the fat, just like I used to do with my gobs of blue cheese dressing!

So, I'm just trading in one addiction for another. Tofu and tahini salad dressing, even if it is fairly low fat, like 23 percent fat, is still like cocaine for me.

Anyone got any suggestions on what to substitute for creaminess in my salad dressings??!! I was thinking of trying pureed cooked Great Northern beans or red potatoes in this recipe, and omitting the tahini.

[noodle]

Hi Mrs. Doodlepunk! First of all, I really enjoy your posts!

I'm like you, I really like creamy salad dressings, while my family seems to be happy with Balsamic vinegar. Yuck.

Anyway, I use a brand of salad dressing called Walden Farms that I get at my health food store. They have lots of varieties such as thousand island, dijon mustard, etc. They have no fat, no sugar, no gluten. Here is a listing of the ingredients on the thousand island :

pure triple filtered water, white vinegar, tomato paste, cellulose gel, natural spices, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, pickle relish, titanum dioxide (??), lemon juice, white pepper, worchester sauce, xanthum gum (a natural plant thickener, I asked ), sucralose.

So there are some ingredients that are questionable, and it is pricey, 3.65 for a 12 fl.oz. bottle.

The cost is what I don't like, so I'm brainstorming as to what I can use instead. I might try using a thin humus. I am suspicious of soy products.

Good luck.

[Mrs. Doodlepunk]

thin hummus.... now there's an idea. I wonder what I could thin it with. Maybe a little Bragg's and water? My favorite hummus has tahini in it, but I've made it before with roasted red peppers instead of the tahini and have liked that.

I know what you mean about the pricey bottled stuff. I don't buy it, mainly because of the price, and if I found some I liked then I'd be buying it all the time!

I didn't try any new dressings made of beans today after all. Instead I decided to try pizza made with mashed potatoes. It wasn't all that bad.

[serenity]

Have you tried Bryanna's dressing by using the "lite" silken tofu and omitting the tahini? It might still be good -In fact, it probably would be. Or slowly but surely, reduce the amount of tahini until you can omit it and still enjoy the dressing. By the way, some of the dips and dressings served in Santa Rosa were based on the "lite" silken tofu, so I think that small condiment-sized servings are OK - particularly if you are losing weight too.

I'm glad you shared the recipe. I tried it this week, and loved it. I plan to use it to ween myself off of the past 3 not-so-good weeks, and then begin to omit the tahini. So if you try it first, let me know!

[Mrs. Doodlepunk]

In fact, the tofu I'm using is the "lite" silken. I bought it because I saw that it was lower in fat than the regular stuff. That is interesting that they use it in the live in program! That is MWL now rather than 12 day, isn't it? Have you been to the 10 day program?

I've been thinking of trying it without the tahini, the last batch I made I used half the amount in the recipe and I still enjoyed it.

I have been enjoying this dressing so much, I really am sad to think of not being able to eat it any more! One of my favorite illegal foods is good creamy coleslaw, and my shredded salad is very much like coleslaw. I had to omit the raw turnip because it caused problems, but use the recipe pretty much as written otherwise.

[serenity]

Yep, I was at the 10 day last year. And it is based on the MWL, but more relaxed than I expected. We had no bread for the first few days, then about day 4 or so, we had sandwiches for lunch. Someone expressed surprise, since this was MWL. And Dr. McDougall said kiddingly, what, are you a perfectionist?

And we had tofu dip every day with the vegetable snacks. So, while the dressing may not be "perfect" MWL, it would seem to be in keeping with the spirit of things. If you are losing weight and don't have other health problems, why not?

[veganruthie]

Doesn't it seem enough to be losing weight and enjoying your veggies? Do you feel like you have to be deprived to be McDougalling? Because if I was trying to lose weight and being sucessful, and trying to eat lots of raw veggies and being sucessful, I wouldn't worry so much about it. I think sometimes we build things up in our minds when we think about them too much. Chances are, you'll enjoy this food and then begin to enjoy others in time. For now, be glad that you can enjoy something so much! That's healthy! It definately can't compare to the unhealthiness of a peanutbutterjellysandwich addiction, can it?

[Mrs. Doodlepunk]

Doesn't it seem enough to be losing weight and enjoying your veggies? Do you feel like you have to be deprived to be McDougalling? Because if I was trying to lose weight and being sucessful, and trying to eat lots of raw veggies and being sucessful, I wouldn't worry so much about it.

Thank you, that is exactly what I was thinking until I started to think some more about the fat addiction issue. Even though I've lost a little weight, it is just my first week doing MWL strictly and I have a long way to go, who knows if my little bit of tahini is going to mess things up or not in the long run?

Well, I have been thinking about it more and more. I also made some of the dressing with no tahini and tried it. It's not as good, not as enjoyable. It doesn't totally blow chunks, and I could live with it. Maybe. But.... it's not as good. I think that what I have to do is either put the tahini in it or learn to like it the way it is. Maybe I'll put half the tahini in it and see how that goes for a while.

Hearing that the live in program allows lite tofu and also sandwiches on a limited basis really helps me. I might not have to be quite as stringent ad I've been, but I'm learning. I think that may be why Dr. McDougall and Mary do that, so that people can see that they don't have to be absolutely perfect.

[Malva]

The Maximum Weight Loss program is for "maximum weight loss".

If you just want to shed a few pounds, the regular program works great.
If you just want to regain your health, the regular program is just the ticket.

If you want to lose as much weight as you can, to get to your optimum weight and health, then that's what MWL is all about.

As for myself, I cannot eat tofu or tahini without gaining back the weight I've lost. My sedantary lifestyle (desk job) does not burn enough calories to accomodate the excess calories from high fat foods. Therefore, I do MWL to maintain my weight.

Some folks can eat peanut butter and jelly and still stay slim and trim.
I've learned that for effective weight loss, you have to learn to adapt your mouth to your metabolism.

[pollkat]

I have been "McDougalling" for over 15 years, but switched to MWL to lose 40 pounds to reach goal weight.

Malva, are you saying you've been McDougalling for 15 years & was still 40 lbs overweight? Man, I'll never reach my goal weight if I keep eating the way I am!!! I have 30 to 40 to lose & can't lose 1 lb!!! Course I have a really hard time sticking to the McD way of eating. I LOVE my fats & sweets.... Even when I have a salad, they are loaded with fats. I can't eat them (& enjoy them) if I don't have the olive oil & olives & avocados in them. I learned to eat salads without blue cheese when I became vegan, but now that I've substituted it for olive oil, I don't know that its anymore healthy. I have tried many types of bottled & homemade dressings, but I know if its not creamy, I can't eat it. My mom gave me a good recipe for Poppy Seed dressing. Its really good, but it has olive oil AND a bit of sugar in it. So I quit using that & simply stick with oil & vinegar. I honestly can't eat a salad without the oil. I think it tastes awful. So, I'm worried that if I eat too much salad that I'll continue to gain weight!!!

[Malva]

Malva, are you saying you've been McDougalling for 15 years & was still 40 lbs overweight?

Correct!
[see additional note to pollkat on page two]

It's like Dr. McDougall said in the last Star McDougaller report, you can't have complete and total success unless you stick to the plan and don't cheat.

You aren't losing weight because you are not burning more than you are consuming. To lose weight you have to either give up the fats or start running marathons.

I USED to think I couldn't live without fats, but when I stopped eating them my tastes (addictions) changed and started appreciating the clean foods. I was (am?) a major sugar addict. But now that I don't use it, I don't crave it.

You are only as much of an addict as you allow yourself to be.

[pollkat]

Well, I know for sure I'm a true ADDICT. I know there was a time I went without sugars & its true, you don't crave them. HOWEVER, until you get to that point... the withdrawal phase... its so hard to go without them.

I know thats the only thing left for me to try, in order to lose this weight. I feel like a total COW and it gets more depressing every day. I just have an awful time staying motivated for any length of time.

I will just have to work on it on step at a time.

[S B]

Try mixing a little guar gum or that xanthan (spelling????) powder stuff with whatever liquid and herb/spice/etc. mixture you might like on your salad. It will thicken it and make it somewhat creamy -- may not have quite the nice texture that whipped tofu has, but it works!

By the way, I KNOW that guar gun is McD-legal (he lists it in one of his books!). Not sure about the other stuff, but it probably is, too -- did not see anything bad posted about it after some had mentioned it on the old board.

[Malva]

I suggest that you read Doug Lisle's book "The Pleasure Trap."
Good info, and lots of help on how to break food addictions.

The DVD is available at the drmcdougall.com store
http://drmcdougall.com/books_tapes.html

Here's what I did to break free.
I allowed myself to go hungry.
I then ate only non-fat, whole foods.
When you are hungry, anything tastes good, you know.
Within a few days, my tastes started changing, and I was satisfied with foods that I thought I could never enjoy.

I don't use dressings on salads anymore.
Just fresh herbs.
My favorite is chopped fresh dill weed.
Every dinner starts with a BIG salad.

I was honestly the biggest fat and sugar eater years ago.
I made my own dressings with mayo and sour cream.
Cookies, cakes and candies galore.
I can not eat them now because they are too sweet and too heavy.
You can break free from "needing" those kinds of unhealthy foods, if you truly desire good health over feeding your body's addictions.

[KareninTN]

I needed to hear a pep talk like that this morning. I've recently made very good progress on the fat front, with which I'm very pleased, but now sugar is another matter altogether .

karenturtle