Rick - I would have had the same reaction as you did to the "pudding" menu! I find it facinating to discover the differences among people who broadly speak the same language. That includes differences even within the US! I'll have to think of some specific examples. Going from "small town Illinois" to Chicago was a HUGE change in my early 20's. Then going from Chicago to Texas was an even bigger change! Lots of different food references for sure.
Trinity - thank you for the historic perspective on Chef AJ. I enjoy watching her cook stuff. It would take me 10 hours to do what she can do in 15 minutes when she is creating something for "company." (so therefore, I enjoy watching and never actuall MAKE her fancy stuff!) In the 12-day program she made a sweet potato enchillada type caserole and it looked delicious. I do have that recipe in mind to make sometime when we have company, because you KNOW I'm going to foist some WFPB food on people, even if they are having meat on the side!
I am so used to oats+fruit+cinnamon that I continue to struggle with even the idea of savory oats! But I'm sure one day I will just give it a try. Right now I still have a disconnect between different parts of my brain on that topic!
I love salsa though, so that might be a great place to start once I'm ready to give it a try! Thanks for that suggestion!
Accountability:
Food: I've been eating compliantly with Starch Solution 100%, and making progress on the MWL front. I'm curious whether any of the MWL people ever include corn torillas. I remember Dr. McDougall talking about weight loss and flours (but I can't remember if he was specifically talking about MWL). He talked about corn tortillas being an exception (possibly during the old 10-day program discussing food on offer?? I wish I could remember his context) because people don't tend to overeat them. I don't think corn tortillas are the optimal weight loss food just speaking for myself. I do consider them a "not horrible" occassional food, but not sure how much conflicet I'm creating for myself with the MWL guidelines. They are made of corn meal, which is basically corn flour, so it seems they are outside the MWL guidelines.
With this debate going on in my head (not obsessively so - just thinking about my choices) I chose to have corn tortillas with 2 meals over the weekend along with Mary's smashed beans, which are absolutely DELICIOUS!!!). I topped that with a little jarred salsa (I'm on the hunt for some lower sodium options other than home made) and then some deli counter pico de gallo (still too much salt) and a HUGE pile of just cut up tomatoes and onions. (So I might as well just suck it up and chop the jalapeno peppers and make my own LOL!) So delicious. Last night I made the same thing, only put the beans/salsa/tomato concoction over a baked potato. IT WAS JUST AS DELICIOUS! When I thaw out the rest of Mary's beans, I will have them over a potato, and possibly add some corn to the bowl which I think will bring in that corn tortilla flavor.
LOOONG story short - I think it's progress for me to be thinking like this. Examining by choices. Rather than just trying to justify a choice that might not be the BEST choice, I'm starting to think about options. How can I make this a healthier choice? I still have some mental resistance. I suppose that is normal after SO many years of unhealthy eating and Pleasure Trap existance. But progress is being made! I haven't won the war yet, but I feel like I'm taking some hills!
If I can start viewing corn tortillas as a "treat" instead of ___________ (insert sugar/fat/salt/Pleasure Trap item here), then I think I have definitely progressed in this journey.
Another positive thought pattern has to do with considering multiple choices that are within the boundaries of the Starch Solution, but outside the boundaries of MWL. As previously noted, I like to toast a slice of Ezekiel bread to go with my soup. I haven't done that at all the last 2 weeks. Over this past weekend, my thought process was "I'm having corn tortillas, so I do not want to also have Ezekiel bread." The soup without the bread is still delicious!
Anyway, this stuff might not be victorious for everyone, but it's victorious for me. It's not "perfectionist" and it's not "all-or-nothing" and it feels to me like something reasonable. In all my years of battling with food, very little ever seemed "reasonable."
More later - gotta run but want to update about exercise and the functional six. Progress not perfection there as well!