(Note: I am NOT a medical professional. The writings shared here on this site are of my own experiences as I journey towards a healthier lifestyle. Please seek advice from a medical professional before you attempt any change in your eating or exercising.)

Although I am having to follow the food choices provided by the LA Weight Loss plan, I am also trying to work on eating the best food choices and combining them in a way that meets the recommendations from The Insulin Resistance Diet book. It's a little tricky at first, but gets easier the more that I do it. Our family has a set of meals that we usually eat over and over again and that makes it easier for me because once I figure out a good meal, I just record it and can then use it again in the future.

I have the SuperFoods RX and SuperFoods HealthStyle books (Steven Pratt, MD) and 12 Best Foods Cookbook (Dana Jacobi) here at my house. They both recommend nearly the same foods for us to each each week. Here is that list (and their "sidekicks" or substitutes) as well as the # of times each week we should try to work them into our menus, according to the SuperFoods books. I have created an alphabetical list that you can access and print out - just click here.

Beans (all beans - pinto, chickpeas, lima, great northern, navy -, lentils, legumes, green beans, green peas, sugar snap peas): four 1/2-cup servings per week

Blueberries (purple grapes, strawberries, cherries, raspberries, cranberries, raspberries, currants, blackberries, boysenberries, other dark colored berries): 1-2 cups daily

Broccoli (bok choy, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, kale, mustard greens, turnip greens, Brussel sprouts, Swiss chard, rutabaga, kohlrabi, broccoflower, arugula, watercress, daikon root, wasabi, liverwort): 1/2 to 1 cup daily

Whole Grains, especially Oats, wheat germ, ground flaxseed (brown rice, wheat, barley, millet, buckwheat, rye, bulgur wheat, amaranth, quinoia, triticale, kamut, yellow corn, wild rice, spelt, couscous): 5-7 servings daily

Oranges (lemons, grapefruit, tangerines, limes, kumquats):  1 serving daily

Pumpkin (carrots, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, orange bell peppers): 1/2-cup most days

Wild Salmon (halibut, canned tuna, sardines, trout, oysters, clams, mackerel, herring, sea bass, Omega-enriched eggs, flax or ground flaxseed): 2-4 times/week

Soy (soymilk, soy nuts, tofu, edamame, tempeh, miso): 15 g soy protein daily in 2 separate meals or snacks

Spinach (kale, collards, mustard greens, turnip greens, romaine lettuce, orange bell peppers): 1 cup steamed or 2 cups raw most days

Tea (green or black): 1+ cups daily

Tomatoes (watermelon, pink grapefruit, papaya, guava): one serving of processsed tomatoes/day ... or ... multiple servings of fresh tomatoes per week

Turkey (chicken): 3-4 servings/week of 3-4 oz. weekly

Walnuts (almonds, pistachios, sesame seeds, peanuts, pumpkin & sunflower seeds, macadamia nuts, pecans, hazelnuts, cashews): 1 oz, five times weekly

Yogurt (kefir, soy yogurt): 1-2 cups most days

In the 12 Best Foods Cookbook, there are a few noted differences:

- sweet potatoes are highlighted over pumpkin and I do believe that it's easier to just bake a sweet potatoe instead of trying to find recipes for canned pumpkin

- black beans are pointed out as the best choice in the beans category

- dark chocolate is considered one of the 12 best foods! Yum! Sidekicks include red wine and green tea.

- onions is listed as one of the 12 best foods, too. Sidekicks include garlic, shallots, leeks, green onions, and chives

- apples is noted as a "sidekick" for oats, probably due to the fiber content

- flax is noted as an alternative to salmon ... the keypoint being that we need to get in our Omega-3's each week

It may seem limiting to think that we only have about 16 foods that are good for us, but if we count in the "sidekicks," we are up to around 125 super foods!

In Superfoods HealthStyle, there are a few more new foods listed:

- Fruits: kiwi, canteloupe, apricots, dried fruits w/no additional sugar or high-fructose sugar added to them

- cinnamon - sprinkle it on your oatmeal, in your coffee, in soups, fruit dips ... use it often!

- honey: 1-2 tsp multiple times weekly

- avocado (asparagus, artichokes, extra virgin olive oil): 1/3 to 1/2 avocado multiple times weekly

- garlic: add to recipes when you can

- extra virgin olive oil (canola oil): 1 Tbl most days

- apples (pears): eat one daily

- pomegranates (plums): 4-8 oz of 100% pomegranate juice multiple times weekly or any amount of seeds

- "super spices": cumin, turmeric, oregano, thyme

Now, we are up to almost 150 "super foods" and spices/condiments that we should be consuming regularly. With all of these choices, there really is no reason that we can't fit them into our daily diet! We are an OBESE nation and we need to get the processed foods out of our homes ... meals should not come out of cardboard boxes, but from the perimeter of our grocery stores - these areas contain the fresh produce, meat and dairy that our bodies need. Frozen foods are wonderful for us and often healthier than fresh produce as they are flash frozen at the peak of ripeness. I often use frozen veggies in my meals.

Here is what I can eat each day on the LAWL diet:

1 dairy

2 proteins

3 fruit

3 vegetables

2 starches

1 fat

2 LA Lite choices (this is actually 2 more proteins)

64 oz water

Now, LAWL does not want their clients to be hungry and I have been lately. My counselor believes it's because I'm exercising regularly, so we may be adding in one more dairy and maybe one more fat or maybe even more fruit (fiber!) to my plan this coming week. I used to eat a bit more fruit, but I have to follow the LAWL diet for now so am actually not eating as much fruit as I usually eat.

Below is how I am combining the good foods mentioned above with the limits I have based on being on the diet:

- BREAKFAST -

oatmeal w/blueberries, cinnamon and maybe flaxseed or walnuts; made w/milk

(if I don't have blueberries, I'll either eat 1/2-grapefruit or 1 orange)

cinnamon coffee w/1 Tbl creamer

- MID-MORNING SNACK -

LA Cafe au Lait (soy protein)

- LUNCH - (I have 24 oz of water in by this time)

veggie salad including romaine lettuce, tomatoes, spinach and canned tuna or baked chicken; low-fat/sugar dressing or olive oil & vinegar

1 apple w/a touch of peanut butter sometimes

iced green tea

- AFTERNOON SNACK - (I have another 16 oz of water in by this time)

LA Lite bar (soy protein)

maybe a fruit (either a banana, red grapes or orange, depending upon what I had for breakfast) - depends upon my state of hunger

soon, maybe a yogurt!

- DINNER - (I have my final 16 oz of water in by this time)

meat: usually baked chicken or salmon patty

starch: brown rice or baked sweet potato w/a smidge of butter and Morton Salt

veggie: broccoli

... or mixed veggies that include broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, squash w/a dash of vinegar

... green beans

... carrots and peas

iced green tea

Other meal options:

-pinto beans as part of Taco night or with cornbread

-spaghetti w/whole wheat pasta and a side salad

-bean/veggie soup

- EVENING -

cinnamon coffee w/1 Tbl creamer

maybe fruit if I have one left or sugar-free Jello w/fat-free whipped topping

Total calories for the day: 1200-1400 plus I burn 275-300 calories on the treadmill each morning. That is the main reason we will probably increase what I can eat as I'm not having a net intake of 1200-1400 calories by the end of the day, but more like 900-1100 and that's not enough! My metabolism is already out of whack due to the insulin resistance and I need to be taking in 20% of my calories in good fats or my weight loss will stall.

Well, I hope this information is helpful and encourages you to consider adding more of these great goods to your menus. All of the 3 books that I mention above have great, easy-to-fix recipes using everyday items. I'm going to be scouring them over the next few months and using the ones that I can that have the majority of the ingredients allowed on my diet at this time.