Foods to try

Not yet begun UltraMetabolism Not yet begun UltraMetabolism

Not yet begun the UltraSimple Diet Not yet begun the UltraSimple Diet

I belong to a co-op, where I've found some good foods to try that completely or mostly meet the UltraWellness guidelines. Here they are:

Larabars: They are snack bars with like five ingredients each. I think all but one flavor is gluten- and dairy-free. They might be considered "processed," but maybe not. They look like the ingredients were just chopped up and squashed together, and I don't think chopping counts as processing, because we chop our veggies, don't we? I first found them at the local health food store, but since then I've seen them at Kroger, in their health food section. I buy them from a food co-op, where we get a discount. I didn't like them much before I did the USD, but now I really like them. I have a keener sense of sweetness, and maybe of flavor in general.

Applegate Farms: They make meat products that are organic and not full of preservatives and dyes and junk. I LOOOVE their hot dogs! They have so much flavor, more like dinner sausage than those taste-challenged things at the grocery store. I don't think they quite meet Dr. H's requirement of "lean organic beef," because over half the calories are from fat. But they are 100 percent organic beef, and the only other ingredients other than the beef, spices, and water are sodium lactate (from beets), and lactic acid starter culture (not from milk). Whatever that is. And one type doesn't have either kind of lactic stuff. No nitrites in any of them.

There are pastas that do not contain gluten! Again, try your local health food store, or the health food section at Kroger. One brand, Tinkyada, is just brown rice. There are others with potato flour, soy flour, other things. I find that the Tinkyada is least likely to overcook, and the others can become soggy pretty easily. But, my kids say they like the other ones better than the rice-only. Personally, I don't know how you tell, after you've put spaghetti sauce on it...

If you MUST have some candy, maybe for a kid's birthday party or Christmas stocking, there are some that are better than others. College Farm has organic hard candy. The cream flavors and butterscotch have dairy, but their lemon drops are dairy-free and delicious! They also don't give me headaches like the regular lemon drops do, probably the dyes in the regular kind. The lemon drops are yellow, but it's some spice or vegetable that makes them yellow, not an artificial dye. Newman's Own also makes some candy -- chocolate bars and even peanut butter cups -- that are organic. Some of it's dairy-free.

Heinz makes organic ketchup, which means no HFCS. You can get that a lot of places now. Also organic spaghetti sauce from Ragu and Prego. (I know that's not totally whole foods, but I'm not going to make everything from scratch.)

I also like the organic raspberry and strawberry lemonade from Santa Cruz. It's at Kroger in the health-food section. Again, it's mostly sugar, so not an everyday thing. More like for kids' parties.

We also eat Lay's organic corn chips. It's just organic corn, one of the healthier oils, I forget which, and sea salt. I think they taste better than regular chips.

If anyone else has some products they've found, please post them!

LaraBars and Beyond

Completed UltraMetabolism Completed UltraMetabolism

Doing the UltraSimple Diet Doing the UltraSimple Diet

I found LaraBars at Whole Foods yesterday.  Thanks for the tip, they are great.  I will keep a bar in my purse for emergency energy, or a bite of "dessert".

I also found all kinds of raw vegan crackers, bars, and even Himalayan Salt Crystals by Lydia's Lovin Foods http://www.lydiasorganics.com/ .  These are quite "different" and take some getting used to but she also makes a "Seasoning" and "Luna Nori Sprinkles" which come in handy on all these whole foods I am eating lately.  They are pricey items but I just know they are a powerhouse of real nutrition and I just don't eat as much of them because they satisfy so well.

There is also a gluten free flax cracker by "Mary's Gone Crakers" I've seen at Nob Hill and Whole Foods.  I only get the original flavor, don't like the rest. 

If I need a snack I also eat seasoned roasted seaweed.  Or, for lunch I roll my brown rice inside the seaweed for a seaweed burrito. 

The people at work think I am very weird, but I am not the one on drugs or with diabetes.

If you are ever in San Francisco, you must try a raw vegan restaurant called "Cafe Gratitude".  Everything is raw, organic and vegan, delicious and reasonably priced (dinner for six with 3 desserts and 2 wheat grass cocktails cost us $100).  Amazing!

Thank you again for your great recomendations!