Craig, boy do I approve of this shopping list. I guess cuz it looks a lot like mine . How can anyone say veg eating is boring? You’ve proved it with your own shopcart.

I was surprised to see big 10 lb. bags of organic quinoa at Costco this week. Progressive!

What might be on my list that I don’t see on yours is carrots, cabbage, edamame, mixed greens. Piles of crunchy salad at lunch and greens at dinner has become a habit. Oh, along with all the incredible fresh fruit we are getting in CA these days. My counter is piled with cherries, peaches, apricots, and nectarines.

Thanks for putting all this good stuff out there about phytofoods – I am certain it is having an influence!

Lani

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ina Reply:
July 6th, 2009 at 12:37 pm

i want to say…i have never eaten blueberries! i live in malaysia, in the far east, and we dont have any. maybe come across some frozen ones which i generally try to avoid. eating frozen fruit is abit weird when i have lots of gorgeous fruits like mangoes, mangosteen, papaya, lychee, guava, and the list goes on!

we also have a huge amount of leafy greens and beans which are bought fresh, but the reason i wanted to comment is…all the stuff you guys talk about…i cant eat them. could i find some info on some asian alternatives for some of the foods you recommend?

thanks

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Nice post CB,
just a quick question…do you find this style of eating to be more expensive than your old ways? How much would this list set you back typically per week?
Cheers,
BK

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Craig Ballantyne Reply:
July 3rd, 2009 at 11:42 pm

I don’t think so. Its really not that much different. The only thing that is different is the quinoa, rice, and barley. The almond milk is new, and that’s about it. Everything else is pretty much the same for 2-3 years.

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bill Reply:
July 7th, 2009 at 9:50 pm

Thanks CB,
but my main question was in regards to cost…how much you spend on a weekly basis?
most of the food is similar but with no meat 3-4 times per week, the addition of hemp and almond milk…how does the cost change.
Thanks.
BK

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Bear Reply:
July 4th, 2009 at 2:03 pm

Howdy Bill,

Once you get your staples (dry things like the Quinoa, Rice, Steel cut Oats, Barley, etc) in the cupboards, it’s really only you fresh items that you end up buying on a weekly bases.

This time of year, Farmers Markets and buying bulk for you dry and canned items, will save you a lot in the long run. And just like the regular food items, clipping coupons and hitting sales will help a lot as well.

Da Bear

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bill Reply:
July 7th, 2009 at 10:05 pm

Thanks!
Appreciated…

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Too bad i can’t find any quinoa, oat groats, hummus, hemp, almond milk (or other nuts milk) in my country.. being a vegetarian is hard because we’re still undereducated about the vegetarian nutrition here.

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Awesome! Thanks for the great workouts. One question, is rotating lunge same as multi-directional lunge?

Looking forward to phase4.

Thanks again.

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Great post Craig,
love the shopping list and story on positive peer pressure. Living with 4 people who dislike excercise and love processed and fast foods, Im still waiting to make an impact. Also, I recently tried the breakfast you mentioned a while back- heated nut butter with berries and coconut flakes- delicious! Im addicted now. are you able to get fresh blueberries for most of the year, or are they frozen? Fresh blueberries here cost an arm and a leg. also wondering if you’ve experienced lack of satiety while eating vegetarian. Its just difficult for me to feel satisfied that Ive had a ‘complete meal’ without meat, even if I know Ive added adequate protein from plant sources.

cheers

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Craig Ballantyne Reply:
July 5th, 2009 at 1:22 pm

Hi VN!

I can’t eat enough food on a no-sugar, vegetarian diet. its perfect for fat loss.

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thanks for posting this – really helpful! can you explain the benefits of almond milk? it doesn’t seem to contain much protein…thanks.

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Do you ever get anything fun like a donut?

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Craig Ballantyne Reply:
July 5th, 2009 at 2:12 pm

just not that into donuts anymore.

i could probably eat a lot of junk and get away with it, but I’d rather be a good role model for my readers than fit junk food into my life.

its not that big of a deal.

eating a donut takes about a minute, and then what are you left with?

most people just get 24 hours of guilt from 2 minutes of eating junk.

why not avoid it in the first place.

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Malcolmina Reply:
July 5th, 2009 at 2:43 pm

..and why is it only bad food that is considered “fun?” I’ve had a lot of fun chowing down a pint of fresh blueberries!

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Although in general I’m not a big fan of soy, smoked tofu can add a stellar savory addition to a salad (reminiscent of sliced bacon). Grab some if you can find it at your grocery store!

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so true about thinking the bad foods, like donuts, are the “fun foods”. it’s really about making a paradigm shift and making the the foods that are good for you the “fun foods”….like a bowl full of blueberries….so yummy!!

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I am 64 years old, work out 4 to 5 hours a week at local gym.
I have a definite sugar addiction. In the past 6 – 8 months I have gone from a size 4 to a size 8…..most of the fat is around my waist.

Are you a proponet of the ESE program? Do you think this would help break my addiction?

I bought your Turbulance Training book and, honestly, have not gotten into it yet. I feel my eating habits need attention. I do eat dinner out 4 nights a week.

HELP!
Thanks,
Susan

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Craig Ballantyne Reply:
July 5th, 2009 at 6:41 pm

Hi Susan!

Yes, I’m a big fan of Eat Stop Eat. I highly recommend it and I know that it will help you.

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Hi Craig,
I know this blog is about vegetarian eating but I have a question, being a former vegetarian and vegan. What are your thoughts on a paleolithic diet? Since I have been on a paleo diet I have more energy, and have lost alot of body fat without sacrificing any lean muscle loss. I was not able to achieve these results on all veg type diets. As a combat athlete this is very important to my profession. Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time.

Larry

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Craig Ballantyne Reply:
July 5th, 2009 at 6:40 pm

Hi Larry, thats fine!

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Hello;
Your grocery list is awesome!!Cost wise,I find eating this way is a lot cheaper that eating junk food because after eating junk food your body has to use lots of energy to digest that food and then sometimes if it doesn’t digest properly a person has to buy pills to help digestion and so on but in eating healthy your body can digest very well and those foods require little energy for digestion and no pills are required to digest fruits & vergetables for the most part.. I have been eating this way now for 10 years and I look younger and younger every day!!!Helen

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Good website for vegetarian recipes? I am a bit lost on how to prepare yummy veg combos.

By the way, I bought the bodyweight package last night (and splurged on the bonus pack).

I am blown away by the bodyweight program! It’s amazing and I can’t wait to get going.

Thanks for putting this amazing stuff out here for us.

Skindoc

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Craig Ballantyne Reply:
July 5th, 2009 at 11:30 pm

Thanks Skindoc!

We have meal plans on the way! Thanks for the feedback on the bodyweight program!

craig

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Craig – do you feel your daily intake is sufficient in terms of protein requirements. That looks to be 40-60 gms of protein/day? I take it you don’t believe in consuming whey protein?

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Craig Ballantyne Reply:
July 5th, 2009 at 11:29 pm

Hi Tracy, I get way more protein than that. Check out my youtube videos for the truth about dietary protein on this type of diet.

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Great post! Thank you!
The only thing I would comment about is your above mention re: sugar. Sugar IS sneaky (kudos to avoiding it in tom. sauce) but some fruits have higher sugar values than others and almond milk (vanilla) tends to have sugar in it as well.
Since you already soak your groats, have your tried to or given any thought to homemade almond milk w/ which you could completely control the sugar content (or lack thereof)??

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Craig Ballantyne Reply:
July 5th, 2009 at 11:29 pm

Hi Tee,

I drink unsweetened almond milk and I don’t care how much sugar there is in fruit.

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what have you noticed thats different since cutting out meat and most grain’s/breads? and what is your take on whey protien would you suggest adding it into a diet plan?

I agree eating is fun when you make it more important and exciting. I take pride in making meals and accomplished/healthy feeling that comes with it. Fresh is Fun.

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Craig Ballantyne Reply:
July 5th, 2009 at 11:28 pm

Hi Zeke,

I’ve noticed no difference. But going back to my old diet, I was still only eating meat 3-4 times per week at most and I was already eating all those vegetables and fruit anyway. I don’t see the need for protein shakes so I don’t use them.

Thanks!

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Same here too… We can’t find quinoa, oat groats, hummus, hemp, rice milk, almond milk (or other nuts milk) in Malaysia. Simply because we don’t have many veegans here. If there are then many of them are only left with the option that nature provides plus some soy stuff (and as we are well aware of the presence of phytoestrogen in the soy products) and guys do have some problems with soy. Not too bad for vegetarians. Most of them are lacto-vegetarians or lacto-ovo-vegetarians over here. I am the former.

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ina Reply:
July 6th, 2009 at 12:40 pm

hey! i’m from malaysian and i make my own hummus! very easy and you can get all the ingredients from your local supermarket or health shop.

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Yoke Reply:
July 8th, 2009 at 7:51 am

you CAN find quinoa, hummus, rice milk and almond milk in Malaysia, at least in Kuala Lumpur. Try supermarkets that carry organic or “western” produce such as Cold Storage, Carrefour, and Mercato. I’ve seen some of these things in Jusco as well.

um…yeah…I’m from Malaysia.

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Craig Ballantyne Reply:
July 8th, 2009 at 1:03 pm

Thanks Yoke!

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Hi Happiester,

It is easy to make your own nut milks. There is a simple recipe at this site but there are lots of others on the internet.

Same for humus. The main ingredient is chickpeas (=garbanzo beans=ceci beans). Just type ‘hummus recipe’ into google and you’ll get hundreds of recipes. Most of them will call for tahini, which is a sesame seed paste. If you can’t find it you can make your own:

This is from The Cooks Thesaurus – a wonderful site at http://www.foodsubs.com:

To make tahini: In a blender, mix white sesame seeds with a small amount of peanut oil (or other oil) until creamy.

The cooks thesaurus also suggests substituting toasted sesame seeds for tahini when making hummus as an easier option.

Unfortunately, I can’t help you with the oat groats and quinoa, but there are probably places that either import it or will ship it if you’re really keen to try it. A quick search came up with Country Farm Organics, which sells more varieties of quinoa than I can have ever seen! Might be a good place to start.

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Craig well done with this whole page I am with you 100% on all of what your saying, its helping my results big time.

Cheers Steven

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Hi Craig,

I totally agree with the idea of postive peer pressure. I love my family and friends but do worry about the excess food and alcohol intake that occurs at family get togethers and in their daily lives. The future health consequences are scary and are happening to so many people in todays society. I want people to know you can feel so much better eating natural foods and enjoying treats in moderation.

That is why I try to lead by example. Trying new recipes, using herbs and spices to flavour foods, avoiding fast food and processed crap and encouraging fruit and vegetables intake. So far my parents are following the plan I set out for them and are losing weight (I am a newly qualified dietitian). I am so glad to finally have them on board.

So positive peer pressure really does work! Be the best you can be and make no apologies for it!

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Craig Ballantyne Reply:
July 6th, 2009 at 12:20 pm

Gillian, great stuff!

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I like Craig’s shopping list, and i concur with Lani’s additions (especially the grees, and the sweet edamame I also like to add snow pees, sweet pees, chickpeas, legumes, and cauliflower.

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Great workout tips thank you. could you please explain what crosscrawl and siff lunges are, i mean how to perform them.

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Hi Craig, been following you for quite sometime, but I have never really posted any comments. I like your list,but I think you can change a couple of things to make it better. For example the tomate sauce. I used to buy it in a jar until my girlfriend taught me to make my own.. All you need are 2 or 3 tomates, and some spices if you want.

Recipe

Get the tomates and put them in boiling water until the skin cracks (this is just to peel them easier). Take them out and peel them. Put them in a frying pan and squish them with a fork. Add the spices you want and that is it. Add it to pasta or anything you want. In spain they put it on some french bread which is also really good.

I like to add garlic and onions to it. You can use a blender to make it more saucy or liquid if you want.

That is it. Hope you try it.

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Craig
Great blog!!! As a former athlete/meat head, I really want to jump into your style of training. Problem is my arthritis in my knees prevents me from being able to perform many of the lunges, squats and leg exercises you recommend in your routines. Can you please write a general post on substitutions? I know I am not alone. Eager to join in the fun!!!

Paul

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Craig Ballantyne Reply:
July 6th, 2009 at 7:11 pm

Hi Paul!

http://turbulencetraining.blogspot.com/2007/05/23-bodyweight-exercises-for-fat-loss.html

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I don’t know about the vegan stuff Craig, I am just too into steak.

I may try it as a weekend thing and go from there.

As always though, great info and post up.

JP

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Just an observation.
why bother buying 2 boxes of flavored vanilla almond milk and 2 boxes of unsweetened. Why not 4 boxes of unsweetened almond milk and add your own real vanilla flavor instead of the artificial vanilla flavor.

Beans from a can and looking for low salt ones?? yuk! Dried beans and cook your own or is that too much trouble??

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I have celiac sprue. Are oat groats gluten free? Thanks

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Great workouts Craig! One question, how many time do you do each superset?

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