The Jackson Diet

We’re not picky eaters, we’re just particular eaters!

I have been trying to encapsulate my answer to people’s incessant question, “How did you do it?!” when they find out that, since we’ve been married, Jack has lost over 50 pounds(!!).  Everyone assumes that I keep him on a strict diet at home, and they want to know the secret ingredients.  The truth is, it stems from many things. 

 

First, we exercise together regularly.  We jog a 5K outside by the beach most days a week.  We also enjoy going on long bike rides together, hiking local trails on weekends, and occasionally playing tennis on the courts right down the street from our home.  Nothing too crazy or vigorous; just consistent, moderate outdoor workouts.

Second, he was sent to the E.R. for diabetes earlier this year and after a scare like that, he has really reformed his outlook on food.  He is very disciplined at avoiding sweets, starches, and carbs.  People think that I am depriving him, but I will offer him a bite of my treat and he always refuses!  Its all him!  I’m so proud!

But perhaps most important is the way we regularly eat.  You can be on the treadmill for hours and it won’t make up for a giant milkshake, double meat/double cheese burger, and extra large chili cheese fries.  We rarely eat out, and that alone saves him countless calories (and dollars).   Mindfully preparing our own food means that he gets a lot more produce and nutrient dense “slow food” rather than gross, high carb, hidden sugar, GMO, pesticide-laden fast food. 

The particular way that we have been eating for nearly the past year is full of purpose.  Each area of focus has a medical or nutritional reason.  We joke that we have the medical records of an 80-year old couple, even though we are newlyweds with an averaged age of 35.  Here is how our health profiles influence what we consume:

Diabetes                 ---no sugar added, low glycemic, low carb

Hypertension             ---low sodium, no processed foods

Cancer                   ---all natural, no canned food, high in

                            antioxidants, avoid soy and sugar

Brain Trauma             ---fatty fish, natural fats, DHA and Omegas

Wheat sensitivity        ---gluten free

           

Here are some of our RULES for the market:

1) Mostly Pescatarian—wild caught seafood, eggs, and whole fat dairy.  We do have the occasional organic, free-range poultry— usually when its on sale and we are weary of fish for a minute.  We eat all kinds of seafood—lobster, crab, scallops, mussels, clams (most of which we can get fresh and local as New Englanders!  Lots of shellfish comes from our very own city of residence!).  When we eat fish, it is always fatty fish, as in, NO TILAPIA.  Bleh.  (Watch this video and you’ll think its gross, too…)  Hubby is allergic to white fish (cod, trout, tilapia) and so we mostly eat fish like Ahi tuna and salmon—always wild caught in the US or Canada.

2) High Fat, Low Carb

Yep, we eat lots of oil, nuts, seeds, and even butter—ain’t nothin’ wrong with organic, unsalted, cultured butter!  Yes, the newest research has been confirming again and again that fat –even animal-based saturated fat—does not make you fat!*  Look it up if you don’t believe me.

           

Low glycemic index

                        No juice.  No more than 2 servings of fruit daily.

                        Yams > Potatoes

                        Quinoa > Rice

                        Buckwheat > Wheat

            No sugar added

            No artificial sweeteners.  No natural sweeteners, for that matter!

3) Gluten Free.  What few grains we do eat are whole grain and naturally free of gluten.

            Buckwheat groats, quinoa, GF oats. Organic brown rice cakes or crackers

            Most baked goods I make are with almond meal and/or coconut flour, so they’re grain free anyway.  Paleo recipes are okay because they are typically low carb, but they are absolutely stuffed with coconut sugar (still adds sugar, people!!), which I simply omit from the recipe, and maybe add an extra banana, or extra spices for flavor and just let a bread be a bread, not a sweet bread—if you catch my drift.

4) Nothing artificial at all.

5) Organic produce, unless it has a thick peel and is known to be pesticide resistant, like bananas and grapefruit.  Watch out especially for the Dirty Dozen!  This includes organic eggs and dairy.

6) Local whenever possible.  We have enjoyed picking our own fruit at local farms this summer.

7) Seasonal, except select super-produce that we can’t go without (berries, avocado, banana)

Some other food rules we follow include:

1) Store in glass containers, even glass water bottles.

2) Nothing from cans.  All beans and legumes are rehydrated on the stove.  All tomato sauce is homemade from fresh tomatoes, fresh garlic, and oil; or from organic sauce sold in glass jars.

So what do we eat when we’re hungry?

Jack recognized early on that what he thought was hunger, was actually thirst.  As such, we drink lots and lots of filtered water.  I also like to keep homemade iced herbal teas in the fridge at all times.

(Iced mint and lemongrass tea, chopped mint leaves, the zest and juice of 2 limes.  Mojito tea!)

(Iced Mango-Hibiscus tea with chopped peaches we picked)

Snacks:

            ¼ c of raw, unsalted mixed nuts

            slice of organic extra sharp cheddar

            hard boiled egg (free range, with Omegas)

            Up to 1 cup of fresh berries

            Homemade hummus with carrots and cucumber slices

            Guacamole with broccoli florets or bell peppers

            Garlic-stuffed green olives

            Wild caught sardines on an organic brown rice cake (Jack loves sardines—a man after Grandma’s heart!)

Breakfast:

            Usually eggs with extra egg whites made in a scramble, omelette, or frittata with garlic, veggies, cheese, and organic salsa.

            But if that carb-craving mood comes at breakfast, I have made waffles out of almond meal, spices, eggs, and coconut oil before, or made the following--

           

        A) Creamy buckwheat hot cereal with cocoa powder, walnuts, and chia seeds.

B) Organic Berries; topped with a mix of GF oats, almond meal, ground flaxseed and hemp seed, spices, and coconut oil. Baked.

                        Both generously topped with plain whole milk organic yogurt. (Trader Joe’s European style is my go-to.  Jack prefers So Delicious Unsweetened Vanilla Coconut Milk yogurt because it contains no grams of sugar from lactose.)  This second recipe is a great examples of how we simply omit the sugar or even honey called for in regular or “Paleo” recipes.  If a recipe has a bunch of fruit in it, then why are you adding a bunch of sugar, too?   

We like to make an almond meal/buckwheat flour banana nut bread, sweetened only with mashed bananas.  It is excellent!  Doing it this way boasts the food’s natural flavor and eliminates unnecessary sweeteners of all kinds, even so-called “natural” sweeteners.

Here's an unsweetened spiced quick bread recipe of my own making-- a blend of carrot cake and paleo banana bread, without added sugars.  The carrots were from our farm share.  I believe I used a blend of Almond Meal and some other gluten free whole grain.  Topped with Neufchatel cheese.  We finished the whole loaf within 3 days!

Our Weekly Essentials Grocery List: 

(I re-stock these weekly!)

            Unsalted Nuts

            Avocado or guacamole

            Cheeses

            Tons of vegetables (almost exclusively from our CSA)

            Eggs (organic, free-range, omega rich diet)

            Plain yogurt

This summer we have a CSA (community supported agriculture) farm share from our nearest farm.  Just as an example, we carried out the following from this local farm just in the past two weeks:

Peaches

Blueberries

Arugula

Bok Choy

Onions

Corn on the Cob

Purple Beets

Scallions

Yukon Gold Potatoes

Garlic

Collard Greens

Boston lettuce

Broccoli

Eggplant

Peppers

Cucumbers

Roma Beans

Tatsoi

This obviously really helps us to up our veggie consumption, and helps us try some different things.

Some farm share experimental recipes:

(Cheesy Kohlrabi Latkes)

 ("Mac and Greens" Yam noodles with collard greens baked in homemade cheddar sauce)

 (Succotash salad with corn, black beans, cucumbers, a spoon of salsa, oil, vinegar, spices)

(Blanched zucchini noodles and garlic scrapes in homemade tomato sauce with fresh basil and parmesan)

Some of Jack’s favorite dinners recently have been things like this:

Local soft-shell crab soaked in homemade buttermilk, dredged in almond meal or coconut flour + cayenne, and pan fried in avocado oil.  We serve this with something like a cole slaw made with chopped napa cabbage, shredded carrots, shaved radishes, toasted sesame seeds, feta cheese, and vinaigrette.

Sauteed shrimp and garlic (and whatever leftover veggies we have, like bell pepper strips) with blanched zucchini noodles, in a light sauce of tahini, olive oil, salt + pepper + cumin, and lemon juice.

Boiled lobster tails (Costco road show!) with melted butter, wrapped in Boston lettuce leaves with avocado slices and red cabbage strips.  Very summery served with a little salad of watermelon, mint, and feta.

Farm share eggplant, sliced and dunked in avocado oil + egg white, dredged in almond meal and spices, cooked in air fryer until browned.  Served over a bowl of homemade tomato sauce, topped with Asiago and Parmesan cheeses.  (I don’t like eggplant, but this was delicious!)

Now, I do eat a little bit of high quality dark chocolate on most days, because it is possible I could lose my mind without it ;)  Occasionally I get a hankering for a (small) drizzle of local honey, which is okay.  And of course, we cheat now and again—he will have a nice bison burger served over greens maybe with a small serving of sweet potato fries, I have an ice cream cone from our neighborhood shop—but we have been enjoying the way we are eating so much, and we have seen such positive results, that it is not very difficult to say no to “regular” foods.  We earnestly stick to our plan at least 90% of the time, and don't get too upset about when we struggle.

And that, my friends, is how you lose over 50 pounds in less than a year without going to a gym, without purchasing a meal plan, without counting calories, and without going on The Biggest Loser.  Good luck!

ADDITIONAL REQUIRED READING:

*Grain Brain, David Perlmutter

            -A high fat and even high cholesterol diet does not hurt your heart, rather, it helps your brain!!

In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan

            -Eat food, not food-like products