Eat To Live Friendly Recipes on HubPages.com

This article is for those who are familiar with Eat To Live and understand such terms as "nutrient rich" and "caloric density". At the end of this article is a list of resources for learning the basics of the Eat To Live program and deciding if it may be right for you.

If you are following Dr. Joel Fuhrman's Eat To Live program, as I am, you are most likely on the lookout for appealing recipes that meet the requirements of this weight loss and return-to-health plan. Although you may already have one or more of the books available on the topic, all of which do offer program-compatible recipes, there are many more published recipes out there on the Internet that you might want to try but just don't know how to find.

In my search for Eat To Live friendly recipes over the six months I've been on the plan, I found a tempting selection of recipes here on HubPages that are completely suitable to the program or could be if slightly modified. In all cases, the HubPages recipe writers were not setting out to create Eat To Live friendly recipes; rather, they were writing favorite family or cultural recipes or recipes that meet the needs for low-fat, dairy-free, vegan, or vegetarian food plans.

Following are some of the stellar recipes I've found on HubPages, which I chose for their healthy ingredients, ease of preparation, and overall conformance to the principles of the Eat To Live program.

In showcasing the recipes published here that are not completely compatible with the Eat To Live program, I've also offered minor change suggestions that would let them comply with the requirements of the first six rigorous weeks.

I hope you give these recipes a look and try them out, whether you follow the Eat To Live program or not. They are great food.

This tofu smoothie recipe published by Om Paramapoonya is recommended as a breakfast choice for diabetics.

It calls for sugar-free syrup and vanilla extract, both of which would not be part of the Eat To Live plan for the first six weeks because of the artificial sweetness of sugar-free syrup and the alcohol that is present in vanilla extract.

To make this tempting recipe compatible with Eat To Live, try replacing the vanilla extract with a grated vanilla bean and then add sweetness with whole grapes or mango slices instead of sugar-free syrup.

The description of this tomato salad with lime simply sparkles. Tomatoes, lime, onion, garlic, black pepper, and parsley come together in a refreshing combination. No substitutions are needed in this recipe presented by Patty Inglish, MS in her hub featuring vegan recipes from North Africa. However, you may want to omit the salt.

Scroll about one-third of the way down the page on this article for the ingredients and preparation method. As soon as tomatoes are in season and ripened on the vine, this salad recipe is going to grace my table.

J.S.Matthew's recipe for a vegetable, fruit, and herb plate from Southeast Asia describes an intriguing combination of vegetables, fruits, and herbs.

This plate is traditionally intended to accompany roasted or grilled meat, but it can stand alone as a side or salad to complement any vegetarian main course, or it can be its own entrée for lunch or dinner while following the Eat To Live program.

Some of the ingredients may be hard to find in the US, unless you are lucky to have an Asian market in your neighborhood; however, J.S.Matthew suggests more commonly available substitutes that work well.

This dish, as described, needs no modification to make it Eat To Live friendly.

Tasty and satisfying oil-free salad dressings are hard to come by.

If you've bought low-fat or no-fat commercial salad dressings, you know what I mean. This one is quite different. Artichoke hearts, cashews, and sunflower seeds create a rich, creamy texture and a pleasant, mild sweetness, while mustard, vinegar, and garlic add a delightful tang.

This oil-free dressing also makes a delicious dip for fresh fruits and vegetables.

I came across this recipe a short while ago and was intrigued by how Marntzu purees the vegetables before adding them to the cooked beans in this 15 bean soup recipe. I generally add the same vegetables he does (onion, celery, carrot, tomato), but I don't puree them first. Next time, I will. Having a smoothly blended liquid sets off the beauty of the individual bean types in the finished soup.

To make this recipe more Eat To Live friendly, make these substitutions and omissions:

• Use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock
• Use low-sodium tomato sauce
• Replace the olive oil with vegetable stock to cook the onions, using a non-stick pot or pan
• Replace the salt with a no-salt seasoning mix such as Mrs. Dash

This easy-to-make nutritious soup is sure to be a winner on your table. Bob Ewing presents two barley soup versions in his hub. Use the second version, "A Quick Version", for a dish more compatible with the first six weeks of the Eat To Live program. All you need to do by way of modification is eliminate the salt or replace it with a no-salt seasoning blend such as Mrs. Dash or Trader Joe's 21-Seasoning Salute.

Also worth reading in this Hub is the nutritional information at the end where Bob compares wheat and barley. You may be surprised to see the dramatic differences.

G-Ma Johnson's hub offers two versions of this winter squash soup. The first is the original recipe she found in a magazine and the second is her own version "tweaked" according to the ingredients she had on hand at the time.

One of the aspects of this soup I find particularly attractive is that it uses no milk, cream, or milk substitutes, thereby allowing the beautiful flavors of the roasted squash and sauteed herbs and vegetables to dominate.

Because G-Ma's version retains the salt, fats, and chicken broth of the original, all of which are to be avoided in the first six weeks of Fuhrman's program, you may want to try these substitutions and omissions (which are essentially the same as those for the 15-bean soup):

• Replace the chicken stock with low-sodium, organic vegetable stock
• Omit all fats
• Omit the salt or replace it with a no-salt seasoning blend such as Mrs. Dash or Trader Joe's 21-Seasoning Salute; or you could try doubling the amount of ginger
• For sauteeing the vegetables, replace the oil with vegetable stock; use a non-stick pan or pot and keep just enough stock in the pan to keep the vegetables from burning

I've read hundreds of recipes here on HubPages, looking for those that closely approximate this plan. But there are thousands of recipes published here, and I'm sure I've missed some that would be great additions to this Hub.

If you find a HubPages recipe that conforms to the requirements of the first six weeks of the Joel Fuhrman plan, please leave a comment below. I'd like to see this hub grow to include all recipes published on HubPages that meet the requirements of this exceptional weight-loss and back-to-health plan that I've been following for more than six months, losing weight while sitting on my butt and never feeling hungry.

© 2012 Sally's Trove. All rights reserved.