Trim Healthy Mama Plan by Pearl Barrett Page A

spritz, which coats every leaf without overdoing it. Adding a sour agent like vinegar or lemon helps to curb the rise of too-high blood sugar. It also brings more succulence to your salad, so if you do decide not to add any fat at all, then double up on the balsamic vinegar or lemon juice.
    Note:Middle-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil is the lowest oil of all in calories and your body burns this sort of fat faster than any other form of fat. You can learn more about this oil in Chapter 18 , “Specialty Food Stars.” Sometimes it might be okay to usetwo teaspoons of MCT oil in an E meal. For example, you might use one on your salad and then include one in one of our drink recipes like Beauty Milk found in the “More Drinks” chapter of the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
or Healing Trimmy (in the “Hot Drinks” chapter of the
Trim Healthy Mama Cookbook
). Drinks like these help end your meal with more filling power. However, MCT oil packs a great fatty-tasting punch, so you don’t have to make a habit of that two-teaspoon exception. Using a half teaspoon of MCT in each of those courses is also another option.
    If dairy products and you play well together, that is great because lean dairy can be a boon to E meals without having to add a meat (helps your budget). One-percentcottage cheese is a great source of protein as is 0%Greek yogurt. Notice we are not encouraging a lot of “fat-free” dairy products with added fillers. Zero-percent Greek yogurt does not have any additives or other strange ingredients to make it “fat-free.” It is simply yogurt made from naturally skimmed milk with the whey fluid (which contains most of the carbs) drained out. This is very easy to make at home if you love cooking from scratch. One-percent cottage cheese can be found without additives in a couple of brands like Nancy’s and Friendship. However, all forms of 1% cottage cheese are on the plan if they do not contain added sugar in the ingredients. If you cannot find a 1% cottage cheese that fits your purism standards, some 2% cottage cheese brands do not contain these fillers (like Daisy brand) and can be used with E meals if you do not have stubborn weight to lose.
    If dairy and you are not compatible, check out Chapter 26 , “Heads Up: Allergen-Free Mamas!,” for other protein ideas. Gelatin and collagen peptides are excellent forms of superfood protein that can be used with all meal styles since they do not contain any fat and they are naturally dairy-free.
BREAD: THE PROS AND CONS
    The Trim Healthy Mama approach to grain-based bread is not to put a big X over it (however, it is very easy to be gluten-free on plan if your own body finds that necessary). We simply make sure thatgrain-based bread flours are sprouted or a sourdough variety. The reason for this is that any grain in flour form causes a more speedy rise in blood sugar. Sprouting or souring bread flours slows this down and helps create a more balanced blood-sugar level, which is always our goal.
    The exceptions to this are whole rye, whole barley, oats, or quinoa. These are moregentle even in flour form, and you can use them on the plan without worrying too much about sprouting them for blood-sugar purposes. We cannot include brown rice flour in this exception. It has a greater ability to cause blood sugar to spike. All wheat varieties should always be sprouted or soured.
    Time for your second quiz. Be careful; we may trick you.
    Question: What happens when you eat turkey, mayo, and cheese on wheat?
    Answer:
    A. You wash it down with orange juice.
    B. You choosepretzels over chips as your side.
    C. Your buttons get more difficult to fasten.
    D. You paint your nails afterward.
    If you thought the answer was A, you’re the winner…in another quiz, not ours. Whilefruit is a good choice and on the plan, extracting the juice from the whole fruit is a nightmare on your blood sugar. It is FATTENING, as you’ll learn more about in Chapter 12 , “Thirsty Mama.”
    If you chose B,