Is it possible to follow Trim Healthy Mama WITH traditional foods and still lose weight?
Absolutely.
Do you have to loosen your nutrition standards?
Absolutely not.
I’m here as proof! Between 2014 and 2015, I lost more than 30 pounds using the Trim Healthy Mama plan and traditional foods. I posted that story right here (and here on my podcast).
But how did I do it while sticking true to traditional food principles — like using whole foods, real fats, cultured dairy, and sourdough?
While the Trim Healthy Mama diet is one of the cleanest I’ve seen, still there are some things about it that aren’t quite as “purist” as we traditional foodies would prefer.
THM is written by 2 sisters — one of them has a traditional food bent and the other likes to use the microwave. (They are both sweethearts, though, and I’m so thankful they shared THM with the world!)
I’ve already shared a bit of how THM and traditional cooking worked for me — check out A Baker’s Dozen Of Tips For Doing Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods and If I Were Starting Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods All Over Again….
I continue to get questions, though. So I’m planning to write several posts this year with more info for you…
(let me know in the comments what else you want to know!)
…starting today by sharing the 19 traditional, whole foods you need to start Trim Healthy Mama yourself — the purist “way”. 🙂
19 Foods You Need To Start Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods
Below is a list of the 19 foods/food groups I find essential for doing Trim Healthy Mama with Traditional Foods. You can combine them in so many ways for satisfying variety, nutrition, and most relevant to today’s discussion… weight loss!
Is it exhaustive? No. Will it get you started? Yes!
Disclaimer: I’m sharing this list from my own experience and it will make sense after reading the book. Please get the book to put this list in context with the whole diet plan.
New to this series? Also check out my prior posts that give more back story behind THM and my experience with it: A Baker’s Dozen Of Tips For Doing Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods and If I Were Starting Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods All Over Again….
A Few Basic Notes
In Trim Healthy Mama, you avoid eating both types of fuels (fat and carbs) in any given meal or snack. While always eating protein; it’s important.
This principle of what types of foods to eat when helps you keep your overall caloric load to what you need; and because you’re not eating too much, your body cannot store excess as fat. This is my simplistic explanation that the book explains more fully.
The meals and snacks are composed of either carbs and protein (E meals) –OR– fat and protein (S meals). That’s how any one meal or snack provides your body with just one fuel source — and therefore nothing extra to store as fat.
Individual foods are labeled E or S as well, depending on what they bring to the table. And some foods are “fuel neutral” which means they are either mostly protein (FP for Fuel Pull).
In the list below, I will put E, S, or FP by each ingredient so you know what it is. Please keep in mind that if you use a FP food in an S or E meal, the finished dish is not FP, but rather S or E!
1. Low-Fat Cottage Cheese — FP
Cottage cheese is oh-so-amazing on this diet! It’s neither a significant source of carbs or fat, only protein, so it can be used with any meal or snack.
I blend it and season it to make “mayo” or salad dressings. I blend it with frozen berries and stevia to make Cottage Berry Whip — a recipe in the THM cookbook. I eat it plain or salted to boost the protein of a meal. I scoop it onto dishes for a bit of sauce.
We go through a lot of cottage cheese. 🙂
Here’s how to make it (use skimmed milk and don’t add more cream at the end), or purchase an organic low-fat cottage cheese from the store. When we lived in Indiana, I was thrilled to find that Kroger had an organic, low-fat cottage cheese for a great price!
2. Low-Fat Yogurt — FP
Like the cottage cheese, yogurt is another amazing fuel neutral food that goes with any meal or snack — smoothies, salad dressings, or just eat it with berries and stevia.
Yogurt is healthier and works better on THM if you make it yourself. One reason is you can add gelatin — which thickens it and is really good for us. Also, you can ferment it for 24 hours to completely reduce the lactose (milk sugar).
If using non-homogenized milk, the cream separates to the top during the culturing, and you can skim it away after its chilled. This means you can turn your yogurt into a Fuel Pull (only protein, neither fat nor carbs). Then use the skimmed sour cream in S meals or to make cultured butter.
If using raw milk and using the gelatin to thicken it (because raw milk yogurt doesn’t set up without gelatin added), it’s more diverse in probiotics than yogurt made with pasteurized milk.
Here’s how to make homemade raw milk yogurt using your Instant Pot. Or go here for my recipe that uses a dehydrator (you could use a cooler instead).
3. Full Fat Cheese — S
Although you can’t have full-fat cheese in your E meals (too much fat), enjoy it fully in your S meals — fried eggs, meat with salad.
(In your E meals, use cottage cheese or yogurt as toppings instead.)
4. Eggs — S or FP
Fried eggs (S), egg whites for Trim Healthy pancakes (E), egg yolks in homemade mayonnaise (S). Eggs are versatile, and you will use a lot of them!
5. Natural Meats — S
Protein, protein, protein. It’s a big need we have anyway. And on Trim Healthy Mama, you want good protein at every meal or snack.
My favorites: wild salmon, grass-fed beef, organic/pastured chicken.
Grass-fed beef is naturally lean protein and therefore can be combined with fat for an S meal or carbs for an E meal.
Wild salmon is a naturally lean protein which can be combined into either an S meal or an E meal.
In chicken, the dark meat is higher fat (for S meals) and the light meat is lower fat (for E meals). Separating the two types of chicken meat is easy to do — and I do it all the time.
6. Berries — E
Berries are a low-sugar fruit (except blueberries, so use less of those). No matter what, you don’t eat a ton of them — 1/2 cup or so. They are wonderful in smoothies, ice cream, or plain. You’ve got to try the Cottage Berry Whip from the THM cookbook — it’s so good!
I make a berry sauce just with thawed mixed berries, stevia, chia seeds, and lemon juice. It’s wonderful with yogurt or on ice cream. This is a staple for the whole family — not just me who follows THM. 🙂
7. Nuts & Seeds — S or FP
Milk is a no-no because of the lactose (too much sugar), yet you may still need milk for smoothies, adding to tea, or for other recipes like sauces or desserts. Homemade nut and seed milks to the rescue! They’re easy — blend nuts/seeds with water, add stevia and pinch of salt.
While seeds like chia and hemp don’t need soaking, nuts like almonds do (unless you buy them already soaked and dried). Go here to get all my recipes and how-tos for homemade milk substitutes.
Also, I add chia seeds to all my smoothies as a source of fiber and energy.
8. Butter & Coconut Oil — S
You’ll use coconut oil and/or butter in all your S meals — like fried eggs. Just like they’re staples of the Traditional Food diet, they’re staples in Trim Healthy Mama, too.
With coconut oil and stevia, you can make your own chocolate desserts, like the popular Skinny Chocolate from the THM cookbook.
9. Herbs & Spices — FP
Real Salt, pepper, garlic, herbs like parsley and basil, etc… these are the spice of life… and THM meals. 🙂 You’ll need these for your salad dressings, meat dishes, veggies. Flavor!
In addition to purchasing organic, non-irradiated spices (like from Frontier or Wilderness Family Naturals), I recommend you store your daily use herbs and spices in these glass, light-proof, air-tight herb storage jars. They’ll stay fresh and potent for months!
10. Raw Apple Cider Vinegar — FP
Salad dressings, healing beverages… raw ACV is a staple on THM.
11. Coconut Flour — FP
Coconut flour in E baked goods helps keep the carb count down. I wouldn’t recommend subbing it in your regular-flour recipes; start with THM recipes that are written for coconut flour.
Along with psyllium seed husks, coconut flour is the base for the awesome FP wraps/tortillas I make. They work with S or E meals because they’re fuel neutral.
You’ll find this recipe in our Allergy-Free Cooking eCourse or Allergy-Free Cooking eBook.
12. Psyllium Seed Husk — FP
I have just 1 purpose for organic psyllium seed husk, though I’m sure we could come up with more. They go in the coconut flour wraps I mentioned above. They are a GREAT source of fiber as well.
13. Dark Chocolate — S
Most of the time, I’m completely satisfied with a square or 2 of dark chocolate as a treat. I purchase bars ready to go, or I make Skinny Chocolate from the THM cookbook. (If making it yourself, you’ll need cacao powder, stevia, vanilla, and coconut oil.)
14. Stevia — FP
This is my sweetener of choice for nearly all sweetened foods — beverages, smoothies, desserts, sauces, and more. Stevia is an herb that tastes sweet without being sugar. It’s super concentrated and a little goes a long way!
My favorite brand is Sweet Leaf. I have the tabs, liquid, and powder on hand.
15. Sourdough Starter +Flour — E
On THM, you can still eat bread. Only you want to eat small amounts and preferably soured. This is because the souring reduces the starch; the sourdough culture has eaten it during the souring time.
Well, our no-knead sourdough and the english muffins are not only super easy, they’re sourdough, and they have no fat in the dough or for cooking. (Go here for my free no-knead einkorn sourdough bread — also includes instructions for making your sourdough starter.)
These are the only breads I eat, and I use einkorn grain because it has less gluten and starch than modern wheat. Einkorn is better overall for me, because modern wheat triggers the return of my seasonal allergies. We have a whole class on einkorn inside Traditional Cooking School.
So for this item, both a sourdough starter and your flour of choice are needed.
Also, THM pancakes make great breads. I use pre-soaked oats in the recipe. It’s a recipe where you blend oats, egg whites, and cottage cheese together and fry up like pancakes. Use as bread. (See photo below; scroll down to just above #18.)
16. “Noodles” — FP or E
In a crossover meal or in an E meal, a small amount of brown rice noodles is allowed. Most of the time, however, I choose to use noodles made from veggies instead — shredded cabbage, spaghetti squash, or zucchini run through a spiralizer.
A light steaming or saute is all that’s needed for the cabbage and zucchini. Spaghetti squash can be baked in the oven, or about 40 minutes on HIGH in the Instant Pot does the trick. (Don’t forget to pierce it a few times, put it on the rack, and add 1 to 2 cups of water!)
I had uncomfortable digestive reactions to the Shirataki noodles — but many use these noodles and love them!
17. Salad Veggies — FP
Keep having those salads! They’ll fill you up, plus they’re a wonderful vehicle for protein. I love to have a hamburger atop a salad (S) instead of on a bun. Or a salad with wild salmon on top.
18. Rice, Quinoa, Oats, & Other Grains — E
Eat small portions of rice, quinoa, or oats for breakfast, lunch or dinner — porridge, pancakes, or as the base for a meaty sauce. As long as you keep the other ingredients low-fat and high-protein, you’re still on plan for your E meals.
I keep pre-soaked oats on hand for making Trim Healthy Pancakes from the cookbook. They’re a wonderful lower-carb pancake that’s great for breakfast or making sandwiches.
19. Beans — E
Same idea as grains. When we keep the overall fat in the meal down, and eat small portions, then we can enjoy beans in chilis or soups and stews.
And of course, for maximum digestibility and nutrition, always soak or sprout your beans before cooking.
And that’s it! 19 foods you need to start Trim Healthy Mama TODAY without giving up or compromising Traditional Foods.
What traditional foods would you add to this list? Please keep me posted how it goes for you!
Looking for more Trim Healthy Mamma Tips?
- 5 Tips To Help You Stay On Trim Healthy Mama… Even During The Holidays! #AskWardee 102
- Trim Healthy Holidays: 8 Tips To Stay On The THM Plan (despite mashed potatoes & pie!)
- How I Lost More Than 30 Pounds In 1 Year
- My Top 3 “Go-To” Traditional Foods For Trim Healthy Mama {purist} #AskWardee 064
- A Baker’s Dozen Of Tips For Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods
- If I Were Starting Trim Healthy Mama With Traditional Foods Over Again… (KYF147)
...without giving up the foods you love or spending all day in the kitchen!
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Love this, Wardeh! We are LOVING THM and being able to do it “purist” style is so wonderful! There were areas I just wasn’t willing to compromise on. Hubby has lost 43 pounds, most of it on THM. I’ve lost 12 which was more than my goal. Do you still follow the principles while at goal weight?
Robin — Woohoo!! That’s awesome. I’m so happy for you and your husband!
Yes, I do still follow the principles… it helps for maintaining!
God bless you!
Great List Wardeh! Thanks for putting this together!
I really can’t think of much else to add !!!!
We are like the sisters, we use Venison meat quite a bit. Venison from hunters who hunt in our hayfields! That’s as organic as you can get !
I have also found that having a good selection of teas on hand is quite nice. I don’t drink coffee though . . .
I started about this time last year and have done THM on and off for various reasons (like moving) 😉
When I started, I purchased the New cookbook and Planbook. I could see that THM would work for me, being more of a purist type. HOWEVER, I must say that this Christmas I broke down and bought the OLD THM book. It’s really large like a telephone book and full of recipes. I was really enlightened, because while the NEW cookbook uses several recipes of “special ingredients” (non-whole food type ones) the OLD cookbook uses more traditional ingredients.
Hope that comment helps someone
I also have to laugh when you say that raw milk yogurt never sets up thick. I MUST be making it wrong! LOL !
I make raw milk yogurt all the time and find it sets up nice and thick! Well. . . . maybe not as thick as Yoplait from the store, but it will stay on the spoon upside down! I am very happy with it. Someday I must add gelatin and see what happens ?
Blessings !
Genet — Thanks for sharing your insight about the old v. the new cookbook. I think you’re right!
If your raw milk yogurt sets up, you’re doing it right! No need to change. 🙂
God bless you and keep up the great work!
@ Genet….which THM book is the ‘old’ one? Amazon has couple of them but not sure which one is the ‘old’ one. Thanks much!
Pam, on the cover of the new plan book, the sisters are wearing white. On the old one, the sisters are wearing a blue and a red shirt. One is wearing a skirt and one is in jeans. Hopefully Wardeh or Millie will post an affiliate link.
Pam ~
Here is the new plan book:
http://amzn.to/2iXP9oX
Here is the new cookbook:
http://amzn.to/2iLnkke
Here is the old cookbook/plan book:
http://amzn.to/2jixtaS
thanks everyone!
would like to know how you do that. mine won’t set up. began to add arrowroot to set it up. to what temp do you heat the milk?
Thank you for the comments on the books! I got the “new” book from the library, and I have been debating about which copy/ies to buy! Thank you.
So excited when I saw you posted this on instagram! I’m going to be starting THM soon. I already bought the books but was a little apprehensive about manipulating the recipes to make them more traditional. My sweetie has lost 25 lbs the last month doing a traditional-inspired paleo! Anyway, I’m excited to join the fun of weight loss. Thanks again! I feel inspired! ?
PS. I cut my spaghetti squash in half (across, not end to end) and put it on the steamer rack in the instant pot on high for 9 minutes. Absolutely perfect!
Nina ~ I’m so happy to hear this! God bless you as you try it and WOW about your husband! So awesome. Thanks for the tip about the spaghetti squash. 🙂
I’m really struggling with THM and I’d given up on your site because of the dairy. I’ve been allergic to dairy since I was an infant, and suffered from ongoing and recurring sinus infections for my whole life whenever I indulge. I can tolerate a couple pieces of Swiss cheese once or twice a month. period. no cream, no yogurt, no cottage cheese, no other cheeses. and NO whey, NO cassien or cassienate. I really miss it so I avoid sites that really use a lot of it. thanks for your input though. Kitty
Have you tried organic, raw milk products. Often people who cannot handle commercial dairy, can eat organic/raw.
Also, commercial dairy is pretty much all GMO as that is what is fed to animals on CAFOs which supply the majority of mainstream food. GMOs cause all kinds of allergic reactions, damaging the gut biome. But if that is the source of your problem, it can be corrected with really clean food.
Thanks for your reply. in PA, it’s illegal and though I live in an area of dairy farms, I don’t know of a single one that will let me have raw milk. Back when we first got married I did know of one but that soon dried up. and they were all conventional commercial dairies not organic. It’s probably to expensive to pursue since we are nearing retirement, so I normally look for paleo sites so I don’t get down about it. LOL it’s not a huge problem. I will always look for substitutes for those dairy items I miss, and recently saw a recipe that used avocado in place of cream cheese, which I’m kind of excited about. haven’t tried it yet, but soon.
The Family Cow travels across state in PA.
Raw milk is not illegal in PA, quite the contrary. I have multiple options including The Family Cow. I have seen listings for others as well. This link has listings throughout the state: https://www.realmilk.com/real-milk-finder/pennsylvania/#pa
I hope this helps.
Kitty —
Although being able to eat dairy makes it easier, I think you still could do THM.
You can make coconut milk yogurt or kefir — this can be sweet or savory, even your salad dressings! No need for cheese. And those nut/seed milks are fantastic in beverages or main dish sauces.
I’m sorry you’re discouraged. I hope this helps. 🙂
Thank you Wardee for your reply, I do need to find the appropriate stuff to try this, I’ve had several people mention it and need to source the cultures or whatever is needed to get started.
What would you consider coconut, and canned coconut milk. I put some coconut in my smoothie to be similar to coconut milk. And I like to blend my canned coconut milk as a cream for coffee. Are they s,e,FP?
Glad I found your posts.
Wardee–thank you for organizing all this good information. I do have one problem with your dietary approach and that is your dissing fats. Everything I have been reading for several years has promoted high fat content in our foods while removing processed carbs, which you generally seem to do. I have switched to full fat milk yogurt which is soooo good and much more satisfying than the insipid low fat variety. I have upped my use of coconut oil in cooking and eat a lot more avocados.
Ithink your weight loss and healthy food diet would benefit from more of the good fats which might need some explanation for many people who have all been led to believe that fats are bad. GMO seed oils like corn, canola, soy are bad and should be eliminated completely. But olive oil, coconut oil, hemp seed oil, avocado, butter and cheese from organically raised grass fed animals are not only super healthy, but necessary for our brain and all our body cells.
Hi, Tanya. I’m sorry you think I’m dissing fats. I’m not; I love them. (See #3, #4, #5, and #8.) In fact, I consider my personal application of THM to be high-protein, generous fat, and moderate carb.
Perhaps you are referring to that on THM, one does not eat fat and carbs together. There’s no fat dissing going on, though. This is to keep one from eating more fuel than one can burn at a given meal. However, the fat gets eaten elsewhere and a plenty (just with protein, not carbs). 🙂
I hope this helps clarify. From a fellow fat-lover. 🙂
I am going to jump in here because I don’t want someone who is trying to follow THM to be confused.
Tanya, do you have the THM plan books ? If so you might want to review them …
Soybean, Canola and corn oil are NOT allowed on this plan at all. Period. Not even a drop.
Instead, when eatting a “S” meal we are to consume quantities of the “healhy” fats such as coconut oil, olive oil, butter and ghee. Avacados are also used in many meals! Yum !
Many people accuse this diet of being “low carb” and actually containing too MUCH fat, which is the same mistake many people make about traditional diets. But of course, we know that the real trick is to find the right balance. On THM we enjoy a lot of quailty carb heavy meal. We also enjoy the traditional fats. But if you are wondering what to eat WHEN then you need to go back to the books by Serene and Pearl and review that . . .
The THM diet doesn’t really line up with the WAPF. Ive thought the WAPF Says to always eat fat with carbs to prevent blood sugar spikes. THM says the exact opposite. They claim their blood sugars stay regulated by NOT eating fat with carbs. Wardeh, could you explain this one a little? I have a hard time thinking THM is great because of this difference, but maybe I’m missing or not understanding something? How can you have bread without butter? Those two are married!! For lack of a better term. Lol ?
Emily, the best I can suggest is to borrow the book from the library and read about their research. the short answer is that the meal you eat that is “high” carb is still very low as compared to the common SAD diet which tells us to eat as much as “11” slices of bread or the equivalent in one day. In THM you would eat a piece of fruit and at most 2 pieces of bread, or a meal of beans and meat, or some similar high fiber, protein rich, medium carb meal. I don’t understand how it could work even for diabetics but I’ve been reading and discussing it with diabetics who’ve told me it does work for them. so I’m seriously going to give it a shot and keep as accurate records as I can manage and see how it works for me.
It not that you have NO fats in a carb meal. You LIMIT them. One teaspoon butter to a slice of toast, etc.
BUT you can have a bit of the berry sauce on it, like Wardeh suggests ! Yum! Frankly, I don’t miss it at all.
Also, there are SOME breads/muffins you can make with the almond flours and enjoy all the butter you want.
I realize the almond flours are not WAPF per se, but they are also optional in THM.
The things about THM is you can approach it in many ways. You are free to work in a broad framework to find a way that works for YOU. Some people eat very little red meat on THM. Others eat a ton. Some eat a lot of carbs, others eat a lot. Some eat a lot of healthy fats, but some are sensitive to it. . .etc . . .
Yes, but the CARBS you eat on THM are still low glycemic compared to most diets. Sourdough or soaked/soured/sprouted grains are what they recommend. Also key here is the PROTEIN.
The PROTEIN is what keeps your blood sugar from spiking, not the fats. Fats might contain protein, but it is the protein that is key.
On THM you eat a little protein with everything. . . .
Emily ~
Even the E meals have a bit of fat. Especially when using whole foods like we are. Also, when one is trying to lose weight, or build muscle, or heal the gut, etc… we can make certain combinations of foods that help us achieve that. Every person is a bit different and there’s nothing wrong with tweaking to find something that suits us and our goals, while keeping in mind the big picture of overall nutrition. IMO, this is totally possible combining both traditional foods and THM together.
How do you make your berry sauce that you mention above? where you use chia seed and berrys and stevia?
I looked and looked to find that recipe on your site and cant, can you tell me where I’d find it or give a link for it?
I was part of your membership classes waaaaay back when you started out, for a couple years and loved everything I learned!
Anne —
Combine in blender container:
-fresh or frozen berries
-chia seeds (1/3 cup for 8 cups frozen berries)
-splash of lemon juice
-stevia to taste
Blend*! 🙂
*I usually combine all in the Vitamix container in the morning, when berries are frozen. Then a few hours later, just before lunch, the berries are thawed and it blends easily.
Thank YOU Wardee! I can’t wait to try the berry sauce!!!
Thank you so much for this timely (for me) post. I have a couple questions though that I hope you will have time to answer for me though. First of all, when making the low fat yogurt in the Instant Pot if you have to use store-bought pasterized, homogenized milk, do I not buy whole milk? If not, what do I buy and do I still use the gelatin if I want thicker, more Greek like yogurt? Second, I went to your link for making the cottage cheese. Again, can I make that using the same store bought milk, and if so, which type of milk do I buy for that? The same as the yogurt? Also, can the cottage cheese be made somehow in the Instant Pot? That seems like it might be loads easier IF there was a way. Thanks again so much for helping me!
Hi, Karin.
1) Unfortunately, yes. Because the cream won’t rise to the surface so you can’t skim it away and that whole milk yogurt would be S no matter what you do. The compromise would be to use 2% milk. (I so wish storebought options were better….)
2) The comments at the raw milk yogurt post will address your question about whether or not to use gelatin.
3) Yes, you can use storebought 2% milk.
4) While it might be possible to make the cottage cheese in the Instant Pot, I’m not sure how and certainly it would involve using the heating function to get the milk to the right temperature and then turning it off and covering it and hoping the temperature would “stay there”. Because of all the monitoring and having fewer controls, it seems to me that making it in a pot on the stove is the easiest way.
I hope this helps!
Wow! This is so fun. I would like to add that the THM basic concepts can be easily adapted to anyone including those who cannot digest dairy or wheat. I myself cannot digest stevia, glucomannen and most sweeteners as I have an extremely sensitive stomach. Just go without or adjust. The principles still work.
The oldest of the THM sisters.
Vange.
Vange ~ I completely agree! 🙂
And wow, how nice to meet the other THM sister! 🙂 <3
Wardee, I hope you might be able to help me, I mixed up my jars of Arrow root and Agar and can’t tell them apart. is there a test I can try to see which is which?
Kitty – You could test how quickly they thicken when mixed with water and heated.
Arrowroot will thicken as it comes to a boil.
Agar agar will thicken after 2 minutes of boiling.
That should help 🙂
Wardee, You said you keep pre-soaked oats on hand. Do you soak them and then dehydrate them?
Hi Peggy,
Yes! Wardee soaks and dehydrates oats to keep on hand for easy use. 🙂
Millie
Traditional Cooking School Support
Hi Wardee! So you have my curiosity as well as the many others following THM. However, I am AIP!!! Are there THM principles that could help me lose weight? I have been stuck forever. Trying to heal my gut and hoping that will help. I am asking your opinion directly because I just am trying to avoid another rabbit trail for my personal plan.
Hi Nancy,
Trim Healthy Mama allows certain grains so this would not be inline with AIP. You may want to continue with your AIP healing program and then look at THM after that is completed.
~Millie, TCS Customer Success Team
What would you consider coconut, and canned coconut milk. I put some coconut in my smoothie to be similar to coconut milk. And I like to blend my canned coconut milk as a cream for coffee. Are they s,e,FP?
Glad I found your posts.
Hi Diane,
They are S because of the coconut cream (it’s fat). 🙂
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team
Can you tell me what the recipe for the stuffed eggs is above number 5? They look yummy. 🙂
Hi Lauree,
These are hard boiled eggs with the yolk removed then replaced with salmon salad to make an E meal.
The salmon salad uses blended up lowfat cottage cheese as mayonnaise.
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team
Is the THM way of eating suitable for someone wanting to reverse a diagnosis of both high cholesterol and diabetes?
Would love to hear people’s experiences with decreasing sugar levels and cholesterol.
Wondering about this versus the ketogenic diet.
Hi Margaret,
Yes, THM is suitable for someone wanting to reverse a diagnosis of both high cholesterol and diabetes? You could visit the Trim Healthy Mama Facebook group and do a search. Lots and lots of testimonials on there.
The THM S meals/snacks are the ketogenic equivalent (fat/protein). THM is not ketogenic because it also has the E (carb/protein) meals/snacks. We can’t say which is better as they both work for different people. 🙂
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team
Hi I am looking to try this plan out. However I am allergic to coconut. Is there substitutions I could use for the things that call for coconut?
Hi, Krista,
A great substitute for coconut oil is butter. If the recipe calls for coconut milk you can substitute it for any other non-dairy milk. Substituting coconut flour in these recipes may be tricky. We have not experimented with that. Hopefully, anyone who has can chime in with their suggestions.
~Peggy, TCS Customer Success Team
One thing that I’ve recently found out about that would be great for THM is quark. It’s a soft, spreadable cheese that originates in Germany, and its low or nonfat, depending on how you make it, and perfect for E meals. The process of making it is very similar to making cream cheese, but it’s made with skim milk. I got a starter culture from cultures for health, and I skimmed the cream off of raw milk for other uses, and made the quark and it was delicious! You barely even notice that it’s low-fat, and it makes a great substitute for cream cheese in E style meals, and is a great spread for toast or sandwiches, or just topped with fruit and maybe a little honey if you like. I can’t believe I’m just now finding out about it!
Just learning about this way of eating but I am already confused with the use of so many initials!!!!!!!
Jane, it is a lot until you get the hang of it. Just remember, as Wardee shares in the post:
• Meals and snacks (and some individual foods) composed of carbs and protein are labeled E.
• Meals and snacks (and some individual foods) composed of fat and protein are labeled S.
• And meals and snacks (and some individual foods) that are “fuel neutral” (composed of mostly protein) are labeled FP for Fuel Pull).
Hang in there!
Sonya, TCS Customer Success Team
its possible that you have addressed this earlier in this thread; however can pineapple be mixed with cottage cheese and be acceptable? Don’t roll your eyes, but what about Cool Whip usage?
Hi Sheryll,
Yes pineapple can be used in an E with low fat cottage cheese. Full fat cottage cheese would be more of an S Helper or possibly crossover depending on how many carbs in the serving of pineapple. Not more than 1 cup fresh, or canned if it’s in water or natural juices (Dawn only uses fresh so not sure of how it’s canned)? Definitely don’t want canned pineapple if it’s in syrup of any kind.
Cool whip is not on plan but whipped heavy cream is, for an S.
~Vicki, TCS Customer Success Team
Well I truly liked reading it. This information provided by you is very constructive for correct planning.
I have the Trim Healthy Table book and am I am just beginning. It’s a lot to take in, but I’m confident I will learn the process. One question: Is there a list of ALL foods that will tell me whether it’s E or S or even FP? I’m very excited about this plan, just need a bit of help!
Hi Judy,
I reached out to Dawn about your question and here’s what she had to say:
As far as I know there is not one list of ALL foods, that would be a huge list, and also because many foods can be used across multiple fuel types! Both the original and revised plan books list a good number of foods for each fuel type chapter, if you can get ahold of either of those.
Proteins…any type of meat, fish, eggs, nuts, cheese, cream, and Greek yogurt can go in an S.
For E and FP, use ultra lean meats like chicken breast, wild caught salmon, tuna in water, egg whites, non-fat Greek yogurt, low fat cheese.
Non-starchy veggies and fruits (all berries) go with all fuel types, those are FP.
Starchy foods (butternut squash, sweet potatoes, grains, beans/legumes, most fruits, etc) are E fuels. Some exceptions are a small amount of beans in chili or oats in meatloaf.
Fatty foods are generally S foods (fats such as butter, coconut oil, etc can be used in all fuel types in appropriate amounts).
If you have an understanding of what makes up a certain food (is it fatty, starchy/high in natural sugars, or very low in carbs, etc) you can usually easily know what fuel type it works with.
Hope that helps! ~ Vicki, TCS Customer Success Team
Hello! Love your site. I would add kefir to the list…. satisfies a huge craving and is my favorite evening s snack. Home cultures and so delicious.
I’m just starting on my THM journey and a bit confused about milk. If I have a coffee with about 1/3 cup of whole or slim milk,what category would that fall into? I’ve had to return the book to the library and online it’s really hard to find a conclusive answer. Hope someone has the answer!
Hi, Lica.
One of our moderators, Cevy, said this:
“From the THM Food Analyzer app: “Whole milk is a natural and not recommended during weight loss mode. Making yogurt or kefir is a great and healthful way of using milk on plan! Skim milk in very small amounts can be used in an E setting, but liquid carbs aren’t ideal for weight loss.”
I use whole milk to make all of the cultured traditional foods (yogurt, kefir, cheese) for S meals and skim milk (usually raw milk with the cream skimmed off) to make cultured foods that are fuel pull (Wardee’s THM Fuel Pull Cottage Cheese is amazing).
Have you tried a tsp of cream in your coffee? You can even add a splash of nut milk on top of that if it doesn’t do it for you. Or more cream alongside an S meal every once in a while. I personally love a tsp of cream along with a scoop of collagen. I love their metabolism boosting coffee creamer recipe as well (nut milk and coconut milk).”
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team
Many thanks.keep up the good work
Sprouted brown rice (GABA) has essential items for health.
I disagree about fat.
“In Trim Healthy Mama, you avoid eating both types of fuels (fat and carbs)”
Fat is needed for cognitive and brain function it is actually very important. Therefore no one should avoid it
If you are using butter ( which you mentioned in some of the food) then you are using fat
Do Not avoid fat if you want your body, brain, skin and hair function properly
Love this post! Curious if you still follow these same guidelines or if you have made any changes since writing this post? Specifically in regards to stevia. I’m so conflicted about using it in recipes. Thanks for any info!
Hi, Kirsten.
At this time Wardee is not using stevia.
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team Lead