Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Alton's Brown's Diet Lists and Mayo Clinic's Superfoods

OK, I'll start off with the lists Alton Brown had on the new Good Eats show last night since I've already had a few requests here and on my Twitter account.

Foods to Eat Daily
  • Fruits
  • Whole Grains
  • Leafy Greens
  • Nuts
  • Carrots
  • Green Teas
Foods to Eat 3 Times per Week
  • Oily Fish
  • Yogurt
  • Broccoli
  • Sweet Potato
  • Avocado
Foods to Limit to Once per Week
  • Red Meat
  • Pasta
  • Desserts
  • Alcohol
Foods Totally Eliminated
  • Fast Food
  • Soda Pop
  • Processed Meals
  • Canned Soup
  • Any type of "diet" foods

Alton also mentioned the Mayo Clinic's list of Super Foods.  There are foods that meet several criteria, including large amounts of nutrients, low calorie density, and are readily available to consumers.  You'll notice that Alton managed to fit at least 7 of the 10 into his lists and recipes.
  1. Almonds
  2. Apples
  3. Blueberries
  4. Broccoli
  5. Red Beans
  6. Salmon
  7. Spinach
  8. Sweet Potatoes
  9. Vegetable Juice
  10. Wheat Germ
For more recipes and healthy living tips visit my current website WagonPilot.com


28 comments:

Evan Nelson said...

I've been thinking about this a lot since last night's episode, as I've been looking forward to this season ever since I heard about his dramatic shift. AB seems invested enough in the joy of cooking and eating to put together a diet that promotes health while not sacrificing those joys.

But eating a carrot every day? That seems, well, boring.

James said...

THis is something we can get behind.

Unknown said...

One thing that was not covered and I was not sure about from the show was where do meats like chicken fit into any of these lists?

cathi o said...

Chicken has not been limited or eliminated, so I think you can eat it. It's not required in any frequency, so I would assume fit it in where you feel appropriate.

Interesting show, definitely made me think and be more conscious about what we're putting into our bodies. I think I've slowly moving in this direction anyway the last few years.

carol's kitchen ©2006 said...

He doesn't look well. I see a borderline anorexic, food disorder with compulsive habits... ie: same breakfast every day. did you hear how he described his body before the weight loss. Horrible! I see lists of healthy foods, but not a healthy man. Worried about him.

Unknown said...

I enjoyed last night's show, as I do with every episode. There is a book that details a very similar diet, right down to the smoothies called "Abs Diet." It is a good road map. The one area that I'm a bit intrigued by is the inclusion of daily green tea... If it is just a substitute for coffee, okay, I get that. But if not, what is the weight loss benefit?

John S. said...

Bob,

Green Tea is in most, if not all, diet books. It's not meant as a replacement for coffee but as an addition to your day. A few years ago I really started paying attention to what I ate and read a lot of health books and articles. The benefit of of drinking green tea is its antioxidants. The antioxidants in green tea are known to increase your metabolism. Other benefits also include to protect against cancer and heart disease. So in this case it's mainly to boost metabolism. I thought it was weird too at first try but if you at a little bit of honey it becomes a nice tasting beverage. Hope this helps.

Tom said...

I need more than a non-exclusive list. So if it is not on the every day list, not on the 3 day list, not on the once a week list, and not on the do not eat list, is it just wide open? I can eat as many pork chops as I want?
Before proposing such a change of diet, how about developing a more comprehensive list of foods and then develop the principles of cooking them in a healthy way (while still making them good eats)

KindaHealthyMom said...

I really liked this list. Its something I can follow with reason, as measuring and calorie counting is simply not for me. I'm concerned about the fish, as wild fish often contains pollutants and farmed fish isn't as healthy. That is something I need to do more research on before I start feeding it to my family. One thing I'm surprised he didn't include in his smooothies is spinach or some other kind of greens. I've been drinking green smoothies for a while, delicious and healthy!
Finally, I'm so glad he mentioned avoiding diet foods! Those foods are horrible to taste not to mention they are filled with carcinogens and chemicals that totally mess up your metabolism! Thank you Alton Brown!

Unknown said...

Yes, Tom, eat all the pork chops you want. Good luck.

Arlo said...

Quoting Tom. . .
So if it is not on the every day list, not on the 3 day list, not on the once a week list, and not on the do not eat list, is it just wide open? I can eat as many pork chops as I want?

Pork is still red meat, despite marketeers best efforts.

Anonymous said...

The thing to remember about this plan is that it outlines how to lose weight - so pork chops would be in the "red meat" category. I love this plan so much! I am going to base my grocery shopping list around it from now on – plus its healthy for every body type!

Bella said...

I have been trying to find these lists for a while now. I wanted to try it to see if it would work for me. Granted I probably won't be able to totally follow it, as I don't make enough money to buy a whole lot of food but it would still be a good thing to try.

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Anonymous said...

I love the fact that this is a positive list, a list of "do's", rather than a negative one. If you make sure you eat all of the food on these lists, it doesn't really leave much room for the bad stuff.

Philip H said...

I would just like to point out a couple of things:

1) Alton DID say in the same show that a diet truly means lifestyle, not 'weight-loss program'. So these lists really aren't just for weight loss, but really for a healthy lifestyle. Although, what some people don't necessarily understand is that, by eating a healthy diet and paying attention to your *portion sizes*, weight-loss WILL COME.

2) I really don't believe that he is anorexic . He's happy with his body now, isn't he? I, for one, think that the smoothie for breakfast is a great idea, because I don't normally eat breakfast. It would be better to have a smoothie for breakfast every day than to not have one at all.

3) And lastly, I personally would say that white meats (which isn't pork, lol) and other strong protein sources such as beans can be included daily. This doesn't necessarily mean both beans AND chicken daily, but a complete protein source, I can't imagine would be bad. Just try to get natural sources of each, with very little additives and preservatives. And then prepare them in a healthy way. :D

Unknown said...

You mentioned one of the items to eliminate from your diet is soda pop, does that include diet soda or for example "coke zero"?
Thanks!

Unknown said...

Scott: Yes, Alton eliminated all diet sodas. He was anti-artificial sweetener for a number of reasons.

Unknown said...

"He doesn't look well. I see a borderline anorexic, food disorder with compulsive habits... ie: same breakfast every day. did you hear how he described his body before the weight loss. Horrible! I see lists of healthy foods, but not a healthy man. Worried about him.
January 5, 2010 10:25:00 PM EST"

As I believe someone else has already said, there is nothing wrong with his eating or body image. The man was a little overweight and now he's not and he feels better for it. No harm done. I started eating yogurt with granola every morning before this episode aired and I'm not anorexic, I can assure you. Just because someone matches a few tell-tale signs of mental instability doesn't mean that they have a problem...It means they are human.

All that said, this was one of my favorite episodes ever and Alton has inspired me to eat better because of it.

Jenna said...

What about coffee?

And as for already prepared meals, what about soy/mushroom burgers? As a vegetarian, I have no trouble with limiting meats; however was there anything mentioned about tofu or frozen substitute patties?

Thank you for posting this, by the way. I love Alton!

Admin said...

Thanks for stopping by Jenna.

I know soybeans would fit into Alton's list, just not sure where. It has protein, so similar benefit to the fish, yogurt, etc.

As for frozen soy burgers, etc. it would likely come down to what extras are they adding, such as salt, preservatives and the like.

I consider coffee to be a superfood in the morning ;-)

Anonymous said...

Why a carrot every day? Why not cucumber or another veggie?

Anonymous said...

What about things not on the lists? Turkey/chicken/lean pork? White fish? Shellfish? Cheeses? Dairy? Other veggies?

Anonymous said...

As someone with a chronic kidneystone problem, the list of "everyday" foods is everything I need to avoid.

Any tips?

Anonymous said...

Obviously, you can eat as much of whatever vegetable you want (within reason, of course). Generally speaking, the more fresh vegetables you eat, the better.

Sean D said...

Hello all!
To a lot of the posts I read here I just want to state a very pertinent reminder: these were intended as guidelines. Every person is going to be different. For example, I need to eat red meat twice a week in order to meet my minimum iron needs. This was about bringing life under control. AB did a heroic thing sharing it. Alter the lists to fit you. I don't drink a smoothie everyday as my only breakfast: I can the recipe in half and I have the smoothie with other things. Even our dear AB is not infallible. ;)

Spencer Field said...

I watched this episode on Good Eats and have not put down my bag of almonds since.

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