Is there such a thing as a Capsule Diet?

[Blu]

Like a capsule wardrobe? Say, 5 items which would provide all the nutrients we need?
Salmon, sweet potato, broccoli, avocado, bread?

And would chocolate be an accessory ?

Day to day I guess you could accessorise, chocolate, wine, cheese.

I think bread would have to go and be replaced with say wheat - then you could have the bread (yeast as an accessory), pasta etc.

What if you were stuck on a desert island, what one meal could you eat every single day .... Mine would be pasta with a veggie sauce, side salad, and ice-cream sundae for pudding, side serving of chocolate

Kayleigh and Crunchie.

Your Desert Island Dish sounds like a balanced diet to me, the perfect capsule diet.

Actaully it sounds too bloody healthy to me!! I was trying to think what I wouldn't get too sick of

Technically, you're supposed to eat a Wide Range of Things. Trust me, I write about healthy eating from time to time.

I usually recover with a nice tub of Ben and Jerry's chocolate brownie ice cream, which as far as I am concerned supplies a perfectly balanced diet in one, or perhaps three, bowlful.

I KNOW you're supposed to eat a wide range of things, but isn't that to ensure that somewhere amongst it all, you take in the important stuff? I was hoping that there wold be some magic shortlist so that when in doubt I could stuff the whole lot down DS and not worry!

And Ben and Jerrys has too many big lumps in it, far too much like real food.
Thingy Hill Station, or Green and Blacks.....

The Full Vermonty by B and J provides ALL essential nutrients - it says so on the side...

So I can just feed him that? What does it have in it, Becca, it sounds FAB!

Blu, if your DS eats all of those five, it seems pretty good to me - much better than my DS anyway. Penelope Leach has a good section on toddler eating where she analyses a couple of really barmy diets (like only bread and peanut butter) and shows they are remarkably well-balanced. Maybe add some form of eggs and/or dairy products to the list (or are these out for some reason?)?

Yep - equivalent to 5 full portions of fruit and veg, calcium, iron and full range of vits

Its got allsorts - lets think, fudge sauce, caramel, brownie pieces, chocolate chunks, toffee pieces etc etc

Florenceuk, yes, tbh, my DS does eat, and enjoy all those things, and eggs and yogurt too, my main problem is getting him to sit still for more than 2 mins and actually eat. There just seem to be so many of those vitamins and minerals, and in weeks where I hardly stop to eat properly, it would be good to think Capsule Diet!

I was thinking green veg, yellow/orange veg, protein, essential oils, and carbohydrate when I put my suggestion together.

Sorry Blu this was a serious thread relating to childrens eating We seem to have hijacked it a bit

Now you have me thinking....

Nah, Crunchie, don't worry: I was wondering cos it seems like a handy short-cut to ensuring that we're all propery fed, but I always knew it had typical MN comic potential

Blu, I have some friends who on the CRON diet, which is an attempt to cram as many nutrients as possible into as small a number of calories as possible. Not really what you are looking for (as you are probably trying to maximise calorie and nutrient intake), but I do remember them saying that muffins were particularly good for packing nutrients into, eg by adding nuts and seeds. Also smoothies because berry fruits are extremely good for you and you can add flax seeds to them. Blueberry smoothies - yum!

I reckon you could get pretty much all of your capsule diet into salmon fishcakes (made with mix of sweet potato, potato and carrot, canned salmon for calcium, coated in breadcrumbs and egg) with a bit of avocado on the side and maybe a kiwifruit to follow???

Did you see the article in the observer today about a diet by a US Dr Pratt (!) who says, yes, you can eat a capsule diet of: beans, blueberries, broccoli, oats, oranges, pumpkins, slamon, soy, spinach, tea, tomatoes, turkey, walnuts and yoghurt (natural, live). These are, apparently, superfoods wihc will make you look better, feel better and have more energy and stop you getting old (or at least slow it down). Your blueberries can be frozen.

Er...do we/Blu WANT Blu's ds to have MORE energy?

MI. Good point. He dragged a chair over to the work top and by the time I reached him the stainless steel cheesegrater was revolving in the microwave on full power.
I saw that piece, Aloha. I'm glad Blu-berries are included, they're my favourite.
No more umming and aaahing in Tesco!