Zoe Nutrition Testing

[Wombat27A]

Not sure this is the right place for this...

Anyone else doing the Zoe Nutrition Testing?

My results were poor, so now I'm tackling my diet. I thought it was pretty good but it's clear it needs a major overhaul. So much information but finding it good.🙂

@chutneypig I just picked up some dr karg seeded cheese and pumpkin seed flatbread cracker type things. They scored mid 40s for me and I had some avocado on mine which pushed them up into the green.

Quite expensive but really nice and one was very substantial.

@lugeforlife
you can do your own seed crackers, plenty of recipes online, they are usually a combination of flax, pumpkin , sunflower, chia, sesame seeds ....
(flax seeds in crackers are whole, but if you eat them with oats, yoghurt, ground flaxseeds is better. I just put half a packet in my blender and then keep them in fridge)
A nutrition powerhouse of minerals, , high in fiber, and delicious with a tapenade.

Thanks you for you list of veggies, I assume you must munch on a carrot or a piece of raw celery. If you cook them or prepare them, you not only gain in flavour but in quantity. So take mushrooms. How many can you eat raw? Put them in a pan, with a bit of garlic, parsley, easily 250 gr. Have them with some quinoa, just 100 gr of cooked quinoa, and that combination gives you 5 gr of fiber. (And 100 gr of cooked , not raw,
quinoa, is nothing) . Oven roasted zucchini are truly addictive. You slice them vey finely lengthwise, brush with olive oil , add salt, and in very high oven with grill on, you can easily eat two big ones, between 400-500 gr .

The same recipe with leeks, especially the green bit that is usually discarded, beats French fries any time.

Celery, instead of eating a very sad stalk, cut a whole celery (leaves out) , as thinly as you can , slice an orange in it, and add some fresh orange juice, olive oil, parsley, salt and pepper, let it sit for 15 min , and you will eat half of it. Add some cooked prawns if not vegetarian and you have a high fiber delicious lunch . Adding salt and waiting a bit, means, the celery will lose some of its water, and you can eat 250 gr of it.

Kale chips, homemade (wash and dry the leaves of the kale, and rip them into chunks, leaving the hard stem out, put in a big bowl, add smoked paprika, nutritional yeast, salt, a bit of olive oil, mix well with hands for a few minutes, lay on an oven tray, making sure each piece is separated and in the oven at 150, repeat until all done.

The kale and the nutritional yeast will shoot your fiber up.

I quite like the book “ on the side” by Ed Smith. A lot of innovative ways to prepare veggies, especially the not so classic ones, the okras,
artichokes, and so on.

IT is great that you have access to home grown vegetables and fruits. Make the most of it.

Thanks for the thread, it's really interesting how individual everybody is. I'm perimenopausal, insulin resistant with pcos and have been trying to work out what to eat for years, with varying success. It feels like I'm trying to navigate without a map.

I've been on the waitlist a while now but am keen to get started, so would be grateful if anybody has a referral link code thonged, thanks.

*thingee. Not thonged!

@fioreun I've just pm'd you with a link.

Those are some great recipes @MatchaTea. I have made my own seed crackers in the past so will haul that recipe out. The cooking and amount of veg you can eat made me think.

I tried an avocado smoothie from the Zoe recipes and the edamame pasta with tomatoes yesterday - I didn't feel remotely hungry late afternoon so that was a win. I didn't have any edamame pasta but do have pea pasta which is lovely.

Not heard of pea pasta....

I definitely think the key here (as is usual but not easy) is the idea of adding things & abundance, rather than subsistence.

But it does take planning, shopping & inspiration, which is fine on a good day. Less good if stressed or busy.

That's a good analogy about maps. I was trying to explain to bil why I like this, when none of it (bar the testing) is rocket science but it is that clarity wrt to individual foods, I think.

Thanks for the ideas @MatchaTea. Will try a few of those although not the kale chips as kale is the vegetable of the devil, second only to blackcurrants in hideous f&v terms....

For the serial dieters amongst us how are we finding ignoring the calories? I find myself checking every day roughly where I am and feel a bit smug when it's low (less than 1400). I am not restricting them, am eating till I'm satiated etc but without the crap I tend to not eat a huge amount of calories. My issue has always been the crap...

@Wombat27A you can get pea pasta in Holland and Barrett and Aldi sometimes. I don't hate it but I don't love it either. I would rather have a smaller amount of wholewheat pasta tbh.

Finally my kit has arrived! trying to decide on a start day, they mention in the info day 3 is quite intensive what does it involve? I really wanted to start Monday but if it has to be a weekend.......then I won't start until Thursday

Thank you. I've signed up and look forward to all the joys of hammocks, multimuffins and blood spies!

Day 3 involves the blood test so that's the trickiest bit I found. I did it on a Monday but was WFH that day @hushiebaa

I have Zenb pea pasta ordered online - I had it in for my husband who usually avoids gluten. Zoe has it at 78 for me.

I'm keeping half an eye on calories @lugeforlife but trying not to get too focussed. It's a definite mindset shift isn't it?

Glad you on board @fioreun!

@hushiebaa I would suggest a weekend may be a good idea. One because of the poo collection on day 2 (although ignore if this doesn't phase you at all or if you have a regular bowel!). This was really stressful for me and no way would I have been ok having to think about this and work. I do have a really big hang up here though so normal people are probably totally fine

Secondly I felt quite off colour on the afternoon of the muffins. Sort of sick and lightheaded. Not too bad in the great scheme and I certainly could have worked but if I had the option of taking it easy I probably would. Plus the timing of the blood test etc.

I’m on day 3 and just had my first muffins…really dreading the next two batches now! Any tips for coping with them? First mouthful was okay but it was very hard to eat them all in the given time.

@GardenExpert the first set are by far the worst - I found the other two lots just about ok. Plus there's only two muffins for those. Hang on in there!

Thanks @chutneypig that is reassuring!
Other than the muffins, I’m enjoying this so far. The monitor is a real eye opener.

Welcome @GardenExpert
I also found the first lot of muffins repulsive. It was all I could do to choke them down and not throw them up after. The second lot were an improvement and the third lot an improvement again.

Thank you @ladyandthechocolate
lunch done - definitely easier.
just tomorrow’s breakfast to go!

Black coffee. I wouldn't normally drink it but it was helpful.

I think someone else soaked a muffin.

The next lots are much better. The one lot is hard because of the fat content. The rest are fluffy carbs.

Can I ask a basic question?

If you eat a meal that spikes your blood sugar, if you eat further meals with a high sugar content, does it spike higher or longer or both?

I know this is a 101 question but I never got my head around it.

I know the fats layer on top of each other.

@Wombat27A I've had a look to see if I could find the day I really spiked at lunchtime and see what happened after. I can't find it for love nor money but I'm pretty sure it didn't impact spikes in the afternoon. I did drop right down to red at 3am the following morning. I was surprised because I thought they said that it would result in more lack of control

All my spikes were fairly similar but I'm trying to eat all my fruit & deserts in more discrete meals now.

Wondering if this is sensible.

When my readings went dodgy, I had a higher baseline - I never came down properly. That was the first couple of days of my period mind.

Some interesting challenges over the past few days. Having a bit of a break with the family so out of normal pattern. A bit of a struggle to keep making sensible choices and stay in the green when surrounded by pub lunches, fish and chips and ice cream. I've done ok I guess and tried not to 'all or nothing'.

My recommendation for fellow pizza lovers is socca pizza using gram flour. Stupidly easy (cheap as gram flour in my local Tesco was only just of a quid per kg), high in fibre and protein. Scored 73 for me so I'll take that for my Friday night shite night.