How to Hack Your Brain to Free Yourself from Junk Food Addiction by Abel James

How to Hack Your Brain to Free Yourself from Junk Food Addiction by Abel James

1. Naturally boost dopamine levels. Being active and social increases levels of dopamine, as do new and pleasurable experiences such as hitting the local watering hole, whipping  up a new recipe, or jamming to music.
2. Naturally boost serotonin levels. Altruistic activities such as helping others, giving compliments, and playing with pets up your serotonin considerably.
3. Baby steps. If you can't go cold turkey, swap one junk food for a healthy food at a time. It's really not that difficult - just stop buying Oreos and buy an apple instead. You crave what is around you.
4. Expose yourself to healthy foods. (And by "expose yourself," I'm talking about eating foods, not flashing them.) Pro tip - it takes at least 10 exposures to a healthy food before you begin to crave it in the same way that you craved junk foods. That's why I crave kale while many crave Krispy Kreme.
5. Eliminate mindless eating. Don't eat in front of the TV, reading, driving, or anything else. Not only will you overeat because your brain is distracted, you will also begin to associate activities with foods (such as soda with driving, candy with talking on the phone, or popcorn with TV) which increases cravings.
6. Indulge occasionally - guilt-free. We all want to be perfect, but we're all human. As long as you are making good choices the vast majority of the time, give yourself permission to indulge in foods you truly love on occasion. 

http://www.fatburningman.com/

African Style Lentil Stew

We love lentils! They are our legume of choice because of the high fiber content and anti-inflammatory properties.

For this recipe we used
1 cup of red split lentils
4 stalks of celery
1 cup of chopped carrots (can use sweet potato instead)
1 sweet onion
1/2 red pepper, diced
1-2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cardamon powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp thyme
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups of chopped kale

Directions: water saute the vegetables. When soft add the spices, vegetable broth and lentils. 5 minutes prior to serving add the chopped kale. We love the baby oak leaf kale.

Fuhrman's level 2 plan

Here is Dr. Fuhrman's level 2 meal plan

food group	serving size	# servings/day	# servings/week
vegetables		4 to 6
	1.5 cups cooked
	2 to 5 cups raw
fruits		3 to 5
	1.5 cups fresh or frozen
beans		1 to 2
	0.5 to 1 cup
nuts/seeds		1 to 3
	1 oz or ¼ cup	if trying to lose weight only 1
whole grains		1 to 3
	1 slice or 1 cup
animal products			3
	4 oz or 2 eggs
sodium		1200 mg
fat/oil		1 TBS
	Non-dairy not trans-fat

week 1, day 7, level 2, Dr Joel Fuhrman's recipes

BREAKFAST: Scrambled Veggies and Eggs serves 2

2 eggs

2 tablespoons nut milk (we use water or vegetable broth)

1/2 medium bell pepper diced

2 green onions chopped

1 cup diced fresh tomatoes

1 cup diced fresh mushrooms

1 tablespoon no salt seasoning

4 ounces fresh spinach

directions: beat eggs with milk. In an 1/8 cup water, saute the veggies with the seasoning. Add spinach to wilt. Add eggs and scramble until cooked

 (for added calories add 1 slice of 100% whole grain toast with 100% fruit spread)
 (vegan option Deluxe Tofu Scramble http://www.eaturveggies.com/deluxe-scrambled-tofu/ )

LUNCH: Portobello Red Pepper Sandwich http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/PORTOBELLO-RED-PEPPER-SANDWICH-50169266

berries or other fresh fruit




DINNER: romaine salad with Cashew Caesar Dressing http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/dr-fuhrmans-cashew-dressing

Spaghetti Squash Primavera  http://www.drfuhrman.com/library/SpecialMenu.aspx/OctoberMenu

DESSERT: (for those who need more calories Summer Fruit Pie)  http://www.keyingredient.com/recipes/512815276/summer-fruit-pie-by-dr-fuhrman/

Fuhrman's meal plan with more raw foods options

We love Dr Fuhrman's menu plan. The recipes taste really good, they are healthy, and are nutrient dense. It is a wonderful place to start changing one's diet. Most people are interested in achieving better health and Dr. Fuhrman's menu plan DOES that. He also recommends raw fruits and vegetables at each meal.

Several people we know have asked for a more raw diet menu. Our goal in the winter is to be at least 51% raw with each meal. Some of our meals are 100% raw. REMEMBER THIS IS NOT EVERYONE'S GOAL!!!
Dr Fuhrman's breakfasts, soups, salad dressings, main dishes, desserts recipes are amazing!!! We are not 100% raw, and we plan to follow the menu plan with a few substitutions.

For those interested in more raw options here are some of our substitutions.

Our bread, tortilla, or wrap substitute will be raw onion bread. The recipe can be found at http://heal-thy-self-cb.blogspot.com/2013/12/raw-onion-bread.html

In place of cooked oatmeal or quinoa, we will be using a nut based raw granola from
http://heal-thy-self-cb.blogspot.com/2013/12/raw-nut-based-granola.html or a sprouted buckwheat  granola from http://heal-thy-self-cb.blogspot.com/2013/10/mondays-menu.html

Dr Fuhrman's breakfast recipes are wonderful!!!
or just having smoothies (1 part fruit, 1 part nut milk or water, 1 tablespoon flax or chia seed, 1 part leafy greens)

We will add sprouts to all of our salads for the nutrient content. http://heal-thy-self-cb.blogspot.com/2013/09/sprouting-and-its-health-benefits.html

The lasagna day we will make the living lasagna from http://heal-thy-self-cb.blogspot.com/2013/12/raw-onion-bread.html
Actually when i make this recipe i double it, making four small trays. I freeze three of them, so we have it handy.

For pasta, we will use spiralized zucchini (or use a julienne or potato peeler).

Our meatloaf will be raw mushroom loaf http://heal-thy-self-cb.blogspot.com/2013/10/raw-mushroom-nut-loaf.html

Our burritos will be from http://heal-thy-self-cb.blogspot.com/2013/07/raw-fajitas.html

Our rice or quinoa will be shredded cauliflower adding desired spices and lemon juice. This is one of our favorites plus a little dill and turmeric http://tastykitchen.com/blog/2013/01/raw-cauliflower-couscous/

For the desserts, we will be using many of his recipes just not cooking them.

For those interested in more raw options, we pray this is helpful.

week 1, day 6, level 2, Dr Joel Fuhrman's recipes

BREAKFAST: Phyto-Blast Breakfast Bowl
http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/381486/phytoblast-breakfast-bowl

LUNCH: Tuscan Greens and bean Soup (leftovers)
melon or other fresh fruit

DINNER: spinach salad with lightly sauteed mushrooms with Orange Sesame Dressing http://www.tastebook.com/recipes/892987-Orange-Sesame-Dressing
Salmon and Vegetables in a packet (for vegan use extra firm tofu instead of salmon) http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/dr-fuhrmans-roasted-vegetable-salad-baked-tofu-or-salmon
Sorry folks no pictures tonight. My hubby received a free vegan gluten free zpizza. Can you guess what we are eating for dinner tonight instead???

DESSERT: (for those who need added calories Banana Walnut Ice Cream)

• 2 ripe bananas, frozen
• 1/3 cup vanilla soy, hemp, or almond milk
• 1/2 oz walnuts

blend in a food processor or high speed blender

a kid friendly kombucha sangria

We love the kombucha sangria but don't need the wine and the brandy on a daily bases. Kombucha has a low level of alcohol in it anyway (0.5%).
We now are making a kid friendly kombucha sangria that is just as tasty. 

Ingredients

3 cups boiling water
2 black tea bags
1 medium cinnamon stick (or 2 small sticks)
3 cups pomegranate juice
1/2 cup honey, preferably local and raw
1 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed)
3-4 cups kombucha
1 orange (sliced into rounds)
1 lime (sliced into rounds)
1 lemon (sliced into rounds)
1 apple (cored and sliced)
1 cup frozen mixed berries (no sugar added)

Directions

Place tea bags and cinnamon sticks in a medium bowl. Pour boiling water over them and steep for about 5 minutes. Remove the tea bags.
In a large pitcher, pour the tea, honey, pomegranate juice, and orange juice. Stir to combine.
If you are serving this the same day, add the fruit and 3-4 cups of kombucha to a large pitcher. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

We store it in quart mason jars, so we divided the fruit into 4 jars with 1 cup of kombucha per jar. We then pour the tea and juice mixture over the fruit and kombucha in the jars. If you plan to store this more than a 3-4 days use pasteurized honey or sugar. Raw honey has its own bacteria and often competes with the probiotic bacteria of the kombucha.

Enjoy!