Ani Phyo’s 15-Day Fat-Blast Kick-Ass Plan Review: Chapter 4¾

… in which we finally go shopping for food !  Hallelujah !

If you’ve been following us, you know we’re behind schedule — but back on track today.  So grab your non-plastic shopping bags and hit your favorite whole foods store, farmers’ market, or CSA.  Here comes the list!  Needless to say, get the best quality produce you can find.  Here at NBGS we consider organic to be essential, and all the more so when it comes to fruits, vegetables, herbs and so on.  Unless you grow your own, we recommend no compromise here.  Clean food is the first priority, and even when it’s organic, there are varying qualities.  Be smart.

Ani notes that by buying your foods in farmers’ markets, you get the freshest possible produce (we add CSAs to the list).  Fresher food last longer, too.

Ani makes two very important points which we would like to quote:  ”Buying directly from individual farmers means you’re buying in bulk, avoiding environmentally unfriendly packaging, and treading lighter on our planet.  Plus, all the money you spend goes directly to the farmer, rather than to packaging, manufacturing, distributing, storing, and advertising.  Biodiverse organic farming produces more food for farmers.  It means the farm is not mono-cropped to grow only one type of food. Instead, there’s an entire ecosystem that thrives in a biodiverse garden or farm.”

We will cover Permaculture and Biodynamic agriculture some time in the future, because the way our food is grown and how we keep our soil sustained is of paramount importance.

Ani’s Fridge & Pantry Staples : Nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, superfoods, oils and etceteras

Here is our somewhat abridged list of things you want around throughout the plan: 

• Nuts & seeds (raw and unsalted)

Almonds, Cashews, Pecans, Pistachios, Walnuts,

Shelled Hempseed, Chia seeds, Pumpkin, Sesame, Sunflower seeds

Hemp protein powder, Dry coconut (unsweetened, shredded)

•  Produce

Celery, Garlic, Ginger, Jalapeños, Lemons, Limes

• Dried Fruits

Raisins, Medjool dates, Goji or Golden berries

• Oils

Coconut oil (organic, extra virgin), Hemp oil (organic, cold pressed)

Olive oil  (organic, extra virgin, cold pressed), Sesame oil (toasted)

• Sweeteners

Syrups, one or more: Maple (grade B), brown rice, or raw honey

Stevia powder (whole leaf green)

•  Condiments

Apple cider vinegar (unfiltered, raw), Olives (fresh, not canned)

Cacao powder and nibs (raw, unheated)

Miso paste (unpasteurized, any color), Nama shoyu (raw soy sauce), or Tamari (gluten-free)

Sauerkraut (raw, unpasteurized, refrigerated) [try making your own!]

• Dried spices and herbs

Black pepper, or peppercorns with grinder; Cayenne and Chipotle powders

Cumin seeds, Curry powder, Turmeric, Nutritional yeast

Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme, Basil, Dill –  dry

Sea, Celtic or Himalayan salt

Cinnamon powder; Vanilla extract (alcohol free) or whole beans

Matcha powder or box of tea

• Sea vegetables

Nori sheets (raw), Wakame or arame

We agree that you should also trust your instincts — if you feel you don’t know what to pick, buy whatever looks good to you. Experiment. Ani stores all fresh produce in the fridge. We live in a building that’s held up by an army of ants, who come out to play and feast in the summer. Therefore we store ALL our foods in the fridge (in the summer). We’ve tried everything non-toxic our research yielded, and nothing much happened. If you have an excellent non-toxic method to defer the ants to another location, please let us know. We have a lot of respect for the ant and avoid killing things in general.
Here’s another excellent tip from Ani and something we’ve wondered about for ages.  Thank you Ms Phyo!

HOW TO STORE FOOD

“To avoid mold and decay in your fridge, keep fruits and vegetables stored separately because they both give off different gasses that can accelerate deterioration.  Store similar items together, like apples with apples, and lettuce with lettuce.  For leftovers, store them in airtight, leak-proof, clear containers so you can always see what’s inside.  Glass jars work great.  And keep items with shorter shelf lives toward the front of your fridge; items that will last longer should be placed in the back.  As you gobble up the stuff in front, the stuff in back moves forward to be used next.  Always store animal products (if using), like meats, on the bottom shelf of the fridge on a dish to catch their juices and keep food-borne bacteria contained.”

Stocking your pantry with the staples you’ll need for the duration of the two weeks is obviously a great idea; Ani lists the staples first, and suggests quantities, and then the specific shopping lists for each of the three phases.  We omitted a few that we don’t use, like flax oil (we like hemp oil) or wheatgrass powder (we grow and juice our own) or green tea (always a staple, rocking the medicine all day long).  As you know we recommend that you purchase the book if you want the complete plan in its highly detailed and annotated version.  Reviewing the book as we do here gives us motivation and an opportunity to study it closely.

Ani’s 15-Day Fat Blast

Best Price $13.99

We’ve arranged our personal list for the staples and phase 1 in a pdf you can print out and scribble on as you go shopping:  Staples & Phase 1

Will Ani’s plan work for us?  Will we get the results she says are possible (15 lbs in 15 days)?  The journey begins!  We’re excited to find out.

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