Here is the basic plan I’ve been following for eating healthy. It is working slowly but surely. When I am disciplined, it works very well. When I slack, it slacks.

Breakfast: blend a shake with a non-dairy milk, one cup of fruit (preferably berries) and 1/2 cup of yogurt, Greek is best or non-fat, plain. If you want, substitute whey or hemp powder for the yogurt. You will feel great until lunch.

Lunch: green veggies, lettuce, tomatoes and 4 oz. lean meat or fish. If you choose a salad, be very careful not to use a high calorie dressing. Vinaigrettes are best, about two tablespoons.

Dinner: same as lunch.

Try this diet for a week or two. Remember that you need to drink plenty of water and eliminate, as much as possible, all sugars, flour, dairy, grains, fat, processed food. After the first week or two, you can add in an additional fruit as a snack and you can add back in whole grains in the form of bread or rice…just one serving a day for now. A friend of mine called this diet “vegan with meat.” It basically is. Later I’ll be sure to blog about dairy and hormone-injected meats. Women need to be especially careful when consuming secondhand hormones via milk and meat.

About salads. I’ve been eating a salad for lunch for a couple of weeks now, almost every day. Salads can be very boring, but I’ve learned a couple of things. 1) add chopped peppers, banana pepper rings, use black beans and salsa instead of dressing, use dark greens such as a spring mix, use spinach instead of lettuce; 2) if adding meat to your salad is tricky at lunchtime, add half a can of garbanzo beans, black beans or even navy beans, they are great for protein; 3) even if your salad isn’t as fun as a couple of tacos would be, just eat it and don’t overthink and stress about what you would rather eat. I usually eat my salad while reading something then go back to work. After a few minutes at my desk I realize I’ve had my lunch and am not hungry.