Crave One, Add Two

We sort of liked this diet. It made us think about the pyramid food groups - which all diets extol as the utmost important factor. It is geared to the carb binger and made good sense to us, without all the diet "recipes" to follow. We found this article in February 2003's Prevention Magazine. The magazine article by Selene Yeager, was entitled, "The Incredible Three-Food Rule."

The abbreviated Prevention Magazine article on-line entitled, "Crave One, Add Two" can be found here. Developed by Orlando-based nutrition counselor Karen Beerbower, RD, the three-food rule is simple: Every time you eat, choose a combination of three food items. Each item should come from a different food group, and one item must be a protein. That's it. Pick from these food groups: fruits, veggies, dairy, grains, and meat (includes fish, eggs, nuts, legumes). See sample groupings.

It stated for every meal or snack you eat, you must include three things. We found it made perfect sense, since eating only one thing or too much of one thing, causes am imbalance in the food pyramid.

Macaroni & Cheese for dinner? Great. Just include two more items, such as a fresh green beans and a fruit salad.
If you want seconds on the mac and cheese, that's okay too, but you must have seconds on the beans and fruit salad as well.

Want some cookies? Fine, but also include a glass of milk and an orange.

Want a Snickers Bar? Okay - but you have to do a little work to come up with the two other foods, one of which is a protein.

This diet forces you to think about snacks in a different light.

Breakfast on the run? Turn that buttered toast into a balanced nutrition by adding a glass of milk and frozen strawberries.

It is that easy!

Here is a good explanation of examples for healthy eating, courtesy of the Mayo Clinic Food Pyramid.