Starch Solution Review

If you are a fan of Dr. McDougall, then you probably have heard of or read The Starch Solution. I am a huge fan of Dr. McDougall and for the past few years have followed him closely. I love the work he does, he plays a huge roll in the plant based movement, especially the low fat vegan lifestyle. After hearing so many incredible reviews and testimonies from his recent book and diet plan, The Starch Solution, I decided to give it a try!

If you aren't familiar with The Starch Solution, it is a low fat vegan diet based around starches. It allows you to eat the foods you love like pasta, rice, potatoes, pancakes, and all the other yummy carbs...even bread and LOSE WEIGHT! Foods that are off the menu are meat, dairy, eggs, butter, and oils, which for me was easy since those are already off my menu! My biggest concern was the 3-5 servings of fruit allowed, coming from a high raw lifestyle, fruit is huge part of my life! I love the taste of fruit, I eat it in abundance, I absofruitly love it! But...

Fruit stayed on my menu. I continued to eat fruit for breakfast as well as for snacks. My typical day looked something like this:
Breakfast- fruit meal or banana smoothies
Lunch- rice, potatoes, or pasta with fresh or steamed veggies
Snack- fruit, usually grapes or pomegranate
Dinner- salad, rice, potaotes, pasta, and veggies

Pros: This program is super easy to follow. All the foods recommended are highly accessible to everyone. No need to purchase any superfoods or supplements, which is always a plus! The book offers a 7 day program to help you get started as well as a fairly large recipe guide for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The recipes are all very simple, no hard to find ingredients, and all budget friendly.
This is also something the entire family can follow. All the meals are kid friendly which as a mom that is important! Foods like mash potatoes with gravy, pasta with marinara sauce, oatmeal, veggie pizza are all favorites in my home already! I was really impressed with how tasty the recipes were. I already cook oilfree so that was not a difficult adjustment for us, but the book gives simple instructions for cooking without oil, and keeping the food delicious! Trust me, no flavor is lost!

Did I already mention budget friendly? Yes, but let's talk about how inexpensive this lifestyle is! Potatoes and rice are some of the cheapest foods on the planet! They are available in every grocery store as well. The program does not require you to purchase a high price blender, juicer, or dehydrator. All you need is what you already have in a standard kitchen.

It is also very easy for busy families! Breakfast foods like oatmeal are great for kids trying to run out the door for school, even toast with a simple tofu scramble takes no time to make, or just pop some waffles into the toaster!  Lunch for me was dinner leftovers, quick to pack up and take with me to work. I made dinner nightly with leftovers in mind so everything was made to feed 5 instead of 3, that way my husband and I always had leftovers for lunch. None if the recipes were complicated or very time consuming, so if you are not great in the kitchen or just don't have time, this is perfect for you!
Did I lose weight? Gain weight? Stay the same? I actually lost 3lbs, (7lbs actually, weighed myself the day after I wrote this, which was a week and a half since the 3lb loss) though I was not looking to lose weight it was a pleasant surprise.If you are concerned with weight gain on this high carb program, please don't be, it will not happen!!
Cons: None! I really think this program would work well for everyone! Not only is it great for weightloss, but also great for those already at an ideal weight. The Starch Solution is a whole food diet which means you will be eating healthfully and really what are the cons of that? Lol!