The Sonoma diet focuses on celebrating food and eating appropriate amounts of what is healthy, as opposed to focusing on avoiding certain foods. Developed by Connie Guttersen, it is based on the Mediterranean diet. It is meant to be a very simple diet with no calorie counting. Portions are controlled instead with plate size. The diet features 10 “power foods,” chosen for their high nutritional content and depth of flavor.
This diet consists of three waves, the first wave being the most restrictive. During this wave, the portion sizes are the smallest of all the waves and the least number of foods is allowed. Sugar intake is also restricted. During wave two, different types of foods are introduced. The dieter stays on wave two until the desired weight is reached, and wave three is designed to be the maintenance wave, with the most wide range of foods being allowed, even including a sporadic dessert.
The Sonoma diet finds its origins in the Mediterranean diet, but they are not exactly the same. The Mediterranean diet includes calorie counting, does not have phases and does not restrict fruit or alcohol at all. It also has a wider focus on exercise and there are claims that recipes on the Mediterranean diet are simpler to prepare.
The “power foods” that are a large part of the Sonoma diet are whole grains, grapes, tomatoes, broccoli, blueberries, almonds, bell peppers, spinach, strawberries and olive oil. Proteins should be low in saturated fat and may include beef, pork, poultry, eggs and other proteins. There are three tiers of vegetables. During wave one, the only vegetables allowed are those that are low carbohydrate vegetables. During wave two, one serving of a non-low carbohydrate vegetable is allowed. Wave three vegetables include all of the starchy, high carbohydrate vegetables.
Fruits are not allowed during wave one and during wave two, one may eat up to two servings of fruit per day. The allowed fruits are peaches, pears, bananas, pomegranates, mangos, passion fruit, persimmons, plantains, elderberries, figs, guavas and a few others.
An acceptable wave one meal plan would be a two-egg scramble with sautéed broccoli and spinach on the side and a plain slice of whole grain toast. Lunch could be grilled chicken breast marinated in lemon juice, salt, pepper and fresh herbs with mushrooms, zucchini and bell peppers on the side. An acceptable dinner would be a broiled salmon served with a pesto sauce, brown rice and a green salad.
The Sonoma Diet Cookbook by Connie Guttersen is one of the most popular cookbooks for this diet. This book has over 175 recipes with full color photos for all phases of the diet, including breakfast ideas, vegetarian meals, desserts and everything in between.
Some other acceptable recipes on this diet include the California Avocado Potassium Power-Up Smoothie, Green Goddess Salad With Romaine, Cucumber and Avocado, Spinach, Basil and Feta Panini and the Sonoma Plum and Rosemary Pork Roast, all of which are available on the official website.
