Favourite Products

Please note that chocolate – even the high cocoa products below – should ideally be left for Phase 3 of the diet. You can integrate a square or two of at least 70% cocoa chocolate (some examples below) into Phase 2, but only if you find that it doesn’t wake up cravings for worse sweet things. I have had a number of clients end their main meal of the day with a couple of squares of 85% and they have found no need for other desserts and they have found that this has had no impact on cravings for other things.

	Chocolate is my favourite food on the planet! Anyone who knows me will be well aware of my passion for chocolate and how much I eat. However, by chocolate, I mean anything with at least 70% cocoa content. This is a product picture of the starting level you should be getting if you want to indulge in chocolate. Strictly speaking, any chocolate is for Phase 3 of the Harcombe Diet. However, some people do have a square or two of chocolate (at least 70%) after their main meal whilst doing Phase 2. I love it when people play with The Harcombe Diet and make it work for them. If a tiny quantity of real chocolate in Phase 2 helps you stick to the diet – go for it!
	This is a product picture of my favourite plain chocolate of all. I eat a 100g bar of 85% Lindt chocolate most days. Chocolate with this level of cocoa is a great source of iron and anti-oxidants. Studies have shown that blood circulates round the body better for a couple of hours after eating very high cocoa content chocolate, so this can also be a good anti-coagulant. This is the only form in which I ingest any sugar almost every day (I often eat out, so you can’t then be so sure what you are eating). I probably consume less than 10g of sugar daily and I can’t wait for Lindt to try and make this bar without sugar or any sweeteners.
	Brown rice is one of the best foods on the planet. It is so versatile and full of nutrients and fibre. It is also one of the foods to which people are LEAST likely to be intolerant, so it is a great carb for Phase 2 of the Harcombe Diet. In The Harcombe Diet recipe book we use brown rice in wheat free nut roast and it is the staple accompaniment to veggie chilli and curries. If you haven’t had brown rice at all, or for a while, get hold of some really nice (maybe organic) brown rice from a supermarket, or health food store, and even try a bowl of brown rice on its own – it is so filling and delicious. Mixed with veggie sauces, as a carb meal, in Phase 2, it is unbeatable.
	This is a product picture of brown rice cereal. The only ingredient in this packet is 100% brown rice. No sugar, no salt – absolutely nothing else added. It tastes like sugar puffs, without the sickly sweet taste and it is a great carb breakfast in Phase 2 – especially for people who are wheat intolerant. This is an unbranded product from my local health food store. There is a brand in supermarkets called “Kallo”, which I can also recommend. You can put low fat milk on this, to keep the meal a carb meal. I eat it dry, to be honest, as I love crunchy cereal! This also makes a good late night snack, if you feel you absolutely must eat something before bed.
	Here is another great rice based product for the many people who are wheat intolerant. This is vegetable rice pasta – the brand is “Orgran”. This brand also makes corn pasta, 100% rice pasta and lots of wheat free pasta options. I particularly like the vegetable rice pasta as the spirals are in three colours – as a result of using things like beetroot and spinach as natural colourings. There is a 15 minute tomato sauce in The Harcombe Diet Recipe book. You start the tomato sauce and then put this rice pasta on 5 mins after you start the sauce and you can be sitting down to a perfect carb, wheat free, pasta meal just 10 minutes later.