Saturday

Well, all week long I've been planning on making this Garlicky Leek and Artichoke Soup.  I bought all of the ingredients but because of a busy schedule I just haven't had time.  I blame Zumba.  I take a Zumba class 3 times a week and it gets out at 7.  By the time I get home and walk the dog It is 8 pm and I'm just too tired to make something that involves a lot of chopping, sauteing, and simmering. 

I will make it tomorrow!

For breakfast I ate Cherry Pie Oatmeal.  Lunch was a thin bagel with 2 T peanut butter and a spinach souffle.  Snack was a banana.  Dinner was 2 servings of vegan lentil soup, cranberry juice mixed with my club soda.  Later I'll have a dark chocolate banana baby. 

My protein numbers have been low lately so I'm going to start adding protein powder to my breakfast oatmeals/smoothies.  I wish I could say that I found a vegan powder that was reasonably priced but I didn't.  I found a publix brand whey (dairy) protein for $3.75 and I bought that.  I don't like adding dairy to my diet but I think this will be better than adding cheese, milk, or yogurt. 

All in all I've been able to keep my daily calorie ranges between 1650 and 1750 each day.  The frustrating part is that all of these calories are from healthy eating; there is no room for real indulgence unless I'm willing to go over my calorie range.  Yes, I stick to one sweet treat each night like a soy based ice cream bar or a banana baby or whatever, but there is no room for a slice of cake or cheeseburger.  There is room for low-calorie, diet treats but no room for true, honest to goodness splurges. 

Exercise today was 5k in 44 minutes, half a yoga class, and walking.

Finally Friday

Today has been a great day; I ran errands, my parents brought me some furniture, and I had a great exercise class.  For breakfast I had 2 slices of whole wheat toast with one serving of dark chocolate peanut butter.  The Peanut Butter Company is a producer of gourmet peanut butter.  Most grocery stores carry them now.  They have four flavors: Smooth Operator (a smooth traditional butter), Dark Chocolate Dreams, White Chocolate Wonderful, and Cinnamon Raisin Swirl.  I've only tried the first two and let me tell you, they are great.  However, the best part is that the local Wal Marts have started carrying these peanut butters in individual snack packs for 68 cents apiece. 

Isn't that just so helpful?

Jiff makes something similar, an on the go peanut butter snack pack, however it is 2 servings per pack!  2!  That's almost 400 calories in that little cup.  I really like the PB Company because not only is the peanut butter all natural (no high fructose corn syrup) and tastes incredibly good, but there is the inherent portion control of the single serving packet.  Everyone needs to try these things.

Lunch was a vegetarian sub from Jimmy John's.  Snack, apple.  Dinner: small baked potato with butter spray, salad with tomatoes and 1/2 c pinto beans.  cranberry juice mixed with club soda.  I also think that in a little while I will have a dark chocolate banana baby.

Exercise: 30 minutes walking, 55 minute zumba.

Time is Flying By!

Wowza!  I looked at my syllabus this morning and realized that I am already a quarter of the way through the fall semester!  That is nuts!  We are halfway through September and I am sooo ready!  I'm ready for cooler weather, for sweaters, for cider, for pumpkins.  Really, is there a better season then fall?  The food is richer, the colors and cuts of clothes are more flattering to just about everyone, and the briskness is energizing and refreshing. 

Tuesday and Today's Recap.
Breakfast: cherry pie oatmeal, coffee
Snack: apple, banana
Lunch: the last (!) of the polenta with kale, one boca vegan burger, with ketchup, 2 small clementines
Snack: 2 T peanut butter
Dinner: 2 servings of Wolfgang Puck's hearty lentil and vegetable soup, cranberry juice,
Dessert: dark chocolate banana baby (a half banana dipped in dark chocolate then frozen)

Yesterday I also went running again.  Up hills.  It was a mistake.  I am so sore today that I can barely move.  I went for 45 minutes and finished strong.  Tomorrow (Thursday) is my day off from exercise but when I go run again on Saturday I plan on running the track at Godby High School.  Nice and flat- like Kansas.

Today I again had cherry pie oatmeal for breakfast with coffee. Snack: banana  Lunch was 2 slices of whole wheat bread, 2 T peanut butter, and carrot sticks.  Snack: apple.  Dinner was 2 vegan burgers on 2 whole wheat deli thins, both with ketchup and mustard. 

Again I had an intense workout day.  Everyday I walk roughly 30-45 minutes between walking to the bus stop, walking around campus, and at least three dog walks a day.  In addition to walking I decided that because I got out of class early I was going to go to the 5 pm yoga class.  My hips, quads, and back were so sore from yesterdays jog that I thought a little yoga might do me some good.  The stretching did help but it was very difficult.  After that I took a zumba class that was probably medium intensity.

Little Athens

Great day!  Breakfast was two whole wheat bread slices with natural smooth peanut butter, coffee.
Snack was a banana, apple, and a serving of triscuit crackers
Lunch: Little Athens!  This great new restaurant on Tennessee Street in the shopping plaza next to the McDonald's.  I got a hummus gyro that had hummus, falafel, lettuce, tomatoes, and some kind of dressing on a pita bread.  It was amazing.  I just loved that place and highly recommend it.  I definately think it is better than the Pitaria which is across the street.
Dinner: kale with polenta (I am never making this again!  It makes too many leftovers and I am sick of it!) and one Chik'n Boca patty.  Cranberry juice mixed with club soda.

Exercise: 30 minutes walking in spurts (i.e. 10 minute walk with Jackson, 15 minute walk on campus to Bellamy) 55 minute Zumba class.

Catch up!

Wow- this weekend has been crazy busy and I just have not had much time in front of a computer.  For the sake of simplicity I am just going to catch up fast on what I ate.

Friday: Cherry Pie Oatmeal, coffee
Snack: Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Lunch: Kale and Polenta
Dinner: 2 beers, cheeseburger with ketchup, mustard, lettuce, tomato; spinach dip with 3 pita chips, brownies, cookies, and who knows what else.  It was a party!

Saturday: Cherry pie Oatmeal, coffee
Snack: Pumpkin Pie Smoothie
Lunch: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
Snack: taco bell bean burrito fresco style
dinner: cedar river seafood blackened mahi mahi dinner with fries, hush puppies, piece of fried catfish and one fried shrimp, green beans
Dessert: birthday cake milkshape from zaxby's

Sunday: breakfast: two packets of instant maple brown sugar oatmeal, coffee
snack: banana
lunch: potluck lunch at church with black beans, watermelon, salad, some kind of pasta salad with brownie, and some kind of pudding based dessert
snack: apple, pumpkin pie smoothie
dinner: pilsbury savorings, 4 cookies

As you can see there was a lot of fat, crazy amounts of desserts and sweets, and just a lot of heavy eating.

I know I made some good choices yesterday as far as fruits and veggies go but dinner and everything else was just too much.  Too much fat, too much sugar, too much quantity.  All I can do is try today and dust myself off and make better decisions.  While I'm here I'd like to share two recipes with you.

Cherry Pie Oatmeal:
1/2 rolled oats,
1/2 c vanilla soy milk
1/2 c water
1/4 c dried cherries
cinnamon

Mix all together and heat oatmeal in microwave for 4-5 minutes.  It is delicious!

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal:
1/2 c pumpkin (frozen in ice cube trays works best)
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 c vanilla soy milk or 1 serving of silken tofu
1 t maple syrup
cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice
1-2 ice cubes

blend until smooth, creamy, and fantastic.  A nice alternative to hot pumpkin coffee drinks.  Also, the banana sweetens the drink and makes it thick but you do not really taste the banana

Yesterday and Today

Sorry folks but I basically forgot to post last night. 
Breakfast: oatmeal with raisins and one tablespoon walnuts, coffee
Lunch: salad mix, kidney beans, pilau rice
Banana
Dinner: ribs in BBQ sauce, french fries, and baked beans, sweet tea.
Pumpkin frozen yogurt

Last night I made the impulsive stop at Cornerside BBQ.  If you live in Tally Town it is on the corner of Copeland and Tennessee next to the closed Wendy's.  I had planned on having a dinner of polenta and kale (which I had tonight instead) but when I left the gym I could smell the smoke and sauce and meat and it was just too delicious to pass by so I pulled in and got a rib dinner.  Folks, it was great.  For dessert I got Bruester's pumpkin flavored frozen yogurt.

Today was great also.  For breakfast I had leftover caramel corn but I did not let it ruin my mindset or my calories for the day.  For lunch I had spring mix salad with a Boca Chik'n patty over it along with a slice of watermelon.  Later for snack I had a banana, an apple, and 1 oz. peanut butter.  For dinner I cooked polenta and served kale and black beans over it.  It was very flavorful and light.  It did leave something lacking as I just wished I felt fuller but I'll have to get used to that.  For dessert I had a SoDelicious Banana Split ice cream sandwich.  It is dairy free and only 100 calories.  It also used agave as the sweetener.  It was good; I love artificial banana flavored things. 

Tomorrow is the department party and I am going to be loose with what I eat.  I plan on having a hamburger and partaking in the generous potluck. 

The Crepe Vine

Today Jennifer and I went to this nice local restaurant called The Crepe Vine.  They specialize in sweet and savory crepe dishes.  Overall it seemed like a nice place to eat with wholesome, natural food made out of real ingredients.  One significant feature is that they make the crepe sandwiches right in front of you so that you can see that the place is clean and that the food is fresh with no sneaky, unidentifiable ingredients.  Unfortunately the place had only one meat-free option or you could create your own meat-free crepe but even those offered two (2!) kinds of cheese. 

Jennifer had some kind of savory crepe but she also go a dessert crepe filled with granola, almonds, honey, whipped cream, and strawberries.  I didn't want a savory crepe because I had packed my lunch.  Also the dessert crepes looked really heavy... all of the ones I wanted had nutella and peanut butter with strawberries and maybe also whipped cream and honey.  I think I'd go straight into a coma if I had something like that without planning for it.  I did however have a "Guilty Pleasure" bowl.  It had a banana and strawberries all sliced up with chocolate sauce and walnuts on it.  It was delicious, like a banana split without the ice cream.  If anyone gets a chance to go to the crepe vine or a crepery do so.

Breakfast: 2 slives whole wheat bread, coffee, 1 oz. peanut butter.
Lunch: salad, pilau rice, kidney beans, pineapple, 'guilty pleasure' bowl, 1 T hummus
Snack: one oatmeal breakfast cookie, pear
Dinner: 2 vegan burgers with 2 whole wheat thins, tomato and lettuce, mustard and ketchup

Labor Day

Well, today went rather well.  For breakfast I made sweet potato pancakes with maple syrup, 2 turkey sausage patties, and 2 scrambled eggs with coffee.  Lunch was a bag of natural popcorn and a granola bar.
Dinner was a side salad with olive oil and vinegar with hummus with pita chips.  Then I had frozen yogurt with cereal on top. 

In addition to walking my dog I also went to zumba class today.  I am truly awesome at zumbing.

Opening Day!

Well, this is my new blog.  About two weeks ago I created a blog designed to track my progress on the Eat to Live program developed by Joel Fuhrman.  Well, that just did not work for me for a variety of reasons.  For starters it was too stringent; I was pouring apple sauce on my salad because Fuhrman didn't allow for vinegar, let alone traditional dressings.  Also, it was not really conducive to my life.  I couldn't go out to eat with my friends or eat on the go.  One day I had to eat on the run and I grabbed a lean cuisine and then felt guilty about it.  But that's real life!  All of his meals, aside from breakfasts, seemed to require more time then I had a lot of days not to mention lugging them around and storing them while at school.

I guess all of this means is that I want to be able to eat with my friends and in social situations and also that Fuhrman's plan was just more involved in time and preparation that I wanted to deal with.  That doesn't make me a quitter; that plan was just not for me. 

So here's the new plan:
1) Limit Dairy: it makes me feel gross and I think it plays with my complexion.  That means avoiding milk, butter, and other straight dairy in my diet.  Dairy that sometimes comes in vegetarian foods shouldn't be considered that big a deal.  I'm not allergic or lactose intolerant.  Also, dairy at restaurants shouldn't be feared, meaning that if a meal has butter or cheese or whatever that isn't enough of a reason to not order it if I really want it.
2) Meet my meat: meat is not environmentally friendly nor is it very healthy.  I feel better when I eat less of it and save meat for special occasions. 
3) When it comes to fruits and veggies, more is more: one part of the Fuhrman plan is that it had me eating a lot more produce and I liked that.  I did not like meals entirely made out of fruit or greens but crafting my lunches and dinners around them is healthy and a smart way to eat.
4) Grains not in part but the whole: grains should be consumed as whole grains as much as possible.

So essentially this is a vegan based diet with flexibility for real life.

I once knew a vegan who ate burgers and pizza at restaurants.  Funny, right?  Well, I asked him once about this and he pointed out that he could eat however he wanted at home but if he would rather eat cheese pizza with his friends then a veggie burger all alone seven nights a week.  He also ate traditional foods at holidays or family meals because he didn't like people asking him about his special foods or noting his self-chosen difference.  He was conscience of not 'othering' himself.  I think he had a pretty good sense of balance.   

So here's what I ate today:
breakfast was 2 slices whole grain bread, 2 T earth balance vegan spread, 1/4 c homemade peach jam, coffee with soy creamer
lunch: caramel popcorn, 1 T peanut butter
snack: fruit wrap, apple
dinner: kidney beans, salad mix, pilau rice, 1 T hummus, cranberry juice.

So you can see that there is room for more produce but calorically it wasn't a bad deal.  The caramel corn was an impulse and partially because I waited way too long to eat and the popcorn was closest.  I also got in 30 minutes of walking.