I took the weekend off from blogging...sort of a blogging catnap. I needed to think about where I want to go with the blog, how I want to express myself, and how much of a commitment I want to make. I think my strength lies in more free-flowing verbose entries written when the mood strikes. I already use a lot of energy sticking to routines, and adding a forced daily blog entry isn't doing me or anyone reading any good.
This weekend was good. I'm learning how much more difficult it is to make food decisions when you stop eating dairy! I've been doing some online reading about eating a plant based diet and there are some articles I'd like to share. The first is a perspective from Mark Bittman (amazing chef & NY Times food columnist titled "Got Milk? You Don't Need It" about dairy consumption and his personal experience with giving up dairy. I love reading his columns no matter what the subject, but this one obviously struck a chord. I haven't had any dairy for 5 days and I feel like I have more energy and I can breathe out of my nose better than I have been able to in awhile.
For those of you worried about certain nutrients lacking in a plant based diet, I read another excellent blog post titled "How to Convince Anyone to Go Vegan". I know that to a degree I'm drinking the vegan kool aid right now, but I love this post for providing information on the concerns people have about vegan diets in a concise and easy to read way. I'm looking forward to reading more about people who've adopted a vegan lifestyle. I read a post that's an interview with Rich Roll, a vegan endurance athlete. I get so inspired reading about people who are achieving amazing things on a vegan diet.
Monday, July 9, 2012
Friday, July 6, 2012
Thursday
I'm wondering if people are still reading and if this format's getting tiresome. I thought it would be nice to have consistency but I feel like it's becoming monotonous for me, therefore it must be worse for anyone reading! Thursday is typically my long day at work so I usually am less exciting and less able to do other things.
I had my usual breakfast with a side of soy milk. I got a new brand of bread and I'm really liking it (Alvarado St. Sprouted Whole Wheat). Lunch was a piece of focaccia with a side salad, a Gardein chick'n scallopini and a peach. Dinner was the same as the night before, pasta with pesto and veggies. Snacks were Kashi go lean, watermelon, peanuts and oatmeal with blueberries.
I didn't do any working out, and it was the first day with no gym, mountain, at home DVD in almost 2 weeks. I walked the dog for about 15 minutes in the morning and then walked another 15 minutes at work. I also did some light yoga and stretching in the morning before work. It was weird taking a day off, but I think my body appreciates it!
I'm reading a book right now about an economics professor from Bangladesh who started a microlending system to improve the lives of poor people in his country. His program has spread throughout the world, is very successful, and he won a Nobel Prize for his work. The book itself isn't as good as I thought it would be, but what he did is incredibly motivating. It shows that small changes in your life can have huge impacts for you and the people around you. I've read several articles that discuss how living with or being close to a healthy eater correlates with making better lifestyle choices. I guess that's my aim from this blog and in my life. I know that everyone doesn't have the willpower, support, or drive that I do to be healthy, but I hope I can inspire people to make small changes that will add up over time.
I had my usual breakfast with a side of soy milk. I got a new brand of bread and I'm really liking it (Alvarado St. Sprouted Whole Wheat). Lunch was a piece of focaccia with a side salad, a Gardein chick'n scallopini and a peach. Dinner was the same as the night before, pasta with pesto and veggies. Snacks were Kashi go lean, watermelon, peanuts and oatmeal with blueberries.
I didn't do any working out, and it was the first day with no gym, mountain, at home DVD in almost 2 weeks. I walked the dog for about 15 minutes in the morning and then walked another 15 minutes at work. I also did some light yoga and stretching in the morning before work. It was weird taking a day off, but I think my body appreciates it!
I'm reading a book right now about an economics professor from Bangladesh who started a microlending system to improve the lives of poor people in his country. His program has spread throughout the world, is very successful, and he won a Nobel Prize for his work. The book itself isn't as good as I thought it would be, but what he did is incredibly motivating. It shows that small changes in your life can have huge impacts for you and the people around you. I've read several articles that discuss how living with or being close to a healthy eater correlates with making better lifestyle choices. I guess that's my aim from this blog and in my life. I know that everyone doesn't have the willpower, support, or drive that I do to be healthy, but I hope I can inspire people to make small changes that will add up over time.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
4th of July!
Food
Had a bowl of Kashi Go Lean with soy milk for breakfast. Lunch was a hike-nic (more on that later) of leftovers: barley salad, focaccia, cabbage, watermelon & an oatmeal cookie. Dinner was farfalle with sauteed leeks, banana peppers, zucchini, eggplant and cherry tomatoes with homemade basil almond pesto. Snacks were a Luna bar and oatmeal with blueberries.
Exercise
We both had the day off and decided to take advantage of it with a hike at South Mountains State Park. It's about an hour from our house and we heard there was a nice waterfall loop trail. The trail was 2.5 miles. It started nice and easy for about a half mile, and then there were stairs leading up the last half mile or so. We stopped part way up at an observation point to get pics of the falls. Then we continued up to the top of the falls where there's a nice flat area with pools of cold mountain water to cool you off after a hot hike up. We stayed there for a bit and then made our way back on the loop trail. That trail was surprisingly quiet, I think most people went back the way they came up. It was super packed at the park, and I was hoping to find a more secluded spot for our picnic. Luckily, when our loop trail met back up with the main trail it was right next to a spot where we could drop down and sit by the creek for lunch. It was a good hike, and Carly kept up a decent pace. I think I still got a good workout, especially carrying the 20-30lb bag on my back!
Learning/Observations
Again no formal learning happening. It was nice to see so many people out enjoying nature, although a majority of them seemed to be there to picnic and likely eat crappy food. I loved watching the kids run up and down the trails and swim in the mountain water. I wish we could all capture some of that enthusiasm and remember what it was like to be so excited by nature and moving our bodies. I've been so lucky to be able to remember that feeling and cultivate it by experiencing the great hikes and outdoor spaces here.
I don''t know if I ate dairy on the 4th because I'm not sure what the oatmeal cookie was made from. Today is officially day one of being dairy free. I'm not going to use the word "vegan" to describe my eating (unless I'm somewhere out to eat where it's easier to convey). I still might eat eggs. I am still going to eat honey. I'm against animal cruelty (who isn't??) but I don't have the burning desire to go full out vegan in my entire lifestyle. I'd like to adopt a term I've heard often in my learning, and that is a plant based diet. There is less of a moral/ethical connotation to that term and I think it better captures what I'm aiming for.
Had a bowl of Kashi Go Lean with soy milk for breakfast. Lunch was a hike-nic (more on that later) of leftovers: barley salad, focaccia, cabbage, watermelon & an oatmeal cookie. Dinner was farfalle with sauteed leeks, banana peppers, zucchini, eggplant and cherry tomatoes with homemade basil almond pesto. Snacks were a Luna bar and oatmeal with blueberries.
 |
| Farfalle with veggies and pesto |
Exercise
We both had the day off and decided to take advantage of it with a hike at South Mountains State Park. It's about an hour from our house and we heard there was a nice waterfall loop trail. The trail was 2.5 miles. It started nice and easy for about a half mile, and then there were stairs leading up the last half mile or so. We stopped part way up at an observation point to get pics of the falls. Then we continued up to the top of the falls where there's a nice flat area with pools of cold mountain water to cool you off after a hot hike up. We stayed there for a bit and then made our way back on the loop trail. That trail was surprisingly quiet, I think most people went back the way they came up. It was super packed at the park, and I was hoping to find a more secluded spot for our picnic. Luckily, when our loop trail met back up with the main trail it was right next to a spot where we could drop down and sit by the creek for lunch. It was a good hike, and Carly kept up a decent pace. I think I still got a good workout, especially carrying the 20-30lb bag on my back!
 |
| Carly and I at the falls |
Learning/Observations
Again no formal learning happening. It was nice to see so many people out enjoying nature, although a majority of them seemed to be there to picnic and likely eat crappy food. I loved watching the kids run up and down the trails and swim in the mountain water. I wish we could all capture some of that enthusiasm and remember what it was like to be so excited by nature and moving our bodies. I've been so lucky to be able to remember that feeling and cultivate it by experiencing the great hikes and outdoor spaces here.
I don''t know if I ate dairy on the 4th because I'm not sure what the oatmeal cookie was made from. Today is officially day one of being dairy free. I'm not going to use the word "vegan" to describe my eating (unless I'm somewhere out to eat where it's easier to convey). I still might eat eggs. I am still going to eat honey. I'm against animal cruelty (who isn't??) but I don't have the burning desire to go full out vegan in my entire lifestyle. I'd like to adopt a term I've heard often in my learning, and that is a plant based diet. There is less of a moral/ethical connotation to that term and I think it better captures what I'm aiming for.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Tuesday
Food
Usual breakfast. Lunch was a Kashi spinach & artichoke pasta (best frozen meal I've ever had!), a small piece of focaccia, and a salad. Dinner was veggie meat tacos with roasted cauliflower. Snacks were tamari almonds, a Luna bar, watermelon, and oatmeal with blueberries. It was our first time making roasted cauliflower and I loved it! It's not usually my favorite thing but for some reason roasting it with garlic is incredible.
Exercise
I went to the gym for cardio. I did 30 tough minutes on the arc trainer. My legs were burning during the first two sprint intervals and I had serious thoughts of either giving up or not doing any more fast intervals. As I kept going my legs loosened up and I managed to piece together 9 total minutes of sprint pace. I was quite proud of myself after and I felt that great after workout high.
Learning
Nothing new here.
Observations
I'm almost there with the lack of dairy in my life. I'm not planning on any more but Carly brought me a homemade cranberry oat cookie that I'm not sure about, so if it does have dairy that will be my last dairy food for the foreseeable future. I'm lucky to have a partner who is so supportive of my dietary decisions. It can be hard to plan meals that will satisfy us both, and my not eating cheese will only make it harder. I appreciate her willingness to adapt and to try new foods and new ways of cooking. It makes my life easier than a lot of other plant based eaters!
Usual breakfast. Lunch was a Kashi spinach & artichoke pasta (best frozen meal I've ever had!), a small piece of focaccia, and a salad. Dinner was veggie meat tacos with roasted cauliflower. Snacks were tamari almonds, a Luna bar, watermelon, and oatmeal with blueberries. It was our first time making roasted cauliflower and I loved it! It's not usually my favorite thing but for some reason roasting it with garlic is incredible.
Exercise
I went to the gym for cardio. I did 30 tough minutes on the arc trainer. My legs were burning during the first two sprint intervals and I had serious thoughts of either giving up or not doing any more fast intervals. As I kept going my legs loosened up and I managed to piece together 9 total minutes of sprint pace. I was quite proud of myself after and I felt that great after workout high.
Learning
Nothing new here.
Observations
I'm almost there with the lack of dairy in my life. I'm not planning on any more but Carly brought me a homemade cranberry oat cookie that I'm not sure about, so if it does have dairy that will be my last dairy food for the foreseeable future. I'm lucky to have a partner who is so supportive of my dietary decisions. It can be hard to plan meals that will satisfy us both, and my not eating cheese will only make it harder. I appreciate her willingness to adapt and to try new foods and new ways of cooking. It makes my life easier than a lot of other plant based eaters!
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Monday
Food
Typical breakfast. Lunch was part of my eat all the remaining dairy that Carly doesn't like mission. I had a Smart Ones 3 cheese ziti with a Gardein chick'n scallopini, half a cucumber and a peach. Dinner was homemade cherry tomato focaccia bread (recipe to follow) with a big salad. Snacks were a mini Luna bar, watermelon, a Perfectly Simple Peanut Crunch bar, and oatmeal with blueberries.
Exercise
I had planned on going to the gym for cardio but I was feeling sore and tired all day. I did 30 minutes of my favorite yoga/Pilates blend with some extra stretching at the end. I stuck to my listen to my body concept and it paid off. The deep stretching was exactly what I needed and it'll make today's cardio easier!
Learning
Still not reading any health related things right now, and there hasn't been anything worth sharing from the blogs I follow.
Observations
My lunch was not satisfying at all. I grabbed the cucumber as a last minute thought because I realized that my frozen entree had zero vegetables! I can't believe I used to just eat one of those by itself for lunch. Now I realize why I used to feel hungry most of the time. It was such an interesting contrast to my dinner, in which I ate a relatively small piece of focaccia with a huge salad. I felt satisfied for the rest of the night and pleasantly full. I'm excited to get through one more day of dairy and then start a new phase of my eating.
I downloaded an app a few days ago called SuperBetter that has quests that ask you to do things to build up personal resilience, which they define as "the ability to stay strong, motivated and optimistic even in the face of difficult challenges". Yesterday I had to develop a personal motto, and I chose "Be mindful and make it count". To me this encompasses everything I do for myself. I try to be more mindful of how I treat myself, how I treat others, and how I process information. Being mindful while I eat helps me feel more satisfied, and being mindful while I exercise helps me stay motivated. Make it count helps remind me that if I'm going to do something I might as well give it my best effort so that it makes an impact. I've read a lot of articles and tidbits that say that visualizing exercise beforehand and positive self talk during a workout can actually improve the results of that workout. This is something I try to do every day.
Here is the recipe as it appears in Vegetarian Times, see below for my modifications:
Cherry Tomato Focaccia
Serves 8
This bread is hearty enough to be served with a salad for a light lunch or supper.
TOPPING
¼ cup shelled roasted pistachios
¼ cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
½ tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 cups heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
FOCACCIA
3½ cups bread flour
1 Tbs. sugar
2½ tsp. instant yeast
2 tsp. salt Olive oil, for greasing baking sheet
1 | To make Topping: Pulse pistachios in food processor until ground, but with some larger pieces. Transfer to bowl, and stir in olive oil, garlic, and rosemary.
2 | To make Focaccia: Stir together flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and 1¼ cups water in bowl. Knead dough in bowl 5 minutes. Cover bowl with towel, and let rise 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
3 | Generously grease rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Stretch dough into 12- x 11-inch rectangle in sheet pan. Let dough rise 1 hour.
4 | Preheat oven to 450°F. Dimple dough with fingers. Whisk 2 Tbs. water into pistachio mixture, and brush onto dough. Press tomato halves cut-side up into dough. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown on top and bottom.
PER SLICE 329 cal; 9 g prot; 11 g total fat (2 g sat fat); 48 g carb; 0 mg chol; 589 mg sod; 3 g fiber; 3 g sugars
My modifications: I made the dough with 2 C bread flour, 1 C spelt flour & 1/2 C whole wheat flour. I also added garlic powder and oregano to the dough. I made the dough using steps 2 & 3 but refrigerated it overnight. Instead of using their topping I brushed the dough with sundried tomato pesto we made a few weeks ago, and I sprinkled chopped almonds over the top of the whole focaccia.
Typical breakfast. Lunch was part of my eat all the remaining dairy that Carly doesn't like mission. I had a Smart Ones 3 cheese ziti with a Gardein chick'n scallopini, half a cucumber and a peach. Dinner was homemade cherry tomato focaccia bread (recipe to follow) with a big salad. Snacks were a mini Luna bar, watermelon, a Perfectly Simple Peanut Crunch bar, and oatmeal with blueberries.
 |
| Delicious dinner! |
Exercise
I had planned on going to the gym for cardio but I was feeling sore and tired all day. I did 30 minutes of my favorite yoga/Pilates blend with some extra stretching at the end. I stuck to my listen to my body concept and it paid off. The deep stretching was exactly what I needed and it'll make today's cardio easier!
Learning
Still not reading any health related things right now, and there hasn't been anything worth sharing from the blogs I follow.
Observations
My lunch was not satisfying at all. I grabbed the cucumber as a last minute thought because I realized that my frozen entree had zero vegetables! I can't believe I used to just eat one of those by itself for lunch. Now I realize why I used to feel hungry most of the time. It was such an interesting contrast to my dinner, in which I ate a relatively small piece of focaccia with a huge salad. I felt satisfied for the rest of the night and pleasantly full. I'm excited to get through one more day of dairy and then start a new phase of my eating.
I downloaded an app a few days ago called SuperBetter that has quests that ask you to do things to build up personal resilience, which they define as "the ability to stay strong, motivated and optimistic even in the face of difficult challenges". Yesterday I had to develop a personal motto, and I chose "Be mindful and make it count". To me this encompasses everything I do for myself. I try to be more mindful of how I treat myself, how I treat others, and how I process information. Being mindful while I eat helps me feel more satisfied, and being mindful while I exercise helps me stay motivated. Make it count helps remind me that if I'm going to do something I might as well give it my best effort so that it makes an impact. I've read a lot of articles and tidbits that say that visualizing exercise beforehand and positive self talk during a workout can actually improve the results of that workout. This is something I try to do every day.
Here is the recipe as it appears in Vegetarian Times, see below for my modifications:
Cherry Tomato Focaccia
Serves 8
This bread is hearty enough to be served with a salad for a light lunch or supper.
TOPPING
¼ cup shelled roasted pistachios
¼ cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
½ tsp. finely chopped fresh rosemary
2 cups heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
FOCACCIA
3½ cups bread flour
1 Tbs. sugar
2½ tsp. instant yeast
2 tsp. salt Olive oil, for greasing baking sheet
1 | To make Topping: Pulse pistachios in food processor until ground, but with some larger pieces. Transfer to bowl, and stir in olive oil, garlic, and rosemary.
2 | To make Focaccia: Stir together flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and 1¼ cups water in bowl. Knead dough in bowl 5 minutes. Cover bowl with towel, and let rise 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
3 | Generously grease rimmed baking sheet with olive oil. Stretch dough into 12- x 11-inch rectangle in sheet pan. Let dough rise 1 hour.
4 | Preheat oven to 450°F. Dimple dough with fingers. Whisk 2 Tbs. water into pistachio mixture, and brush onto dough. Press tomato halves cut-side up into dough. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown on top and bottom.
PER SLICE 329 cal; 9 g prot; 11 g total fat (2 g sat fat); 48 g carb; 0 mg chol; 589 mg sod; 3 g fiber; 3 g sugars
My modifications: I made the dough with 2 C bread flour, 1 C spelt flour & 1/2 C whole wheat flour. I also added garlic powder and oregano to the dough. I made the dough using steps 2 & 3 but refrigerated it overnight. Instead of using their topping I brushed the dough with sundried tomato pesto we made a few weeks ago, and I sprinkled chopped almonds over the top of the whole focaccia.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Super Hot Sunday
Food
I had Kashi Go Lean with soy milk and a banana for breakfast. Lunch was in the middle of errands, so I had a Subway veggie delite with avocado spread and split a bag of baked chips with Carly. Dinner was a barley salad (recipe below) on top of romaine, garden lettuce, and spinach with cucumbers, green pepper and cut up veggie burger. Snacks were a mini Luna bar, a Clif Mojo bar, watermelon & vanilla ice cream.
Exercise
I love going to the gym for strength training on Sunday mornings. I have a certain path I like to take from machine to machine, and it's hard to do that during that 4-5PM hour during the week. I did 15 minutes on the arc trainer to start, my legs were sore from Jillian on Saturday! I spent about 40 minutes doing different strength machines and dumbbell reps. I'm still doing the slow & steady 10 reps at a heavy weight followed by 10 more reps of quicker pace for most machines. I feel good about it and think it's starting to become noticeable in my body.
Learning
I spent most of yesterday being busy so there wasn't much time for reading or learning (even fun reading!). I was entertained by the list of celebrities nominated for PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity. I wasn't aware that a lot of the people on the list were vegetarian/vegan. It makes me feel less weird about going in this direction myself, especially when I see athletes on the list.
Observations
Nothing fancy for Sunday. After the gym I spent about 2 hours shopping and doing errands. When we got home we had lots of typical Sunday housework to do like laundry, straightening up, organizing and cooking. Our house is poorly insulated so it got increasingly warm throughout the day. We got up to 89 degrees inside, and that's with the AC and fans running. It isn't pleasant and makes it more difficult to enjoy the weekly prep we usually do on Sunday.
Barley Salad
makes about 6 servings
1 C dry barley
3 C water (or follow directions if your barley is from a package)
8 sundried tomatoes
6 ears fresh corn, cut off cobs
3 banana peppers, diced
1 red onion, diced
3 cups kale, chopped
Spices (we used garlic powder, seasoned salt, paprika, black pepper and aleppo chili flakes)
White balsamic vinegar to taste
1. Cook barley on stove or in rice cooker with water and sundried tomatoes. Add spices of your choice to the water so that the flavors cook into the barley.
2. Saute the corn, banana peppers, and red onion for 8-10 minutes on medium heat and season veggies to your taste. (We make this salad a lot and we always add corn and onion, but add other veggies depending on what we have on hand)
3. Remove sundried tomatoes from barley once it's cooked and dice. Place cooked barley, sundried tomatoes, and corn mixture together in a large bowl. Add a generous amount of white balsamic vinegar to coat mixture.
4. Add the kale one handful at a time, taking the time to massage the kale in your hands for 1-2 minutes per handful. It will get darker in color. Once it's darkened, add it to the barley. Stir to incorporate kale. We usually let the salad sit in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving. We typically eat it cold or let it come to room temp, but you can warm it up if you prefer.
I had Kashi Go Lean with soy milk and a banana for breakfast. Lunch was in the middle of errands, so I had a Subway veggie delite with avocado spread and split a bag of baked chips with Carly. Dinner was a barley salad (recipe below) on top of romaine, garden lettuce, and spinach with cucumbers, green pepper and cut up veggie burger. Snacks were a mini Luna bar, a Clif Mojo bar, watermelon & vanilla ice cream.
 |
| Our $2 watermelon from Earth Fare...yum! |
Exercise
I love going to the gym for strength training on Sunday mornings. I have a certain path I like to take from machine to machine, and it's hard to do that during that 4-5PM hour during the week. I did 15 minutes on the arc trainer to start, my legs were sore from Jillian on Saturday! I spent about 40 minutes doing different strength machines and dumbbell reps. I'm still doing the slow & steady 10 reps at a heavy weight followed by 10 more reps of quicker pace for most machines. I feel good about it and think it's starting to become noticeable in my body.
Learning
I spent most of yesterday being busy so there wasn't much time for reading or learning (even fun reading!). I was entertained by the list of celebrities nominated for PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity. I wasn't aware that a lot of the people on the list were vegetarian/vegan. It makes me feel less weird about going in this direction myself, especially when I see athletes on the list.
Observations
Nothing fancy for Sunday. After the gym I spent about 2 hours shopping and doing errands. When we got home we had lots of typical Sunday housework to do like laundry, straightening up, organizing and cooking. Our house is poorly insulated so it got increasingly warm throughout the day. We got up to 89 degrees inside, and that's with the AC and fans running. It isn't pleasant and makes it more difficult to enjoy the weekly prep we usually do on Sunday.
 |
| Barley salad on greens with a veggie burger |
Barley Salad
makes about 6 servings
1 C dry barley
3 C water (or follow directions if your barley is from a package)
8 sundried tomatoes
6 ears fresh corn, cut off cobs
3 banana peppers, diced
1 red onion, diced
3 cups kale, chopped
Spices (we used garlic powder, seasoned salt, paprika, black pepper and aleppo chili flakes)
White balsamic vinegar to taste
1. Cook barley on stove or in rice cooker with water and sundried tomatoes. Add spices of your choice to the water so that the flavors cook into the barley.
2. Saute the corn, banana peppers, and red onion for 8-10 minutes on medium heat and season veggies to your taste. (We make this salad a lot and we always add corn and onion, but add other veggies depending on what we have on hand)
3. Remove sundried tomatoes from barley once it's cooked and dice. Place cooked barley, sundried tomatoes, and corn mixture together in a large bowl. Add a generous amount of white balsamic vinegar to coat mixture.
4. Add the kale one handful at a time, taking the time to massage the kale in your hands for 1-2 minutes per handful. It will get darker in color. Once it's darkened, add it to the barley. Stir to incorporate kale. We usually let the salad sit in the fridge for at least 3 hours before serving. We typically eat it cold or let it come to room temp, but you can warm it up if you prefer.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Social Saturday
Food
Saturday was an interesting day. I recommend that anyone trying to keep an eye on food intake makes Saturday a relaxed food day! We got up early (aka our normal weekly time) to get to the farmers market when it opened at 7. We then had to meet with a woman we met who is running this awesome program that gives fresh local produce from a community garden to people who walk on a track to earn food credits. She was running late so we ate breakfast at Waffle house. I got a peanut butter waffle and didn't realize that meant they put peanut butter chips (candy) in the batter. I ordered 2 egg whites when I saw that because I knew the chips were useless in terms of nutrition/protein.
Lunch was a spinach wrap filled with the mornings bounty and things from the fridge: green tomato, green pepper, carrots, radish, baby spinach, black bean dip and feta. Had some blackberries, a few chips, and a vegan lemon cookie on the side.
Dinner was a 4th of July party thrown by a co-worker. It was a lot of fun but a big challenge in terms of food. The burgers/dogs (I brought veggie dogs) weren't served until 8pm so I ate more snack type food than I intended. For dinner I ate two veggie dogs, baked beans, red cabbage that we made, and another cabbage slaw. I had small bites of banana pudding and cake for dessert. Snacks for the day were a Luna bar, chips and salsa, cheese, watermelon and a few cheese and tomato pinwheels.
Exercise
Since I knew we were going to the party I did a Jillian Michaels workout in the late afternoon. I love her Ripped in 30 DVD because the workouts are interval style and not repetitive (although at this point I almost have them memorized!).
Learning
I suppose I took a day off from learning yesterday. I'm not reading any food books and didn't pay much attention to blogs yesterday.
Observations
I'm really excited to get in touch with the woman who is doing the garden. Right now people can come walk for produce on Monday and Friday morning so I'd like to find a night during the week where we can run the program and give people more options to earn food. I'm so inspired by the idea and I hope now to see it in action.
Saturday was an interesting day. I recommend that anyone trying to keep an eye on food intake makes Saturday a relaxed food day! We got up early (aka our normal weekly time) to get to the farmers market when it opened at 7. We then had to meet with a woman we met who is running this awesome program that gives fresh local produce from a community garden to people who walk on a track to earn food credits. She was running late so we ate breakfast at Waffle house. I got a peanut butter waffle and didn't realize that meant they put peanut butter chips (candy) in the batter. I ordered 2 egg whites when I saw that because I knew the chips were useless in terms of nutrition/protein.
Lunch was a spinach wrap filled with the mornings bounty and things from the fridge: green tomato, green pepper, carrots, radish, baby spinach, black bean dip and feta. Had some blackberries, a few chips, and a vegan lemon cookie on the side.
Dinner was a 4th of July party thrown by a co-worker. It was a lot of fun but a big challenge in terms of food. The burgers/dogs (I brought veggie dogs) weren't served until 8pm so I ate more snack type food than I intended. For dinner I ate two veggie dogs, baked beans, red cabbage that we made, and another cabbage slaw. I had small bites of banana pudding and cake for dessert. Snacks for the day were a Luna bar, chips and salsa, cheese, watermelon and a few cheese and tomato pinwheels.
Exercise
Since I knew we were going to the party I did a Jillian Michaels workout in the late afternoon. I love her Ripped in 30 DVD because the workouts are interval style and not repetitive (although at this point I almost have them memorized!).
Learning
I suppose I took a day off from learning yesterday. I'm not reading any food books and didn't pay much attention to blogs yesterday.
Observations
I'm really excited to get in touch with the woman who is doing the garden. Right now people can come walk for produce on Monday and Friday morning so I'd like to find a night during the week where we can run the program and give people more options to earn food. I'm so inspired by the idea and I hope now to see it in action.
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