New Year's Eve

Oatmeal with apples

exercise

oatmeal with apples and maple syrup

polenta with bean paste and salsa
bran muffin
cookie
coffee and tea
9 cups of water
smoked tofu
brown rice and curried chickpeas
2 hershey kisses
rye and ginger 

Driving and eating

Driving family members hither and yon so started the day with some potato, then exercised, then had smoked tofu and some sweet potato.
A late morning social visit had our host serving us Persian tea and plates of cookies and chocolate of which I ate some (5 or 6 chocolates and three cookies)

Lunch was at a tandoori restaurant and I had a spinach and potato dish, curried chick peas, rice, lettuce and naan.
A late afternoon latte. Just realized that was dairy! Old habits still linger : )

December 29th

19 years ago today I got married! It was sleety and cold, but the wedding was in a tropical plant filled atrium so was warm and elegant. no meal, but a afternoon tea of cream filled cakes and sweets. I happened to weigh my lowest ever adult weight but was also working out daily and under eating,

Today we are going out for lunch and I will try to order as plant based as possible and will report back in.
Breakfast was white and sweet potato with fresh salsa.

Lunch was plant  based! Yeah me! hummus and pita, olives, dal, salad and coffee.
Had an orange and  an ounce of chocolate at home.
Later some rye bread with peanut butter and apple slices.

Slow cooker baked ( steamed?) potato

Wrap some washed potatoes in aluminum foil, enough to fill your crock pot ,and set on high for 3 - 4 hours or low 6 - 8 hours. I cooked 2 sweet potatoes and 6 white and cooked for 3 1/2 hours on high. The sweet potato were very soft and the white ones  were perfectly cooked. 

Inspiration comes in many forms

Finished The China Study, read the McDougall website, regretted giving away my 20+ year old copy of The McDougall plan that I had.  I am going to do the 10 day mini plan starting Dec. 31- every meal is basically the same - a starch vegetable and yellow/green vegetables and fruit when preferred. With these cold winter days baked potato, hash browns, sauteed potato slices with grilled peppers, potato soup, mashed potato and freshly steamed vegetables will be welcome meals.

Today, up early for a winter walk, coffee and oatmeal and hemp seeds. Off to groove it to Sports Alive.

It feel so good to be back on track with my food. That plus a few days of moderate exercise and I feel so much better.

Meal 2  was homemade vegetable soup, orange pepper with mashed beans as a dip, 1/2 litre of water

Meal 3  was a banana and some leftover oatmeal, mandarin orange and some rye bread, and 1/2  litre of water

Meal 4 was rye bread and peanut butter and water

Meal 5 was brown rice with curried chickpeas and spinach, 3 slices of chocolate orange

Trying for 100% plant based today

Woke early so read some  more of The China Study which strengthened my resolve to keep trying to move towards plant based eating.
Started the day with a litre of water and  had a banana and an apple and put some oatmeal to soak until I feel hungry again.

Getting closer to better eating : )
had the oats with some applesauce
some raw pepper slices with mashed pinto beans
some homemade vegetable soup with limpe and margarine
more soup, leftover oatmeal with soy milk and an apple
4 small dried fruit/ground nuts/hemp seeds rolled into balls
1/2 a whole wheat bagel with a schmear of peanut butter and a small glass of Lillet aperitif
1/2 slice of chocolate orange and a bite of shortbread cookie.

End of day analysis - just the bite of cookie and candy had some dairy ( and were the least useful calories consumed).

Felt pretty good and got in some exercise. Finished the China study and have absouely no concerns about eating vegan. Bought some b12 and vit d.

off to a nice start

hot cereal with raw pears and hemp seeds for breakfast.

Got out of the house first thing to get to a bank and then shovelled a bit of ice off the steps. Just being outside can improve your mood.

raw pepper strips
green apple slices
more cooked cereal with homemade applesauce
limpe (swedish rye bread) with low fat cheese
limpe with margarine and jam
leftover roasted root vegetables
butternut squash stuffed cannelloni
1 piece toblerone
1 slice Chocolate orange
1.2 chocolate cupcake - started it, then dumped the rest in the garbage
plus an Easy level workout on EA Sports Alive for Wii

Not necessarily a great day of eating for losing weight, but a better day in terms of less refined sugars. Salut!

need a plan

Talking to diabetic relative today who in passing mentioned how much better  their  blood sugar was controlled when  travelling and eating on schedule. Also that when they went for a 30 minute walk their blood sugar dropped to normal. I know I felt the best when I ate a very routinized pattern of breakfast lunch dinner and two snacks, one at 3:30 and one at 8 p.m.

So tomorrow my main goal is to eat regular foods, oatmeal, fruit, vegetables, hemp seeds, maybe some soy milk and start to return to a regular eating schedule.

Also, I bought EA Sports Active for Wii and that as been a fun way to start exercising again. So far just 20 minutes at a time but so much more than the past few months.

December 25th truthful accounting of food eaten

1/2 of weight watcher bagel with peanut butter and jam and coffee with soy milk
several slices of Terry's chocolate orange
chili cheese hot dog
crackers with warm brie
Christmas cookies
aperitif type wine
butternut squash stuffed cannelloni
roasted root vegetables
Brussels sprouts
about an ounce of beef
buche de noel cake with meringue decorations x  slices
coffee
 Smart pop popcorn
terry's chocolate orange slices


Oatmeal, quinoa flakes and oat bran soaking for breakfast tomorrow. it will be a relief.

Christmas Eve

Went out for late lunch and ordered a noodle and vegetable bowl but have not stayed plant based today as I had some dairy.

Started reading the China Study and know that I will have to do some planning and prepping to return to plant based after December 25th.
Merry Christmas to anyone reading!

late night musings

Yesterday went fairly well. Had to buy a Lara bar while out shopping because I forgot my snack. Picked up a copy of the China Study from the library today - I have been on the  wait list for it for months. Plant based is harder right now so I am going to do two plant based meal a day and the third one can be whatever it ends up being with the family.

We bought EA Sports Active yesterday for the Wii and everyone tried a workout. Just two days of extra activity made me feel better.

Lentil soup, limpe ( Swedish rye bread ) on the menu today.

Eating Challenges at Christmas

Well, it is all a challenge so, my best bet is to commit to posting about my days food throughout the day as a way of tracking. One great thing about this blog is that it is private ( as in, almost no one reads it) but public enough to make me feel accountable ( in case someone reads it)

4 holiday food focused days ahead - and I am primarily concerned with not over eating and not so much just vegan eating for the moment.
Breakfast)was a 1/2 serving of vanilla chai Vega shake ( hate that stevia after taste. Why do they oversweetened things?), sliced  pears, shredded wheat, soy milk ( heated).

Homemade lentil soup, a slice of homemade rye bread with margarine and 4 medjool dates.
Out shopping today so will take a 1/2 serving of Vega shake mixed with water and a few almonds.

Transitional eating

It is been harder to stick to a plant based diet since the cold weather hit here. Up until mid September I was buying local produce from a farmer that set up a stall nearby. I am back to my usual apples, oranges and bananas from the grocers. Meat and dairy has crept back in, not in large amounts but enough to make me think about how I am going to do this. I also seemed to be veering towards a grain and bean heavy diet and not many vegetables or fruit.

Yesterday I bought a tray of pre cut and cleaned vegetables and just having that on hand increased my vegetable intake.

I used to like mixing grains, dairy and fruit ( yogurt,  berries and raw oatmeal) and maybe just need to look at what were my staples and see if I can make them vegan.

Lemon Chick pea soup

2 onions, chopped
3 stalks of celery, chopped
1 sweet red pepper, chopped
6 cups veggie boullion
1 t. tumeric
1 t. ground coriander
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. cayenne
1 potato, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 can (28-oz.) tomatoes, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
1 cup cooked noodles, any kind
1 can chickpeas,drained, or 2 c. cooked chickpeas
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/4 c. Italian parsley, chopped
2 T. mint leaves, chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
 
Bring onion, celery, red pepper, and 1/2 c. of the boullion to a boil
in a large pot. Simmer about 10 minutes to soften the veggies. Add
the remaining boullion, spices, potato, carrots, and tomatoes; simmer
20 minutes. Stir in zucchini, noodles, chickpeas, and lemon juice,
and cook 5 minutes. Garnish with parsley, mint and pepper before
serving.

 6-8 servings.

Coconut Beans and Rice in the Slow Cooker

2 cups brown rice
1 x 14 ounce can light coconut milk
1 x 28 ounce can red kidney beans
1/2  teaspoon allspice
1 cup chopped onions
2 cups water

Place all ingredients in slow cooker, mix and set on low for 4 - 6 hours.