Day Eighteen: 10 days left and 1/3 of the way to my goal!

I knew that today was going to be a good day when I woke up and beat that stupid chocolate level on Candy Crush. My craving for grilled cheese and tomato soup had subsided; however, now I wanted eggs. I settled for oatmeal. I've never gone through a canister of oatmeal so quickly.

Breakfast: Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal (not to be confused with pumpkin pie oatmeal, although they're not that different)

I adapted this recipe from Marshmallows & Margaritas (I love both of those things!) because the picture looked to die for. 

I mixed together a cup of water, a cup of original unsweetened almond milk, and a cup of canned pure pumpkin. This boiling on the stove might smell even better than bananas baking. I imagine that vanilla almond milk or almond-coconut milk would smell even better.

Once this boiled, I added about a cup and a half of old-fashioned oats - maybe more. The recipe called for 1 1/4 cups, but it looked more pudding-y than oatmeal-y. I ended up finishing the canister. I also added 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg and a teaspoon of cinnamon. I turned the heat down to low and cooked this for about 7 minutes (since I added more oats while it was cooking). I stirred almost constantly because this is the kind of thing that likes to bubble up and spit at you while it cooks.

Right when the oatmeal was done, I stirred in 3 tablespoons of Cary's Sugar Free Syrup. After portioning this out (it makes 3 servings), I added about a tablespoon of reduced sugar Craisins. After tasting it (very heavy on the pumpkin and nutmeg), I added about another teaspoon of the syrup.

Overall, this was pretty filling (OMG did I just say that about oatmeal?) and pretty tasty for around 200 calories.

One positive thing about taking Cymbalta is that it makes me so thirsty, I'm drinking much more water than I ever have - almost what I'm supposed to be drinking anyway. That helps to keep me full.

Lunch: Blue Smoothie!

I decided to change things up a bit, and this is definitely a winning combo! Today, I mixed the vegan protein and organic super greens powders with 1 cup of almond milk, a teaspoon of vanilla, and 3/4 cup frozen blueberries instead of ice. It's a bit thicker than usual and there's still a little bit of lingering chalkiness, but I'm actually enjoying drinking it instead of cringing. 

I followed up with the standard aloe, fiber, probiotic. No colon blow with this one.

Note to self: Do not drink a healthy smoothie while looking at a menu for Mexican food. It's in violation of the 8th Amendment.

Snack: Nap

Sleeping is my favorite dieting strategy. You can't be hungry when you're sleeping! I intended to have some delicious hummus as a snack, but then I took a warm bath because my tub is actually clean and I'm freezing. Then, I realized that Daria is on Hulu Plus, so I started watching that, and I didn't even make it through an episode. 

Dinner: Vegetable Stir Fry

I've had a bag of brown rice in my cabinet forever and a bag of Asian stir fry vegetables in my freezer forever, and it was time to put them to use. 

I started by boiling 2 1/2 cups of water on the stove and adding a cup of dry brown rice once it was rolling. Then I covered it, turned the flame to low, and let it do its thing for 45 minutes. If you know me, you know that I am terrible at cooking rice (which involves all of two steps, so I don't get it) but I was told to just leave the pot alone so I resisted temptation to lift the lid and stir.

After waiting a while, I threw the steam-in-bag in the microwave for 6 minutes.

My food photography game needs work

Meanwhile, I chopped up a stalk of celery and threw it (wow, apparently I do a lot of throwing in the kitchen) in a bowl with 1/2 cup shredded carrots (not realizing there were carrots in the stir fry mix - oh well, my eyes are getting worse, anyway), 1/2 cup shredded red cabbage, 3 chopped green onions, 1/2 cup sliced yellow onion, and a can of rinsed chickpeas.


When there were about 7 minutes left to go for the rice, I threw the vegetables in the bowl in a preheated skillet with a tablespoon of sesame oil. I probably should have put the onions in first and gave them some time to brown. After 3 minutes or so, I added the bag of Asian stir fry vegetables (mushrooms, red peppers, carrots, baby corn, water chestnuts, broccoli). Meanwhile, I'm pretending I'm at Mongolian grill.



After that went for a few minutes, I added 4 tablespoons of La Choy original stir fry sauce/marinade. I stirred it all together until the rice was done, then I portioned everything out (this makes 4 large servings at 334 calories total). I added some pea shoots and a sprinkling of lime juice to mine.

In retrospect, I would add more sliced yellow onion, some garlic (obviously), and more sauce.

However, this was a very large serving that should hold me over until bedtime. I'll be happy to have leftovers for lunch tomorrow...and the next day. 

I think I'm done eating, so here are my totals:

Totals	775	137	16	35	1,020	27
Your Daily Goal	1,200	150	40	60	2,300	45
Remaining	425	13	24	25	1,280	18
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar

I still feel like I'm eating way less than I should be (I hear it's bad to eat under 1,200 calories) but I'm really not hungry. I lost 6 lbs in 17 days doing virtually no physical activity, so if I keep along this path, I'll lose another 6 lbs just in time to gain it all back on my trip to Tennessee! 

Until tomorrow...