Days Thirteen and Fourteen: This Isn't Getting Easier

Sigh. Avoiding animal products is really, really hard to do when you're dining out. And since much of my weekend has consisted of going out to eat, I've had a hard time keeping up this diet. And since much of my week was filled with social activities, I've had a hard time avoiding adult beverages. Maybe there is a silver lining in my recent diagnosis of fibromyalgia - the medicine I started taking only allows me to tolerate a few drinks, so I can't throw them back and drink my day's calories away. Honestly, the way I feel makes it easier for me to learn towards total teetotalism. 

Anyway, my eating and drinking habits have put me slightly over my daily goals, proving that if I could just get my butt into the gym, I'd be right on the mark. Unfortunately, the pain I've been in doesn't exactly make me want to be very active. I know I'd feel better if I did something, but it's hard to get into that mindset when I'd rather throw myself a Netflix pity party and lay in bed. I have off tomorrow, so maybe I can start the week off right. Here's how I did on Friday:

Friday, January 17

Totals	1,387	208	32	37	1,095	62
Your Daily Goal	1,200	150	40	60	2,300	45
Remaining	-187	-58	8	23	1,205	-17
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar

Breakfast: Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

I'm beginning to think that all oatmeal is a waste of calories. It never keeps me full like people claim it should, even when I fancy it up like this. I got this recipe from Chocolate Covered Katie because I couldn't find the Hungry Girl recipe I used to use. This cooks 1 serving, and it's pretty easy. The following goes into the pot: 1 cup of almond milk, some salt (does anyone even measure salt?), 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1/4 cup canned pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling), 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (I used imitation and it was fine, although now that I'm an adult, I should probably buy the real stuff).

This looks vomitty

While that was cooking on the stovetop, I tried the blog's "melted banana trick" to sweeten up my oatmeal and add some more volume. I just sliced up a banana with another 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract and let it get melty and gooey and then added it to the oatmeal while it finished cooking.

You know what would make this better? BUTTER.

I forget how long this took to cook altogether, but just let it boil and then watch it until it gets to the desired consistency. When it finished, I threw in about a tablespoon of golden raisins and sprinkled some cinnamon on top.

This is actually better than it looks...but not that good

Like I said, this was decent, but not worth the 381 calories. Next time (Tuesday, probably) I make this, I will probably omit the banana. It didn't add any flavor or volume that was worth its weight in calories. 

Lunch: Whole Foods Quinoa Salad

Remember how I was excited to find this because I thought it was the same quinoa salad that I had at Pita Grill? (man, I'm also plugging them so much, they should sponsor me, too).

Well, I was WRONG.

This was gross. A serving size was like two tablespoons, so I think this was meant to go on top of something rather than be eaten by itself. Granted I did eat it a day after its "use by" date, but I don't think that explains the funky chemical taste in this salad. I think I managed to eat 8 tablespoons for lunch, at 80 calories.

Snacks: Random crackers at my parents' house

I had plans with the girls on Friday night, and since we were staying at Jen's house and Jen lives around the corner from my parents, I decided that fate was telling me to bring my laundry to good old mom and dad's before dinner. When I got there after work, no one was home, but I could smell szekely goulash in the slow cooker, which is my favorite Hungarian dish and one of my favorite, period. Not fair! This smell, combined with my measly 8 tablespoons of quinoa for lunch, had me digging through the pantry for a vegan-friendly snack in a carnivorous household. I settled on some crackers and some dill Triscuits, which I realize are crackers, too. I was famished. 7:00 couldn't come soon enough. Especially when my parents started eating the delicious pork and sauerkraut in front of me and offering me some.

Dinner: Vegetable Pad Thai and Champs

It was finally dinner time!!! We headed to Yummy Sushi to celebrate Jen's and Kayln's belated birthdays and eat our faces off. We ordered edamame for the table, which is obviously safe, and I went with the vegetable pad thai because I didn't think sushi vegetable rolls would fill me up, especially if I was drinking the champagne we brought with us. 

When the vegetable pad thai came, I couldn't shovel it into my mouth fast enough. It was so good. And then I realized: Holy shiitake mushrooms, pad thai has eggs in it. Nonononononono!!!!! I attempted to pick the eggs out, but because they were cooked with the noodles, the pieces were so small it was nearly impossible. I did the best I could, but after my realization, I didn't eat much more. :( 

I'm very proud to say that when we got back to Jen's, I was able to resist the chocolate Junior's cheesecake she surprised us with. I did not resist a glass of white white. Small victories! (?)

Saturday, January 18

Another day that wouldn't have been so bad with exercise: 

Totals	1,657	239	18	56	1,455	38
Your Daily Goal	1,200	150	40	60	2,300	45
Remaining	-457	-89	22	4	845	7
	Calories	Carbs	Fat	Protein	Sodium	Sugar

Breakfast: Randoms

I had to take my car in for service at the dealership, so I had to wake up pretty early at Jen's and make the trek pretty much all the way across the state (seriously). Luckily, the dealership is down the street from Steve and Eric's house, so when they told me it was going to take two hours, Steve so kindly agreed to pick me up. We were roasting Eric that night, so we had decided to work on our material during the day so I could avoid driving all the way home and coming all the way back. Of course, as soon as Steve pulled up the car was ready 90 minutes ahead of schedule (not complaining!). Steve, Briele, and I decided to go to Shore Good Pancake House for breakfast and I immediately started thinking about what I'd be able to eat there. In the meantime, I ate a banana that was in my car.

I settled for a random mix of vegan-friendly options: black coffee with Splenda (which I will no longer be using, by the way), grits (which I requested be made with water and not milk), home fries (which were hopefully safe, but for all I know were cooked in butter or bacon grease), and wheat toast (which I requested without butter).

Carbs! Carbs! Carbs! Carbs! Carbs! Carbs! Carbs! Carbs!

I had some strawberry jam on the one slice of toast I ate, which made my teeth hurt because I'm not used to sugar. I finished the grits and maybe a third of the home fries. I was full and happy, but I felt deprived because Shore Good's omelettes and pancakes come in so many delicious and wonderful varieties. 

After a late breakfast, we sat around for a while and then I went to go run some errands, so we skipped lunch. By 5:00, I was totally ready for all-you-can-eat Mongolian grill. 

Dinner: Mongolian grill

The nondescript Mongolian grill (PJ Lee's) we went to had "vegan friendly" painted on their window, so I knew I was safe! Our dinner started with soup and rice (I chose vegetable and brown) and then I packed my bowl with sprouts, vegetables, tofu, and noodles and added Mongolian and barbecue sauces. After it was cooked, I topped it with peanut sauce and sesame seeds.

I could barely finish all of my food and then could only guess at my caloric intake. I chose a "Mongolian Bbq Bowl" on My Fitness Pal at 512 calories. In retrospect, I could have ditched the rice and used less noodles and avoided the peanut sauce altogether. This was very good and filling though, and I was pretty much set for the night.

The Roast: You need drinks at a roast, so I had two Pacifico and then AJ had to show up with Natty Boh, and how was I to resist the PBR of Baltimore? Luckily I resisted any late night snacks, although Eric did (accidentally) trick me into another slip up when he told me try this awesome guacamole, and then told me it was Greek yogurt guac. :/ I barely had a bite, so I'll get over it.

More about today and tomorrow...probably on Monday.

Day Four

There are quite a few things that I'm not doing well with in the new year, and waking up for work is one of them. According to my Sleep Cycle app, I should be waking up around 5:15 or 5:20. According to sanity, no. I not only turned off the app and slept until my emergency clock radio 6 AM wake up call, I snoozed until 6:08. I should probably stop staying up and overdosing on Netflix, but last night I decided to start Coming to America at 10, soooo...(Side note: Subways in 1988...!!!)

Here are today's totals:

Fats: 25 g
Carbs: 250 g
Protein: 55 g
Calories: 1,323 ...but I burned a whopping 42 at physical therapy, giving me a net of 1,280!

aaaaand Ziplocs! wooooooooo!

Oh, yeah, that's another thing I'm not doing well with in 2014...getting to the gym. But it's so collllllld, and I didn't even get done with physical therapy until close to sevvvvveennnn (read in a whiny voice). To make matters worse, I went to Target instead of the gym...but I needed food storage contaaaaainers and extra measuring spoooooons! (I also stood in the cheese aisle like I was sneaking a peek at a peep show).

I'm not going to include individual nutrition facts for any of today's meals. Although miércoles is usually la noche de los tacos, today was el día de las sobras. (Side note: Two new years resolutions I should have: A) Avoid Target at all costs, B) Pick up Duolingo again).

Breakfast: Banana oatmeal bite, standard coffee/almond milk

I popped this in the microwave for 15 seconds and then another 15 seconds and it was much better. The outside was still a little dry because I flubbed up the recipe but...

Lunch: Guacamole quinoa and arugula 

This was actually really good mixed together with arugula and served cold. The reviews on the recipe website were right; this tastes even better the next day because it gives the flavors time to come together. As has become the norm, I was too full to finish it so I probably only ate half. I saved the rest and as has always been the norm, I was hungry again by my "break" at 2 PM. I polished the rest of this off then. Side note: Along with the other flavors, the onion gets even more pungent on Day 2. It's a good idea to have gum on hand, or to have coworkers who have gum on hand who don't want to smell your stank breath (sorry, guys). 

Snack #1 (I worked a longer day today so I needed extra snacks): Bakery on Main Chocolate Almond Granola Bar

These made their way in to work with all of the post-holiday goodies, and I hid one on my desk because I saw that it was vegan! I've been craving chocolate something awful and this granola bar saaaaaaaaved me. It was so good and it's also gluten-free. I definitely need to check out more products from Bakery on Main (I was tempted by their gluten-free granola at Target...but they're also an expensive line). This bar - and I believe the granola as well - had only 140 calories (sure beats the 360 calorie Special K bars I was scarfing down).

Snack #2: Zucchini and Hummus

I hate zucchini. I love hummus. Together, they work. I made sure that I coated each strip of zucchini in a wad of hummus so big that it was all I could taste. 

Dinner: Moroccan bean stew and couscous

Maybe it's not just chocolate I'm craving, but sweets. The cinnamon in this stew gives some, but not enough. I thought that golden raisins would be awesome on top of this, but I don't have any. I threw about two tablespoons of low sugar Craisins in and it helped. You know what I don't like in this? Fennel seeds. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Never again. 

Well, this was short and boring, but I'm going to try to get to bed earlier tonight. Maybe I'll let Sleep Cycle control my morning. Or maybe I'll let a marathon of Freaks & Geeks control my night (if it results in dreams of James Franco, I'll settle for the latter). 

Calories: Zero

Day One

Well, it's the end of day one. I ate everything I planned, which was 48 calories over my daily budget and a TON of carbs. Like, 274 g. Is that even possible? All of the recipes I used are from 21 Day Vegan Kickstart and I'm using their nutrition facts. Ummm...well, here's how it added up: 

Breakfast: Green Apple Oatmeal

This was easy, and I made enough for another day, too. I just made oatmeal with a cup of oats and threw in a diced green apple while they cooked. Sprinkled some cinnamon on top and done. It was, you know, oatmeal.

Per serving:

Calories: 202
Fat: 2.8 g
Saturated Fat: 0.5 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Protein: 5.6 g
Carbohydrates: 40.2 g
Sugar: 9.9 g
Fiber: 6.4 g
Sodium: 13 mg


Lunch: Balsamic Zucchini Sandwich and Shorba Addis

Go Ninja, go Ninja, go!

I was iffy about this one because it involves a lot of things I don't like, namely, zucchini and roasted red peppers. However, I was excited to use my new Ninja (and to see if it actually worked) so I made the roasted red pepper spread first. All I did was puree half of a roasted red pepper and a half cup of rinsed cannellini beans. I spread this on a Trader Joe's Middle Eastern flat bread and topped that with 4 basil leaves. On top of that, I put strips of zucchini that I sauteed in two sliced garlic cloves and 1/2 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. I'm happy to say that it turned out pretty awesome. 

Per Serving:

Calories: 274
Fat: 2.5 g
Sat Fat: .5 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Protein: 16 g
Carbs: 50.1 g
Sugar: 15.8 g
Fiber: 11.3 g

I actually made the shorba addis (curried lentil tomato soup) ahead of time and reheated it to have with the open face sandwich. This is a really thick and hearty soup that's more like a stew, and the recipe makes 3 servings. 

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 small carrot, diced
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder (berbere is preferable)
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup brown or green lentils
1 Yukon Gold potato, diced
1/4 cup whole wheat orzo pasta

Over medium-high heat, sauté the onion until it is brown. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrot, ginger, garlic, curry powder, and fenugreek, sautéing them for about 1 minute. Add the veggie broth and tomato paste, stirring until the tomato paste is thoroughly combined with the broth. Bring the soup to a simmer. Add the lentils and stir. Once the soup comes back to a simmer, cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Cook the soup for 20 minutes. Add the potato and orzo; cook the soup, covered, for 5 more minutes.

Note: I could not find fenugreek seeds anywhere. Instead, I used a drizzle of pure maple syrup. 

This was amazing and flavorful. The entire meal was super filling, and afterwards I happily laid down for a food coma and episode of Portlandia aptly named "Cat Nap," because I soon fell asleep. 

Per Serving:

Calories: 202
Fat: 1 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Calories from Fat: 4   
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Protein: 8.5 g
Carbohydrates: 42.3 g
Sugar: 7.7 g
Fiber: 7.1 g
Sodium: 157 mg

Snack Time: Oatmeal Banana Bites

This is something that I will definitely make again, with improvements. I mixed a cup of rolled oats, a cup of brown rice flour, a teaspoon of baking powder, a grind of sea salt, 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon, and a pinch of nutmeg. Then, I pureed two bananas and added that, along with 2 tablespoons of low sugar craisins. The batter looked pretty dry so I added a splash of almond milk. It turns out I forgot to add the teaspoon of vanilla extract...I think a little more banana would have helped, too. 

I rolled 8 balls out of the batter and baked them on 350 for 15 minutes. 

They're a pretty good size; big enough for a decent breakfast, I think. I'm glad I added the craisins and hopefully next time these don't come out as dry. 

114 calories
2 g fat
0.3 g saturated fat
12% calories from fat
0 mg cholesterol
3 g protein
22 g carbohydrate
4 g sugar
3 g fiber
136 mg sodium

                                                                              Dinner was actually a colossal disappointment, and unfortunately, I'm stuck with leftovers for lunch tomorrow. The Sunday doldrums are kicking in and I'm probably going to go to bed soon before I get hungry again. I'll share my sad fettuccine story tomorrow.