Simple smoothies

Recently, I've been super busy, but not too busy to make green smoothies!

I've saved a lot of time by buying pre-washed salad mixes from Trader Joe's and throwing them into the blender with a banana.

It always turns out sooo good. Trader Joe's Herb Salad= love. If I had time, I'd make salad mixes myself and store them in bags after washing, but… I don't have time L More time+ salad mixes= higher utility than making salad mixes myself and wasting time.

Celery + banana is good, too. I'm drinking one right now, as a break from studying (it's cram time, ugh), and the sodium from it is making me feel a lot more energetic. The doctor has told me that I get blackouts when I'm sodium deficient, so… celery and banana smoothie is perfect to combat this.

 

Monthly cycle= bad for exams. Seriously. I can't think straight.

Fast soup

½ butternut squash

1 cup broccoli

1/3 cup garbanzo beans

1 carrot

½ cup broccoli slaw

Cottage cheese

Cumin

Cinnamon

Salt & pepper

 

Bake the butternut squash at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour. Meanwhile, cook a cup of broccoli with a cup of water until the water boils. Take the butternut squash, halve it and scoop out the seeds. Toss half into the Vitamix with the broccoli and its cooking liquid (so if you're like me and tend to overcook broccoli, you won't lose any nutrients!) Next, put in around ½ cup of cottage cheese (depending how creamy and cheesy you want it), the carrot, broccoli slaw (which is basically just the stem of the broccoli with some julienned carrots), the garbanzo beans, and the seasonings (how much depends on how you like your soup). Whir on high until it's all thick and creamy. Eat. Yummy. Perfect for college students.

Somewhat like baby food, though. Toss in some julienned vegetables or sprouts for crunch if you like. Even eat it with a slice of bread.

Detoxing Symptoms?

I have such a sore throat right now. I'm also really tired.

But! Elimination has been good today.

Drinking lots of water and tea. Hopefully this will be gone by tomorrow.

Green smoothie detox

Wow, I've had a smoothie yesterday and am in the process of finishing one today, and the effects are pretty tremendous.

Without the smoothies, I don't eliminate waste as efficiently, but now… it's getting slowly to the point of what it was like during the month of green smoothies.

My skin and my upper lip are also itching a bit. It comes and goes.

I went exercising for 20 min this morning, and couldn't continue because I was sweating so much that it was running into my eyes. Such a big difference!

I also find that I need more water, which is good!

I still have too many sweets (my mom always brings me stuff), so I crave them, but that's going to start changing soon.

 

Today's smoothie:

Concord grapes (grown in a family friend's garden!)

Fresh apple cider (from the cider mill)

Lemon juice

3 leaves of kale

4 strawberries (frozen, so the Vitamix wouldn't make the smoothie warm)

Lots of fiber! I also included the seeds and skin of the grapes, and I do think that it's the main reason why my detox is so apparent today. It started right after I drank a third of the smoothie, so I took a break (am actually still taking one) from the smoothie. I'll finish it after my super circuits class J

Fantabulous day

I'm keeping it all to myself J but it was a good day. Particularly, a good morning.

Hint: "The look that melted Peter"

But here's a recipe:

Wheatgrass juice (yay, I finally could juice my precious wheatgrass~)

1/5 apple

5 strawberries (frozen)

Juice of 1 lemon

Water

Blend and enjoy~ Wheatgrass-strawberry-lemonade.

Green smoothie time~

After making cookies on Friday, I keep craving sweets and chocolate. Fell for it in a big way today, but that's okay. I can run and row it off tomorrow morning. It's a bit late right now, so I'm not going to attempt to exercise (because otherwise, I'll be unable to sleep). I'm going to buy some spinach, collards, and kale. And whatever is there at the local market (freshly grown greens)! Greens bought locally are so cheap, and so good~ my parents will also be giving me lots of apples (they went apple picking today). My wheatgrass should be ready soon, too. Apple and wheatgrass juice, yum. Mega energy booster!

Green smoothie

½ frozen banana

1 hybrid b/w apple and pear (apple-pear!)

3 kale leaves

1 collard leaf

Water

 

Yummy, but I can only finish 600 mL. I added enough water to make one liter. So full.

Fixing up my routine

For the past three weeks, I've been taking it easy on Friday thru Sunday after the increasingly hard fitness classes on Monday to Thursday with my walking schedule added on in the mornings. The main reason for this is because I don't have class on Friday until noon, so I was lazy and didn't want to wake up early. Every week, it just snowballed so that I wouldn't exercise on the weekend. As a result, the weight I lost during the week was gained back because I didn't exercise and Fridays and Sundays are when the saints make us a meal. So… I exercised on Friday, and I exercise today, and I plan to exercise on Sunday. I will lose my freshman fifteen and more!

Rowing Machine

Today was my first time using the rowing machine. It was so fun! And it amazed me how I burned 102 calories within 10 minutes without having to think too much about it (compared to running, which requires me to get really hard-hitting music to get going). I did run for 15 min and walk for 15-20 min (all in intervals) before the rowing machine, so the difference between the amount of mental effort I put into running and then into rowing was pretty obvious to me. Sadly, I only got to row for about 10 min. I got a bit freaked out when a guy moved the rowing machine behind me next to mine. I think I'll include rowing into my daily morning routine. The trainer for my super circuits class also advised me to row to improve my back muscles and my scoliosis, so I'm happy that we're having a good relationship from the start (me and the rowing machine, I mean).

School exercise + diet

Every morning, I've walked 20-30 min. I only stop walking after 20 min if my feet hurt. My feet are getting used to walking for long distances without wearing Earth shoes (that extensively pad the front of the foot, which is where it hurts when I walk a lot). Today, I walked for 30 min for 3.0 mi/hr and at a 3.0 incline to burn 152 cal. My goal is usually to burn at least 150 cal and 1.5 miles, so this was my minimum. Walking in the morning before class definitely wakes me up and makes me pay attention during class. It seems to speed up my metabolism too—I sweat more easily and I've been losing weight at the rate of 1 pound every two days.

I'm down to 143 pounds—I still have twenty pounds until I am back to where I used to be.

For eating, I mostly feed my cravings. They're especially bad this week because this is my PMS week. I've been trying to drink PMS tea (from Traditional Medicinals) daily, but I haven't had it today or yesterday. I craved first underripe bananas, then dates with almond butter. I ate several dates with almond butter today, and that craving is now satiated. I think part of it is a sugar craving, but also because dates are known in Chinese medicine to be good for replenishing your blood supply and should be eaten during your period (or maybe a bit before) to warm up your body. I made an interesting salad today—I sliced half of a huge zucchini (only 79 cents!) into noodles and blanched them. Then I sautéed half a red onion, an orange tomato, and more zucchini together. I was trying to fry an egg and have the yolk nice and slippery to form a sauce over the salad, but I've had my eggs too long, so the yolk didn't hold its shape. I really wanted a gooey texture, so I melted some cheese over the whole thing. It was satisfying. I could tell I was satisfied after I ate that salad and those dates because my jaw was sore from chewing and I wasn't hungry anymore.

I went to a super circuit class today. It was a bit awkward, because I was easily the largest person there (they were naturally skinny or athletes), but my energy level, coordination, and my movements were up to par, or better than theirs. I felt more comfortable after the teacher said that she had lost 80 pounds in two years, so I feel like I'm not alone (though I don't have THAT much weight to lose).

She told us to eat and drink water after the class, so I made a green smoothie ^^ I also ate half a slice of bread with cheese and tomato (I really love tomatoes!)

It's good to be active again (and to be at school)!

Exercise log

I've exercised in the morning before class on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. The only reason I missed Thursday was because I went to a prayer meeting on Wednesday and came home late. It was God's sovereignty, though, because if I had walked for an hour on Thursday, my feet would've been too sore for me to help out at the COC table for 3.5 hours.

Benefits of exercising in the morning:

-I exercise before I eat. I often feel ravenous in the morning, but after exercising, my hunger is dulled and I am easily satisfied with a green smoothie made of very few ingredients (whereas before, my smoothies were highly complicated).

-I have more energy. I had trouble staying awake in the afternoon classes last year, but none of that problem so far!

-I focus better afterwards. I'm more productive and stick more easily to my schedule.

-It ensures that I wake up early enough in the mornings and that I don't waste time. I also get hungry during lunchtime because I eat breakfast so early, whereas last year, I ate lunch merely because it was lunchtime, not because I was hungry.

-I don't feel drowsy in the mornings—it's an instant reviver.

-It warms me up for exercise sessions in the evening (which I will be starting next week).

-I sweat more easily, releasing more toxins.

-It gets me to drink more water.

-I don't have to stress about fitting in exercise later in the day because it's already done.

-I feel healthy!

-I don't feel guilty about not exercising.

-My back is a lot straighter than when I don't exercise. I'm not a cylinder anymore!

Energy Booster Smoothie!

1 apple-pear (it's new! It's at Costco! It tastes like an apple and a pear!)

Kale and spinach (Put more spinach than kale. Otherwise, it gets bitter.)

Half a small zucchini, or a fourth of a large zucchini (I added it just because I had it. You can't taste it.)

Agave nectar (if it isn't sweet enough)

Couple leaves of basil (I like to be able to smell the basil above the other flavors)

Cinnamon

I promise you, cinnamon, basil, and a bit of agave nectar fixes any green smoothie. The basil has a sweetness that you can taste above all the other flavors.

Be careful how much agave and cinnamon you add, though. If you don't keep shaking your green smoothie between sips, they'll sink to the bottom. It'll be cloyingly sweet.

Green Smoothie from the Garden

Kale, basil, pear, a small wedge of banana, a small slice of apple, and four almonds.

The first three ingredients I picked right before I made the green smoothie.

It tastes so fresh! I really like the texture the almonds give it—kind of gritty, distinctly nutty.

The basil gives this subtle nuance that is nice with the almonds.

The kale, for me, is the best part. I've been eating off that one plant all week. I really need to get several more. It's worth the money!

Mmm… this isn't the kind of smoothie you drink in great big gulps, nor from huge containers. It goes into a coffee cup, and is all the indulgence of coffee plus tons more nutrition.

I was really hungry, but this hits the spot.

(hums contentedly)

Quick Salad Recipe

There's lots of Korean wild sesame leaves in the refrigerator to my delight, so here's another idea for them.

Kale

Avocado

Sea salt

Lime

Black pepper

Wild sesame leaves

Basil

Romaine lettuce

Tomato

Cut the kale into small pieces and massage with the avocado and sea salt. Use only as much avocado is needed to cover the kale leaves. For me, this was around ¼ of an avocado. Season with lime and black pepper, adding in diced sesame leaves and basil. You can stop here, but I wanted to use up my romaine lettuce (it gave the salad a nice crunch) and I like tomato in general.

My dad, who is a secret vegetable-hater, said this salad was delicious. Lots of flavor, little oil or fat.

Sandwiches

I learned how not to make sandwiches from my mom. She used to pack these monstrous creations slathered with various spreads and covered in strange meats and cheeses that I rarely took more than two bites of (one bite to penetrate the crust of the sandwich, a second to test the true innards). My dad had the same problem, so we teamed up and put our feet down (which is something rare in our household). My mom was considerably annoyed and hurt that we didn't appreciate the work she did in compiling the ingredients, but she complied. That, we were very appreciative of.

(I should write that my mom is now a marvelous cook as a result of all those experiments with sandwiches, pies, tarts, noodles, and etc. Very rarely do we complain that something is unsavory. On the contrary, our family never eats out, and when we do, we usually complain after the meal. Our taste buds have been finely attuned to pretty high standards. I actually should hope so seeing that several relatives own restaurants famous for their longevity and tasty treats.)

The life lesson I took away from it all? Simpler is better.

The day I was finally given somewhat free range of the kitchen, I made a sandwich. And it was so good, that I made my mom one. And my mom (who rarely has much positive to say about my cooking) said it was so good that I was told to make my dad one. My mom has not complained once about a sandwich I made. Recently, I heard her scolding my aunt for not eating my sandwich while it was hot, saying it was such a pity because it was that good.

I've been trying variations this past week on my basic sandwich recipe, and they've all turned out pretty well. Something I absolutely despise in a sandwich bought in a shop is the massive amounts of cheese and meat they put. There are better means of bringing out the flavor of cheese and meat without mass-piling them on.

(To meat-eaters of contrary opinion: Check out the rest of this blog. You'll see that I'm more with the vegetarians, rather than the carnivores. Meat also makes me feel nauseous sometimes because it makes my stomach feel acidic. So sorry about offending you, but I hope it's understandable why I don't like meat as much as you.)

I usually have only one slice of cheese and at most two paper-thin slices of meat in a sandwich. My favorite thing to do is to toast a sandwich with a slice of cheese and an uber thick slice of tomato cradled between two slices of meat until the cheese melts and the tomato skin starts becoming wrinkly. Then, I add in tons of salad greens. Not iceberg, but something more flavorful. This morning, I tried Korean perilla on an open-sided sandwich made with a whole wheat English muffin. The perilla was so interesting that I ate only the leaf on the other side of my English muffin. I'm going to try it with kale next.

I also like caramelizing onion on the stove, letting it cool, and eating it on bread with some seasoning. It's time consuming, though, so I don't do it often.

My favorite sandwich is still tomato with a slice of cheese on bread J because I am a tomato fiend (as well as a tea and chocolate fiend)!

Living on Kale and other local foods

I discovered a great thing today: kale, sold living in pots. Gorgeous, purple-tinted kale that can last me until the first frost. If I had only that one plant, it would probably cover my vegetable needs for close to a week. And what a joy! They fixed the balcony at my school apartment so it's no longer rickety and dangerous to put stuff on it. I'll be buying myself more farmer's market kale next Saturday. We'll see how long I can make it last at school on the balcony. And there's a farmer's market at school, so we'll see if my locavore experiment at school will work. I'm also planting wheatgrass and various sprouts, which has been successful this past month, so I may get farther than you think I will…

I like living at school and conducting my little experiments. Makes me feel like I'm actually becoming self-sufficient (when actually everything in my experimentation is funded by my parents).

I'm discovering (or rather, rediscovering, as I wasn't the one who came up with this idea in the first place) the joys of wrapping things up in leaves to eat. Romaine lettuce—I can't take it unrolled, but somehow when it's rolled up, the flavors and textures condense, and it suddenly doesn't seem so grassy or bitter. And super sweet fruit? Too sweet on its own, but marvelous with leaves. I'm trying out rolling stuff up in what Koreans call wild sesame leaf, but is actually a kind of perilla (that tastes different from the Japanese shiso). It has such an intense, interesting sesame flavor that I really don't know where to begin. I tried it with cantaloupe (bad food combining, I know), but both flavours were rather too strong and the overall effect was pleasant, but strange. I'm thinking that it might go well with slightly under-ripe bananas. Maybe a little heat to caramelize the banana's sugar might combine the two flavors together.

The reason for this sudden epiphany? Well, during the past year I've been noticing that I don't get hunger sensations or signals that I'm full until I start throwing up what I eat because I'm too full. My aunt massaged my back In a particular place that I always have to stretch to crack. I knew that the muscle there was too tight, but had no way to release the tension until she massaged it. It turns out that it was affecting my nerve signals, and now I can actually control cravings and tell if I'm hungry. It might seem normal to some of you, but this is nearly miraculous to me. I'm losing weight because of this. It was probably also a factor in my gaining weight. Actually, this particular problem in my spine was magnified because of my poor posture during studying in college, so I'm taking care to maintain good posture now.

The new Wii Fit game is a life-saver in this. Because of my scoliosis, I know where muscles are wrong, but I don't have any cues about how to fix them. Previously, to fix them, I would've had to spent much time in front of a 360-degree mirror. Now, the Wii Balance Board tells me which muscles (in front, back, left, right) are wrong by showing me where my center of balance is, and immediately I can pinpoint where it is and fix it. My posture is now noticeably better. I never thought this would happen.

Avocado Dip with Kale

Grab a mortar and pestle! Or if you're not into manual fun (labor), grab a food processor. And also a lovely kale plant that you got from the farmer's market that will keep giving and growing until winter J

4 cloves of garlic

Red hot pepper (according to your taste)

Basil (however much you want)

1 avocado

Olive oil (depends on how smooth you want it)

Juice of half a lime

Salt and pepper

Kale

Grind the garlic and red hot pepper together until it forms a nice slurry. You might need some olive oil to make it smoother. Roll several leaves of basil together and chop into small pieces. Throw it into the slurry. Once it's incorporated enough, add the avocado and olive oil gradually while you grind the mixture to your desired smoothness. Sprinkle some lime for tartness and to prevent discoloration. Taste and then season with salt and pepper. Finally, grab a kale leaf and spread the dip on thinly. Roll up and enjoy!

My favorite thing about this is that the kale is really crunchy enough to act like a chip and balances the intense flavor of the avocado dip.

Credit for the dip goes to my mom.

Studying…:(

Breakfast

My roommate made breakfast for me today J

Green onion crepe with egg, dry shredded pork, and cheese- approx 450 cal

Lunch

1 avocado

1 banana

Mango and spinach smoothie

Spring greens mix

Cucumber

Dinner

At TK Wu's with my parents J It wasn't that great—just okay.

Healthy Day 2

Breakfast

Smoothie from yesterday- approx 250 cal

Crackers- ??

1 chocolate- 73 cal

So after class, I thought that I'd need some caffeine since I didn't sleep very much. While I did that, I bought a salad in case my avocado wasn't ripe. I went home and then barely touched my coffee and salad. Instead, I checked my avocado and made an avocado, apple, lime, and soymilk shake instead. Immediately after drinking it, I felt a huge boost of energy and started craving more natural foods. So I cut up half a cucumber and am now snacking on it.

Between classes

Avocado, apple, lime, and soymilk smoothie- 260 cal, 10 g fiber

-1/2 apple

-juice of 1 lime

-1/2 cup soymilk

-1/2 avocado

Café au lait- 90 cal

½ cucumber-22.5 cal

Lunch

Avocado, apple, lime, banana, orange, and soymilk smoothie- 471 cal, 17 g fiber

-1/2 apple

-1/2 avocado

-juice of ½ lime

-1 banana

-1 orange

-1 cup soymilk

Crackers

I was somewhat disappointed in the smoothie for lunch. I wanted to know exactly how much soymilk I added, so I measured out and added one cup. As a result, the soymilk taste overpowered the avocado, which was really what I was trying to emphasize. So I added in the banana for sweetness and orange for tartness, but it ended up like a typical banana smoothie. Good, but not what I was aiming for. If I wanted a banana smoothie, I'd just add banana with soymilk and greens…

I actually bought a salad for lunch, like I mentioned before, from the undergraduate library's new café, but the chicken was undercooked and the greens were unappetizing. So I ate like two bites and then gave up. It was so expensive, too—over six dollars! For a tiny salad. The last time I went to the café, I bought a "vegetarian wrap" that was all dressing and there were only three small green leaves on the side. It was pathetic.

Dinner

1 cup soymilk- 100 cal

Biscotti- 130 cal

Salad

Fruit

No time for exercising today, but I ate what I craved for, which was mainly avocado and greens, and felt good. And I didn't overeat at the meeting, which was good, and I feel perfectly fine right now.

Healthy Day 1

So I'm going to attempt to have "healthy days" during this last week of school, because it's just too tempting to slip again.

Breakfast

½ smoothie from yesterday evening- approx 100 cal

1.5 cups chocolate soymilk- 180 cal

1 slightly green banana- 105 cal

Lunch

Super smoothie- 463 cal, 20 g fiber

-1.5 bananas

-2 oranges

-1 apple

-1 small mango

-2 cups spinach

-.5 cup collards

-.25 cup kale

A third is for lunch, and the rest is for dinner. After: I didn't end up drinking it—it'll be for breakfast tomorrow.

1 cucumber

Three slices of beef

1 chocolate-73 cal

Nuts- 130 cal, 3 g fiber

20 min Spinning/exercise bike

2 cups chocolate soymilk- 240 cal

Crackers

Today= lots of work= need more food and exercise.

Search for a healthy balance

Breakfast

1 cup cantaloupe puree-60 cal, 2 g fiber

Apple, banana, kale, and collards smoothie-277 cal, 11 g fiber

-1 apple

-1 banana

-2 cups kale

-1 cup collards

I was going to exercise, but my stomach hurts…

After class

1 chocolate- 73 cal+ 47.5 cal

½ cup chocolate soymilk- 60 cal, 1.5 g fiber

1/3 cucumber + pork

Lunch

Smoothie- 158 cal, 4 g fiber

-1 cup cantaloupe

-2 slices pineapple

-1 cup kale

-1 cup alfalfa sprouts

1.5 cups nagaimo- 137 cal

1 slice pineapple- 30 cal, .5 g fiber

Nuts- 150 cal, 4-5 g fiber

¼ cup sticky rice- 50 cal?

Dinner

Smoothie- 294 cal, 12 g fiber

-1 cup cantaloupe

-1 cup strawberries

-1/2 banana

-1 apple

-1 cup kale

-1 cup collards

Drank 1/3 of it—rest is for tomorrow at breakfast.

Stuff my mom made (forgot what it's called)

 

I was going to lift weights today, but too much homework L I exercised for 30 min, though.

Breakfast

Banana, orange, yamaimo, and collards smoothie- 321 cal, 12 g fiber

-1 banana

-3 cups kale

-1/2 cup yamaimo, raw

-1 orange

Kind of bland, but still pretty good. The yamaimo adds a nice silkiness.

1 cup cantaloupe- 60 cal, 2 g fiber

Lunch

1 cucumber-

1/3 cup chicken-

A little bit of pork

Chocolate soymilk- 240 cal, 6 g fiber

Chocolate- 147 cal

1 taco with green salad and tomatoes

3 raviolis-

2 cookies-300 cal

Dinner

Sticky rice and taro

…no comment on my eating habits today. It started out okay, but then I ate lunch too early in an effort to not eat so much at the meeting (which did not work). I went back to exercising, but couldn't focus well. Will do some weightlifting in a bit. *sigh*Hence, the reason why when you choose a diet, you don't stray from it once. It's much easier to stay on a diet than to get back on a diet.

 

Back to the beginning!

So I stayed at home longer than I thought I would because of some unfortunately timed cramps. It broke off my string of days of exercise and smoothies, and I ate lots of stuff because my mom cooked, but that's okay! If I could sustain it for nearly a month, I can keep going J So my mom and my best friend reiterated the importance of protein, so to appease their fears, I'll add some protein. It'll probably help with the cravings, and I'll make sure to eat Chromium supplements to stave off the cravings as well. I'll add in some whole grains in the form of steel cut oatmeal and multigrain hot cereal once I have room in the refrigerator to store my leftover portions.

I've cut up some crudités to snack on during the day, so it's more handy than sweets. Fennel, cucumber, celery…

Breakfast

Fennel crudités- 36 cal, 5 g fiber

Yogurt- 110 cal, 3 g fiber

Chocolate soy milk- 110 cal, 3 g fiber

The smoothie I made this morning was so good. I didn't add all the cantaloupe in because it was really sweet, but there was this warm, fresh taste to it that was unlike anything else I've made.

I'm strangely unable to eat or drink much other than a bite and a sip of each item. I don't feel hungry at all. Probably a result of eating more over the weekend, but I'll bring my breakfast to class just in case. Otherwise, I'll just have it for lunch or dinner. I'll leave my smoothie in the fridge so it's not warm and horrid.

Snack

Green bean soup- 300 cal

Chocolate- 80 cal

Chicken- 150 cal

Tofu- 344 cal

Cucumber

Dinner

Cantaloupe, kale, and collards smoothie- 193 cal, 8 g fiber

-2 cups collards

-1 cup kale

- ½ cantaloupe

I only drank ¼ of the smoothie. Saving it for tomorrow morning to mash up with more fruit.

Half of a taro and meat… thing- 100 cal

Nuts

 

I'm eating too much. I need to stay on a consistent diet—if I don't, it really throws me off. I don't have energy today and I'm really tired. Very inefficient as well. I don't feel like exercising. I think the next couple days will be pretty strict Green Smoothie drinking and crudités eating. I really liked eating my entire cucumber today J so I'll do that tomorrow as well.

I napped a little at 7:30 PM and felt a lot better. I'll sleep early tonight after I finish my reading. I think sleep is what I really need, but I'd like to exercise as well. That will be what I'll do tomorrow morning after class. Also, back to the green smoothie. I couldn't eat because I didn't have a bm the day before, but was ravenous after my first class and a bm.

Smoothie Day 26

I am coming back to my real green smoothies with a vengeance! I love the days when I have a plentitude of greens and fruits <3

Breakfast

Apple, banana, pear, alfalfa, and collards smoothie- 347 cal, 17 g fiber

-1 small apple

-1 large, slightly green banana

-3 cups collards

-1/2 cucumber

-1 pear

-1 oz alfalfa sprouts

Lunch

Mega salad- 561 cal, 21 g fiber

-3 oz alfalfa sprouts

-1 small apple

-1 avocado

-1/2 cucumber

-2 cups kale

-Balsamic vinegar

-2 tsp olive oil

I have a lot of things to do! I have a huge quiz to study for and lots of exercising! If I need more calories, I'm going to eat it in vegetables!

My salad is so yummy J But I might've put too much stuff in there. It didn't really need the cucumber.

Yogurt- 220 cal, 6 g fiber

 

Going to be gone for tonight and tomorrow morning J Will record further stuff tomorrow.

Smoothie Day 24—emergency! Out of ingredients!

Breakfast

I had to pilfer two collard leaves from yesterday's stock of greens in order to have a green smoothie today!

Mango, banana, and collard smoothie- 288 cal, 10 g fiber

-1 ½ cup mango

-1 banana

-2 cups collards

Goat milk with honey- 150 cal

After Class

Banana, mango, nut smoothie- around 170-200 cal

-1 banana

-a couple chunks of mango

-peanut butter

-vanilla

-cocoa powder

-cinnamon

-nutmeg

I am starving without greens!

Lunch

Sushi and sashimi- approx 300 cal

1 yogurt- 110 cal

Potato korokke- 200 cal

Dinner

½ tonkatsu sandwich

Rice and fish and seaweed

Grapes

All in all around 600-700 cal

L I ate more than yesterday. The problem I think was that there weren't enough greens in my breakfast. I got really hungry at 10, didn't eat until 12, which led to semi-binging. I'm close to my period, too, so that didn't help matters. I guess it's good to know, though, that green smoothies really are important to me now, and the huge effect it makes on my appetite.

Bad news: our bathtub is being fixed, so I can't take a bath until tomorrow night. That means I can't exercise, because if I did, I'd be all sweaty and unable to shower. Eww.

Smoothie Day 23

I hate being bloated. My face is chubby now. *sigh* Here comes my period.

Breakfast

Avocado, lime, orange, and collards smoothie- 410 cal, 16 g fiber

- ½ avocado

-3 cups collards

-2 tbsp honey

-1 lime

-1 orange

1 flaky Chinese pastry (entirely homemade by a sister, amazingly!)

Lunch

Avocado, romaine lettuce, and tuna salad-303 cal, 11 g fiber

-½ avocado

-4 cups romaine lettuce

- ½ can tuna

-balsamic vinegar

Kefir, banana, and chocolate protein smoothie- in total, 252 cal, 5 g fiber

-1 cup kefir- 110 cal

-1 banana- 105 cal, 3 g fiber

-1/2 scoop chocolate protein mix- 64 cal

-1 tbsp flaxseed powder-37 cal, 2 g fiber

Woe is me! No more avocados, pears, and apples in my refrigerator L

Dinner

Orange, mango, and spinach green smoothie- 294 cal, 10 g fiber

-2 cups mango

-2 cups spinach

-2 oz mixed sprouts

- ½ banana

-juice of 1 lime

Curry ramen- 380 cal

The ramen tastes like nothing and has no texture. Warm, yes, but over-processed. The sad thing is, I checked the ingredient list, and the ramen I ate was probably one of the least processed ramen, and had real ingredients. I've survived college until now without eating instant ramen, and I intend to continue to do so after today. But it is nice to eat something warm.

Something I'm thinking about making is spaghetti with an overeasy fried egg and blended tomatoes and basil sauce (uncooked), with perhaps my raw cheddar grated on top. Because of the lack of uber-cool ingredients in my refrigerator, I'm craving something hot and warm and yummy. I don't really have time, though, so maybe I'll save it for the weekend, when I have time to work it off. And maybe sashimi. Yum. But really, salads and smoothies are so convenient for me to make, and cost-effective. I'll be eating plenty of calorie-filled things during my vacation to the elusive island place in… 4 weeks! That's enough time to lose eight pounds of fat~ so I must continue! J

Smoothie Day 22

I always plan my breakfast smoothie the night before so I can wash what needs to be washed and see what needs to be eaten. I feel like washing greens in the morning, though, because I don't really want to use a plastic bag to hold my washed greens.

Breakfast

1 serving almonds- 210 cal, 4 g fiber

Mango, orange, banana, and collards smoothie- 314 cal, 14 g fiber

-1 cup mango

-1 orange

-1 banana

-3 cups collards (1/2 bunch)

I accidentally turned off my cell phone last night, so I woke up 15 min before class started. I only had time to grab a pack of almonds. Luckily, I have only one morning class on Tuesdays, so I could still drink my smoothie.

I added one more banana (104 cal) to the smoothie because it started getting spicy.

Lunch

Sisters' meeting- perhaps 600-800 cal (L) which means that I'm eating raw collards tonight for dinner with balsamic vinegar J (22 cal) + 1 banana (104 cal)

I love greens—low calorie and delicious!

My main mistakes when eating:

1. I eat too much when I'm around others and when there's food in front of me.
   
2. I don't chew enough when I eat, particularly when I'm eating with others.
   
3. I don't eat when I'm hungry; I eat when I think I should be eating.
   
4. I give excuses to myself too often about what I eat.
   
5. Too many sweets!
   

Smoothies are just so much easier, as well as salads. I think I want to have an avocado and collard smoothie tomorrow morning, and then a collard and avocado salad for lunch J I'm on an avocado kick! This is what I've been craving for mostly (not sweets, but I still have a self-control problem with sweets), so I will eat avocados.

After exercising for over 90 min yesterday, my clothes are significantly looser. How is this possible?

1. Exercise benefits my scoliosis a lot—it visibly changes after a night of sleep.
   
2. Sleeping also helps my scoliosis and I overslept today…
   
3. What helps my scoliosis helps my physique. My rib cage isn't sticking out as much as it usually is today.
   

Today, I exercised for an hour—7 min stairmaster and 53 min stationary bike/pseudo-Spinning bike.

 

Smoothie Day 21

Breakfast

Green tea rice cake

Apple, avocado, lime, and spinach smoothie- 221 cal, 11 g fiber

-1 apple

-1/3 avocado

-juice of ½ lime

-3 cups spinach

It's funny how I now think that 11 g of fiber isn't that much, since I'm now used to consuming 50+ g of fiber in a day.

Really excellent smoothie with a hint of smoothness. Apples and avocados are lovely together in salads, and now in green smoothies.

Something I made note of yesterday in my mind, but not on this blog, is that if you eat something remotely sweet while you drink your smoothie, or before, it's hard to taste the sweetness and subtleties of the smoothie.

Hm… yummy. Maybe I want an avocado salad today. Or maybe another avocado and lime

After workout- 30 min walking and running (because I didn't have to go to one class!)

1/3 slice of cake

My mom made it for me J My period is coming soon, so my sweets-lust is upped even more than usual.

Lunch

Apple, avocado, lime, celery, cucumber, and kale smoothie- 780 cal, 29 g fiber

1 serving almonds- 210 cal

-2 apples

-1 avocado

-juice of 1 ½ lime

-2-3 cups kale

-1/3 cucumber

-4 stalks celery

-2 tbsp honey

This is for lunch and dinner. I was really craving more avocado, so I made another avocado smoothie J

I ate more kale J It was yummy raw with balsamic vinegar and a little bit of chicken. One of my favorite greens that I will miss a lot during my summer vacation at a faraway island L

My computer tricked me~! I chose the program on my workout DVD for 42 min, but my computer kept stopping the DVD, and then restarting at the same spot. I thought it retained my program, but I was just stuck on an endless loop of exercises that would've kept going for more than the hour I worked out if I hadn't realized what happened. But I got a really good workout. I was dripping sweat (am dripping sweat as I'm typing this, ew). I forgot how good it feels to do weight-lifting and to sweat tons.

3 weeks already! Yay!

Smoothie Day 20

Breakfast

½ pear, collards, and parsley smoothie- 135.5 cal, 9.5 g fiber

Goat milk, chai, and honey- 250 cal

Trail mix- 140 cal

Why did I drink only half of my smoothie and why did I eat? My parents called and woke me up with really bad news. So now I need something warm and comforting instead. I don't really have an appetite anymore.

4 cookies (whoa!)

1 cup lentil soup

Cake

Green tea rice cake

Dang. My sweets eating spiraled out of control. That's only how upset I am. I really didn't know that I did emotional eating at all. But it's okay—just another learning experience! I'll know to keep myself occupied with exercising next time.

Smoothie Day 19

Breakfast

Mango, spinach, and collards smoothie- 143 cal

+1 cup mango and 1 banana= 200 cal

Lunch

Salad from college meeting

Yogurt- 300 cal

Salad made by me

½ slice cake- 200 cal

Smoothie Day 18

Breakfast

Alfalfa, apple, kale, and pear smoothie- 345 cal, 16 g fiber

-2 ounces alfalfa, 1 apple, 1 pear, 4 cups kale

Lunch

Salad

-2 cups romaine lettuce, ½ can tuna, 6 radishes, 2 ounces alfalfa sprouts

2 cups Greek yogurt- 500 cal

Dinner

College meeting. Lots of salad. And stuff.

Smoothie Day 17

Breakfast

1 pear, 1 banana, 1 cup berries (70 cal), and 6 cups collards- 343 cal, 21 g fiber

Lunch

Pizza at Whole Foods, 1 slice of vegetarian pizza, and some breakfast pizza.

The breakfast pizza was so decadent. It had layers of egg, sausage, bacon, and cheese. Not the healthiest thing or happiest thing for your arteries, but it was sooo good. I have half a slice in my refrigerator right now.

Dinner

Mango, banana, kale, and parsley smoothie- 375 cal, 14 g fiber

The mango was really overpowered by the parsley. Actually, everything was overpowered by the parsley. But it's good! It has this light refreshing taste.

Rest of breakfast pizza

The pizza is so good that I can't keep it in the refrigerator ^^;;

Smoothie Day 16

Breakfast

Apple, alfalfa, banana, and collards smoothie- 290 cal, 17 g fiber

Additional 1.5 bananas added to smoothie for sweetness and calories- 156 cal, 4.5 g fiber

446 cal total in breakfast smoothie

Lunch

Salad from Costco- 140 cal

½ cucumber- 22.5 cal

1 egg- 100 cal

1 artichoke- 80 cal

342.5 cal total at lunch

 

1 slice cake with Greek yogurt, honey, and cinnamon- around 250 cal?

Dinner

½ cup chickpeas-100 cal

½ cucumber-22.5 cal

3/8 can tuna and 3/8 avocado-206 cal, 5 g fiber

2 artichokes- 160 cal

1 egg- 100 cal

Smoothie Day 15

Breakfast

1 apple, 1 banana, 1 cup collards, 7 cups kale, 1 lime smoothie- 465 cal, 20 g fiber

Healthy bread crisps- 200 cal

Lunch

1 ½ sausage

1 ½ whole wheat hot dog bun

1 cup salad

Cake

Dinner

4 cups spinach - 28 cal, 4 g fiber

1 pear, 1 apple- 180 cal, 9 g fiber

½ cup Fage yogurt- 75 cal

I blended it all into a smoothie. I also added a lot of cinnamon by mistake, so it was spicy sweet. But good, nonetheless.

Lots of crackers; hard studying induces snacking. It is proven through empirical evidence…

I don't even want to think about how many calories I consumed today. But my exam is tomorrow morning, which leaves the afternoon free to do whatever exercising I wish to do. J

I have up to four hours tomorrow to exercise~ yay!

Smoothie Day 14

Time to clean out my digestive organs from all the stuff accumulated at the Friday and Sunday meetings! Starting with three green smoothies in one day J which makes me happy.

Progress report: I feel like the Energizer Bunny when I workout. I can keep going and going and going… my legs are getting slimmer, but my stomach annoys me some days and makes me some days. I just have to lose more fat! I'm going to be studying while walking everyday now. See, now that I've written it, I can't back off. I'm lucky because it snowed out, so there aren't many people who want to workout :D The stairclimber, for a minimum of 10 min a day, is working wonders.

Remember when I had a cough for a week? Well, it turned out I was lucky. Everyone's been getting it for way longer here on campus. Yay for green smoothies! A year ago, it would've taken me out for a month.

Breakfast

½ canned pineapple, 1 banana, 2 cups spinach, and 6 cups kale- 439 cal, 14 g fiber

I wasn't planning to use this many greens, but 4 cups of kale just didn't make the smoothie big enough. It was also too sweet with the pineapple and banana, so in went lots more greens! Sensationally delicious~

Lunch

2 apples, ½ canned pineapple, ½ lime, and 4 cups collard greens- 362 cal, 16 g fiber

1 banana- 105 cal, 3 g fiber

8 leaves romaine lettuce- 40 cal, 8 g fiber

2 piece of bulgogi- 200 cal

"Dinner"

½ cup yogurt with honey

1 small slice of cake

1 banana- 105 cal, 3 g fiber

Cutting myself off now.

Exercised 2 hours while studying—got lots of studying done! And lots of calories burned, too (600+)!

Exercise: 35 min stairclimber, 70 min treadmill, 5 min elliptical trainer

Smoothie Day 13- out of greens (practically)!

Breakfast

Cucumber, avocado, lime, flax, celery, apple, and cabbage smoothie- 374 cal, 19 g fiber

Lunch and Dinner provided by other people. The end. Too much sweets, carbs, and protein. Yummy, but too much. This means that I need to study while exercising this week, also known as walking for a long time while staring intensely at notes. On the other hand, my parents bought me TONS of greens, and I have plenty of fruits to go along with those greens, so I will be fine. I also have lots of bananas~

Smoothie Day 12

Monster smoothie- 704 cal, 39 g fiber

Excellent smoothie. I put two oranges, one avocado, one pear, and a whole bunch of collard greens in and drank it for breakfast and lunch.

1 can pineapple- 240 cal, 4 g fiber

Chicken and artichoke- 180 cal

Chai tea with goat milk and honey- 180 cal

1 serving almonds- 210 cal

Black bean soup- 260 cal

I made some hummus out of chickpeas, lime, artichokes, and olive oil. It was good, so I ate two celery sticks with it. I realize that I haven't been exactly wise about calories today, but to my credit, I've exercised more than an hour today, and if I didn't eat this much, I wouldn't get enough nutrients.

Smoothie Day 11

Breakfast

Kale, romaine lettuce, orange, banana, and pear smoothie- 420 cal, 19 g fiber

Lunch

3 cups spring mix, 2 cups romaine lettuce, 1 banana, 1 apple, ¾ cup berries- 305 cal, 14-15 g fiber

I don't think that I'll ever like romaine lettuce in a smoothie except with an overdose of fruits. I love it as a salad, but I just didn't have enough to make a great salad. I'm not a fan of the spring mix in salad form, but it's palatable in the smoothie.

Dinner

1 can pineapple-240 cal

Chicken and artichoke- around 300 cal

And lots of food at the college meeting ^^;;

 

Smoothie Day 10- supplies replenished!

I had some fish and chocolate cake when my parents brought stuff over last night >> but I really didn't eat that much for dinner, so it's alright I guess.

Good news: they brought me the Vita-Mix blender from home, so I'm not wasting 20 min making the smoothie in batches!

Breakfast

Apple, banana, grape, and kale smoothie- 438 cal, 14 g fiber

I peeled some bananas and froze them to minimize work. I never expected that frozen bananas by themselves would taste so good, though… Yum, I'm craving another one, though if I eat it right now, I'll get sick. It'll be too much food. Hm. Never mind. I'm eating that banana.

1 frozen banana- 105 cal

2 cups frozen grapes- 208 cal

Wow, why am I craving all these fruits? At least it's better than eating cake or chips J And by the way, frozen grapes and bananas are only the best things ever…

Lunch

Romaine lettuce, ½ avocado, ½ can tuna, 2 canned artichokes (or 4 halves) (Salad 3)- 445 cal, 12 g fiber

1 cup milk- 110 cal

1 slice cake- … I dunno how many calories.

But I'm cutting myself off for today. I can't eat at night anymore for some reason. It makes my stomach all icky-feeling.

Evening

1 banana and some chicken + lettuce for fuel for workout (burned 500 calories! Seven days a week of that every day is 3500 cal, the equivalent of 1 pound.)

1 Hershey's Kiss

Smoothie Day 9- running out of ingredients!

Breakfast

Avocado, parsley, mint, and lime smoothie- 224 cal, 13 g fiber

1 serving almonds- 220 cal, 4 g fiber

I was in a rush, so I didn't finish my smoothie. It was a good thing I had almonds, though, because they made up for the lack of green smoothie.

Lunch

Strawberry kefir- 160 cal

Bean soup- 100 cal

String beans and assorted vegetables- 60 cal

1 beet- 35 cal

Cranberry oatmeal- approx 180 cal

What a crappy meal. I just want a salad… something full of fresh flavor~

Dinner

1 serving almonds- 220 cal, 4 g fiber

1 cup frozen spinach- 64 cal

1 egg- 70 cal

1 cup leeks- 38 cal

I'm out of a lot of fresh vegetables. All I wanted was a green smoothie, but I had to save my greens for tomorrow morning's smoothie L Luckily, my parents are sending stuff over tonight J So hopefully I won't be so desperate to have to make a spicy cabbage smoothie, but can leave the cabbage for a lovely cabbage, cucumber, and tuna salad. I'm starting to dream about collard greens and kale in a smoothie… yum, and salads…

Smoothie Day 8

Breakfast

Banana, parsley, cabbage, grape, and berry smoothie- 284 cal, 13 g fiber

It tastes like parsley, cabbage, grape, and berries. The flavors didn't mingle, but they also didn't mix into a nasty concoction, which is a good thing. It's kind of pleasant, though, going through the succession of flavors. Perhaps I should have put some flaxseed in, though it's too late and I've already planned out my calorie intake for the morning.

1 serving almonds- 220 cal, 4 g fiber

Prelunch-

1 cup chocolate soymilk + strawberry kefir- 140 cal

1 cup frozen grapes- 104 cal

Lunch

Brown rice, bok choy, broccoli, bell pepper, and chicken stir fry- 504 cal, 8 g fiber

Barley and red bean soup- 206 cal, 11 g fiber

Chocolate cake-

(I didn't eat at home. Can you tell?)

That looks like that's it for today.

Or not! I exercised an hour today, 30 min with weights and 30 min cardio. On the cardio, I burned 420 cal, so I know that I burned more than 500 calories today! I am officially starving for a salad now, so I will make my salad and be happy J

Avocado, apple, cucumber, and romaine lettuce salad- 294 cal, 15 g fiber

I finished up my chocolate soy milk because my mom bought an insane amount of dairy and soy for me on Friday.

My arms are getting pretty strong. I don't know why, but I've been craving (is that possible?) for arm exercises. The hardcore kind that leave you unable to move afterwards. However, my arms have recovered really fast and don't get sore the next day, which is solid proof that I'm eating enough protein. Actually, the main reason why I exercised today was because I just wanted to do arm exercises, but then I just kept going and going… this is so weird! Even last year, which was the peak of my exercising (I exercised two hours a day), I didn't crave exercise like this.

School is ending soon, so I have to eat up the multitude of stuff in my freezer… I'll probably drink one green smoothie a day in the morning still.

Smoothie Day 7

Breakfast

Banana, apple, and cabbage smoothie- 300 cal, 16 g fiber (subtract 60 cal, because did not finish 200 mL of smoothie)

I added vanilla and cinnamon, like yesterday. However, I added much more cabbage, and there wasn't any carrots to mellow it out, so it ended up more spicy than warm and comforting. I also wasn't in the mood for this kinda smoothie, which was evident by the fact that I didn't finish this smoothie. It's important to switch ingredients and smoothies often so you don't get bored, and your body gets a range of nutrients. I had planned to use blueberries instead of an apple, but the frozen blueberries were frozen into huge clumps that just weren't helping along a rushed schedule.

Almonds to eat during school- 220 cal

I skipped out on my daily egg to see what the effects would be. I actually felt fine, if not better, even lacking that source of animal protein. No blackouts or weariness at all, and I didn't get hungry.

Lunch

Romaine lettuce, tomato, cucumber, tuna, beet, and avocado salad- 345 cal, 12 g fiber

I used only balsamic vinegar as dressing. There're enough flavors in the salad, especially with the tuna, beet, and avocado. One of my favorite parts about eating a salad is that each bite is different in flavor and texture. I would imagine that people who know how to make good salads would make good green smoothies as well, just because you know what goes together well. I also used some artichoke hearts, which I didn't include in the calorie intake because I'm not sure exactly how many calories there are. At most, there are 60 extra calories.

Chocolate soymilk- 120 cal

Celery with ½ tbsp peanut butter and 1 tsp honey- 72 cal

Chocolate soymilk with strawberry kefir- 140 cal

Dinner

Whole grain hot cereal, ¼ beet, ¼ cup berries, ¼ banana, ¼ tsp honey, 1/8 tsp cocoa powder, 1/3 cup strawberry kefir- 236 cal

You may be wondering what I did with all this. Well, my intention was to make a beet and berry smoothie with banana to make it creamy. It worked, except it was too potent and sweet for my taste. Delicious, but just too much. So I decided to make my favorite hot cereal and stir in half of the mixture. Something was missing, so I added the strawberry kefir. It really made it good. So now I'm eating this sweet and tart bright pink conglomeration of foods, and it's great. I still have half of that smoothie left, and I'm thinking that I'll add it to pancakes or scones (whole grain, of course). A scone with some honey and butter… yummy.

Bean soup- 40 cal

Salad- 133 cal

Smoothie Day 6

Breakfast

Apple, carrot, alfalfa, cabbage, and banana smoothie (with vanilla and cinnamon)- 287 cal, 16 g fiber

The cinnamon and vanilla really gave it a well-rounded, warm flavor. The ingredients blended together nicely and became very smooth. I put in fewer carrots than I intended to, though, because they weren't being blended as well. Very drinkable—I'm practically inhaling it right now.

1 egg- 70 cal

1 serving almonds- 210 cal, 4 g fiber

Lunch

Around 500-600 cal, I think.

Dinner… stuff.

1 cup chocolate soy milk- 120 cal

I have no excuse other than my mom gave it to me when I didn't want it. Now, it's stuck in my refrigerator and I must drink it. But it is absolutely the best chocolate soy milk I've ever had. Creamy, real chocolate flavor, and it has fiber!! Not that I'm really worrying about my fiber intake after 6 days of smoothies… I'm pretty much up and beyond the required daily fiber intake.

Avocado, apple, vanilla, alfalfa, mint smoothie- 284 cal, 13 g fiber

I was going for some sort of nice juxtaposition of warm and cool flavors with the vanilla and mint. Probably should've hiked up the mint and added a touch of cinnamon to enhance the vanilla for more contrast. However, it all somewhat canceled out into a conglomeration of generally yummy flavor in the end. I also added honey. I've been hankering for some oil, so I ate avocado, plus stir-fried my asparagus in a bit of olive oil.

Asparagus

No words for how much I adore asparagus. Except that I don't adore the smell in the bathroom that much. But it's more of an oddity than an annoyance, so it's alright.

Yogurt with honey and cinnamon- probably should've taken my magnesium before I ate that sugar. The banana bread at lunch induced more sugar intake. Yet another reason to stay away from processed sugar! It is highly addictive. Seriously and literally.

Noodles and artichokes- artichokes. Yummy. I'm going to try making the rosemary artichoke and chickpea hummus recipe I found online sometime. I just need chickpeas… (which are pretty essential, I know)

I've been craving more whole foods. I need to learn how to make good salads, or this will never work in the long term. Luckily, I know people who make phenomenal salads that I can eat without any dressing at all~ just really good combinations of flavors and textures. It's not to say that I've given up on smoothies—I just find that I like chewing things now. And you know? I never really chewed my food until I started drinking smoothies. Then I really started noticing flavors and textures more than before. My tastebuds are pretty refined, but they've evolved to a whole different stage now. I want to start moving out of my comfort zone with vegetables and fruits. I want to try different combinations, more flavors, varied textures. It's probably a good thing that I'm going to be staying for two months after school ends in an island nation, where everything is different. Everyday a new discovery! I'm just going to have to steal the blender from my aunt, that's all…

The excretions are going well, too. (This probably falls into the realm of TMI, but who reads this blog anyways?)

My throat is better, but if I talk for more than 5 minutes, it starts to hurt from being burnt from the throw-up acid from last night.

I might be eating more after I eat someone else's food because of less nutrition, maybe. And also because of the craving for chewable food…

Smoothie Day 5

Breakfast:

Banana, apple, lime, and collard green smoothie- 263 cal, 14 g fiber

Cucumber, mint, yogurt, lime salad- 200 cal, 11 g fiber

    -didn't finish

Lunch:

½ cup soba noodles with meat sauce and 1 cup asparagus-approx 200 cal?

½ a piece of fudge brownie- 60 cal

1 egg- 70 cal

1 avocado and lime smoothie- 500 cal, 17 g fiber

1 serving almonds- 210 cal

1 serving chocolate soy milk -100 cal

1 sweet potato- 105 cal

1/3 cup yogurt, honey, peanut butter-

3 bites congee

• More calories than I like to admit. Not feeling well today—I threw up a little bit, and the acid was really strong. Note to self: eating less is much MUCH better for your digestive system. When bored, don't eat, but exercise. Do homework. Sleep. You need more sleep!
  

 

 

Smoothie Day 4- supplies replenished!

Breakfast

Watercress, spinach, orange, and lime smoothie- 257 cal, 19 g fiber

Not the best smoothie. I only had the ingredients that went into the smoothie left in my stock of vegetables and fruits. The watercress was quite spicy. The insane amount of Vitamin C is calming down my throat, though (I have a sore throat). I'm not done drinking it yet. It made more than my usual 1000 mL, so I've had around 500 mL with 700 to go. It's in the fridge for my workout.

Egg- 70 cal

Almonds- 210 cal, 4 g fiber

Lunch

½ Italian salad at NYPD, no dressing

It was yummy. I didn't think that I would like the olives so well.

I'm not craving anything except water.

1 yogurt drink- 40 cal

Milk with chocolate powder- 120 cal

Dinner

Pear, mint, and collard smoothie- 283 cal, 22 g fiber

Amazing! I threw out the morning's smoothie (which was terrible) in favor of this one.

1 small brownie- around 130 cal

I went to a college meeting, and was encouraged to eat. So out of curiosity, I let myself eat what I usually eat (which is the reason why I gained weight), and I felt horrible afterwards. I felt fine at lunch after eating a small salad, so I'm finding out that eating less is actually better for me. It's more the quality of the nutrition I'm getting. If I get enough nutrition, I don't necessarily have to eat as many calories… depending on what my body feels like.

Smoothie Day 3- running out of ingredients!

Breakfast

Cabbage, grape, mixed berries, lime smoothie- 275 cal, 16 g fiber

1 egg- 70 cal

1 medium-sized sweet potato- 103 cal, 4 g fiber

Snack/Lunch

3.5 cups bean and vegetable soup (around ½ of what I cooked)- (I put ½ cup dry soup mix with ¼ cup quinoa which is 316.5 cal total, but it's made a huge pot after slow cooking it with 5-6 cups of water overnight) around 180 cal

4 cups bok choy (before cooking)- 36 cal, 3 g fiber

1 serving almonds- 210 cal, 4 g fiber

1 cup kefir with honey- 121 cal

Dinner

Experimental smoothie- 284 cal, 17 g fiber

Nastiest green sludge I've seen in my life. The watercress was really strong. If I had just used collards, it would've been perfect. The collards with the flaxseed gave it a nice nutty taste (I had to divide it into two batches, one with predominantly watercress, and another with predominantly collards, so I got to taste how it was with different greens). I need a stronger blender, I think. This one (which is my roommate's) leaves lots of big chunks. It's the third day, so I'm used to it by now, but it would be nice, you know, not to have to see bits and pieces of vegetable.

Eeeh? What's happening? The more I drink this, the more hungry I get. I'm ravenous now! I need an egg. I took a bite of chicken, but then changed my mind. So egg it is~

I'm going to finish up the soup, which brings me to 1485.5 cal today.

Smoothie Day Two

Breakfast:

Grape, cabbage, and lime green smoothie-312 cal, 11 g fiber

1 hardboiled egg-70 cal

The smoothie was really delectable. Yummy~ I ended up adding half a banana for creaminess and smoothness. I'm glad I did, or else I might've not gotten enough calories. This recipe didn't make enough for a quart, but I'm going to be drinking smoothies throughout the day, so it's alright.

Changes: I've been having trouble with bloating, but today I woke up, and the bloating is almost all gone. My hair is crazy shiny (it was shiny before, and I got compliments on it, but now it's really very shiny. It practically glows!) and I feel more alert than I have in a while.

Lunch:

Romaine lettuce, banana, and blueberry green smoothie- 305 cal, 13 g fiber

Bitter. I only added half a banana when I really needed one. I added a plum, which didn't help much.

Bean soup- 160 cal

So full…

Snack:

1/3 cup yogurt, ½ serving almonds, cocoa powder, vanilla, and 1 tsp honey- 162 cal

1009 cal so far…

Dinner:

Apple, beet, celery, and carrot smoothie- 264 cal

Very delicious, but full of fiber. I couldn't drink the last 200 mL because it was all fiber.

1 cup chicken breast, 2/3 cucumber- 306 cal

Total Calories: 1579 cal

Not bad, considering that I ate less yesterday and I got a lot of nutrition today. My smoothies today made less, so it explains why I had to compensate a little with other foods. I don't think I want to drink almonds anymore; they seem to fill me up more when I eat them.

Every day is a smoothie day!

Collard, banana, and orange green smoothie (I forgot the flax…)- 208 cal, 11 g fiber

1 egg + egg whites- 100 cal

Small sweet potato- 54 cal

Calories Consumed: 362 cal

I am sooo full.

After class: I didn't get hungry, I had energy, and I had really good circulation. No shivering for me today!

Almonds- 105 cal

4 cups raw bok choy

¼ serving pork

½ cup chicken (breast meat)

1/3 cucumber

Small squirt mayonnaise

Lunch Total: 238 cal (so full~~)

1 cup kefir- 110 cal

½ cup mixed berries-47 cal

1 slice pear- 20 cal

1 tsp honey- 22 cal

Snack Total: 201 cal

Calories Consumed:
906 cal total

After the exam, I craved something sweet, so instead I made a smoothie~

Pear and parsley green smoothie- 293 cal, 19 g fiber

It tastes like grass. I'm supposed to put a banana in, but that adds too many calories. I also need it for tomorrow morning's smoothie… Ugh. I can't take how strong the parsley is. Only a little bit more…

I think I'm going to die from parsley overdosing. Not really, but never again without bananas! Or at least it has to be more watery and less chunky (it's really chunky). I'm too lazy to blend it again, but I'm almost done… I don't want to eat today anymore at all. Killed my cravings.

I'm at the bottom of the smoothie now, where all the watery parts converged together. And it's nice, light, and refreshing after all the fiber gunk I went through. I drank 800 mL of the fiber gunk… I can see why this has 19 g of fiber…

The First Day... and Revisions

Breakfast
1 bowl mixed cereal with 1 tsp honey and cinnamon
1 smoothie with ¾ cup mixed berries, 100 cal worth of almonds, ½ cup kefir, ½ cup milk, water, and 1 tsp honey
Outcome: I feel very full, and it was very nutritious and easy to do. This is much easier than counting calories.
Later on… I felt very lethargic from all the carbs, and I started getting cold. I went to a holistic doctor today, and asked about eating carbs, and it turns out that if I don’t eat protein, I’ll get cold and shivery. So more protein, less carbs, and more vegetables.

Rethinking the diet…
I think one serving of whole grains a day will do the trick with lots of protein, some nuts, and lots of vegetables (some incorporated into smoothies).
I really liked the smoothie idea from this morning, but I really can’t come up with a blueprint until I know how much I’m eating. Plus, eating vegetables is pretty safe, calorie-wise.
Some recipes I’m going to try:
1 ripe pear, ½ banana, bunch of parsley, and water
Gretchen’s Basic Green Smoothie3 or more cups of washed organic leafy greens (spinach, romaine, collards or a combination of the three)1 cup of freshly squeezed juice from an orange1 frozen banana1 tbsp of golden ground flaxToss in a blender and blend until smooth. It should be BRIGHT Green. Enjoy!Green and Blue Smoothie3 or more cups of leafy greens (spinach, romaine, collards or a combination of the three)1 cup of freshly squeezed juice from an orange1 cup of Blueberries or ½ package of frozen Sambazon Acai berries5 Cashew NutsApple, carrot, lime, yogurt, greens.
1 avocado
1 large cucumber
2 cups spinach
2 large leaves collard greens
2 leaves black kale
3 lemons, juice only
1.5 cups water
(a few slices of a Gala apple sometimes

pear cored and sliced

-
lemon (squeezed)
-
1 inch ginger diced
-
banana sliced
-
water 1/2 - 1 cup as needed
-
cucumber peeled and sliced
-
mint 2-3 sprigs destemmed
-
kale 1-2 leaves destemmed
-
chard 2-3 leaves

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parsley 1/2 bunch
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optional dandelion leaves
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optional watercress
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optional any other greens you want to try
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optional nuts like almonds, pine nuts, walnuts
-
optional juice if needed to sweeten (replaces water)

Changing up my eating habits

I'm having trouble eating just 1300 cal. I can't be sustained on that little food. So I planned out a day of eating according to what I have in the fridge and with nutrition in mind, and I got this…

A possible day:

3 servings mixed oatmeal and barley- 489 cal, 13.5 g fiber

1 cup blueberries- 79 cal, 4.2 g fiber

3 tsp honey- 66 cal

4 cups cooked collard greens- 196 cal, 5.8 g fiber

3 cups cooked spinach- 123 cal, 12.9 g fiber

1 orange- 80 cal, 4.3 g fiber

1 cup kefir- 110 cal

1 egg- 90 cal

½ cup chicken- 107 cal

¼ can of tuna (1 serving)- 80 cal

Calories Consumed:
1420 cal, 40.7 g fiber

This is much more reasonable than 1300 cal. It also takes care of sugar cravings with the mixed cereal and honey, and the kefir can easy be substituted by yogurt and low fat milk with around the same amount of calories. I'll feel more satiated because of all the fiber and slow release carbs. This looks good.

Breakfast

1 egg+ 2 egg whites- 140 cal

2 slices of bread- 100 cal

1 tbsp black bean dip- 15 cal

Romaine lettuce leaves- 10 cal

3 tbsp Greek yogurt- 28 cal

1 plum- 30 cal

Small slice of cottage cheese cake- 40 cal?

1 cup goat's milk- 140 cal

Calories Consumed: 503 cal

Lunch

1 serving pork- 212 cal

Romaine lettuce leaves- 20 cal

Korean noodles- 50 cal?

½ cup barley- 100 cal

1 orange- 80 cal

Calories Consumed: 462 cal

A dab of praline spread and honey with ½ cup Greek yogurt- 100 cal

Ovaltine with 1 cup milk- 220 cal

Calories Consumed: 320 cal

Black bean dip, chicken, and romaine lettuce- 100 cal?

Peanut butter and honey with ¼ cup Greek yogurt- 100 cal

I never realized how good a nut butter, honey, and yogurt was. Daaaang. I need more yogurt.

½ cup barley and tofu, chicken, vegetable mix with spinach- 150 cal??

Peanut butter and honey with 2 slices bread- 200 cal

2 cans V8-60 cal

Chewy granola bar- 90 cal

;_; almost 2000 cal!

Calorie Count (kinda impossible to do because I didn’t make a lot of the stuff)

Breakfast

Red bean soup with barley and the excess water from cooking barley (with all the resistant starch)

?? cal.

1 plum- 30 cal

I planned on eating oatmeal this morning because I had cooked some in the slow cooker, but to my horror, I had put one cup of barley instead of one cup of oatmeal. So instead of eating oatmeal for the rest of the week in the mornings, I'll be eating barley for this week and next week for multiple meals. I also cooked some yesterday morning, so you can imagine how much barley will be in my refrigerator. I really had hoped to get a nice system going, cooking barley one morning, oatmeal the next, and then bean and vegetable soup. That way, all my meals would be done cooking and all I'd have to do is reheat on the stove. I guess the one advantage of having all this barley is that barley tastes nice cold from the refrigerator, and if you eat it cold without reheating it once, you get all the advantages of resistant starch.

Snack

1/3 slice of bread- 17 cal

½ slice of cheese- 35 cal

1 tbsp black bean dip- 15 cal

Calories Consumed: 67 cal

10 dumplings- around 700 cal?

Grapes- 124 cal?

½ cup Greek yogurt- 75 cal

1 cup red bean soup- ??

Calories Consumed: 899 cal

Some vegetables and chicken stir-fry my mom made, reheated with barley-??

Wonton soup with barley and spinach- 140 cal?

Barley, barley, barley…

Yet another cooking disaster somewhat diverted!
Last night, I pulled out my small slow cooker to cook some oatmeal for this week.  One cup of oatmeal and four cups of water into the pot.  Turn on the cooker.  Go to sleep.  Done.  And when I wake up, it will be to the, er, oaty fragrance of oatmeal (who figured out that oatmeal was oaty in the first place?) and I won't have to cook anything to eat (because I like having a cooked breakfast...).  

Easy enough, right?  But, no, I pulled out the wrong bag of whole grains.  i pulled out barley, which absorbs water in infinite amounts in small periods of time.  Not to mention that I had already cooked too much barley the day before (because I didn't know how much it absorbed water) and had some mixed into red bean soup, frozen, and refrigerated.  That was going to last me a week for dinner.  Instead, when I wake up, I get this slightly browned barley that's really puffy and has totally absorbed every bit of water.  Luckily, it wasn't burnt (which was the potential cooking disaster), and all I had to do was add more water, but now I have enough barley to eat for at least two meals and a snack everyday.  

Barley for breakfast, barley for lunch, barley milk everyday, here I come.

So the article in the new Prevention is of some comfort to me because barley is a good source of resistant starch, especially chilled.

But I was really looking forward to having at least different food for every meal. This was what I had planned out…

Sunday night: Slow cook some barley to drink and eat throughout the week.

Monday night: Slow cook oatmeal for breakfast throughout the week.

Tuesday afternoon: Slow cook some dry vegetable and bean soup mix from Whole Foods for dinner and then lunch for the rest of the week.

Eh, maybe next week. But since I cooked so much barley, I have to buy more barley this weekend…

 

 

Calorie Count 03/03/08

Calorie Count (that I failed to post) from yesterday:

1 bowl of barley- 200 cal

1 plum- 30 cal

½ cup Greek yogurt- 75 cal

Calories Consumed: 305 cal

1.5 cups white rice-363 cal

3 cups (before cooking) mustard greens-45 cal

1 can chicken broth- 20 cal

1 egg- 95 cal

A little piece of pork (non-fatty)- 50 cal

Soy sauce- 10 cal

Cottage cheese "cheesecake"- 100 cal

Sticky rice cake- 100 cal

Calories Consumed: 783 cal

Calories Left: 212 cal

 

Planned Dinner:

Lots of spinach

Romaine Lettuce

Black bean dip

So my planned dinner kinda worked… not. It kinda ended when my roommate told me to eat praline spread she brought back from New York over spring break and the sister downstairs brought pineapple snacks from Taiwan upstairs.

But I did do one hour of yoga and it felt fantastic.

 

 

 

Calorie Count

Breakfast

Steel cut oatmeal- 150 cal

¼ cup milk- 34.5 cal

1 egg- 90 cal

1 yogurt- 110 cal

Calories Consumed: 375 cal

Lunch

Flatbread- 55 cal

Black bean dip- 15 cal

Peanut butter- 75 cal

Celery- 0 cal

Broccoli- 70 cal

Rice- 170 cal

Curry- 200 cal

Calories Consumed: 585 cal

Calories Left: 340 cal

Calorie Count

Breakfast

½ tbsp peanut butter- 44.5 cal

¼ cup milk- 37.5 cal

1 serving steel cut oatmeal- 150 cal

1 yogurt- 110 cal

Calories Consumed: 342 cal

Lunch

Vegetable soup- 34.75 cal (cabbage)+79 cal= approx 110 cal

Flatbread- 120 cal

1 yogurt- 110 cal

Ovaltine with whole milk- 230 cal

Calories Consumed: 570 cal

Calories Left: 388 cal

¾ cup white rice-130 cal

Thai curry- 50 cal

Chicken- 33 cal

Yogurt- 110 cal

Flatbread-110 cal

Calories Consumed: 433 cal

XP I overate by a little. Oh well. I exercised a lot today, so it's alright.

Calorie Count

Breakfast:

1 serving steel-cut oatmeal- 150 cal

¼ cup milk- 35.5 cal

1 banana-100 cal

1 kiwi-50 cal

Calories Consumed: 335.5 cal

Workout: -500 cal in 42 min (exhausting!)

Post-Workout Snack

¼ cup milk, ½ cup Kashi Vive Probiotic Cereal- 111 cal

Calories Left: 853.5 cal

Lunch

1.5 apples- 100 cal

1 pizza slice- 250 cal (approximately)

Broccoli/cauliflower/carrot- 75 cal (approximately)

Calories Consumed: 425 cal

Calories Left: 428.5 cal

 

 

Calorie Count

Breakfast

1 egg+ egg whites- 120 cal

Broccoli- 70 cal

Chocolate soy milk- 120 cal

Calories Consumed: 310 cal

Lunch

Oatmeal stir fry- 150 cal

Whole grain cereal with 1/3 cup milk- 180 cal

Yogurt- 110 cal

Spinach- 30 cal

Calories Consumed: 450 cal

2 pieces of chocolate- 48 cal

1 banana- 100 cal

Calories Left: 392 cal

Slice of bread, black bean dip, cheese- 175 cal

Chocolate soy milk- 120 cal

Calories Left: 97 cal

Breakfast:

Hot cereal-130 cal

1/3 cup milk -50 cal

1 cup goat milk- 150 cal

Calories Consumed: 330 cal

 

Snack:

Banana bread- 200 cal

 

Pseudo-Lunch:

Cheese- 70 cal

Bread- 75 cal

Radish sprouts- 15 cal

Mayonnaise- 5 cal

Black bean dip- 10 cal

Calories Consumed:
170 cal

Calories Left:
600 cal

Breakfast Calorie Count

Last night, at 11:30, I made banana bread downstairs with some sisters. I left it there to bake (because my roommate was sleeping), and went downstairs this morning to eat breakfast with them. I ate a leftover cookie from last night and yogurt beforehand.

Breakfast

Yogurt- 110 cal

Cookie- 100 cal

Banana bread- 230 cal

Total Calories Consumed:
440 cal

Lunch

Not very hungry, so…

1 cup chocolate soy milk- 120 cal

Lettuce and turkey- 70 cal

Cookie- 100 cal

Calories Consumed: 290 cal

Oh dang. That's a lot of calories consumed so far.

Total Calories Left: 570 cal

Eh, not bad. I'll probably eat oatmeal later.

Post Workout Snack


I did cardio (treadmill and ellipse) for 45-50 min, did ~10 min of upper body work, and 10 min abs. Seeing as I only ate more banana bread before working out, I was hungry. So…
Banana bread- 100 cal
Apple- 80 cal
Kiwi- 50 cal
Snack Calories: 230 cal
Calories Left: 340 cal
Not bad, not bad.

Dinner

Salad, sandwich, burrito thing, fruit, zucchini bread... Okay, note to self: Eat only what's on your plate the first time around when eating at someone else's house. Don't go with the flow of other sisters when they get more food. Nope.

Calorie Count

Preclass snack
6 strawberries- 45 cal
1 slice of bread- 75 cal
Black bean dip- 10 cal
1 slice cheese- 70 cal
Calories Consumed: 200 cal
Calories Left: 225 cal
Looks like I’m eating a salad or a cookie for dinner.

Calorie Count

Breakfast

1 bowl steel cut oatmeal- 150 cal

Little bit of honey- 40 cal

1 banana- 100 cal

½ cup milk- 75 cal

1 cup black tea- 0 cal

Lettuce and turkey-35 cal

Calories Consumed: 400 cal

Lunch

1 yogurt- 110 cal

Lettuce and turkey- 35 cal

Black bean dip- 60 cal

Pizza- 150 cal

Chocolate soy milk- 120 cal

Calories Consumed: 475 cal

Calories Left: 425 cal

Dinner Calorie Count

Afternoon Snack:

1 cup goat milk- 150 cal
1 small cube green tea chocolate- 24 cal

Dinner:

Lettuce leaves+ turkey- 30 cal
Hot cereal+ ¼ cup milk- 162 cal
Chocolate soy milk- 120 cal

Calories consumed: 486 cal

Wow, I have calories left over.

This is how I actually ate my lunch...
I heated up the chowder (from Whole Foods), spread black bean dip on the ciabatta slices with radish sprouts, and wrapped small pieces of smoked turkey breast in huge leaves of romaine lettuce. It was good, easy, and filling. Then I ate my yogurt :) That was good, too.

...I'm not very good at writing this kind of blog. It's kinda boring to read, but it makes me keep track of what I eat and think about what I'm putting into myself.
I don't have time to make it interesting. I come home from class, cook, eat, write down what I ate, study, and go to class again. But oh well. The physical benefits outweigh the lack of entertainment.

My legs and butt hurt from yesterday's workout. I should've known it was a bad sign when I woke up achy, because it just intensified after lunch. I can barely sit down into a chair without wincing. But it's good! It means I'm building up muscle, burning calories... it just kinda hurts ;_;

The energy that I got after the workout was wonderful, though. It really made my studying more effective.

Calorie Count

Breakfast

1 bowl of hot cereal, ½ cup milk-205 cal

1 kiwi-50 cal

1 cup strawberries- 45 cal

Calories consumed: 300 cal

Lunch

5 lettuce leaves- 10 cal

½ serving turkey breast- 35 cal

2 small slices of ciabatta- 90 cal

1 tbsp spicy black bean dip-15 cal

6 ounces smoked salmon chowder- ?? let's say around 300 cal

Radish sprouts- practically 0

1 yogurt-110 cal

Calories consumed: 560 cal

Calories left: 535 cal

Looks like I'm eating a good dinner tonight! Yay!

Dinner Calorie Count

Dinner
Yeah, I said I wasn’t going to eat dinner, but I worked out for an hour! And was trembling afterwards, so I have to eat something.
Hot cereal with ¼ cup milk- 165 cal
1 stalk broccoli- 51 cal
1 cup spinach- 7 cal
1 cup strawberries- 45 cal
Calories consumed: 268 cal
Let’s see… can I eat yogurt? 110 cal?
That would make 378 cal. Sounds good! I’ll eat yogurt :)

Calorie Count

Breakfast

1 banana- 105 cal

1 bowl of hot cereal with ½ cup milk-205 cal

Calories consumed: 310 cal

Lunch

I went to WF with my mom and ate tons of samples, pizza, and some seafood chowder. Around 800 cal?

Leftover calories: 90 cal

L How sad. Looks like it's spinach for dinner again. And maybe strawberries. And a kiwi.

…hey! I need my sweet fix.

So much for eating spinach for dinner. Well, I did, but I added garlic, spicy black bean dip, a small piece of salmon (it was the size of a third of my palm) and a small (very small) slice of bread. I felt like I was eating with the tiny tiny portions and the multiple flavours. I also had a little bit of whole milk with malt for a semi-dessert.

Maybe it's a worthwhile trick, because I'm not craving anything right now.

Today’s Calorie Intake

Caloric Intake Goal: 1300 cal

Goal: No overly processed food, i.e. junk food

1 bowl of organic multigrain hot cereal with ½ cup milk- 205 cal

1 medium sized banana- 105 cal

1 kiwi- 50 cal

1 cup of tea

1 bottle of water

Total Breakfast Calories:
360 cal

Fiber so far: 10 g

Brought to school: 1 bottle of water

Plan after class: Workout on ellipse while studying Differential Equations…

Goal for lunch: no dessert! ¾ of the plate is to be veggies! Otherwise, it's too hard to count calories…

 

After class…

It's too cold to workout and then walk back home sweaty. I'd get a cold! So I'm eating a snack while studying.

1 slice of bread- 75 cal

1 tbsp of spicy black bean dip- 15 cal

Mozzarella cheese- ??

Chicken- 30 cal, around?

Jalapeno- 0 cal

Chocolate- 24 cal

1 apple- 70 cal

Total Snack Calories: approx. 214 cal

Total Calories left: 726 cal

Fiber so far: 10g+5g= 15g

Lunch…

I ate lunch with my RSG (bible study) group, and the only food was my mom's noodles.

I don't know how much I ate or how much oil my mom put in, but it was good. I'd estimate that it was around 400-500 cal.

And since I wasn't full and I need energy for my next class, I'm eating some more hot cereal with ¼ cup of milk—around 165 cal.

It seems like I'm out of calories for the day. Man, I need to schedule my meals better. I'm going to eat spinach for dinner.

But so far:

Total Calories left: around 80 cal.

Fiber so far: 22g

 

 

 

My Healthy Eating Tips

1. Always have vegetables in the cupboard, the refrigerator, and the freezer. Put them in places you won't expect (that much). You cannot run from the vegetables.
   
2. Chicken stock is lovely for impromptu vegetable soups.
   
3. Whenever you prep vegetables, wash a bit more than you need. Store the extra in a plastic bag in the fridge so you don't have an excuse to not eat vegetables.
   
4. Steel cut oatmeal isn't just breakfast food or sweet! It can be savory and for lunch, too! All that extra fiber is good for you.
   
5. What about the meat? I have a bag of relatively salty meatballs in the freezer, buffalo wings flavored. I drop around three to four pieces into soup, and there you have your seasoning and protein!
   
6. Egg whites are good, too, for soups and if you feel like eating one scrambled egg in the morning isn't enough.
   
7. Sweet potatoes, baked, for a sweet treat. Lots of fiber, but careful of portion sizes! There's more calories in a sweet potato than you think.
   
8. Think color when cooking—it helps with nutrition. I like tomatoes for red and purple cabbage for purple. Lots of green veggies.
   
9. Choose fruit that you like, but don't love. Me? When I have fruit that I love, I'll eat too much of it, leading to sugar highs (from fruit, which is a bit sad) and more calories than you know. My picks: apples, grapes, pears. I love pears, but they're so good that I can savor them; plus, I always think, "If I leave them for one more day, they'll be even sweeter and softer."
   
10. Stock up on tea, bottled water, and milk. Convenient, tasty, cheap, and healthy. No excuse for not drinking enough fluids!
    

    
     

    Learn to love veggies! Veggies are your friends.
    

    
     

Lil’ Kids

I just recently realized that I treat little kids differently than most people—I talk to them like adults, almost. I don't talk down to them, but rather, give them my full attention when they speak (unless I really can't understand what they're saying).

Take this Sunday. I was feeding an almost one-year-old (let's call him "T") a tangerine in slices. He doesn't really have enough teeth, but is so greedy for real food that when he sees food that he wants to eat, he starts crying until he gets it. He knows the good stuff from the bad. He wouldn't stop crying after we walked past the dessert table.

Me: "Here you go, "T". Eat slowly. Chew. Look at how much more you have to go!"

Timothy: *slurps the tangerine slice out of my hand*

Me: "T"! (really loudly)

"T": *stops chewing, looks at me with eyes open as big as he can get them. He's bemused that I'm talking to him. "I'm eating, and I'm a baby! No one ever looks at me when I'm eating! What's wrong with this sister? I'm eating!! People are happy when I eat! They talk to other grown-ups while I eat! They don't talk to me!"*

Me: (in a softer voice) You ate that too fast! You know, it took you three bites to get through that other slice. You can't slurp things up like that; you'll choke!

 

Or… I was skipping back to his older sister (five years old; "R") with a slice of chocolate pudding cake in my hands.

Me: *euphoric daze induced by chocolate* Want some?

"R": *looks at me like I'm crazy*

Me: It's so good *star-studded gaze*

"R": I don't like chocolate (she says it like she's berating me for even thinking about chocolate. I feel like a five year old being scolded by someone my age).

Me: …

 

Maybe it's just because they treat me like I'm their age. They're not that far off. It's really funny, though, when I have little kids guess my age. When I tell them how old I am (eighteen), their mouths gape open. And then they start calling me "Auntie" ;_;

Fruit Drops

Ever since I saw "The Grave of the Fireflies" in middle school, I've always had this morbid fascination with the tins of Meiji's Fruit Drops (フルーツドロップ). Whenever my best friend goes anywhere, she always brings a can of these back regardless of where she goes. As a result, I have a can sitting in my apartment on campus and one at home. Today, I was hankering for something sweet (despite it being Sunday and having fulfilled my chocolate cravings for the day. You know how it is with me: I eat something I like, and then I have to eat it for the rest of the day. So today I like sugar. I'll exercise it off. I have this crazy Taiwanese exercise DVD series… ). So when I was doing the traditional rummage through my cabinet, I found the nifty tin and thought, "Why not?"

I ate one, and immediately was transported to my childhood *_* I'd forgotten why I liked eating them before I watched that darn movie (that's really just propaganda in disguise).

Yummy.

Savory Oatmeal

This evening, I was thinking of a way to cook with color, vegetables, flavor, fiber, carbs, and protein while spending minimal time. My answer? Savory oatmeal.

I have tons of oatmeal in my kitchen cabinet (the other ones I share with my roommate). I have steel-cut oats, old-fashioned oats, and organic oats. I always bring them back to college with me because I think, "Fiber! I can eat fiber!" but I never really get around to eating it. I used the steel-cut, partly because it has more fiber and texture, and also because I saw Irish oats sitting on my professor's desk during office hours. I was inspired by the fact that she has a yoga mat and oatmeal in her office. I thought, "I want to be that healthy, too!" I think she's pretty awesome.

For color, I chose a variety of vegetables: sun-dried tomatoes, purple cabbage, and green beans. I have this huge bag of sun-dried tomatoes, julienned, with no idea of what to do with it, so I thought that I'd just throw some in there.

For protein, I opted for just a bit of beef already cooked and seasoned, as well as an egg (My parents had just sent eggs to me this morning, and I really love eating poached eggs in soups).

I think what really made the oatmeal nice was the Maldon salt, chicken broth (in place of water or milk), and the tomatoes (which were flavored too strongly to actually eat—I have to find some way to dispel some of that flavor!)

It wasn't bad. It was actually pretty good. I think this is something worth experimenting with, especially since I want to cut down on eating carbs that aren't as nutritionally dense as oatmeal (i.e. rice and bread).