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

-
parsley 1/2 bunch
-
optional dandelion leaves
-
optional watercress
-
optional any other greens you want to try
-
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.