Food Log | April 27, 2007

breakfast:

• coffee*
  
• 1/2 cup of müsli with salba and ground flax, mixed with a little raspberry juice and water
  
• more coffee

lunch:

• big salad of:
• black kale*
• napa cabbage
• parsley
• quinoa and red lentils
  
• 1 avocado
• lime juice
• water
  

afternoon:

• 1 apple*
  

dinner:

• black beans mixed with salsa, a couple of handsful of blue corn tortilla chips*
• 3 dark beers
  

vitamins:

• b12/b6/folate
  

*organic

Challenge of the 1 Month Challenge + Food Log | April 25 & 26, 2007

There's been no exercising since Saturday, and today is Thursday. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evenings this week have been spent at meetings and events, with me returning home anytime between 9:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. Hopefully tonight I can go for a run, after all the errands and cleaning I have to catch up on. If not, I'll aim to get myself up early tomorrow morning to start the first of my anticipated morning runs. And somehow I want to work in some upper body strengthening. AND I want to buy an exercise band as recommended by jen, but I haven't had the chance to get to a store to buy one.

Today's and yesterday's logs:

breakfast:

• both days - coffee*
  
• yesterday - 1/3 cup of müsli
• both days - more coffee
• today - a VegeHut chickpea and potato spelt patty
  

lunch:

• yesterday - big salad made of black kale*, napa cabbage, chickpeas, green onions, tomato, tahini dressing; bowl of bulgur and chickpeas, cooked with bottled vegetable juice; water
  

• today - salad of black kale*, napa cabbage, cooked quinoa* & red lentils, 1/2 huge tomato, green onion
  

afternoon:

• yesterday - water only

• today - müsli, carrot sticks*
  

dinner:

• yesterday - 1 VegeHut spicy TVP patty

• today - Yoga Soup and a couple of handsful of blue corn tortilla chips*
  

vitamins:

• none yesterday. Today - b12/b6/folate
  

*organic

Food Log | April 22, 2007

breakfast:

• coffee
  
• 1 fruit and nut bar, on the go
• 1 small bottle of OJ
  

lunch:

• Teriyaki stir fry with jasmine rice at Jack Astor's for my sister's "2 days before your birthday" lunch
• 2 club sodas

afternoon:

• peppermint tea
  

dinner:

• handful of blue corn tortilla chips*
  
• 1 1/2 bowls of throw-together stew:
• tomatoes, broth*, spices, broccoli, carrot*, a little peanut butter*, barley, quinoa*, red lentils, brown lentils and kale*
  
• water
  

vitamins:

• sublingual B12 with B6 and folic acid
  

exercise:

• just a little walking
  

*organic

The day of avocado

It was absolutely gorgeous today. 23 degrees, clear skies, no smog, sunshiney goodness. I got up this morning, had a little photoshoot with my newest necklaces, went for a run and spent the afternoon with an old friend who I am seeing too little of lately. This evening, the boy and I met friends at one of the best veg restaurants in the city. All in all, a great day!

Right after my run, before heading back home, I stopped at the Big Carrot Wholistic Dispensary to pick up a couple of things and came across some sample packets of Vega, and figured I'd give it a try. Developed by Ironman and vegan Brendan Brazier, Vega seems to be like a blend of protein drink, greens+ type of dealy and meal replacement. I'm not really one to do protein shakes and whatnot, but the list of nutrition facts on the back of the package was intriguing. There were 3 choices - chocolate flavoured, berry and plain. I tend to be more of a berry girl, so I bought the pack for about $2.50 and took it home. This is what it looked like, after mixing with water:



An unappealing thickish green sludge. But the tastiest thickish green sludge I've ever had! Yes, this avocado green swamp actually tasted like berry, with no hint of green or algae or weeds. Just yummy berriness! I didn't price the tubs of powder, but next time I'm in the area, I will definitely consider buying more Vega!


And now for today's food log:

early afternoon:

• water, coffee
• 1/2 cup of Vega* (actually only 1/3 of a full serving)
• 1 whole wheat pita spread with hummus
  

late afternoon:

• snack samples at St Lawrence Market - tofu chunks*, 1 small bit of bread dipped in oil, 1 chip with great smokey salsa
• the Big Salad at Juice for Life:
• avocado (1), marinated tofu cubes, cucumber, carrot, tahini dressing, on spring mix
  
• 1 beer
  

evening:

• Dinner at Vegetarian Haven:
• 2 pot stickers
• 1/2 bowl of mushroom and avocado (2) soup, shared with the boy
• 2 puff pastry rolls stuffed with avocado (3)/horseradish mixture, carrots and grilled tempeh, purple rice, spring mix salad with 1/4 avocado (4)
• coffee*
• small bites of friend's German chocolate cake

That's right - I ate avocado 4 times today. And it was gooo-oood!

vitamins:

• sublingual B12 with B6 and folate
  

exercise:

• running (about 20 minutes), walking (about 2 hours), and a few arm weights.
  

*organic

Blah blah exercise blah food blah blah crafting blah food log

My ankle seems to have healed, though I am still not feeling motivated to exercise. I'm not sure there is there is one thing I love to do and can stick to, other than walking. And a good amount of walking takes time I don't really have, which is why I took up running. It's getting lighter in the morning, and warmer, so maybe I'll feel the urge to get up earlier to run then.

I don't want to waste this 1 Month Challenge thing, but I'm not sure how to do what I know I need to. The diet part seems to have become easier - as someone who isn't happy until my mouth feels as though I've eaten a lot, eating a lot of low-calorie food really helps me feel content. And after listening to the Vegan Freak Vegan Health Show podcast, I am more motivated than ever to improve my eating habits.

Enough about that and on to crafting. This week I sat down and made 4 new, beautiful necklaces which I will photograph and get up on my etsy shop very soon. Seems I let the items up for sale all expire, so the shop is empty! Yipes! I also have a whole whack of earrings, but I'm waiting to be able to shoot them in natural light. Of course, I'll post the photos here as well. Check back soon!


Today's food log...

breakfast:

• spiced chai with soy creamer, coffee at work
  
• 1/2 cup of müsli with flax and salba. I added some barley and rye flakes to the oatmeal this time - it's really good!
  

afternoon:

• a form of tabbouleh:
• parsley* and kale
• tomato* and cucumber
  
• bulgar
• sunflower sprouts*
• garlic powder and lemon juice
  
• water

snack:

• strawberries*

dinner:

• it was a late night at work, so I ate a can of chickpeas straight from the can. mmmm.
• 1 mixed drink - Crown Royal, club soda, raspberry juice
  

*organic

Effed ankle, crankiness and Food Log | April 17, 2007

Last night, the plan was to go for a run. But somehow, over the weekend, I effed up my ankle. It feels a bit twisted and it goes away and comes back unpredictably. So, I ended up doing some mat exercises this morning along with some arm strengthening. At the moment, I'm using only 5 lb dumbells but 5 lbs is plenty for my weak office worker arms.

Sunday I went to Claire's for brunch, and had 2 carrot muffins, 2 tea biscuits (from How it all Vegan), veg bacon, a crepe stuffed with fruit, pan-fried potatoes, 2 mimosas and a small amount of popcorn. Later that night, I had a tiny bowl of leftover stirfry with peanut sauce and chips and hummus. A little more raw green would have been good, but I didn't feel I ate too terribly.

I weighed myself yesterday and the past couple of weeks have been better than I thought. I weigh about 147, down from almost 150, which means my ideal weight is only 12 lbs away. At 5'2, 135 lbs has a BMI of 24.7 (just below their almost silly number for being overweight - 25) and is a very reasonable and healthy weight for me. I know people throw around the "big-boned" argument, but I truly am. I have large ankles and wrists and look sickly at 125 lbs. A sickly looking mishka is not a pleasant mishka.

The rainy weather and heavy air is making me a wee cranky. I'm hoping the blahs pass in time for my TVA meeting tonight!


breakfast:

• spiced chai with soy creamer, coffee at work
  
• müsli with 2 strawberries, ground flax and salba
  

afternoon:

• salad with romaine lettuce, quinoa*, carrots*, celery, pea sprouts*, hummus, kale
• water
• about 10 french fries, leftover from the boy's Taco Bell lunch
  

snack:

• sliced mini cucumber and strawberries
  

dinner:

• at 5:00: 2 slices of cheeseless pizza
• green tea
  
• 4 hours later: 1 cup of quinoa topped with leftover tomato sauce and nutritional yeast
  

exercise:

• morning: 20 minutes of mat exercises, stretching and arm weights

vitamins:

• b12, b6, calcium, iron
  

*organic

Food Log | April 14, 2007

breakfast:

• coffee*
  
• Indian buffet brunch:
• channa masala, aloo gobi, basmati rice, 3 papadum, 5 small onion bajia, cantaloupe, grapes, blood orange slices, dal
  

afternoon:

• 5 pieces of Lindt 70% cocoa chocolate while watching To Kill a Mockingbird
  

dinner:

• Smaller than usual serving of stir fry with peanut sauce:
• bok choy, broccoli, snap peas, sprouts, carrots, peppers, mushrooms
  
• 2 beers*
  

exercise:

• morning: 20 minutes running. I find I run much better in the morning - I have more energy and I can run for longer spurts.
• afternoon: walking around the city - about 1.5 hours
  

*organic

Food Log | April 12, 2007

Seems it doesn't take too long to give in to temptation. I brought a nice salad for lunch and planned to tell the person ordering pizza for a good-bye lunch that I didn't want one this time. The co-worker I usually share the cheeseless pizza with was not here today. So, the pizza came and my lunch got stored for tomorrow...


breakfast:

• 1 glass of water first thing in the morning
  
• 1 extra spicy soy veg patty
  
• coffee at home*, and at work
  

lunch:

• 5 slices of cheeseless pizza with artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, green olives, mushrooms. Yes, 5.
  
• 1 diet coke
  

afternoon:

• 2 more slices of pizza. The rest went into the freezer.
• water

dinner:

• 3/4 cup quinoa
• 1 cup canned tomato sauce with
• mushrooms
• peppers
• zucchini
• carrot
• garlic
• kale

• soda water
  

vitamins:

• none
  

exercise:

• morning: 10 minutes of arm weight exercises
• evening: 20 minutes run/walk intervals: run until tired, walk for a minute or two, run more, etc.
  

*organic

Food Log | April 11, 2007

breakfast:

• 1 glass of water first thing in the morning
  
• 1/3 cup of homemade müsli:
• rolled large flake oats mixed with dried cranberries, walnuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds, almonds*, and moistened with water and a drop of lemon juice
  
• 2 tbsp ground flax/salba blend
  
• coffee at home*, and at work
  

lunch:

• salad of:
• about 1.5 cups of raw chopped green kale
• 1/2 can of chickpeas
• 1 chopped carrot*
• sprinkle of ground cumin, garlic powder and a drizzle of lemon juice
  
• water (0.6 L SIGG bottle)

afternoon:

• 1 celery stalk
  
• 1 tbsp natural peanut butter*
• water
• 1 double (2 small rounds of hot fried dough, sandwiching curried chickpeas *drool*)
  

dinner:

• Dinner at Vegetarian Haven during a TVA Comm Committee meeting:
• 4 Potstickers on a bed of sauteed cabbage
  
• 1/2 an order of tempeh salad (tempeh, mixed beens, beets, greens, carrots, tahini dressing. I'll take the rest for lunch tomorrow.)
• 2 glasses of water
• 1 coffee
  

vitamins:

• iron (veg capsule), calcium, B12 pill, B6, folic acid
  

exercise:

• morning: 10 minutes of simple mat exercises and stretching
  

*organic

I'm such a joiner

In an effort to whip myself into shape, I have joined the 1 Month Challenge. I don't yet have a plan, but I'll work on that today. My goal is to increase my current level of fitness (measurable results TBD), tone my body (results measured by my mirror), and lose about 15 lbs* of fat.

The results will be posted here, tagged as "1monthchallenge".

Anyone else a joiner?


*ETA: Thanks to jen for pointing out that 15 lbs is a bit high for a 1 month goal. I completely agree and actually meant to indicate that 15 lbs is a longer term goal. I hope that whatever I accomplish during this 1 month challenge will put me on the right path, and will help me to lose those 15 lbs by mid-summer. That's about 3 months away and 1.25 lbs a week. Still a definite challenge for me.