Mark: in retrospect

So 30 days isn't a long time, but it's long enough to get a taste.

It was strange - I looked forward to the end all along, and when it came, I was, at least on some level, hesitant to let this diet go. Talking with several of my colleagues, I think it convinced me that being a traditional vegetarian (dairy, eggs allowed) would be relatively easy compared to being a vegan - and I am seriously considering taking on vegetarianism for an extended diet rather than an experiment. Perhaps try it for six months.

Regarding the actual experience, I lost 10.5 pounds from start to finish.

I proposed this experience because I had found myself stuck in a zone at the lower end of the 170's, and really wanted to break through to the 160's (I was 197.8 in January). In this sense, the vegan diet was hugely helpful. I immediately started losing weight, and in just a few days arrived at a new equilibrium in the mid 160's. Ironically and completely unintentionally, I found myself doing relatively little exercise during this period, so I believe most of the weight loss was the result of the diet rather than exercise. I ate a reasonably diet for a man of my weight, age, and size, hitting around 2000 calories most days.

I have to say, I hadn't weighed 163 since I was in college - about 24 years ago. It was really cool to see that number on the scale.

But I have to confess, I think I was losing more than fat on the diet. I never really was able to establish a solid protein intake, and on a few days I really had physical sense of desperation. I felt like something was wrong with me. I craved a concentrated protein source on more than just an emotional level. I'm convinced (though I can't prove it) that much of the weight loss was lost muscle mass as a result of the diet.

I didn't have a lipid and glucose panel immediately before the start of this experience, but I had had one only two months earlier (April 2, 2014). I did have one the morning after the end of the diet (and before I indulged myself on meat and cheese again).

The comparison is interesting:

                                      April (pre-exp)        June (immediately post-exp)
Serum cholesterol:          152                            173

HDL                                  52                              63

LDL                                  87                               90

Triglycerides                    65                               99

Glucose                             98                               91


The only number you would want to see go up out of all those numbers is the HDL, which the vegan diet did do. Unfortunately, the period between my last panel and the end of the vegan diet shows a significant increase in many of the bad makers. To be fair, the glucose level went down, which is also pleasing to me, because I have a history of diabetes in my family, and an elevated glucose level concerns me. But increases in serum cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides also concern me. (good short article explaining these measures here: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/Cholesterol/AboutCholesterol/Good-vs-Bad-Cholesterol_UCM_305561_Article.jsp)

What this experiment has convinced me is not so much that veganism is somehow bad, but that exercise is really, really important. I don't think I mastered the vegan diet - in particular the proper way to consume sufficient protein. But at the same time I let go of the rigor in my exercise routine that I had been working hard to maintain since the beginning of the year. I allowed the FitBit to lull me into a sense of complacency because I hit my 10,000 steps most days. While being generally active is important, I am convinced now that for my own health I need intensive periods of exercise most days.I think had I maintained the rigor of my exercise efforts, I would have had better lipid results.

I think the other big take-away that I have from this effort is that eating out regularly is really bad for you. Prior to this exercise, I was starting to slip back into my pre-$3 diet habits of eating out for lunch frequently (we have a Subway in the basement of our building). When I engaged in the vegan experience, I had to get back in the habit of preparing my meals each day before I left in the morning for work. Despite the protein issue, I felt good about what I was eating. And in an important way, I felt good about being more involved with my own food. There is something profoundly human about preparing your own food. The act of eating is something that connects us to the world. To outsource the preparation of too many of our meals to a kind stranger is to disconnect ourselves from ourselves. Food is worthy of contemplation, and cooking is something close to prayer.

I am happy to have tried this experiment. I appreciate the support I received from my fellow participants, my family, and all of the folks who followed us. It was interesting.

Next up for diet experiments is paleo - but I think I'll wait a bit before I try it.

Till then -

buon appetito!

Linda Day 30 - Vegan no more

Day 30 - The day started like most others with 3 cups of coffee.  I did not get my 4th cup in the afternoon. I've noticed that pushes me to be a bit on the intolerant side.  There is something about the mid-day pick-me-up and a moment spent centering with a cup of coffee that makes the remainder of the day grate less and somehow magically transforms the afternoon annoyances into mere task dust.

No lunch, just scores of written assignments to grade. At least now we know where we start from as far as the level of communication. 

A few last minute "we need it now" requests and a third 12-hour day materialized.  It all melts when I walk through the door in the evening and Steve and Izzy (our dog) greet me.  The family exchange can begin for the evening, with attention first and foremost centered on Izzy who wants to know exactly where I have been for so long.

Dinner is spaghetti squash, one of my favorite vegan dishes, with asparagus, zucchini, and tomatoes. It was smothered in marinara sauce and accompanied by bread with seasoned olive oil.  The meal was topped off with sliced pears and a glass of Merlot.

This last 30 days have been an interesting adventure.  I have learned that if absolutely necessary I could live without meat, eggs, and dairy products. But, only if absolutely necessary.  I said this at the beginning, I am a carnivore.  I may temper my meat consumption a little but I choose to not live a meatless life.  My husband, Steve, also pointed out that I could never be a true vegan because I own way to many leather shoes, purses, and other accessories.  I agree, plastic shoes are not tolerable.  Sorry, cows and other potential future shoe material contributors.

I have veered off of some of my healthier habits during this venture. I usually eat very little bread, almost no chips, and small amounts of dried fruits and vegetables, which are high in calories.  I have consumed more bread in the last 30 days than the previous year. This started as a possible recovery from overindulgence during vacation but did not develop into the healthy reset that I had hoped for.  I lost only 2 pounds during this 30 days. A little disappointing.  "OK" now it is time to get serious and get back to what works best for me, a low carb life-style.

Thanks to Mark for inspiring a jump-off into the abyss that is veganess. At least I can say I tried it, but it just was not for me.  I will be happy to re-enter the world of carnivores tomorrow. 

Bon Appétit

Carrie: Day 30 and Final Thoughts

Day 30 was pretty basic:

Breakfast: Grape nuts, soy milk, and a glass of OJ

Snack: Banana

Lunch: Gnocchi w/ red sauce, apple

Snack: 4 squares of dark chocolate

Dinner: Vegan chili

I'm really loving having this gnocchi around... it's definitely one of those meals for "everyone" - well, except no-carb folks. Sorry :) It's very filling and easy to change up because you can keep it interesting with different sauces. And the vegan chili, I've been using that recipe for over 4 years now - I've found that it's so dense in beans, vegetables, and spices that no one misses the meat.

As for thoughts... Hmmm. I would guess I probably had an easier time adjusting than others, since I've been lactose intolerant for 5 years and had to cut out red meat over 2 years ago - my PCM thinks gallbladder issues, and I prefered trying the dietary changes option to flat out removal. I mean seriously, who wants body parts removed just because I’m having extreme bloaty/gassiness? I'll take option B, thank you! Bottom line is, the recommended diet changes helped significantly so I've stuck with it. So I was already very used to soy products and for meat only ate fish and birds. I also had several vegan cookbooks in the house and I took a few vegan cooking classes when I was living in Pasadena. Cooking-wise, I had already been introduced to the "lifestyle," and then I had a little leg-up in terms of having to cut out products.

That said, the restrictions that come along with being vegan are just too much for me to think about all the time. It really is exhausting - having to go to more than one grocery store if a vegan product you need for a recipe isn't available, constantly checking nutrition labels to make sure those dreaded words "Contains: Milk, Eggs" aren't at the bottom, having to inconvenience friends/family members I visit to cook up a vegan-friendly meal at dinner, having to ask about ingredients at restaurants... It's just too much. I honestly don’t know how “real” vegans do this permanently. Sure, vegetarian I can see – it’s easy enough to ask a friend or restaurant to leave the meat off. But those little products that get you – casein, whey, the stinking bone char in white sugar? I had no idea those little additives were in so much stuff. Grrr!

So what does this mean going forward? I think this was a big wake-up call that I should be paying more attention to having a consistently well-balanced diet – more home cooking, fewer nights ordering in or eating out, less sugar, taking the time to self-assess how my body feels after I eat something, etc. Now that we’re done with the 30 days, I’m essentially going to stop asking, “Does this food have an animal product in it?” and move back to a general, “Is this food something I want to be putting in my body?” and “If so, how does my body feel now that I’ve eaten it?” And you know what, that's probably something I should have been doing before!

The good GOOD news is that I spoke to my cardiologist, and because the symptoms that have been getting continually worse over the last 2 years – PVCs, racing pulse, light-headedness, general lethargy – have decreased so much in the last month, I do NOT have to undergo the month-long monitoring he was going to put me on! Obviously if I start having them consistently again before my next annual echo I'll go right in, but MAN I am so happy - it would have been such a pain! Apparently it’s some kind of device (not the permanent implanted kind) I would have to wear 24/7 and plug in to my home phone line once a day so that my cardiologist could monitor everything. BLEH. I genuinely think it’s all due to my body not having to work as hard processing the vegan food, in addition to just in general keeping a well-balanced, good diet. The change I’ve felt has really been amazing, so I will continue on a path of healthy eating and better tracking – but I don't think it’s necessary to deprive myself of EVERYTHING that has a tiny bit of animal product in it forever, as long as I keep taking good care of myself.

So here’s a basic breakdown of my experience:

Positives – Fewer heart symptoms, lower pulse/blood pressure (although I was in the healthy range before, it’s even lower now), more energy, improved mood (probably because I didn’t feel tired all the time), better fitting pants, and better skin (I had good skin before because I always wear sunscreen, hats, and very little makeup, but seriously in the last week I’ve gotten compliments from 5 different people about how good my skin looks – thank you, hydration and good eating!).

Negatives – Too restrictive, inconvenience to friends/family members who invite you to events, occasional feeling of deprivation, occasional feeling of running out of “fuel” on a long (6+ miles) run (luckily, I always carry an emergency Gu), and the general frustration felt when you go to an event and realize you can literally eat nothing being served.

Overall, at least in my case, I give it an A+ for the health benefits and would probably recommend it to anyone who has heart problems like I do, or anyone who wants a jump start to healthier eating.

It’s been real, everyone! Thanks for suffering through this with me! I hope you all found some added benefits and that the experience wasn’t too rough on you… And please, for the sake of your bodies, be careful easing back in to the meat lifestyle! J

xoxo

Carrie

Lee V-Day Done? ...What happened?

Quick post after we completed the 30-Day Vegan Challenge. I will be going to our clinic tomorrow to pickup a prescription, conduct an eye-exam for my retirement physical, and have blood drawn in support of my retirement physical, but the lab work will also provide a convenient post-treatment snapshot to determined "what happened" to my body during this endeavor. My primary care manager provided a brief note to me regarding my cholesterol readings from pre-diet and my levels were marginally within normal levels, but moving in the wrong direction from earlier tests...hoping\expecting that levels will be well-within normal to good levels after this diet experience and beyond.

...Putting pieces of the puzzle together with independent variables, I ran an ad hoc nutrient report from Loseit! for the past three months and past month (see below). Graph depicts portions (%) of caloric intake associated with Fat, Carbohydrates, and Protein.

Quick analysis indicates that this Vegan diet dramatically cut my fat nutrient content intake and moderately dropped my proteins. As I scan through the content of things that I ate during the two months prior to our Vegan diet, I see many "good" food choices littered with bad, convenient, short-term indulgent choices e.g. Little Debbie snack cakes, nachos & cheese & other tasty toppings, fried chicken\buffalo wings, etc. ...adherence to the vegan diet or perhaps a similar plan screens out many of those (health) costly choices.

Lee's 3-month nutrient intake (pre-Vegan diet period and Vegan diet period):

Lee's 4-week nutrient intake (Vegan diet period):

Simple vegan meal principles from a dietician

This post was forwarded to me by email.  It's a sample meal plan that maximizes nutrition while minimizing cost and fuss.  The author is Jeff Novick, RDN

https://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=43281

Excerpts:

Breakfast
1 Cup Cooked Oatmeal
1 Cup Frozen Blueberries
1/2 Banana
1 Tbsp Ground Flax

Lunch 
28 oz Diced Tomatoes
1 lb Mixed Frozen Vegetables
4 oz Frozen Collards
2 Cups Whole Wheat Pasta
1 1/2 Cup Canned Kidney Beans (No Salt Added)

Dinner 
28 oz Diced Tomatoes
1 lb Frozen Cauliflower, Broccoli, Carrots
4 oz Frozen Kale
2 Cups Cooked Long Grain Brown Rice

Calories | 2160.5 - 114%
Protein | 94.8 g - 169%
Fiber | 92.3 g - 308%

1) This is a lot of food so you do not have to worry about being hungry or a restrictive eating plan. 

2) If you prefer, you could eat this in more or less meals per day.

3) While the nutrition is over 100%, (A detailed nutrition analysis breakdown was included) remember, we really only have to average about 70% or more of the RDA/DRI's and not beat 100% every day as the RDA/DRI's have built in buffers.
---
6) The above diet is SOS (salt, oil, sugar) free. However, if someone wanted, they could add about 1/3 tsp salt, which would still keep total sodium under 1500 mg, up to 2 Tbsp of sugar, which would keep sugar under 5% but add 100 calories (50 cal/tbsp).

7) If one wanted, they could also add in another tbsp of flax seeds (37 calories) or 1/2 ounce of walnuts (93 calories) or 1/4 avocado (80 calories), but not all of them, and still have an excellent diet. However, as you can see, it is not necessary. 

8 ) The above recipes take no more than 10 minutes, have 5 or less ingredients, are based on foods one can get anywhere, involve virtually no prep, clean up or waste and can be done for under $5/day per person. 

I bet if I were living alone, I could do something like this and eat very cheaply while maintaining high nutrition.  However, there are some realities that, for me, require tweaking of a diet like this.

First, I don't care for frozen vegetables.  I would replace most frozen with fresh, which would increase prep time, cooking time, waste, and cost.  I think the only vegetable that tastes good frozen or canned is corn.  I like canned tomatoes -- especially my own from the garden, which I hope to have this fall!  I guess I'm a fresh food snob!

I would cook my own rice and beans/lentils, which is more economical and I think here too, the beans taste better and I can control the salt content.  However I like the convenience of canned or prepped beans and rice, and I keep them on hand.  It would be easy enough to substitute in potatoes, sweet potatoes, quinoa, etc. for the pasta or rice to increase variety.

I love fresh fruit.  This plan would not satisfy my desire for fruit, so I would be adding more.  Also, where are the salads and raw veggies?  I would reduce the portion sizes of the "one pot" main dish in order to have salads/crudités and fruit with most meals.

I would not be able to cook this way for a family who is used to the standard American fare.  And after a while, it gets difficult cooking differently for yourself, and NEVER eating what everyone else does.  I know this from experience!

Dark vegan chocolate, soy milk, and coffee/tea.  Yes, these would replace healthier calories.  There's no rationalization other than I still really want them.

Spices, seasonings, sauces.  Again, if they added calories (oil, sugar) and salt, then they would reduce the overall nutrition of the day.  But that might be a trade off I could live with, if it kept me eating more whole plant foods and less junk.

Finally, This kind of eating style would be put aside for special occasions like family birthdays and major holidays, in which I would choose the healthiest of the available foods, and participate by having small portions of the celebration items like Thanksgiving turkey, birthday cake, and Mom's potato salad.  That said, one needs to be mindful that special occasion foods don't happen weekly or even monthly! The "myth of moderation" applies here.

I do like Jeff Novick's ideas.  I will be pondering these as I contemplate eating goals for the future.  I might even end up buying one of his DVDs.

Debbie - Day 29/30 Are we there yet?

Day 29 was typical.

Breakfast: oatmeal with maple and soy milk, coffee, and a fresh fruit plate.  428 calories.

Lunch: leftover bean burrito, salad with mixed greens, walnuts, and dried cranberries.  Dark chocolate.  394 calories.

Snacks: Engine 2 flatbread, seaweed snax. (I am understanding the "strangely addictive" claim now.) 200 calories.

Dinner: Leftover kidney bean curry with rice and brussels sprouts.  Another chocolate square or two. 245 calories.

Total calories, 1267.

I think I have been using chocolate as a stress reliever lately!


Day 30:

Breakfast: coffee, wheatena cereal, soy milk, fresh blueberries, golden raisins, apple and pear slices.  280 calories.

Lunch: The rest of the kidney bean curry and brussels sprouts.  I ate in the car.  285 calories.

Snacks: Just Tomatoes dried tomatoes, dark chocolate.  Lemon sorbet with my "little sister" when we went mini golfing.  239 calories.

Dinner: spaghetti and tomato sauce, iceberg salad (no dressing), bruschetta (french bread toast with Italian seasoned fresh salsa).  466 calories.

Total calories, 1269.

---------------

The next five days will be devoted to moving.  I'm not sure whether it will be easier or harder to stick with vegan eating during the turmoil, but here at the end of day 30, I don't feel a strong urge to have a cheese pizza or a rack of ribs.

That may well happen in the coming week, but it won't be due to a backlash of craving these foods.

I'm really glad I did this vegan challenge.  I think it heightened my awareness that losing weight (my original goal) isn't going to happen just by cutting out meat.  That may make it easier, but there's plenty of ways to overeat calories on a vegan diet.  I need to tweak my calorie target to move toward that 120 a little faster.

I see the need for exercise to contribute to weight loss too.  Maybe now more so than when I was younger.  I want to establish an exercise habit this summer, including a weight training component.  You get strong bones by building strong muscles!  And I'd like to have both.

Over the next day or so, I want to create a new eating goal for myself to continue the good habits I've started.  The idea of limiting animal food servings to a certain number per week still appeals to me.  It gives me some flexibility for special occasions, and the choice to have everyday foods that contain a minimal amount of the "bad stuff," like a pasta sauce that contains a small amount of parmesan, or a bread that had eggs in the recipe, or a soup that was flavored with chicken broth.  All while eating "mostly" vegan.

I think two servings a week of animal foods seems like a good place to start.

My greatest diet difficulty is the tendency to indulge in too many junk foods, including my beloved chocolate. A few chips here, some crackers there, even sugar in my daily coffee or tea, it adds up.  A true challenge for me would be to eliminate white flour and added sugars.  Yes, even white flour bread.  Even chocolate.  If I could have two servings a week of animal foods, maybe I could achieve the no-flour, no-sugar diet for a few weeks.  Maybe.

Well, maybe I could if I were not surrounded by other people's junk food.  When I'm tired, stressed, or just feeling lazy about cooking, it's much too easy to grab that bag of pretzels or that cookie sitting out on the counter!

-------

It's too late to fast for a blood draw for Wednesday, so I will plan to fast tomorrow night and recheck my lipid profile on Thursday.  That's motivation to eat vegan on Day 31, hah!  I am hoping to see some changes in the proper direction!

Final thoughts to come .....

Mark: Day 30

Yay! It's over!

Breakfast - bagel with peanut butter.

Lunch - leftover Lebanese Lentils and a green salad with balsamic vinaigrette.

Dinner - a curry vegetable and tofu stir fry with tofu served over rice. Some beer.




I used this bag of vegetables, which I nicknamed "Vegan Fast Food" for the veges, plus a few other things from the fridge.

Snacks - bread with jelly.

I'm cutting off here because I am going to fast the rest of the night in preparation for a lipid/glucose panel tomorrow. While I didn't do one right before this diet, I did have one relatively recently. It'll be interesting to see where I stand.

I'll write some parting thoughts tomorrow.

Day Summary:

Calories consumed: 1579
Calories burned:        200 - this is a guess because the day isn't over yet, but I know I'm not going to burn much more.
Weight:                      165.0

Nutrients:

Protein:         53g
Carbs:          225g
Fat:                27g

Mark: Day 29

I overate a bit on day 29.

I had some bread and the leftovers from the Indian Garbanzo beans dish for breakfast.

We had our welcome luncheon for this year's students at Stonewerks, a gourmet pizza joint. I had a salad and a vegan-friendly pizza. The pizza was quite good. Nice thick sauce, roasted mushrooms, roasted tomatoes.

Dinner was stuffed peppers - stuffed with quinoa, diced tomatoes, onions, and zucchini.





And of course some beer and wine.

And, unfortunately, some fruit snack things. I didn't see any animal byproducts listed on the ingredients, but who knows what's actually in those things.

Day summary:

Calories consumed: 2,147 (very rough estimate given dining out)
Calories burned:         200  - my fitbit ran out of juice, so this is another very rough estimate.
Weight:                       163.5

Nutrients:

Protein:          42g
Carbs:           238g
Fat:                 26g

Lee V-Day 29...almost done...but, I think I want to keep going...

This Vegan thing, or some derivative of it...Sea-Vegan\Sea-Vegetarian, Vegetarian and One (1 day of normal meat), I think I need\want to continue. I sense that it is good and healthy for me and I am losing excess weight on a favorable trend (a little more than a pound per week). The nutritional count data that I have from the Loseit! app indicates that my calorie intake has only dropped about 10% per day and I have essentially traded fat nutrients for carbohydrates while my protein level has remained basically constant albeit a slight drop; so, we shall see. I think that if I invest Wednesday for a ribeye steak, barbecue beef brisket, or a "Cheeseburger in Paradise", I will probably have a horrible belly ache!

Day 29 Box score

1,705 calories consumed and 0 calories earned from 5,412 steps

Breakfast:
Bagel
Coke Zero

Lunch:
Stonewerks Restaurant for Faculty\New Student introductions
Vegan Pizza
Diet Coke
Water

Dinner:
Subway Veggie Delight
Baked Potato
Water

Lee V-Day 28

...a good night of sleep, walking around downtown San Antonio, a movie (How to Train Your Dragon 2), and an evening of watching our Spurs earn the NBA Championship made for a great Daddy's Day with the kids. I blew my calorie target for the day by eating most of a bag of Cape Cod Kettle Chips during the game...but, the chips were so salty, crunch, & tasty!

Day 28 Box Score

2,811 calories consumed and 0 calories earned on 4,767 Fibit steps

No Breakfast
: (

Lunch (movie theater):
Fries
Large Soft Pretzel
Water

Dinner:
Uncle Ben's Wild Rice
Bake potato
Coke Zero

Snacks:
Unsalted peanuts
water
Coke Zero
Cape Cod Kettle Chips

Linda Day 29

Day 29 - I started the day with 3 cups of coffee. There was no time for anything else. Dinner was a salad with tomatoes, summer squash, ripe olives, Peppadew red cherry chili peppers, Walden Farms Chipotle Ranch dressing, garlic bread, apple slices & a glass of Merlot. There are only 28 hours standing between me and meat. I will most likely will be asleep before the 12 midnight hour but, bacon & egg in the AM sounds pretty darn good. Anticipation! Count me in on the carnivore diet. Ha!

Bon Appétit

Carrie: Day 29 - Gnocchi it to me!

First, let me start off by saying HOLY BLOATING, BATMAN! Seriously, be careful when you ease back in to animal products because today I was so bloated I felt like I was going to float away. Wow, did my body forget how to handle that stuff. If I could go back, I think I would go one product at a time - i.e. eggs one day, a little milk the next, and so on. It seems the combination of a few different items I had completely detoxed from was too much, particularly in combination with the above average amount of alcohol. Bad idea! Needless to say, I'm thinking about continuing eating vegan a few days longer since I feel like poo now.

That said, I did end up making gnocchi tonight. I like to make mine with extra lemon juice to give it some zing, but I'm lazy and don't like to knead the dough with my hands like you're supposed to - electric mixer, baby! - which is why I have to use extra flour to roll out the dough so it doesn't stick to the counter, and ultimately the cooked gnocchi ends up a tad sticky from that extra flour ending up in the boiling water. I don't really care, since it's just me eating it, I put sauce on top, and to me it tastes the same, but if you try it for the first time be careful not to use too much flour if you're not a fan of sticky food.

Gnocchi is actually really simple, although beware - it makes a huge mess! Or maybe that's just me… Hmmm. Anyways, there are very few ingredients - potatoes (I prefer red), lemon juice (or zest), salt, pepper, basil, and flour. Easy!

So I mixed up the dough (I prefer leaving the potato skins on, although others I know prefer to peel them before they are boiled)...

Rolled it out...

Cut it up...

…and after dropping in the boiling water (for those who haven't made it before, it's done when the gnocchi floats to the surface) VOILA! Gnocchi, covered in a simple tomato basil sauce.

This particular vegan recipe actually called for a cashew cream sauce, but that sounded really heavy so I decided on a light red sauce instead. It was delicious! I've actually only used this recipe once before, and I forgot how good it was. The recipe makes anywhere from 60-70 pieces, which is 6-7 servings for me. I'll have this for my lunch the rest of the week now!

I also threw together one of my fav recipes - a spicy vegetarian chili - so I can just turn on the crockpot when I leave for work tomorrow and have a wonderful smelling house AND tasty dinner when I get home. Easy day!

With all this food I'm cooking coming up to the last day, looks like I'll be keeping vegan until at least the weekend. But like I mentioned earlier, with the way I'm feeling today I don't think I'll mind in the slightest…

Until tomorrow…

xoxo

Carrie

Thoughts from the Philosopher Buffett

Only 1 Day to go and I've had this song from college in my head the whole time:

Cheeseburger in Paradise
Jimmy Buffett
From the album, Son of a Son of a Sailor
1978

Tried to amend my carnivorous habits.
Made it nearly seventy days,
Losin' weight without speed, eatin' sunflower seeds,
Drinkin' lots of carrot juice and soakin' up rays.

But at night I'd have these wonderful dreams
Some kind of sensuous treat.
Not zucchini, fettuccini, or bulgur wheat,
But a big warm bun and a huge hunk of meat!

Cheeseburger is paradise.
Heaven on earth with an onion slice.
Not too particular, not too precise.
I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise.

Heard about the old time sailor men,
They eat the same thing again and again;
Warm beer and bread they say could raise the dead.
Well, it reminds me of the menu at a Holiday Inn.

But times have changed for sailors these days.
When I'm in port I get what I need;
Not just Havanas or banana or daiquiris,
But that American creation on which I feed!

Cheeseburger is paradise medium rare with Muenster'd be nice
Not too particular, not too precise
I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise.

I like mine with lettuce and tomato
Heinz 57 and french fried potatoes
Big kosher pickle and a cold draught beer
Well, good god Almighty which way do I steer

For a cheeseburger in paradise
Makin' the best of every virtue and vice.
Worth every damn bit of sacrifice
To get a cheeseburger in paradise;
To be a cheeseburger in paradise.
I'm just a cheeseburger in paradise.

Linda Day 28

Day 28 - I started the day with my usual 3 cups of coffee.  Lunch was with our new students. There was a vegetarian option but not a vegan option so I made my own. The side salad which did not have cheese.  I chose balsamic vinaigrette for the salad dressing.  I also had the personal pizza with mushrooms, tomato, and marinara sauce.  Dinner was a salad with tomato, zucchini, mango, and dried jalapeños. Also there was toasted Baggett with olive oil & Balsamic Vinegar. At the end of the day, all was topped off with a glass of Merlot. Approximately 51 more hours of veganess.

Bon Appétit

Mark: Day 28

Day 28 was a pleasant day, but an odd eating day.

I started the day with coffee and garlic potatoes for breakfast. Yum!

For lunch I made my Indian Garbanzo beans again. I really like that recipe - definitely a keeper. Must be the 3rd time I've made it during this experiment.

Mid-afternoon I made some toast with the left over salted white bread and jelly. I also had some tomato and onion salad as a snack. A couple of beers while puttering around the house in the afternoon as well.

I baked a loaf of wheat bread, so I had a slice of warm bread with almond butter for dinner right before we ran out to see the new X-Men movie for my father's day treat.

I had some popcorn (no butter) at the movies, which was not really satisfying. Hopefully they don't cook the popcorn with some sort of beef byproduct (or butter) that they don't tell you about.

After the movie I was feeling pent up so I went for a 4.5 mile run.

After I came back from the run I was hungry so I had an ounce of peanuts and then more tomato and onion salad before bed.

Day summary:

Calories consumed: 2,089
Calories burned:         553
Weight:                    166.7 - a bounce back from the day before. Ah well. Probably dehydrated the day before.

Nutrients:

Protein:       55g
Carbs:       264g
Fat:             64g

Mark: Day 27

Might have had a little too much fun on Day 26, celebrating the end of a very long week. Family had been in town, we had our program's oral boards - let's just say a lot of stress came off on Friday night. But I might have paid for it a little bit on Saturday.

So breakfast was a big hunk of salted white bread I made on Friday night with the left-over calzone dough, and a lot of coffee.

I went out and mowed the lawn, then had a bowl of garlic potatoes for a sort of lunch, then went to the student barbeque where I could not indulge in the brisket, sausages, or burgers. Or the potato salad, macaroni salad, or cole slaw. They did have some fresh fruit, so I had some pineapple and mellow.

Not feeling sated, I made an early dinner of left over vegetable chili at around 4.

I made a late second dinner for Kandie and I that we had at about 9 - Lebanese lentils with onions and rice. Excellent recipe. Do check it out here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/lebanese-lentils-rice-and-caramelized-onions-mujadara-recipe.html

If you like Chicago chili, you will like this.

For snacks I had some toast with jelly, the last of my wasabi peas, some crystalized ginger, and a pickle.

Day summary:

calories consumed:  2,007
calories burned:          414
Weight:                    164.8

Nutrients:

Protein:       65g  - I think this might be the most I've been able to manage in any given day
Carbs:       364g
Fat:             36g

Carrie: Day 25,26,27,28 - Cheater Cheater Meat&Cheese Eater

Yep. Had to cheat while I was gone at the wedding. The meals I bought by myself were easy (toast and fruit for breakfast, a bean and rice burrito at a local taco shop), but at the rehearsal dinner and then the wedding there was literally not one single thing I could eat, even though they were both buffets. First of all, I was hungry (and drinking, so really needed something in my stomach), and second of all, I felt terrible that they had provided all this lovely food, and I just couldn't turn my nose up at all of it. So basically I took a 2-meal training time out. The rehearsal dinner was chinese food, so I had some soup (which I think had some kind of chicken? or maybe it was pork) and vegetable fried rice (egg). Then at the wedding, I had some mushroom tarts (which had some kind of cheese), salad (which also had some kind of cheese, thus why there were no vegan options), fish, and about 2 bites of cake (which probably had milk and cream and butter and… yep). Terrible options? No, but I did feel bad about cheating before the 30 days were up :(

I didn't have a bad reaction to the animal products after going cold turkey for the first 25 days, and I don't feel like I ate a ton, I just felt… More full. So full from the wedding food/booze from around 5:30 on Saturday that I wasn't hungry until noon the next day. And I NEVER skip meals… I get grumpy. And this was because of what - fish? salad? beer? It wasn't exactly an all-you-can-eat Brazilian steakhouse. The food also made me feel bloated. Well, the bloating was probably mostly because I'm lactose intolerant and I had cheese and regular cake. But the full thing, I can definitely see how it makes sense that you have to ease yourself back in to the animal products - seems like your body has to work harder to process the stuff you're no longer used to. Also interesting was that I had more heart symptoms yesterday, coming down from the wedding food, than I've had this entire time… Which again really makes me see that vegan food seems to just be gentler on the system. But it could also be because I had a few more beers than usual, and too much alcohol generally had the same effect.

So, sorry for cheating everyone - felt like I was in a no-win situation either way. The next 2 days will be interesting… I feel like I have to detox all over again because now I remember what it's like that have some "normal" food.

I didn't make gnocchi last week either - I didn't want to make the dough before leaving town for 2 nights. So hopefully will get around to making it tonight.

xoxo
Carrie

Debbie - Day 28: Father's Day

Special events and holidays can be troublesome or easy for the vegan eater.  I experienced both on Father's day.

Firstly, I weighed in at 128.  That's up from last time by a pound or so.  It occurred to me that 1300 calories might be a "maintenance" daily target for me, and perhaps it should be lowered.  I've also abandoned regular exercise lately, and I know that would have helped shave off a bit more.  Overall I'm happy with my weight despite the slow going on getting to 120.  I haven't actively tried to lose weight for ten years, and more than anything, it's curious to me how much I would have to change my eating and general lifestyle to meet this goal quickly.  I think I'll be fine with staying on a very slow course, maybe getting to 120 by the end of the summer.

Breakfast was fruit and coffee, I did not track calories.

Chris and I drove to Keene to visit my parents for Father's Day.  It was gorgeous out, my sister joined us, and my brother called in from Connecticut.  The meal was a traditional summertime lunch prepared by my mother, who is an expert cook.  All my favorites were there, including her famous baked beans and potato salad.  Ham was also served.  Dessert was another Mom specialty, angel food cake with strawberries and whipped cream.  She had made chocolate chip cookies too.

Of course, I could not have any of that!  I absolutely felt deprived and left out of such a scrumptious homemade feast with foods that brought me back to childhood and memories of many delightful celebrations.  Mom accommodated me by not making her creamy dressing for the cole slaw, substituting an oil-vinegar-mustard dressing, and by not buttering the corn or making grilled chicken, steaks, or burgers and hot dogs.  She did not put the cookies out with dessert.  I had non-traditional cole slaw, plain corn on the cob, sliced tomatoes, and iced coffee with almond milk and sugar.  While others enjoyed cake with whipped cream, I had an apple with sugared strawberries.  The veggies and apple were not filling.

The company was fine, but alas!  I coveted the sweet smelling pork-laden beans, mayonnaise spuds, and beautiful snowy egg-white-leavened cake!

After a quick stop at the rented house to exchange moving boxes and make some final determinations about furniture, we headed back to Bow and another round of Father's Day fun with the three teens.  (The 12 year old is an honorary teen now!)

We had a blast at mini golf, even though it was crowded.  The "boys" elected to have some fun at the expense of Chuckster's dignity while we waited between holes, but their antics appeared to amuse large numbers of people on the golf course, and who knows how many hundreds of highway passers-by.  (I'm certain the whole thing was the idea of the biggest boy in the family!)

Bodily functions remain funny throughout the lifespan.

Chris chose a Mexican restaurant in Concord for dinner.  This is a place we have been to before, and it has a wide array of vegan options.  As we listened to a baritone sax and string bass play Dave Brubeck's Take Five and other jazz standards, I enjoyed chips and two types of fresh salsa while the others had garlic nachos.  I ordered a taco with spicy seitan crumbles and a refried-bean burrito with sides of rice and black beans, all of which were accompanied by piles of lettuce, tomato, and pickled jalapeño.  It was fantastic, I couldn't eat it all.  We had planned to stop afterward for ice cream, at a place that has sorbet, but everyone was satisfied with dinner.  The ice cream stop was put off until next weekend.

Cards and gifts were opened at home, and among Chris's gifts were some specialty chocolate doughnuts, which were not at all appetizing to me.  I didn't even reach for a square of dark chocolate.

Undoubtedly, today was well over my calorie target.  But it was a wonderful day, as special days should be.

This week will be the last week of school, as well as the final week before moving.  Lots of changes! I'm motivated to make a fresh start with exercise once the move is completed, and to continue mindful eating after Tuesday.

Linda Day 27

A dear friend of ours treated us to lunch today at So Luna. I had great spinach enchiladas with Poblano pepper sauce, no cheese, and rice.  We also had a Margarita, So Luna has the best ones in town. Tonight I had a bowl of Ford Hook Lima beans with vegan butter and iced green tea. No pictures, I was to busy watching the Spurs kick Miami's Go Spurs Go!

Bon Appétit

Lee V-Day 27: W, BVic, & Daddy

Winding things down a bit here in San Antonio...my daughter, Ashley, is at her "taste of college" summer session in northern Texas and so Alexander Wilson ("W") and Brittany Victoria ("BVic") are spending Daddy Weekend being tourists again here in San Antonio.



 

 

Our tourist trek took us to one of the kids' all-time favorite restaurants, The Rainforest Cafe. I can happily report that a Vegan can eat well there (see picture below):

 

 

I believe that the pasta dish was called "Planet Earth Pasta"...a short bit of coordinating with the waiter quickly resolved the issue of standard Italian sausage and mozzarella cheese being substituted with spinach and mushrooms...add a side of fries (shared with kids) and steamed vegetables and Eureka!

 

Box Score for Day 27

 

1,931 calories consumed and 111 calories earned by 9,016 Fitbit steps

 

Breakfast:

McDonald's Drive-thru

2 Hash Browns

Coffee, Splenda

 

Lunch\Dinner:

Rainforest Cafe

Planet Earth Pasta with spinach and mushrooms

Steamed vegetables

half a portion of french fries

Water

 

Snacks:

Munchos Potato Chips

grapes

Coke Zero

 



Debbie - Day 27: birdwatching and a dinner mistake

Saturday was a gardening and outdoor day.  We did some birdwatching, morning and evening.  The song sparrow nest now has five eggs, and the Eastern phoebes have two or three fat chicks that barely fit in theirs, up under the deck eaves.  Great blue heron and bald eagles were sighted several times.  I drew yellow warblers, cardinals, and cedar waxwings close by playing their calls on my phone.  The iridescent-blue bank swallows put on an acrobatic show over the water and right above our heads as the sun sank.

sparrow eggs in the Iris patch

Breakfast was whole wheat toast and peanut butter, coffee with soy milk and sugar, and fresh fruit.  I didn't track calories for the day.

Lunch was on the fly, some leftover brown rice and veggies with ginger sauce, and more cubed watermelon.  I made apple cinnamon iced tea, sweetened.  I also had some potato chips "because they were there."  Someday I am going to live in an environment that doesn't contain junk food!

Snacks included some raw cashews, dark chocolate, cranberry trail mix, and fruit.

Dinner was lovely.  The kids were all out doing other things, so after a day of gardening and other work, we had an evening to ourselves.

I made a spicy lentil soup, garnished with dill, basil, rosemary, and cilantro from the garden, and a slice of lemon.  Chris made a salad with garden lettuce, purple cabbage, celery, and red and yellow peppers.  Finished with a side of water-sauteed zucchini and mushrooms with pepper and nutmeg, and a couple glasses of Pinot Grigio.  The flowers came from the garden and yard.

Chris pointed out to me after dinner that I had used chicken broth in the soup -- oops!  For some reason I thought that leftover broth in the fridge was veggie.

Considering the yard work, I wasn't concerned about calories today.  I forgot the morning weigh-in, so that will be tomorrow.

Happy Father's Day to the Dads here!  :)

Debbie: Day 25/26

Thursday was a rough day.  Meetings went over time, things got cancelled and rescheduled, and I stayed up half the night sorting and culling.  The boxes in my bedroom are getting more organized, but I fear this is the calm before the storm!

I didn't track calories on Thursday, but I did make Wheatena!  Breakfast was cereal and soy milk with maple syrup and a banana. Yum!

Lunch was catered during my meeting that went forever -- at least they fed us well! The vegan option was tomato soup, served with baguette.  It was a good day for soup -- in the low 60s and kind of damp and chilly.  There were cookies too, and sweetened iced tea.  Usually these catered meetings have salad, but for some reason there was no salad this time.

Snacks were tortilla chips, carrot sticks, blueberries, and dark chocolate.  I went a little heavy on the dark chocolate, which is probably why I stayed up so late!

Dinner was the last of the Indian food -- Chickpea tomato curry and rice, with a romaine salad, plain, and blueberries.

I'm sure Thursday was over calories.

--------

Friday: catch-up day.  I made up a couple of rescheduled therapy appointments, and continued to do the phone call and planning parts of the move.

Breakfast: Wheatena with maple syrup and soy milk.  I also made a blueberry banana smoothie with frozen banana, frozen blueberries, and soy milk.  363 calories.

Lunch: Red kidney bean curry and rice, and a large serving of steamed brussels sprouts (a cup and a half or so).  Brussels sprouts are among my favorite veggies.  223 filling calories.

Snacks: a nectarine, an apple, and half a package of the dried seaweed sheets. 180 calories.

Dinner:  Chris and the kids got Chinese takeout.  The smell of the deep fried crab rangoons, chicken fingers, teriyaki beef, and pork fried rice was both enticing and disgusting.  I ate upstairs in the bedroom so that I wouldn't be tempted to taste any of the other food.

My dinner was brown rice, mixed steamed vegetables with lots of mushrooms and tofu.  No sauce.  A couple of squares of the cranberry hazelnut dark chocolate.  266 calories.  It was tasty and filling, but I would have preferred to be social and eat with everyone else.  Oh well.

This is exactly the kind of thing that made me return to less-healthy, more typical eating before.  Once I get re-hooked on meats and high calorie foods, it's hard to abstain unless I don't eat at the same time or place as others.  Meals should be relaxing and pleasant, not a mental struggle.

Total calories, 1032.  Under my 1300 target, but it balanced yesterday, so all good.  The protein percentage was up today, about 11%.  Must have been the beans and tofu.

Linda Days 24-26

Day 24 - Busy days - Coffee x 3 in the am, an apple about 1000 and needed a quick dinner before an evening work session. Dinner turned out to be a burrito bowl from Chipotle, lime & cilantro rice, black beans, vegetables, lettuce, & guacamole.

Day 25- Another busy day, oral for our students the day started at 0730 and ended around 2030.  Coffee started the day as usual, and then an additional one once arriving at the hotel. To many fluids for the back to back schedule.  Lunch was a salad with vinaigrette, some olives and I think zucchini.  Later at the mixer I had a glass of wine some Jicama, a carrot, a couple of pita points and some humus. After arriving home I had some left over rice. Pretty skimpy day, but it doesn't bother me as long as I'm busy.

Day 26 - Finally a day to rest.  I started off the day with coffee and intrigued by Mark's jalapeño and peanut butter combo had a couple of toasted English Muffins with crunchy peanut butter and some candied jalapeños. This is not a combination I would have thought of I usually combine them with cream cheese so it was nice to do something with them besides tossing them in a salad.
Dinner - A veggie burger with tomato, veggie chipotle sauce, guacamole, and lettuce on a toasted bun & chips with iced tea.

4 more days!
Bon Appétit

Lee V-Day 26: A Day of Dialogue

What a great, long day! 52 of our students successfully completed a rigorous comprehensive oral examination administered by 45 healthcare executives and professors from Baylor University and the Army-Baylor MHA-MBA Program. After exams, Baylor University's Army-Baylor Network sponsored a wonderful reception for the incoming class of 2016 as well as the outgoing class of 2015 joined by faculty and alumni from the San Antonio area. Thank you BU Alumni Network!!!

Box Score for Day 26

1,845 calories consumed and 0 calories earned from 5,512 Fitbit steps

Breakfast:
Marriott hospitality lounge
Mixed Fruit and Walnuts
Coffee, Splenda

Lunch (sponsored by BU Alumni Network):
Marriott's CBLT Sandwich...less the C (Chicken) and B (Bacon), but with pickels!
half of my French fries
Water

Dinner
Marriott room service
Chips, Salsa, Guacamole
Vegan Pizza
Water
Diet Pepsi

Nutritional Breakout:
50g Fat (I think the guac did it) ...25%
315g Carbs ...................................69%
27g Protein ....................................6%

Lee V-Day 25: Going Downtown!

Great, busy, active day this Thursday, June 12 (Day 25)!

Alex and I worked out in the "home" hotel gym then he helped me pack-up for travel downtown to check-in the Marriott Rivercenter for the 2014 Army-Baylor Comprehensive Oral Examinations!

One tidbit from the room service staff at the downtown Marriott: my request for vegan-compliant food is hardly a rarity at this hotel. The waiter told me the staff receives requests every day for vegetarian and vegan modifications to the existing menu; additionally, a quick review of the standard room service menu indicates that Marriott has been paying attention as several standard menu items are clearly targeted to the dense-protein\fat avoiding guest: fruit selections, plain chips\salsa, deep fried peanut butter and banana sandwich, sea-salted edamame (soybeans).

Oh yes, how about those Spurs! After the game, even on the 26th floor, I could hear the car horn honking and (anticipatory, still 1 more to win) celebration in the streets...until the thunderstorm hit and sent folks to cover.

Box Score for Day 25

2,035 calories consumed and 288 calories earned from 10,149 steps

Breakfast:
Apple
Peanuts
Water

Lunch:
Marriott Room Service
Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwich
Chips and Salsa
Diet Sprite

Dinner:
Marriott Room Service
Vegan Pizza
Chips and Salsa
Water
Diet Sprite

Snack:
Bourbon and Diet Coke at reception

Lee V-Day 24

...last day before our annual Comprehensive Oral Examination operations...my little man, Alex, and I spent time at Randolph Air Force Base getting updated identification cards...kudos to the service and professionalism of the Air Force administrative services flight! Not much in the way of caloric consumption today, but the food that I did eat was great. Alex and I had brunch at Subway yielding the trusty "Veggie Delight", but I called on Macaroni Grill for dinner with the kids for the "create your own pasta" option supplemented with a side of steamed broccoli.

Day 24 Box Score:

1,321 calories consumed and 0 calories earned from 5,722 steps
Brunch:
Subway 12" Veggie Delight
Water

Dinner:
Macaroni Grill spaghetti pomodoro with spinach and mushrooms
steamed broccoli
1/3 of large dinner roll with olive oil
Water
Coke Zero

Mark: day 26

Day 26 was our annual oral boards. We hold the oral boards at a hotel downtown, so I had limited flexibility for food.

I brought a bagel and peanut butter with me in the car for breakfast, with my coffee.

Lunch was at the hotel restaurant. Our alumni association had paid for a prix fixe menu. The only thing I could eat was a salad with vinaigrette. Luckily I had packed a bag of wasabi peas.

So by the time I got home I was pretty hungry.

A colleague had suggested jalapeno and peanut butter sandwiches to Lee and I. I thought that sounded intriguing, except I decided to make it as a calzone!









I really liked the combination. Peanut butter was a good substitute for cheese in the calzone, and I think tempered the heat of the peppers a bit.

A little wine with dinner, a little beer before. A nice evening of cooking and cleaning up after, which helped me hit my 10,000 steps, despite the fact that I spent most of the day sitting.

Day summary:

calories consumed: 2,224
calories burned:         481 - 10,507 steps
weight:                   167.1

nutrients:

protein:              52g
carbs:              248g
fat:                    57g

I've been so busy this past week that I haven't done any formal exercise. It's all been cumulative walking around. The FitBit helps me know that I am at least moving, but I am not moving in a way I want to.

Mark: Day 25

It's getting redundant -

breakfast - oatmeal made with soy milk, blueberries mixed in. I did have a container of pre-sliced grapefruit. They tasted a bit odd - trying to decide whether to eat the other 5 packages in the box I bought. And of course coffee.

lunch - a good sized bowl of vegetarian chili.

afternoon snack - 2 oz of wasabi peas - they have 10g of protein! (5g per oz)

dinner - the rest of the leftover Indian chickpeas and rice. a bottle of beer.

We hung out and watched Forest Gump together. What a great movie. I had two more beers over the rest of the evening, and a couple of sour pickles.

Day summary:

calories consumed: 1810
calories burned:        253
weight:                    167.1 - not bad considering how much junk I ate over the weekend.

nutrients:

protein:      57g
carbs:       270g
fat:             25g

I'm pleased with the jump in protein. Thank you, Wasabi Peas!

Debbie - Day 23/24

Day 23: Tuesday

Breakfast was once again, running out the door.  I never got around to go shopping on Monday, and there was almost no fresh fruit in the rented Keene house -- which is looking gradually more like a construction zone.  But not enough!  Moving day is looming, and I keep putting off the big jobs in favor of getting actual paid work done.  Hmph.

I had a cup of coffee with vanilla soy milk, and a sad little Granny Smith apple.  The bottom of the fruit barrel, so to speak!  119 calories.

Lunch was another Tiger Tiger meal, vegan Vegetable Korma and rice, with steamed broccoli.  479 calories.

Snacks: blueberries, freeze dried fruit, pumpkin cranberry tortilla chips (so yummy!), some tic-tacs, and I tried a new snack item called Freeland Flax Snax Spicy crackers.  Quite tasty, I won't have trouble adding these to a salad or snacking on them plain.

Dinner: The rest of the Tadka Dal and rice from yesterday.  Unsweetened iced tea.  360 calories for dinner, and I was not hungry for anything else.

Chris and the kids returned from shopping and I lost my appetite even more to see all the sodas, baked goods, candy, cookie mixes, sweetened cereals, butter, ice cream, other processed foods, and meats.  There were fruits and veggies too -- thanks Chris!

Total calories, 1210.  I did manage to look at my protein breakdown, but now I've forgotten it.  It wasn't terribly high, something like 8%.


Day 24: Wednesday

Breakfast: I am missing my hot cereal.  I really should cook some up tonight so that I can have some tomorrow morning.  I grabbed a serving of the tortilla chips with lemon hummus, and had a large handful of fresh cherries.  No coffee today -- unsweetened tea.  242 calories.

Lunch: carrot sticks, a banana (uneaten from breakfast), and the leftover veggie korma, rice, and broccoli.  A substantial lunch!  600 calories.

Snacks: blueberries, a red pear, and some dried tomatoes (Just Tomatoes).  203 calories.

Dinner: I was working on moving tasks and after that lunch, I didn't need much more.  I had some baked beans and a square of dark chocolate, with iced tea.  212 calories.

Total calories, 1305.  Protein 8%.

Mark: Day 24

Six days left.

Like Carrie I miss eggs. And milk - though mostly to cook with, not drink.

Breakfast today was oatmeal again, with half a chopped banana mixed in, and made with soy milk. Also a mini bagel.

Lunch was black beans mixed with a fried banana and a little oil.

I made a nice vege chili for dinner, and served it with rice and a sour pickle.

For snacks I had two ounces of wasabi peas at two different times.

I'm a fan of the peas for two reasons - 1) they're spicy and I like spice, and 2) they have 5g of protein per ounce. So I packed in an extra 10g of protein by snacking on peas. I'm thinking I should have incorporated those earlier on.

Even with snacking on peas, and having beans twice today, I was still fairly low on protein.

Day Summary:

Calories consumed: 1,232
Calories burned:         280
Weight:                    I'll get a reading tomorrow. I'm sure I gained over the last few days.

Nutrients:

Protein:   45g
Carbs:   200g
Fat:         23g

Unintentionally low on calories today. I didn't mean to be that low. But not a bad turn of events given how much I've been stuffing my face last few days.

Carrie: Day 22,23,24

Thank goodness I cooked those 2 recipes and the pie over the weekend - I've been so busy at work that I haven't had time to make anything this week. So basically the last 3 days have consisted of the exact same things:

Breakfast: Grape Nuts w/ soy milk (Silk Light Regular is my fav) and a glass of OJ

Snack: Banana

Lunch: Tomato&Avocado filling in a wheat pita, and either an apple or some baked potato chips

Dinner: a piece of the Kale&Mushroom Wellington, followed by a piece of the fruit pie :)

Very satisfying, but I can officially say I'm bored!! Time for another recipe… Tomorrow I'm planning on trying gnocchi with a red sauce, but I have to get over to the grocery store to pick up potatoes and fresh basil. Also I'd better come up with a backup plan, because gnocchi can be really, really amazing… or really, really terrible if it goes wrong! I'll give it my best shot…

Since being back home I've definitely found it easier to stick to vegan… Yes, there are many, many temptations and delicious smelling food everywhere, but I think since I've been able to cook (and it's just for me!) I have so many leftovers that my laziness kicks in and it's easy to just stick to the food I already have prepared. Luckily, I already enjoyed cooking and I'm not awful at it, so being able to try new recipes keeps things interesting. That's not to say I'm not going to celebrate with a giant piece of meat at the end of all this - just saying I'm very glad to be back in my kitchen with my recipe books!! 

Honestly though, there are 2 things I miss the most - milk chocolate and EGGS! I didn't eat a ton of milk chocolate before, but it's nice to have the option to eat peanut M&Ms at the movies or a chocolate chip cookie every now and then… And I make a mean chocolate chip cookie!! And eggs… Ahhhhh eggs. Scrambled, hard boiled, for cooking and baking… I need eggs!! Ok, new plan -  I'll skip celebrating with meat and go for some homemade noodles (I use an egg in my dough, it's just not the same with a substitute) followed by some chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven… YUM. I can taste it already!!

Hopefully will have some good things to report on the gnocchi tomorrow...

xoxo

Carrie

Lee V-Days 22 & 23; Busy, Busy

In the home stretch of both our Vegan Challenge and the academic year! Busy days Monday and Tuesday with final student presentations of strategic management analyses while we plan and prepare for Comprehensive Oral Examinations on Friday...and Spurs-Heat Game 3...Spurs were "en fuego" the first half.

Day 22 Box Score

1,538 calories Consumed, 297 calories earned from 11,045 Fitbit steps

Breakfast:
Bagel
Coffee, Splenda

Lunch:
Cape Code Waffle Cut chips
Water
Coke Zero

Dinner:
Uncle Ben's Brown Rice, 2 cups
1 Baked Potato
Water

Snacks:
Peanuts, Unsalted
Life Cereal, 1.5 cups

Day 23 Box Score

1,938 calories consumed, 0 calories earned from 5,052 Fitbit steps

Breakfast:
Bagel
Coffee, Splenda

Lunch:
Edamame (soy nuts)
Water
Sprite Zero

Dinner:
Vegan Pizza (no cheese, mushrooms, spinach, mushrooms, green olives, onions)
Plain Pasta with red sauce

 Snacks:
Peanuts

Nutrient Stats:
Carbohydrates: 72% & 64%
Protein: 10% & 17%
Fat: 18%  19%

Linda Day 23

Day 23 - The day started with coffee (3 cups) and another @ noon to take to the faculty meeting.  I had an apple about 1000, a nice crisp Granny Smith.  Dinner was whole wheat spaghetti with marinara sauce, vegan mozzarella, spices, bread, & seasoned olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  Wine and sliced pears made the whole meal complete.

One week to go, I think I may make it.

Bon Appétit

Mark: Day 23

Festivities at the house are starting to wind down. We had some of our guests leave on Day 22, so Day 23 was a little slower.

Breakfast was oatmeal made with soy milk, and blueberries mixed in, as well as some bread and coffee for 292 calories.

I took my folks out to Palmetto State Park in Gonzales, Texas, to explore some of the local flora. Beautiful park with well maintained walking trails - definitely recommend it if you are in the San Antonio area and like to be outside.

Taking a little break on the trail.

Since we headed out late morning, and we were coming back mid-afternoon, I stopped at Buc-ee's to pick up lunch. This was my lunch - a bag of peanuts and a bag of dried mangoes with chili powder. I'd seen the mangoes with chili many times, but had never bought them. I thought they would make a nice addition to my lunch. They were really interesting and tasty. Some coffee to round it out.

I've been chowing down on chips this week. We haven't had chips in the house in months, and with the party and guests, that seems like all I've been eating. So I had a bunch in the afternoon before dinner when we got back.

For dinner, we got everyone else pizza. I had left over vegetable curry and garbanzo beans and rice. Then we sat out by the pool in the evening and drank some beer.

Day Summary:

Calories consumed: 2,173
Calories burned:         566  (lots of walking)
Weight:                     still haven't weighed in - a little afraid of what I'm going to see.

Nutrients:

Protein:    48g
Carbs:    223g
Fat:          22g