Debbie - Day 2: Sorry, calorie goal, I'm full!

Note from yesterday -- I never did have any more for dinner.  I got home too late and wasn't particularly hungry.  Total calories yesterday was a bit low at 1,188 -- which is not *that* far off my target of 1,300.

Others posted about their "last meals" on Sunday.  Mine was a vegan dinner prepared by my awesome boyfriend, Chris.  Why not get into the mindset early, right?  Carrots and celery with spinach-artichoke hummus, cantaloupe and banana cubes, steamed new potatoes, asparagus with balsamic glaze, corn on the cob, a salad of mixed baby greens, and a glass of wine.  In fact my whole Sunday was vegan, except for a square of Lindt dark chocolate.  Not 100% sure about that one.

I have a split life.  Half the week, I live in a rented house in Keene (NH), and work like mad.  The other half, I live with Chris and his three kids (Kenzie, 16, Chandler, 15, and Sam, 12), in Bow, NH.  My days in Bow are less work-heavy, but there's a larger second shift as I help out with cooking, shopping, kid-transportation, and the kind of household work that three teens create.

Over the course of this challenge, I will be cleaning out my rented house in preparation for moving in with Chris completely -- yay!  After 16 months of the split life, this will be a most welcome move.  But it will be a huge undertaking, especially while maintaining full time work that includes a great deal of travel.  There's never a good time to pile on another commitment, but what the hey!

I'm glad this challenge started on a Monday.  From Monday night to Thursday afternoon, I am on my own and can cook and eat without encountering off-limits foods at home.  Starting with Thursday dinner, I'm around four non-vegans and their chips, cookies, ice cream, and meat-centered meals.  Chris is well aware of my 30-day vegan deal and is supportive, and the kids do try to eat healthy (well, okay, maybe not the 12 year old).  But family time will definitely be the challenging part. I do love cooking for the young'uns.

Today's food: Amounts are approximate, I don't measure.  I am tracking my calories using the Livestrong MyPlate app.

The plan was to have hot cereal for breakfast and some homemade vegan lentil soup out of the freezer for lunch.  However, the soup smelled so good when I heated it to go in the thermos that I ended up having it on my morning commute, and the cereal became lunch.  Oh well.  Here's how my packed breakfast and lunch looked at the start of the day.

  

Breakfast: Tea, 1 cup lentil soup, 1 large banana.  309 calories.  I packed two cups of soup, but my appetite dropped off after finishing half of it.

Lunch: ½ cup cooked Wheatena cereal, ½ cup soy milk, 2 T. diced prunes, a small dollop of maple syrup; ½ head of romaine lettuce, half a pear, 1 cup freeze dried pineapple.  (dear god, that stuff is delicious!  I didn't mean to eat so much!) 446 calories.

Snack: celery sticks and peanut butter -- about 10 sticks and 2 T. PB.  The last of the freeze dried corn and another handful of that tasty pineapple.  110 calories.

Dinner: Again, I was not hungry at the end of the day.  I had prepared potatoes, corn, and sliced apple as a start on dinner but never ate it.  Instead, I called Walgreens and scheduled a blood lipid panel for tomorrow morning, which necessitated a fast for this evening anyway.

It made for a seriously low-calorie day (865), especially considering that I fit in a 30-minute walk, but I think I'll be making up for it tomorrow.