Day 7 Volume II

I was just starting to get into the swing of tracking and journaling my foods meticulously, then WHAM it’s the last day! Yesterday as I was drafting day 6 I thought, maybe I should continue for a few more days?? So I asked you, the readers, via Facebook and Instagram in an effort to engage those who may have been silently following along. (Don’t worry, I do it too… 🙂 But if you are a blogger, you know it’s a dream to have engaged followers, not just get hits on your blog. To receive comments from actual people, and getting to know some in the process; that’s what it’s really about for me. What is life without connections, friendships and community? You want to know you are connecting with people and not just getting lost out in cyberspace. Right? Anyway, I received enough responses for my satisfaction, and I’m going to continue journaling my plant-based eating for a few more days!

I’m going to make an extra effort to share useful tips and tricks for sustaining a plant-based diet. If you have any questions, don’t be shy! I’d love to hear from you. 🙂

Now, today wasn’t a very well planned day. It was my last day in the office (I work from home 2 days a week, in the office 3) so I was running low on my work food supplies! Day 8 will be more exciting food for SURE, since I’ll be working from home! (Remember that yummy apple creation from Day 6? I do!!)

Sorry for the gross photo below… this was my quick smoothie thrown together in 5 minutes as I rushed out the door this morning: fresh spinach, fresh blueberries, maca powder, frozen cherries, frozen pineapple and water.  (132 calories, 32 carbs, 0 fat, 5 g protein)

Once in the office I needed more to eat, since the smoothie was so small!! Welcome the ever comforting Envirokids Organic Crispy Rice Bar 🙂 (120 calories, 18 carbs, 5 g fat, 2 g protein) These are so good with my morning coffee and almond milk!

This is a tasty little salad from Trader Joe’s. The dressing isn’t vegan – it has dairy in it – so I just toss it and use my own. Today I added balsamic glaze and some fresh lemon juice! (240 calories, 22 carbs, 14 g fat, 6 g protein)

Snack! (220 calories, 23 carbs, 12 g fat, 7 g protein) There are literally only 3 ingredients in this particular flavor – dates, cashews and peanuts. 

I was in the mood for some tea with fresh lemon and an apple sounded good too! I try to incorporate fresh lemon juice into my diet regularly because it is so good for you! It is an immunity booster and supports healthy digestion. It also has a high alkalinity when digested, so it helps to balance the body’s pH levels by reducing acidity. Too much acid in the body causes illness and disease, and who wants that? (55 calories, 15 carbs, 0 fat, 0 protein)

We had to meet our local egg provider (last minute) after work, at a location not very close to home. Combine some rush hour traffic, and a hungry Zucchini Runner = crabby. Thankfully we met him right in front of Roadrunner, a running store chain. I went in and purchased a sports bra I’ve wanted to buy since June and also bought a CLIF Mojo bar. I needed to fuel my workout that was yet to come! (190 calories, 20 carbs, 9 g fat, 9 g protein)After I completed the P90X Back and Biceps + Ab Ripper X, I went onto make myself a veggie packed dinner! TOO MANY BARS TODAY. BUT this dinner is an ideal dinner for me! Vegan and gluten/grain free! I combined onion, brussels sprouts, sugar snap peas, zucchini, black beans, a tomato, salt, pepper, dill and a little grapeseed oil and sautéed it all in a pan. I topped it with raw sunflower seeds for some crunch! (555 calories, 78 carbs, 21 g fat, 26 g protein)

An invaluable addition to our kitchen, has been these two simple bottles purchased from Bed, Bath and Beyond. One is filled with grapeseed oil and the other is just tap water. We always use a small amount of oil when cooking, usually 1-2 teaspoons and then we add water if we need to speed up cooking and get some steam going in the skillet. It is also useful to prevent veggies from sticking to the pan!

This is the problem with not eating enough during the day… I still feel hungry no matter how much I eat!! So, I ate a date. (66 calories, 18 carbs, 0 fat, 0 protein)

Then I forced myself to drink tea, before I ate anything else. Sometimes, I’m eating, just because I’ve had an unsatisfying day of food… you know, like eating 3 snacks in bar form. :- I highly recommend this tea, very flavorful and great for when you want to pretend it’s Christmas and NOT 100° F outside. 😀But, as I’m typing this up… I’m still hungry… and I’m not about starving myself or depriving myself. I got a good workout in tonight with heavy weights and really pushed harder than I have ever before! For those of you that know P90X, I went for the 8-10 reps at a heavier weight versus the 12-15 at a lighter weight – it was ROUGH!!

After proclaiming out loud, “I’m still hungry!” Mr. Zucchini Runner agreed that he was too! Magical. We decided on stovetop popped popcorn. 🙂 (101 calories, 12 carbs, 5 g fat, 2 g protein)The grand totals for today were:

Calories: 1,679

Carbs: 238

Fat: 66 g

Protein: 57 g

Sugar: 104 g (sugar culprits today? bars and that darn date! haha Have I mentioned I grew up in a bakery? Sugar is in my blood. I can’t IMAGINE cutting out more than I already have!! I also can’t imagine how MUCH I USED to consume! O_O)