Week 2 Going Plant-Based May 7-13

Week 2 and I feel amazing. I have more energy and feel amazingly satisfied. I don't have cravings to overeat nor do I crave any cravings for meat or other animal based foods that I used to eat. (That said, I can see myself missing some seafoods in the long run but right now, I don't have such cravings.) While it may be too early to tell, I can see this change as being permanent and sustainable - something, I would never have been able to say before when I was 'dieting'.

It may also be too early to say that I love trying out all of these new recipes! It's been a wonderful change of pace for all of us at home to be spending so much time with each other in the kitchen. I've managed to save a ton of money this week too by not eating out for lunch or dinner!

Monday 5/7 
Hmm, the total calorie count seems too low, which is weird because I felt satisfied all day. In the evening after dinner, I resisted the urge for something sweet, which is funny because I was STUFFED.  Obviously, this didn't stop my brain from wanting some sorbet :)


Breakfast: Oatmeal with flaxseeds (150 cals), 2 cups of coffee and lots of water
AM Snack: Banana (105 cals)
Lunch: 1/4c blackberries (36 cals); 1 green bell pepper (33) & 1/4c of hummus (100 cals)
PM Snack:
Dinner: Spicy Mushroom Stir-Fry (97 cals), 1 cup of brown rice (218 cals) and 1 tbsp of furikame over my rice (30 cals)

Tuesday 5/8  
I was feeling a bit hungry in the afternoon and satiated myself with the almond snack - almonds almost always seem to do the trick!


Pre-Run: 1c coffee (with a bit of soy milk and half teaspoon of raw sugar - supposedly vegan)
Breakfast: Oatmeal (150 cals) + 1c of strawberries (53 cals)
AM Snack: Banana (105 cals), 1c coffee
Lunch: Berry Smoothie - 3/4c frozen mixed berries, 2 scoops of peatein, 1 banana, 2tbsp of soyyogurt (360 cals)
PM Snack: Apple, 1/4c almonds
Dinner: Lentil-Mushroom Burger (200 cals - it was a bigger burger :) with romaine and tomatoes (~50 cals) on whole grain toast (180 cals)

Wednesday 5/9
My energy levels are amazing. I used to feel so tired and sluggish all the time and for the past couple of days I've been feeling light on my feet, energized and really satisfied. Today, I cheated a bit with an Adzuki Bar (an amazing brownie alternative) but don't feel guilty at all :)

Breakfast: Oatmeal with flax seed (150 cals), coffee and a peach
AM Snack:
Lunch: Lentil-Mushroom Burger (188 cals) with romaine, ketchup and tomatoes (~50 cals) on whole grain toast (180 cals)
PM Snack: 3/4c soy milk (75 cals)
Dinner: Ginger-Miso Quinoa Stir-Fry (357 cals), Adzuki Bar (188 cals)

Ginger-Miso Quinoa Stir-Fry from Everyday Happy Herbivore. I really like this recipe (this night, however, I didn't have any red bell peppers left so the dish missed the bright red highlights!) And Sasa snacking on his bone :)

Thursday 5/10

Breakfast: Oatmeal with flax seed (150 cals) + 1c strawberries (49 cals) + 1/4c blueberries (24 cals)

Lunch: Huge kale, lemon and avocado salad (364) + Lentil mushroom burger (188 cals) on 1 whole grain toast (90 cals)

PM Snack:

Dinner: Eggplant Sinigang (Anna's favorite Filipino dish) with brown rice

Anna passed out for a nap before our eggplant sinigang dinner.

Friday 5/11

Major blip missing dinner! What I should have included below was 2 cups of unbuttered movie theatre popcorn. Yikes. Lesson here for me is that I tend to be a bit inflexible when my schedule shifts a bit. I need to build a tolerance for some schedule changes to ensure that I get my required calories. I didn't feel hungry at the end of the day so I didn't eat. Bad move!

Breakfast: Oatmeal with flax seed + 1/4c of blueberries, coffee

AM Snack: Peach

Lunch (super late): Soba noodles and kale, avocado and lemon salad

PM Snack: 1c of trail mix

Dinner:

Saturday 5/12

Lots-o-calories. I was starving. Before my long run, I couldn't scarf down more than my usual breakfast serving but since I missed dinner yesterday, I just didn't have enough fuel to get me through my long run comfortably.

Pre-Run: Oatmeal with flax seed + 1 banana

Post-Run: Mango smoothie with 1/4c of frozen berries and peatein

Lunch: (Isobune): 9 pieces of vegetarian nigiri pieces, 1 mushroom and seaweed hand roll and edamame + sorbert bar

PM Snack: 1/4c almonds, pb + toast

Dinner: Ginger-Miso Stir Fry over Quinoa (Broccoli and red bell pepper)

Evening Snack: Mixed nuts

[3-4 16oz bottles of water]

Sunday 5/13

Breakfast: French Toast

AM Snack: Peach

Lunch: 1/2 Hummus Kale + Tomato Pita

PM Snack: 1 bite size red velvet cupcake (MEGA cheat), banana, 1/4c cashews

Dinner: Veggie Lasagna + Kale Salad + 1 8oz beer

Not a great shot - it tastes MUCH BETTER than this picture looks :)