Prize Pineapple & Parsley Green Thickie

The first winner of the Team ASPCA raffle is Brandy B!  Brandy, I’ve e-mailed you for prize selection.

There are still plenty of prizes available, and you are still welcome to donate to The ASPCA to earn raffle entries!  If you’ve already donated, remember you can share the raffle link for an extra entry.  The next drawing will be Tuesday, September 18th!

I stumbled across the website Green Thickies the other day, and was particularly intrigued by the Prize Pineapple & Parsley Smoothie.  I’ve used parsley in fresh juices before, but never a smoothie!  Katherine pretty much guarantees that her thickies will last you through lunch, so this morning I gave it a shot.

I already have a green smoothie-for-breakfast habit, so making this wasn’t much of a change.  I made half of the recipe as written.  The only differences from my normal smoothies was that I used less almond milk and added 1/2 cup of rolled oats instead of protein powder.  It ended up being the same number of PointsPlus as normal, 4, so that was convenient.  I loved the flavor!  You couldn’t tell that there was parsley involved, it was more like a vibrant, fresh flavor.  The recipe is called a smoothie, which I guess isn’t as thick as a thickie, but it was much more thick than my normal smoothies.  Sadly, it didn’t hold me over until lunch, but I did wait to have my morning snack until about a half hour later than normal, and had less food than normal, so that was good.  I think I might try making smoothies with a combination of protein powder and oats to see if I can come up with a combo that lasts for hours.

I’ve got more parsley in the fridge, and am looking forward to another pineapple-parsley smoothie on Monday!

Advertisement

Weight Update

My posts have been pretty running-centric lately, which makes sense since I feel like running has been taking up all my free time!  I haven’t really talked about my weight loss (or lack thereof) or cooking lately, so I figure I owe an update.

My Weigh In Log has been updated.

Here’s the past 24 weeks.  Kind of looks like a roller coaster, yes?  I’ve had some great weeks and significant losses, and some not-so-great weeks that resulted in gains.  I’ve kind of been bouncing around between 148 and 152 for a long while now.  I could make excuses and say that I’ve been busy (I have) and that other things have gotten in my way, but the truth is that I’ve become a bit lazy with my eating.  I’ve fallen prey to my nemeses, salty snacks and red wine, way too often lately and it shows.  Having lost about 25 pounds since I started Weight Watchers, I feel pretty happy about where I am and am kind of enjoying being this size for now.  The bouncing about has been a bit frustrating, but it does accurately reflect my efforts, and these past few weeks I’ve been waiting to kind of naturally come back to re-commitment and full effort, eating-wise.  You can see that I had a good result last week, a 3.6 pound lost to put me at 148 pounds, but I have a feeling I’m going to gain a bit this week, so the struggle continues.

Training for my next half marathon (which I’ll post about really soon) is still taking up a lot of my after work hours, so meals have been of the fast-cooking or no-cooking variety.

Corn tortilla quesadillas with red onion, zucchini, squash and Daiya Pepperjack shreds, cabbage and carrot slaw with hemp oil and lime juice.

Potato, black eyed pea & squash soup with corn broth and fresh dill.  My original plan was to just include fresh corn in the soup, then I thought I might be able to puree the corn and give the soup a creamy “chowder” feel without adding any milk-type product.  Worked like a charm!  I didn’t even have to add any water to the corn in the Vitamix, it pureed beautifully on its own.

Blackened seitan salad with Cusabi Dressing.  I adapted a cusabi recipe I found online, using reduced-fat Vegenaise and plain soy yogurt, and sadly, it wasn’t great.  Either my wasabi is old, or I just didn’t get the proportions right.  Luckily, the blackened seitan was fantastic.  I used the blackened seasoning mix from Appetite for Reduction, and just roasted the seitan with a bit of spray oil until it was hot and a little crunchy on the edges.

Clean-out-the-fridge tofu scramble with leftover grilled potatoes.  The tofu included shallot, mushrooms, tomato, broccoli, shredded carrot, and alfalfa sprouts.

Potato and black bean skillet with vegan ground beef, squash, greens, and cheesy green chile sauce.  I seasoned the dish with cumin, dried cilantro, and oregano, and it was actually creamier than it looks.  At the end I added a sauce made from thinned vegan cream cheese and green chiles, which made it really tasty.

Dave and I made a giant pot of minestrone one Sunday evening when he wanted soup.  It had carrot, celery, zucchini, white beans, kidney beans, green peas, kale, and quinoa pasta shells.  We based it off of this recipe and added fun stuff like fresh basil and red pepper flakes.

Kale salad two ways!  First, with creamy hemp-red bell pepper dressing (which was really delicious on its own), shredded carrot and red cabbage, and black lentils…canned lentils, the ultimate busy person’s shortcut.  Second, with tahini dressing, shredded carrot and red cabbage, edamame and sesame seeds.  I love shredded red cabbage in kale salad so much, I don’t think I’ll ever make it without!

Southwestern Black Bean and Corn Chowder from Vegan on the Cheap, with avocado, lime, Way Better sprouted blue corn chips (which I love), and steamed broccoli.

So soups, salads, scrambles and skillets have been the way lately.  It’s a big bonus whenever I can throw everything in one pot or pan!

I’ve decided to stop posting my entire daily menu for every single day because it was taking up way too much time, but I’ll definitely still be posting food and a daily menu here and there.  Hopefully I’ve posted enough already that someone looking to find out what kind of vegan food you can eat on WW can get some good ideas!

Half Marathon Training Week 12

I finished my first half marathon!  I’ll write a full race report soon, but for now I wanted to do a quick post about the last week of training, since it seems weird to just skip over it.

What was supposed to happen
Monday – 45 minutes elliptical
Tuesday – 2 miles
Wednesday – 3 miles
Thursday – rest
Friday – 1-2 miles
Saturday – rest

What really happened
Monday – rest
Tuesday – 2 miles
Wednesday – rest
Thursday – 3 miles
Friday – rest
Saturday – rest

So yeah, the week didn’t go as planned exercise-wise.  I think it had a lot to do with lady hormones.  Monday I was starving and exhausted when we got home from work, and not in a way that could be fixed with a snack or quick nap, or even both.  I made dinner right away and even had a bowl of cereal before bed too, and that was after already having an extra snack that day.  Stupid hormones!  At least I made good food choices.

Tuesday I planned ahead and took extra healthy snacks to work, and felt well enough to knock out two miles on the treadmill.  Wednesday, the hunger and tiredness monster struck again, and rather than go for the scheduled run, I picked up sushi and stayed in.  I wasn’t happy that my week was becoming discombobulated, but sometimes you just have to listen to your body, and this was definitely one of those times.

By Thursday I was feeling back to normal, and got three miles in, which was good for my confidence.  I meant to take it particularly easy but ended with an 11:26 average pace, which is pretty good for me.  I guess I was excited to be out there!

I also tried to hone in on my eating, hydrating and rest that week.  I upped my carb intake a little early on, without upping my caloric intake much.  As luck would have it, all three of my coworkers were sick at some point, so I made sure to avoid contact and washed my hands a lot, and drank a few Emergen-C’s just in case.  I read up a little on how to properly carbo-load, and the impression I got was that it was more important to up your carb intake the few days before racing, rather than having one giant carb-tastic meal the night before.  So, Thursday and Friday I had one and a half servings of overnight oats with berries for breakfast, which had more carbs than my usual breakfast smoothie, and Saturday morning I made the largest green smoothie known to mankind.  It took up two and a half pint glasses, and I enjoyed the whole thing!

I took carbo-loading as an excuse to eat pasta, which I don’t have too often, even though it was whole wheat pasta.

This is the Fusilli Roasted Vegetable Primavera from Appetite for Reduction.  It was really delicious and super easy to make.  I added chickpeas and some mushrooms that were laying around the fridge, which I would now consider necessary if I made it again.  I would also consider the optional fresh basil and red pepper flakes (my addition) non-optional.  I also had veggie pasta for dinner the night before and night after the race, so yay pasta!

Race recap to come very soon, and then I have an exciting announcement about my next big endeavor!

Weigh In Wednesday & Workout Plan

I successfully completed the 10K on Saturday!  I’ll do a full race report very soon.

Totals for 2/15/12 – 2/21/12

Daily points used:  194/196
Weekly points used:  62/49
Activity points earned:  37
Activity points used:  37
Points left on the table:  -11

I weighed in this morning at 155.2, down .9 pounds from last week.  It’s my lowest weight since starting Weight Watchers!  I’m really happy that I’ve re-focused my efforts and busted past the up-and-down wackiness that’s been plaguing me since the holidays.

I had what might be called a binge on Saturday, but it was somewhat planned.  After the 10K I had plans to attend a going-away lunch at Souley Vegan, then to a bar in San Francisco to celebrate a friend’s birthday, and then on to his house to continue the celebration with a mini beerfest.  To prepare, I used as few weekly points as possible through Friday, and saved up my activity points.  On Saturday, not only did I drink a bunch of “real” beer (I usually only drink light), I also had TWO desserts.  I rarely ever have any dessert, much less two in one day.  The first, peach cobbler, was on a whim after lunch, and I was pretty sure I had room for it within my points.  The second was on even more of a whim when we passed by a gelato shop in the city which had TWELVE KINDS of vegan gelato.  It would be wrong not to try some, right?  So…I tried three kinds…and they were fantastic.  Even with all the beer and sugar, I lost this week, which proves that one “bad” day won’t necessarily ruin a good week.

Speaking of good, my dinner tonight was really good – a healthy take on a taco salad.

I’m kind of weird, and I like to use both ranch and salsa as dressing on my taco salads; I toss the lettuce and veggies with the ranch so that it’s evenly distributed, then put the salsa on top so you get salsa in some bites and not in others.  Call me crazy, but I think it’s really good.  For the quicky lowfat ranch dressing, I combined 1 Tbs Reduced Fat Vegenaise, 2 Tbs plain soy yogurt, a splash of lemon juice, pinches of salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar and parsley, and a generous amount of dried dill.  It doesn’t taste exactly like ranch, of course, but it’s a great simulation, and the creamy dressing is only one PointsPlus.  For a crispy topping, I cut two small corn tortillas into strips, sprayed them with oil and sprinkled on a bit of salt, then baked at 400F for 10 minutes.

Workout plan for this week:

Wednesday – 45 minutes elliptical
Thursday – 30 minute walk during lunch
Friday – yoga
Saturday – run 3 miles
Sunday – rest
Monday – Turbo Kick class
Tuesday – BodyPump class

Saturday, 2/18/12

breakfast – sprouted grains English muffin w/ 1 Tbs almond butter w/ roasted flaxseeds, coffee w/ soy milk
post-run snack – 1/2 oz pretzels, half a banana, 2 orange wedges
lunch – “toasty burger” (wheat bun w/ southern fried tofu, bbq tofu, vegan mayo, lettuce, tomato & pickles), mustard greens, mac ‘n cheese, 16 oz beer, peach cobbler
afternoon – 22 oz beer, medium gelato
evening – veggie chili, 28 oz beer, 4 oz pretzels

exercise – ran 10K (76 minutes)

daily points used:  28
weekly points used:  29
activity points earned:  14
activity points used:  29

Sunday, 2/19/12

breakfast – sesame seed sprouted wheat bagel w/ 2 Tbs better than cream cheese
lunch – Kung Pao tofu & steamed broccoli over brown rice
PM snack – 2 apples
dinner – Kung Pao tofu & steamed broccoli over brown rice, 16 oz red wine

daily points used:  28
activity points used:  8
non-existent points used:  13

Monday, 2/20/12

breakfast – Poached Tofu over Glass Noodles, green curry roasted broccoli & carrots
lunch – peanut butter & strawberry jam sandwich on Ezekiel sesame bread, banana
dinner – 2 breaded vegan fish fillets w/ 1 Tbs ketchup, brown rice pilaf (shallot, shredded carrots, fennel, parsley & spinach)
after dinner snack – orange

exercise – 2 hours 25 minutes hiking

daily points used:  28
activity points earned:  10

Tuesday, 2/21/12

breakfast – smoothie (banana, frozen strawberries, kiwi, hemp protein powder, 2 Tbs oats, almond milk)
AM snack – apple, pear, coffee w/ hazelnut soy creamer
lunch – salad (butter lettuce, bell pepper, 3/4 cup pinto beans, 1/4 cup corn, green onion, cilantro, lowfat ranch, salsa)
PM snack – 3/4 oz almonds, 1 Tbs raisins
PM snack 2 – 1/2 serving everything crackers
dinner – Spicy Green Tomatillo & Avocado Smoothie, Jicama Slaw, Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Cornbread

exercise – one hour Afro-Belly Boogie class

daily points used:  27
activity points earned:  4

recipes from The Dairy-Free & Gluten-Free Kitchen

Wednesday, 2/22/12

breakfast – smoothie (banana, frozen raspberries, sprouted chia powder, 1 Tbs cocoa powder, hemp protein powder, Amazing Garss chocolate superfood, wheatgrass powder)
AM snack – apple, pear, coffee w/ hazelnut soy creamer
lunch – Spicy Green Tomatillo & Avocado Smoothie, Jicama Slaw, Gluten-Free Sweet Potato Cornbread
PM snack – one serving everything crackers
dinner – salad (butter lettuce, bell pepper, 3/4 cup pinto beans, 1/4 cup corn, green onion, pickled jalapeno, lowfat ranch, salsa, corn tortilla strips)

exercise – 45 minutes elliptical

daily points used:  27
activity points earned:  4

Tuesday Totals

For a quick catch up, I weighed in last Wednesday at 156.8, down 1.5 pounds from the week before.  I’ve been in this little waffling pattern for the past five weeks where I gain a little then lose a little and back and forth, so I kind of hope I can break through soon.  I wouldn’t call it a plateau because honestly I haven’t been doing as well as I could.  I need to lay the smack down on my points use to see progress!  I did stay within my points allowance this week (for the first time in a long while), but I’m not feeling super hopeful about the scale tomorrow morning based on my weight the past few days.

Wednesday, 1/25/12

breakfast – oat bran with pumpkin and 2 tsp maple syrup
AM snack – apple, coffee with vanilla soy creamer
lunch – grilled Daiya cheddar sandwich on sesame Ezekiel bread, salad (lettuce, tomato, bacon flavored chips, 2 Tbs goddess dressing)
PM snack – strawberries, mini mocha chip muffin
dinner – Thai Roasted Root Vegetable Curry over brown rice, 6 oz red wine

No exercise this day or Thursday, as I stayed home from work not feeling well.

daily points used:  29
weekly points used:  4

Thursday, 1/26/12

breakfast – smoothie (banana, almond milk, 1 Tbs almond butter, 2 Tbs oats, wheatgrass powder, chia seed powder, Amazing Grass chocolate superfood, 1 Tbs cocoa powder)
AM snack – tangerine, strawberries, green tea
lunch – grilled Daiya cheddar sandwich on sesame Ezekiel bread, miso soup with dulse, mini mocha chip muffin
PM snack – cucumber and bell pepper slices with 2 oz hummus
dinner – tofu and broccoli in black bean sauce over 1 cup steamed rice

daily points used:  29
weekly points used:  3

Friday, 1/27/12

breakfast – one slice sesame Ezekiel toast with 1 Tbs almond butter and sliced banana
AM snack – apple, coffee with vanilla soy creamer
lunch – tofu and broccoli in black bean sauce over 1 cup steamed rice
PM snack – cucumber and bell pepper slices with 2 oz hummus
dinner – butternut squash & sprouts with pears & pomegranate, grilled horseradish tempeh, millet, 14 oz red wine

exercise – 30 minutes walking

daily points used:  29
weekly points used:  17
activity points earned:  2

squash/brussels/pear recipe from Clean Start

Saturday, 1/28/12

breakfast – buckwheat pancakes with 1 Tbs maple syrup, coffee with hazelnut coconut creamer
lunch – butternut squash & sprouts with pears & pomegranate, grilled horseradish tempeh, millet
post workout snack – chia pudding (almond milk, banana, maca powder)
dinner – salad (lettuce, shredded carrot, sliced veggie dog, 2 tsp bacon flavored chips, 2 Tbs goddess dressing), 1 cup roasted sweet potato
after dinner – 1 oz balsamic sweet onion potato chips, 12 oz light beer, 16 oz red wine, bag of simply salted microwave popcorn

exercise – ran 2.5 miles (30 minutes), walked 10 minutes

daily points used:  29
weekly points used:  25
activity points earned:  6
activity points used:  5

Buckwheat Pancakes for One recipe here.  This whole plate was only 8 points!  The batter was more thick this time than the first time I made them – next time I’ll add a little more liquid.

Sunday, 1/29/12

breakfast – smoothie (banana, kiwi, strawberries, 1 Tbs ground flax, almond milk, hemp protein powder), coffee with hazelnut coconut creamer
brunch at a friend’s house – blueberry “bacon” waffle with 1 tsp maple syrup, tempeh sausage on phyllo, individual hash browns with ketchup, 12 oz mimosa
dinner – 1o tortilla chips with salsa, burrito (rice, beans, lettuce, salsa, hot sauce, guacamole)

daily points used:  29
activity points used:  13

Monday, 1/30/12

breakfast – lemon larabar
AM snack – apple, coffee with vanilla coconut creamer
lunch – butternut squash & sprouts with pears & pomegranate, grilled horseradish tempeh, millet
PM snack – banana, 1 oz almonds
dinner – white beans with kale and savoy cabbage over whole wheat rotini

exercise – Bridge to 10K W5D1 (run 44 minutes, walk 11 minutes)

daily points used:  28
activity points earned:  9

White Beans with Kale and Savoy Cabbage – recipe here

Tuesday, 1/31/12

breakfast – one slice sesame Ezekiel toast with 1 Tbs almond butter and 1 Tbs strawberry spread
AM snack – apple, coffee with vanilla coconut creamer
lunch – white beans with kale and savoy cabbage over whole wheat rotini
PM snack – 8 walnuts, 2 prunes
dinner – butternut squash & sprouts with pears & pomegranate, grilled horseradish tempeh, millet
after dinner snack – bran flakes in warmed almond milk with stevia and Amazing Grass chocolate superfood

exercise – 45 minutes elliptical

daily points used:  29
activity points used:  2

Totals for 1/25/12 – 1/31/12

Daily points used:  202/203
Weekly points used:  49/49
Activity points earned:  20
Activity points used:  20
Points left on the table:  1

Weigh In and Another Weekend

I weighed in last Wednesday at 158.3, up 1.2 pounds from the week before.  I had gone over my points allowance, so the gain wasn’t a surprise.  I wish I could say that I’ve done better this week, but overall I haven’t done that great…blah.  I feel like the weekend really derailed me.  The Niners were in the NFC championship game, so we had a few friends over, made a bunch of food and drank a bunch of beer.  I didn’t do too terribly food-wise, other than having some kettle chips, but the beer killed me.  I was definitely using it to manage the nerves I was feeling during the game.  Sadly, the Niners lost and their season is over, and while I’m bummed about that, I’m very excited to get my Sundays back for a while after the Superbowl.

Wednesday, 1/18/12

breakfast – two slices rye toast with 1 oz melted Gouda Style Sheese
AM snack – apple, pear, coffee with vanilla soy creamer
lunch – Amy’s breakfast tofu scramble meal, banana
PM snack – 3/4 oz smoked almonds
pre-run snack – two prunes
dinner – sesame-tangerine soy curls with bok choy and bean sprouts, brown rice

exercise – Bridge to 10K W4D2 (run 54 minutes, walk 12 minutes)

daily points used:  29
weekly points used:  1
activity points earned:  11

coconut oil, shallot, carrot, bok choy, bean sprouts, soy curls, tangerine juice, soy sauce, arrowroot, tangerine, sesame oil & sesame seeds

Thursday, 1/19/12

breakfast – one slice rye toast with 2 Tbs We Can’t Sat It’s Cheese Hickory Cheddar spread
AM snack – pear, coffee with vanilla soy creamer
lunch – sesame-tangerine soy curls with bok choy and bean sprouts, brown rice, banana
PM snack – bell pepper and cucumber slices with 2 oz hummus
dinner – Moroccan-Inspired Lentil Soup over grits, pumpkin oatmeal cookie, 10 oz red wine

exercise – 30 minutes walking

daily points used:  29
weekly points used:  15
activity points earned:  2

Moroccan-Inspired Lentil Soup from Vegan On The Cheap

Friday, 1/20/12

breakfast – one slice rye toast with 1 Tbs each almond butter and strawberry spread
AM snack – apple, coffee with vanilla soy creamer
lunch – Moroccan-Inspired Lentil Soup over grits
PM snack – bell pepper and cucumber slices with 2 oz hummus
dinner – 6 tortilla chips with salsa, burrito (rice, refried beans, lettuce, tomato, guacamole), 16 oz red wine

daily points used:  29
weekly points used:  25

Saturday, 1/21/12

breakfast – Moroccan-Inspired Lentil Soup, orange, coffee with vanilla soy creamer
lunch – sesame-tangerine soy curls with bok choy and bean sprouts, brown rice
PM snack – chia pudding (banana blended with 1 cup almond milk and 1 tsp maca powder, 2 Tbs chia seeds, vanilla)
dinner – two slices thin crust pizza with spinach, olives, mushrooms, pineapple and Daiya mozzarella
after dinner – 12 oz MGD 64, 24 oz light beer, 2 oz tortilla strips with salsa

exercise – Bridge to 10K W4D3 (run 54 minutes, walk 12 minutes)

daily points used:  29
weekly points used:  8
activity points earned:  11
activity points used:  9

banana-chia pudding - looks gross, tastes wonderful and refreshing

Sunday, 1/22/12

breakfast – two slices sprouted wheat toast with 1 Tbs almond butter and sliced banana, coffee with vanilla soy creamer
lunch/rest of the day – six taco cups (tortilla, refried beans, soyrizo, taco sauce, Daiya cheddar, shredded lettuce, tomato), 2 oz sea salt kettle chips, roasted beets, 3 mini mocha chip muffins, 24 oz MGD 64, 36 oz light beer, 20 oz regular beer

daily points used:  29
activity points used:  19
non-existent points used:  20

taco cups

Monday, 1/23/12

breakfast – Moroccan-Inspired Lentil Soup, Orange Emergen-C
AM snack – mocha chip muffin, coffee with vanilla soy creamer
lunch – burrito (refried beans, soyrizo, taco sauce, Daiya cheddar, shredded lettuce, tomatoes), banana
PM snack – apple
dinner – Thai Roasted Root Vegetable Curry

exercise – 50 minutes elliptical

daily points used:  29
non-existent points used:  1
activity points earned:  4

Thai Roasted Root Vegetable Curry from Appetite for Reduction

Weigh In Wednesday

Totals for 1/4/12 – 1/10/12

Daily points used:  210/203
Weekly points used:  49/49
Activity points earned:  34
Activity points used:  34
Points left on the table:  -7

I weighed in this morning at 157.1, down 1.6 pounds from last week.  However, I’m still up 1.5 pounds from where I was three weeks ago, so I’m still working off the holiday gain.  I feel like I’m getting back on track though, going only seven points over my allowance last week.  It certainly helped that I earned 34 activity points.  I think that’s the most I’ve earned in a week so far!

I worked late tonight and ate an entire bag of popcorn as my afternoon snack, so I wasn’t very hungry for dinner when I got home.  I wanted to have some sustenance though, so I threw together this tasty slaw.

The base of this salad was a few cups of shredded red cabbage, a shredded carrot, sliced green onion and a chopped dill pickle.  The dressing was one Tablespoon of reduced-fat Vegenaise, a splash of white vinegar, a drop of liquid stevia, and pinches of salt, pepper, dried dill and celery seed.  To top it off I added two teaspoons each of bacon-flavored chips and sunflower seeds.  This big bowl of crunchy tastiness was only two points!  I was satisfied…but then I ate a serving of peanut butter filled pretzels.  They’re too good.  A friend left a big container of them at our house, and someone really needs to take them away.

Friday, 1/6/12

breakfast – smoothie (banana, frozen strawberries, spinach, almond milk, hemp protein powder, ground flax)
AM snack – apple, coffee with vanilla soy creamer
lunch – Trader Joe’s Eggplant Wrap with Spicy Tahini Sauce, carrot sticks
PM snack 1 – Chocolate Chip Z Bar
PM snack 2 – unsweetened applesauce, 1/2 oz smoked almonds
dinner – potatoes and a sliced jumbo veggie dog topped with nutritional yeast sauce, ketchup, green onion and bacon-flavored chips
after dinner – 10 oz wine, 1 1/2 servings peanut butter filled pretzels (told you I can’t stop eating them)

daily points used:  29
weekly points used:  12

Saturday, 1/7/12

breakfast – grits with 1 tsp Earth Balance and nutritional yeast
AM snack – apple, coffee with vanilla soy creamer
lunch – 8 tortilla chips with salsa, burrito (rice, beans, lettuce, tomato, salsa)
PM snack – banana, 2 large whole wheat sesame crackers
dinner – smoky broccoli cheese soup, salad with shredded carrot, Caesar Chavez Dressing and tofu croutons, 24 oz light beer
after dinner – 12 oz red wine, 1 1/2 servings peanut butter filled pretzels (seriously, somebody get these out of my house)

daily points used:  29
weekly points used:  19
activity points used:  17

Sunday, 1/8/12

breakfast – one slice rye toast with 2 Tbs We Can’t Say It’s Cheese Hickory Cheddar spread
AM snacks – banana, 1/2 oz salt and pepper kettle chips, coffee with vanilla soy creamer
lunch – vegetable fried rice, sauteed Chinese greens, salt and pepper fried tofu, 24 oz light beer
dinner – smoky broccoli cheese soup, salad with shredded carrot, Caesar Chavez Dressing and tofu croutons, 8 oz red wine

exercise – Bridge to 10K W3D1 (run 51 minutes, walk 12 minutes)

daily points used:  29
activity points earned:  10
activity points used:  17
non-existent points used:  1

Monday, 1/9/12

breakfast – smoothie (banana, orange, kiwi, frozen strawberries, almond milk, hemp protein powder, ground flax)
AM snack – apple, coffee with vanilla soy creamer
lunch – vegetable fried rice, sauteed Chinese greens, salt and pepper fried tofu
PM snack – apple
dinner – large salad with shredded carrot, Caesar Chavez Dressing and tofu crouton, one serving peanut butter filled pretzels

exercise – 30 minutes walking

daily points used:  29
activity points earned:  2
non-existent points used:  6

Tuesday, 1/10/12

breakfast – oat bran with pumpkin, 2 tsp maple syrup, cinnamon and nutmeg
AM snack – apple, lemon lift tea
lunch – half a hummus wrap with lettuce and olives, 1 1/2 cups creole vegetable soup
PM snack 1 – banana
PM snack 2 – unsweetened applesauce, 1 oz smoked almonds
dinner – kidney bean curry (Trader Joe’s Curry Simmer Sauce, shallots, carrots, turnip), spiced millet

exercise – Bridge to 10K W3D2 (run 51 minutes, walk 12 minutes)

daily points used:  29
exercise points earned:  10

Wednesday, 1/11/12

breakfast – chocolate overnight oats (banana, chia seeds, almond milk, Amazing Grass Chocolate Superfood, cacao nibs)
AM snack – 2 tangerines, coffee with almond milk
lunch – kidney bean curry, spiced millet
PM snack – bag of salted microwave popcorn
dinner – slaw (cabbage, carrot, green onion, pickle, bacon-flavored chips, sunflower seeds), 1 serving peanut butter filled pretzels

exercise – 50 minutes walking

daily points used:  29
weekly points used:  5
exercise points earned:  3

Pumpkin Pudding & Tuesday Totals

I teased you in my last post with this picture of pumpkin pudding…

This is my new favorite winter time treat, and it’s ZERO points!  Well, technically, if you enter it as a recipe it is three points.  But if you enter the ingredients separately and save it as a meal, it’s zero.  So, it’s up to you how to count it – I count it as zero :)  It’s super easy to make and only takes a few minutes.  It’s not very sweet, which is fine by me, but you could always add more stevia or maple syrup if you want it to be sweeter.

Warm Pumpkin Pudding

3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 tsp arrowroot powder
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp blackstrap molasses
2 drops stevia
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
dash ground nutmeg
pinch of salt

Whisk all ingredients together in a small pot until completely smooth.  Bring to a boil, whisking often.   Turn heat down and simmer for a few minutes, whisking constantly, until thickened and smooth.  Eat warm.  Makes one serving.

I wanted to do really well with my points this week because it’s the week between Thanksgiving and a little vacation we’re leaving for this weekend.  Normally I wouldn’t call a week in which I eat two burritos doing well, but I stayed within my points!  It was not easy.  After Sunday I was ten points in the red, so I made it my mission to exercise enough to get back in the green.  I don’t feel like I’ll lose a whole lot when I weigh in tomorrow morning, but I do think I’ll lose.

Totals for 11/23/11 – 11/19/11

Daily points used:  202/203
Weekly points used:  49/49
Activity points earned:  21
Activity points used:  19
Points left on the table:  3

Now, to get caught up on my daily menus.

Thursday, 12/1/11

breakfast – Sunday Supper Frittata, one slice 21 whole grains bread
AM snack – apple, coffee with hazelnut soy creamer
lunch – potato soup with watercress, salad with beets, blue Sheese and red wine vinaigrette, two clementines
PM snack – 3/4 oz smoked almonds
dinner – 8 tortilla chips, burrito (rice, beans, lettuce, pico de gallo, lettuce), 4 oz red wine

exercise – 30 minutes walking

daily points used:  29
weekly points used:  11
activity points earned:  2

Friday, 12/2/11

breakfast – Sunday Supper Frittata, one slice 21 whole grains bread
AM snack – apple, coffee with hazelnut soy creamer
lunch – potato soup with watercress, salad with beets, blue Sheese and red wine vinaigrette, two clementines
PM snack – 1/2 oz smoked almonds
dinner at Whole Foods – 1 cup brown rice, lettuce, shredded carrots, shredded cabbage, 1/4 cup edamame, 4 oz baked tofu, sesame kale
after dinner – 12 oz beer, 48 oz light beer, medium french fries with ketchup

exercise – 30 minutes walking

daily points used:  29
weekly points used:  29
exercise points earned:  2

Saturday, 12/3/11

(slept in and skipped breakfast)
lunch – smoothie (banana, kiwi, frozen mango, 2 Tbs hemp protein powder, 2 Tbs chia seed powder, 2 Tbs rolled oats), 1 Tbs Liquid Sunshine vitamin D supplement, coffee with soy milk
dinner – burrito (rice, beans, lettuce, salsa, guacamole), 8 oz red wine

daily points used:  29
weekly points used:  2

Sunday, 12/4/11

pre-run snack – one date
breakfast – one slice 21 whole grains toast with 1 Tbs cinnamon raisin swirl peanut butter and pumpkin mixed with 1 tsp molasses, coffee with soy creamer
AM snack – banana
lunch – lotus salad with spicy dressing (cabbage, carrot chopped peanuts, tofu “ham”, faux shrimp crackers), basil eggplant and tofu over brown rice, 24 oz light beer
dinner – 6 pc cucumber roll, 6 pc veggie roll, 10 oz red wine

exercise – ran 2 miles (24 minutes), walked 10 minutes

daily points used:  29
weekly points used:  7
activity points earned:  5
activity points used:  14

Monday, 12/5/11

breakfast – oat bran with banana, cinnamon and 2 tsp maple syrup
AM snack – apple, coffee with hazelnut soy creamer
lunch – Kashi Mayan Harveset frozen entree
PM snack – 6 oz strawberry soy yogurt
dinner – Goddess Nicoise Salad (from Appetite for Reduction), one slice 21 whole grains bread
after dinner – sugar cookie tea brewed in one cup warm almond milk

exercise – 30 minutes walking, 35 minutes yoga

daily points used:  29
activity points earned:  4

Tuesday, 12/6/11

breakfast – peanut butter pretzel Clif Mojo bar
AM snack – apple, coffee with hazelnut soy creamer
lunch – Goddess Nicoise Salad, one slice 21 whole grains bread
PM snack – 3/4 oz smoked almonds, two clementines
pre-run snack – half a banana
dinner – tempeh pot au feu (from Vegan on the Cheap), whole wheat pita
after dinner – other half of the banana, sugar plum tea

exercise – Bridge to 10K (henceforth known as B210K) week 1 day 1 (40 minutes running, 13 minutes walking)

daily points used:  28
activity points earned:  8

VeganMoFo: Almonds

It’s the last day of VeganMoFo!  It’s been fun to try to be extremely informative all month, but tomorrow I’m going back to just my musings and experiences with food and exercise, and maybe even some recipes.

Let’s talk nuts.  All nuts are great in moderation, but I want to focus particularly on almonds both because I love them, and because they’re really good for you.

image source: http://thenourishingcook.com

Almonds are the fruit seeds of sweet almond trees, and they’re closely related to peaches.  They contain more calcium than any other nut, and are also a good source of iron, riboflavin and vitamin E.  A quarter cup of almonds provides almost 12% of the daily value of calcium for women, and 9% for iron.  They also have the highest dietary fiber content of all the nuts and seeds.  Sadly, most almonds sold as raw aren’t really raw, as they have been pasteurized.  It can be hard to find truly raw almonds, but as compared to roasted or otherwise processed nuts, I prefer the “raw” almonds, as they’re more of a blank canvas.  You can always toast or roast them at home if you want.

The easiest way to eat almonds is just as they are!  If I want a piece of fruit for a snack but feel it’s not going to be filling enough, I’ll have six almonds too for just one points plus.  You can mix almonds with other nuts and dried fruit (or chocolate chips) for a healthy homemade trail mix.  And of course, there’s almond butter.  Because almond butter is more calorie dense, it should be used sparingly if you’re watching your intake.  I usually limit myself to one serving of nuts a day, but of course today I had two – a Tablespoon of almond butter in my morning smoothie, and a handful of trek mix for my afternoon snack.

Source:  The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition

Monday, 10/31/11

breakfast – smoothie (banana, 1 Tbs almond butter, 2 Tbs hemp protein powder, Amazing Grass Chocolate Superfood, unsweetened almond milk)
AM snack – apple, pear, coffee with vanilla soy creamer
lunch – salad (lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, wheat berries, edamame, chickpeas, corn, baked tofu, sesame dressing)
PM snack – 1/4 cup trek mix
dinner – green curry stew with sweet potatoes, swiss chard and white beans

exercise – ran 2 miles (24:30 min), walked 10 minutes

daily points used:  29
activity points earned:  6

VeganMoFo: Legumes

Legumes are edible seeds that grow in pods, and they are by far the best plant source of protein.  Legumes include such interesting foods such as peanuts, carob and mesquite, but I’m going to focus on those most-loved legumes, beans.

image source: http://www.fatburningfurnace.com

Beans are full of complex carbohydrates, B vitamins, zinc, potassium, magnesium, calcium and iron.  They are relatively low in calories, cholesterol-free, almost fat-free and high in dietary fiber.  A cup of cooked legumes supplies about 25 percent of the RDA of iron for women, although it is nonheme iron which does not absorb as well as heme iron.  You can improve the absorption of nonheme iron by eating its sources with foods rich in vitamin C, such as red bell peppers, broccoli, oranges or kale.

Beans are one of my favorite protein sources and I try to eat them multiple times each week.  On average, legumes contain about 22 percent protein by dry weight.  Soybeans are the only legume which are a complete protein; other beans need to be combined with grains or nuts to cover all of the essential amino acids.  Research has shown that this combining doesn’t need to be within the same meal, so as long as you’re eating a balanced diet including multiple types of foods, you’ll be covered.

You probably know that you can buy beans in dried form or cooked.  If you’re going to buy canned beans, choose organic and try to find cans without BPA, such as Eden Organic.  If you’ve never cooked beans from dried, give it a try – it’s not hard at all!  There are a million theories out there about how to cook dried beans and what will make them tender or reduce flatulence, but really, don’t let that put you off.  Just soak your dried beans overnight, drain them, then bring to a boil in plenty of water, reduce to a simmer, and cook until they feel done.  That’s it.  To test the beans, just take one out of the pot and take a bite.  You want them to be soft enough to bite through easily but not falling apart.  Then once you’ve got that down you can test adding salt at the beginning versus at the end, or adding a strip of kombu.  Keep in mind that beans will expand a lot during soaking and cooking, so start with less volume of dried beans than you want to end up with.  If you cook too much, they’ll keep in the fridge for a few days, or you can freeze them in a little of the cooking liquid.

Beans are super adaptable, so I’m just going to tell you about a few of my favorite ways to eat them.

Black beans pair wonderfully with Latin American flavors.  They’re an obvious choice for tacos or soups, and black bean-sweet potato enchiladas are a fantastic pairing.  Dried black beans do really well when cooked with flavorings in the liquid, as in this Smoky Chipotle Beans recipe by Rick Bayless.  They make a great burger patty as well – there’s a good recipe in Veganomicon (posted online here).

Black eyed peas are a southern favorite, which can also sometimes be found frozen.  I love black eyed peas with a big pile of greens, as in this Hoppin’ John from Vegetarian Times.  They are also great in salads like this Texas Caviar.

Chickpeas!  What can’t chickpeas do?  They’re the key ingredients in hummus (although you can make hummus from other beans), they are the base of falafels (make baked falafel if you’re worried about the fat), and so much more.  You can try the every-wonderful chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon, roast them to top salads, or try a chickpea “tuna” salad.

To me, kidney beans equal chili.  I love the larger size and flavor of kidney beans.  Use them alone or with pinto beans, or get crazy and make a three or four bean chili.  I’ve made lots of variations on this recipe with great success.

In the same way kidney beans equal chili, lima beans equal succotash.  If you think you don’t like lima beans, give them another try cooked with some corn, tomatoes and okra if you’re feeling adventurous.  Here’s a tasty looking recipe…add a dash of liquid smoke!

Pinto beans are my absolute favorite in Mexican food.  I won’t eat a burrito without them!  You can buy canned fat-free vegetarian refried beans, but it’s also easy to make your own – I described my method in this post.

White beans, including cannelini, navy and Great Northern, aren’t my favorite, so I don’t have too many tips on what to do with them!  White beans do make a very tasty dip with some olive oil and maybe fresh basil.  They’re good for a white chili, too.  To be perfectly honest, my favorite white beans are the gigante beans at the Whole Foods salad bar.

Lentils and split peas are also legumes, but they’re a whole ‘nother store for another day.  What is your favorite way to enjoy beans?

Sunday, 10/30/11

breakfast – 2 flax plus waffles with 2 tsp blueberry agave nectar, orange Emergen-C
AM snack – banana
lunch – 1 1/2 cups cooked whole wheat spaghetti with mushroom pasta sauce
PM snack – 1 cup warm vegetable broth with miso and dulse flakes
dinner – burrito (rice, beans, lettuce, guacamole, onions, salsa), 12 oz red wine

daily points used:  29
weekly points used:  3
activity points used:  3
non-existent points used:  6