Plan vs Reality

Me - On a Daily Basis (especially since I mostly shower in the evening after I teach at the gym and then sleep on semi-wet hair...there's no telling what it will look like when I wake up and I generally have a Don't Ask Don't Tell relationship with my hair...I don't ask it to behave and I don't tell it what to do!).
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I plan my weekly menu, prepare everything on the weekend and have it all ready to go before I go to bed on Sunday night.  My meals are balanced and structured to provide the calories, protein, fat and carbs that I need without going overboard.  However, that doesn't always mean all goes according to plan!

This past week was crazy at work and my eating plan resembled my hair plan. I don't think I got to eat my lunch at lunch time any day and 3 days I didn't get to eat my lunch until I got home from work!  Wednesday I didn't get to eat my breakfast until lunch time (although that was partly because a coworker kidnapped it and then held it hostage (He didn't mean to do this but thought it funny when he found out and went so far as to take a picture of my breakfast and send it to me...I may or may not have locked up his lunch in my desk as retaliation.  I have an inner hungry person and her name is Tyranny...she is not a nice person!).  I posted my WIAW on Tuesday evening because I KNEW what I was going to eat. It did not go that way!



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Yesterday, after getting home once again without having had my lunch I slapped some PB on toast because I had to take the dog to an acupuncture appt. and didn't have time for anything more.  I leashed her up, opened the hatchback of the car, put down my water bottle and keys, stuck the sandwich in my mouth and picked her up to put her in the car.  I set her down and she promptly grabbed the sandwich out of my mouth.  I guess she thought I had brought her a snack. 


So this was my week.  I felt like one of those pinterest fails I've seen (I don't have (do...what is the correct verb?) pinterest but I've seen the funny pictures of attempts that fell far short of expectation). I will now plan my menu for next week and write up my shopping list, put chickpeas to soak and try to clear my mind of the stress of the week.

How did your week go?  Did you stick to your plan? What do you do when your best-laid plans get hit by a bus or snatched out of you face by your dog?

What I Ate Wednesday - Vegan String Cheese

Last WIAW I talked about my search for a vegan goat cheese.  I'm still searching. I've tried a couple things out there but

1. they weren't that good and
2. they were very expensive (and I was buying local, organic, fancy goat cheese which was not cheap).

So I'm still not particularly enjoying my salads (they just lack something that the goat cheese provided and if I can figure out what it is I'd be really happy.  It doesn't necessarily need to be a cheese substitute...just something to give my salads what they are now missing.

I also talked about my 10 o'clock string cheese.  You could almost set your watch to it.  I've long wanted to find a substitute for this snack because of all the plastic involved.  I looked into making my own (not vegan but at least getting rid of the packaging) but don't remember finding a recipe that I wanted to try.  Last week I decided to try roasted chickpeas instead of string cheese. I've had roasted chickpeas before but I didn't know if they would be satiating enough.  I'm happy to say they are!  And if you make them yourself (I buy my chickpeas from the bulk bin so no packaging and much cheaper than buying canned) they're a very cheap snack (if you buy roasted chickpeas they're crazy expensive compared to the cost of making your own). There is some effort involved (more than opening a string cheese and more if you use dry vs. canned chickpeas) but it's worth it for such a yummy snack that is super healthy and vegan!

Last week I made them with turmeric, rosemary and cayenne. This week I tried turmeric and garlic salt.  I liked last week's better but I'm looking forward to trying lots of varieties!  I found my new string cheese!

So, my menu this week:

Breakfast (in addition to my handful of almonds on the way to work) is baked oatmeal.  I use soy milk (although I really want to find a vegan option that comes in packing that is at least recyclable so for the time being I've decided to stop buying soy milk...I'll be in trouble come next week!) and I mixed in 2 scoops of Plant Fusion protein powder and some chopped up granny smith apples.  I can provide the recipe if anyone is interested.  It is very filling and can be eaten hot or cold.

These two love apples and are never far when I cut into one. I don't mind sharing :)

Hard to get a still shot when a dog is very interested in what you have! 

 

10 O'clock Snack Roasted chick peas!!! I start with 1 cup of dry beans and that makes snack for 5 days.

Lunch Same salad as always with a soup containing carrots, sweet potatoes, white beans and spinach. 

This boy loves carrots and is always waiting for a piece to go flying off the cutting board!  The girl is not a fan of carrots. However...

She loves sweet potato and hangs out to see if she's going to get any (of course she's going to get some!!)

Pre-Gym Snack Banana (I teach on Wednesdays (and Tuesdays and Thursdays and sometimes Mondays) and need a snack to hold me over. Even with that I'm sometimes ready to gnaw off my own arm on my way home from the gym which is why it is vitally important to have dinner already made and requiring no more than a couple minutes to heat or else I will start shoving anything remotely edible into my face!)

Dinner What I call "Sushi Roll in a Bowl." I love to cook and don't mind things that are rather involved but sushi rolls...I'm not making those at home. However, the contents of a sushi roll (brown rice (I use germinated brown rice...read about it here http://www.naturalnews.com/031148_brown_rice_nutrition.html#) carrots, cucumber, avocado, pickled ginger, wasabi) can be thrown together in a bowl and eaten with a spoon. I add some baked tofu for protein. I soaked the carrots and cucumber in rice vinegar. I add the wasabi to some soy sauce, mix it up and use it as a dressing.  This bowl is seriously delicious!  So delicious that I can't stop eating it long enough to take a picture :D

So, I've found a vegan substitute for string cheese.  Still need something in my salad to replace goat cheese. Looking for a plant-based milk (preferably high in protein unlike almond milk (which I do like and can find in a recyclable container)) that doesn't come in a tetra-pak that isn't recyclable. 

What did you eat today?  Have any suggestions for a salad addition or milk substitute?

What I Ate Wednesday - Vegan Goat Cheese

Goats are vegans, right?  So goat cheese is vegan, right? 

Obviously I know this is not true.  I wish it was.  I'm not a vegan...yet.  It's a goal I'm working on but there are a lot of factors involved.  I won't unpack them all in this post. I am, however, fully aware of the horrors of the animal-product industry.  I've seen the movies. I know the impacts.  The few animal products I do consume are organic and from small, local, sustainable farms.  I'm working on it.

Angie over at Angie Eats Peace sometimes does What I Ate Wednesday posts so I thought I'd do one and talk about one aspect of my vegetarian-to-vegan journey.

I'm a tiny person (although, as I discussed yesterday, not a thin person).  I've heard, "as much as you exercise you must be able to eat whatever you want," so many times.  If Only! 

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I plan my meals for the week and have to be very strict or I will easily consume far too many calories for someone my size.  Even though most of what I eat is very healthy I still have to carefully watch my portions. Eating the same thing every day for a week makes the planning a lot easier.

I usually take my dogs for a quick walk before leaving for work.  Today, however, I managed to burn my finger while boiling water for coffee so I spent all the time I had before leaving with my hand in ice water.  Not an ideal way to start a day!

I'm a little like Rain Man when it comes to eating.  You can almost set your watch to what I eat and when.  I usually eat a handful of almonds  (I have small hands so we're talking 12) on my way to work which is around 0600.  I have coffee most mornings as well.  I usually use half-and-half.  I like my coffee creamy. I know there are plant-based substitutes but they come in disposable (usually not recyclable) packaging.  I only allow myself to buy half-and-half if I can get it in returnable glass bottles from a local, organic dairy.  My desire to lead a close-to-zero waste life sometimes conflicts with my desire to become vegan.  I do sometimes use coconut oil in my coffee but after a while I really crave the creaminess that comes from half-and-half.  This is a journey and I don't have it all figured out.

At 0800 I eat my breakfast.  This week (I basically eat the same menu all week and I prepare everything on Sunday so that it is all ready to go) my breakfast is a slice of Rudi's Multigrain Sprouted toast (I am not being compensated for mentioning this product but if Rudi's is interested... :D) with a mixture consisting of a tablespoon of fresh-ground peanut butter, a tablespoon of avocado and a half-scoop of chocolate protein powder all mixed with enough water so that it is moist enough to spread.  It's not pretty but it is filling.



I wish I loved avocado like a good vegetarian but I don't.  I can eat them if I must but I do not enjoy them.  However, I found that if I mix the smashed avocado with a little peanut butter then I get the healthy benefits of eating avocado without the avocado flavor.  In this case I wanted more protein so I added the protein powder.  I like Plant Fusion (again, no compensation but if Plant Fusion is interested...:D). High protein, low carbs, tastes good and the price per serving is lower than most with similar protein-to-carb ratios.

At 1000 I eat a string cheese.  I've tried other options on my quest to eliminate animal products but so far haven't found anything that is as satisfying without a great increase in carbs/calories.  I'm still searching.  And I'm aware that string cheese comes in plastic packaging.  Striving for life as a zero-waste vegan is not an easy endeavor!

At 1130 I eat a salad (although today I had a roof inspection at 1130 so I was late eating...this does not make my inner Rain Man very happy).  Again, being somewhat RainMan-esque I eat the same salad Every. Single. Day.  It contains cauliflower, tomatoes, mushrooms and greens.  It used to contain goat cheese.  I love goat cheese.  I ran out a couple weeks ago and forgot to add it to my grocery list.  So I decided to eat my salads without it that week to see if I could get used to not having it.  Then I intentionally didn't buy any last week.  Honestly, I do not particularly enjoy my salad without the goat cheese.  I used to crave my salad but now I just eat it because it's one of the only ways I get vegetables (I'll discuss my general dislike of vegetables in another post).  Dressing I make myself with 2T ACV, 1t olive oil, 1t balsamic vinegar, some cayenne pepper and some salt-free Greek seasoning.

I believe food should be healthy (mostly) and meet the body's nutritional needs but I also feel it should be enjoyable.  There are things I eat sometimes because I know they are good for me even if I don't particularly care for them.  But I'm not a fan of doing this every day.  I'm trying to find a vegan substitute for my beloved goat cheese.  If anyone has any suggestions please let me know!  I want to enjoy my salads again.

I usually eat the rest of my lunch sometime around 1330.  I tend to make some sort of soup or stew or other dish that can be shoveled into my face with a spoon.  I very rarely eat from a plate with different foods sitting there separately.  Everything in one dish works best for me.  This week I have a soup I made with carrots, red kidney beans and whole wheat orzo. 

When I got home from work I took a little nap.  I love naps.  And, I'm almost always tired.  When I got up from my nap I took the dogs for their regular walks (longer than the morning walks).  Then I went to teach my class at the gym. I usually eat a banana on my way to the gym.

By the time I get home from the gym I'm usually ready to eat All The Things so I have to have dinner pre-made or there's no telling what will be consumed.  This week it's quinoa and tofu cooked up in soy sauce and Thai seasoning.  If sugar snap peas were in season I would have included those as well.  I also like to crush up some peanuts and mix those in but I forgot to buy them.  It's a simple dish but cooked so that the quinoa gets a little crunchy and it's super-YUM!  It can also be eaten using lettuce as a wrap but I'm usually too lazy for that extra step. I realize most people would add onions and peppers and other veggies but, again, I don't like most veggies.

I also drink lots of water throughout the day.  I have a carbonator at home as I love bubbles in my water (hold over from living in Europe).  My physical therapist recommended adding electrolytes to my water to hopefully relieve some muscle pain in my back so I started that this week.  I also like to add a splash of tart cherry juice as tart cherries help reduce inflammation.

So that's what I ate today (and the rest of the days this week).  Mostly vegan. 

What did you eat today?  Do you have any recommendations for vegan substitutes for string cheese or goat cheese?