June 17 log

B:   two small bowls of my frozen fruit mix.   baked plantain--this time peeled and sliced it like a banana, wrapped it in parchment paper, sealed with a twist tie, threw it in the oven with all the other things I baked today (potatoes, oriental yam, small kohlrabi).  I think this was the best yet.  But that may be because I'm just liking it more as it becomes a more familiar food.  I also had that small kohlrabi a little later and decided I need to do the same thing:  peel and slice and cook in parchment paper---tomorrow's experiment if I remember to buy some (forgot today). 

After breakfast, I cooked up a bunch of kale and an onion for lunch and dinner.  I started with the onion, went on Facebook, came back to find it burned, er, very caramelized.  I was curious, just how much can you burn an onion and have it still taste good, so I added water and kale and cooked up the kale.   It turned out quite good.  So the lesson to stay away from Facebook while cooking was not learned today.

 

S:  a bunch of lettuce leaves

L:  Kale and baked oriental yam

S:  small baked potato

D:  sugar snap peas, kale and 2 small baked potatoes, some grapes, then I just kept small eating bowls of fruit from the freezer, and a small bowl of frozen peas and corn.  Fortunately these are really small bowls, and I don't feel overly full but I ate more fruit than I needed to.

I think I'll make some beans for tomorrow.

E:  biked 14 miles.  meditate 40 minutes.

June 16 log

I'm just copying my food logs from my E2X blog.   Readers (the 1 or 2 of you), do you want food logs?  I have other ideas for posts but haven't had time to compose them.  I'll get to it.

B: baked oatmeal and fruit.  love this.

L:  sugar snap peas at the co-op.  then stopped at the bakery to get bread and brownies for housemate and a friend coming over.   I ate my baked sweet potato while friend ate brownie and coffee.  We had a nice time on the deck on a beautiful day.   One thing I'm trying to learn is not feeling like I have to have a treat when others do.   I don't need a "treat" like nuts and dried fruit (or worse, much worse) just because they are having one.  I happened to be hungry so ate my sweet potato, and actually that did feel like a treat because it's so sweet (I go for the oriental yams, with the yellow flesh and purple skins, love them! I eat them like a burrito).

spread out dinner:  I went on a 12 mile walk (training for a marathon, maybe a little too ambitious), ate a baked potato at the 6 mile mark while sitting on a bench overlooking the lake and city--I love potatoes as energy food on a hike or bike ride.   then I ate some sugar snap peas at the co-op, about 8.5 miles.  then when I got home, another baked potato, small kohlrabi, a bunch of asparagus, and a small bowl of frozen peas and corn.  yes, you heard that right.  Housemate was eating ice cream.  I didn't plan it that way but thought afterwards that my peas and corn are kind of like ice cream, frozen and sweet.   I like this sugar free life because normal foods start tasting very sweet on their own.   now if I can just continue with this attitude for the long term...

June 15 log

B:  peaches and rice.  half a head of romaine

Snack:  small baked potato.

L:  at a potluck, I brought the mango-bean-rice salad I made last night.  It was a hit and I had something to eat.  A friend who knew of my eating ways brought a giant watermelon.   She said it was because it was really easy but later said she was thinking of me.  That was really sweet.  I told her she could bring that anytime.  So lunch was my salad and her watermelon.  excellent!   

S:  sugar snap peas

D:  half a head of romaine, baked plantain, kale and garlic (keep forgetting to buy onions).  fruit from the freezer:  strawberrries, banana, blackberries.    this time I cooked the plantain in foil, and it was not as dry.  I think next time I will try roasting them in parchment paper--I'll peel and slice it first. The taste is growing on me.  I heard it's one of the most widely eaten starches in the world.

Exercise:  swam 1 mile.  yoga 30 minutes.   went to a half-day meditation workshop.

June 14 log

I have lots to share about today so brace yourself.

I haven't had rice in a while so made up a batch last night.  I like to mix brown and forbidden (black) rice, just for fun.  In fact, I pour it one cup at a time into my storage bin and make a nice pattern:

The rice came in handy several times today.  First I had it for breakfast instead of oats, with my frozen fruit.  Here's a picture in the morning sunshine.  This was a really quick and easy breakfast.

After breakfast I made my semi-annual order of beans.   I order every available kind of beans from Rancho Gordo.  That came out to 28 lbs and cost $184 (including a whopping $30 for shipping).  It's more expensive than bulk beans to be sure, but I calculated that it's still about 30% cheaper than my favorite canned beans (Eden Organic).  Anyway, I love these beans.  They are all different and it's entertaining to have a different kind of bean every week, or to mix them up (big and small, different colors).

Next I had lunch with friends.  I had some rice and beans and corn and asparagus, and a small baked potato.    The conversation turned to the topic of health and all the medications and supplements they take and the unpleasant side effect; and I just thought to myself how crazy I am when I get jealous of what others eat.  I take my health and diet way too much for granted.  I wish I could get over this and stop occasionally wanting that unhealthy food.  I also was struck by some of their insightful comments:  1)  these medications just act on one mechanism but isn't it more complicated than that?  (that's what T. Colin Campbell says in his new book Whole), and 2) doesn't it seem weird that we have to take all these supplements when our ancestors seemed to do fine without them?  yep.

I stopped at the grocery store and got some more fruit on special to freeze.  I snacked on that while prepping it along with some sugar snap peas.  I ate a small sweet potato as a snack on my bike ride.  Then I fixed something for a potluck tomorrow.  This was inspired by a recipe in the spring E2X book I think, by Ami I think:  mango bean salad, to which I added rice.  So it was rice, beans, frozen mango chopped, lime juice, cilantro and I added a little chipotle powder for some smokey flavor.  It is fast and easy to make, and people love it.   I didn't have enough for tonight's dinner so just had some rice and mango and cilantro, and some of that frozen fruit for dessert.  I poured a wee bit of balsamic vinegar (diluted with water) on top.   

So that rice came in handy today.  

Exercise:  biked 36 miles.  that was unplanned, but first I did my 14 mile commute and then when I got home it was such a nice day that I got out the racing bike and went for a ride.  and I meditated for 30 minutes.   Oh, that reminds me of another thing (see, I had a lot to share today):  I signed up for Plant-Stock (farms 2 forks in Hudson NY).  This was actually a tough decision because I really really really wanted to go to a meditation retreat, but my best friend who I only get to see once a year at most is going to Plant-Stock.  so I had to decide and I decided to go to the meditation retreat, and then I thought but what about Gail??????   And that pretty much sealed it.  So I hope to go to a meditation retreat next year.  In the meantime I'm looking forward to Plant-Stock!

okay, tomorrow will be short, promise.

Interesting website

plantbasedresearch.org.   They link to peer-reviewed journal articles related to plant-based diets.

June 13 food

B: baked oats and peaches.  This was really good. I love toasting the top in the broiler at the end to give a little crisp.

The peaches have been on special all week at the co-op, along with the strawberries and grapes, so I got some more today and cut them up and froze them.

L:  small baked potato, yesterday's beans and veggies, sugar snap peas, grapes.

D:  small oriental yam, yesterday's beans and veggies, small baked potato, nibbled on the fruit as I prepped it for the freezer, small bowl of peas and corn.  did I overeat?  maybe a wee bit.

E:  walk 6 miles, bike 7 miles.  meditate 30 minutes.

June 12 food

B:  2 small baked sweet potatoes

I cooked up all the veggies from the fridge:  onion, mushroom, kale, cabbage, asparagus, arugula, added white beans, can of tomatoes, herbs from the garden (cilantro, chives, parsley, dill).  it was liquidy, so called it soup.  It should last a few days, yea (less cooking).

L:  small baked potato, soup

D:  repeat of lunch

Snack:  salad made from...lettuce.  advantage of a lettuce-only salad:  you can snack on it like chips and it's not messy.

Exercise:  swim 1 mile, bike 7 miles.