Category Archives: Food Journal

POST CLEANSE LUNCH

Happy Monday!  I hope you are enjoying some time off of work and or school.  I am feeling great post-cleanse.  Last night we went to dinner at my favorite Peruvian restaurant and I had the Saltado de Vegetales with brown rice…yum!

The sandwich I made for lunch today was sooooooo good.  I used whole wheat bread.  While Veggie Grettie’s recipes are gluten free, I personally do have wheat from time to time since I am not officially gluten intolerant.  I do notice that I get a stomachache if I have wheat very often, so I limit my consumption of it and have it maybe once a month.

My sandwich included, pickles, pea shoots, red onion, cucumber, tomato, spicy mustard, and a tiny bit of Vegenaise.  So good!

What is your go-to vegan sandwich???

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Filed under Food Journal, Recipes, sandwich, Vegan, Vegetarian

CLEANSE FOOD LOG – Days 6 and 7

There really isn’t much to report food-wise this weekend other than the gorging I did at lunch yesterday which led to feeling crazy full for the next 5 1/2 hours.  I know that the rest of my food log today will pretty much be a repeat of what the rest of the week has looked like, so I am going to take the rest of the day off of blogging and spend it with my kiddos.

I plan on stopping the full-force cleanse after tonight.  I am really glad that I did the cleanse this past week.  I feel clear and clean and have no regrets.  Eating so much produce really does have its benefits.  After the cleanse I will continue eating mostly fruits and veggies for breakfast and lunch and for dinner I will add in some beans and grains.

Have a wonderful Sunday!

SATURDAY

  • 8:15 am – Big bowl of veggie soup.
  • 10:45 am – Chocolate smoothie (sweet potato, zucchini, 2 frozen bananas, cocoa powder, some stevia).  I drank about half and put the rest in the fridge for later.
  • 1:00 pm – Finished the other half of the smoothy.
  • 1:15-2:15 pm – Did an hour of hard cardio on the recumbent bike.
  • 2:30 pm – Had some Shirataki Noodle stir fry embellished with roasted cauliflower, green beans, and baby carrots.  This ended-up being a really big meal.  I am stuffed (ate too much…yuck!).
  • 8:00 pm – Bowl of veggie soup, some toasted nori, and apple slices.  I was so full after lunch that I couldn’t even think about eating until now.
Click HERE to read Jeff’s day 6 food log.

SUNDAY

  • 11:30 am – Bowl of kiwi, banana, pomegranate, apple, and pear.
  • Lunch will probably be a big salad
  • Dinner will be Chinese hot pot at my in-laws.  I will be eating chrysanthemum leaves, a variety of mushrooms, pea shoots, bamboo hearts, and taro root.
  • After dinner I am sure I will nosh on some fruit.

Click HERE to read Jeff’s day 7 food log.

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Filed under Cleansing, Cleansing, Detox, Education, Food Journal, Vegan, Vegetarian

CLEANSE FOOD LOG – Day 4

We are going through an incredible amount of produce right now (makes me happy!), so I need to head-off to the store at some point today to buy more bananas.  On Monday or Tuesday (can’t remember) I bought 3 huge bunches of bananas and we only have 2 individual bananas left!

It is hard to believe that we are already on day 4 of the cleanse.  I am noticing that my skin looks smoother and more moisturized.  I am also taking on more of the natural “tan” look that comes with eating this way (Thank you carrots and peppers!).  I always know that I am getting in enough beta carotene when someone asks me if I just got back from vacation.

If you are following along on the cleanse how have you been feeling???  I’d love to hear from you.

THURSDAY

  • 6:30 am – Tall glass of water
  • 7:30 am – Fruit salad just like I had yesterday morning (banana, pear, apple, pomegranate seeds, cinnamon)
  • 8:00 am – Per my husband’s request I just cooked up an even bigger batch of Shirataki Noodle Stir-Fry…that stuff is seriously good!  Didn’t eat any yet since I wasn’t hungry.
  • 9:00 am – Another banana
  • 10:45 am – Elliptical for 50 minutes
  • 12:00 pm – HUGE salad (pictured above) with romaine, iceberg, seaweed salad, roasted cauliflower, roasted broccoli, grape tomatoes, sliced mushrooms, and lite rice wine vinegar.  The salad was huge as I mentioned, so I was full after eating a little over half of it.
  • 1:45 pm – Finished the rest of the salad and snacked on a little watermelon.
  • 3:00 pm – Made a smoothie of frozen strawberries, fresh pineapple, fresh bananas, apple, and some water for my husband, son, daughter and her friend…took a few sips equaling probably about 1/2 cup.
  • 3:20 pm – Snacked on some more watermelon.
  • 4:15 pm – 5:15 pm – Sipped on 24 ounces cold water with a scoop of NanoGreens
  • 6:00 pm – Dinner was a small baked potato (hubby was begging for one) topped with fresh bruschetta, roasted cauliflower on the side, and a small bowl of Shirataki Noodle Stir-Fry
  • 7:00 pm – Chocolate banana pudding made in the Vitamix.  Made with a sweet potato, fresh banana, 3/4 cup water, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, and 3 frozen bananas.  I AM SO FULL RIGHT NOW!!!  I am quite sure this will be it for me for the night…can’t imagine eating any more!

Today I struggled a bit with cravings from 3pm until dinner.  When you do a cleanse like this you don’t experience the same kind of FULL that you experience when you eat a plant-based diet that is supplemented with grains, beans, and nuts.  But knowing that makes getting through it easier.

Enjoy the rest of your evening!

To read Jeff’s food log for Day 4 click HERE.

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Filed under Cleansing, Cleansing, Detox, Education, Food Journal, General Vegan, Vegan, Vegetarian, Weight Issues

CLEANSE FOOD LOG – Day 3

Last night after posting my food log I hit my first wall.  It was a mini wall, but a wall nonetheless.  About an hour after eating my bowl of berries I started craving THESE crunchy lightly salted crackers…I love those things.  But, after repeating the mantra, “This too shall pass” a few times in my head, it did pass and I didn’t give into the craving.

So, let’s get to my food log for day 3.

WEDNESDAY

  • 7:oo am – Large glass of water
  • 8:30 am – Bowl of sliced Fuji apple, sliced pear, a sliced banana, and pomegranate seeds.  I then dusted the bowl of fruit with Saigon cinnamon (pictured above).
  • 9:30 am – 10:30am – Pilates reformer class
  • 10:30 am – a quart bag filled to the brim with baby carrots, sliced red and orange bell peppers, and celery
  • 12:45 pm – Big Disneyland-sized spear of pineapple
  • 1:00 pm – A serving of the stir-fry I made yesterday (click HERE for details)
  • 2:15 pm – Already hungry again, so making a chocolate mint smoothie (water, 1/2 sweet potato, 1/2 of a zucchini, handful of spinach, handful of fresh mint, cocoa powder, vanilla creme stevia, small frozen banana, ice…about half the size of the smoothie I made yesterday).
  • 4:45 pm – Snacked on some nori and had 24 ounces of cold water with one scoop of NanoGreens.
  • 6:15 pm – A bowl of veggie soup (click HERE for details) and two small ears of roasted corn sprinkled with Chile con Limon.
  • 8:30 pm – Planning on having a bowl of raspberries, blueberries, and sliced banana.  If I get hungry afterward I plan on having some herbal tea.

I am off to get my kiddos ready for bed.  I am feeling really good and have not been experiencing any big cravings today.

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Filed under Cleansing, Cleansing, Detox, Education, Food Journal, Vegan, Vegetarian, Weight Issues

CLEANSE FOOD LOG

Today was day one of the fruit and veggie cleanse my husband and I are doing together (click HERE for details).  Here is my journal entry for the day…

Today can be summed-up in one word…PREP!  Today I am getting everything prepped and ready for the week so all I have to do is go into the fridge and grab what I need (I also want to make this as easy as possible for my husband).

MONDAY

  • 7:00 am – 2/3 cup heirloom strawberries (I would have eaten more, but was busy getting the kids fed and ready for school)
  • 9:00 am – 1/2 cup grapes and a banana
  • 9:30-10:30 am – pilates (tough class…awesome!)
  • 11:00 am – 24 ounce carrot/apple juice (mostly carrot with a little apple)
  • 11:30 am – went shopping to stock-up for the week

  • 12:40 pm – While cooking-up a storm* I am eating a salad made with a bed of butter lettuce, 1/2 a cucumber, and a HUGE handful of seaweed salad from Costco (how awesome is it that my Costco carries this now!).  Dressed it up with some lite rice wine vinegar and extra crushed red chili.

*I have a GINORMOUS pot of veggie soup going on the stove**, I am steaming sweet potatoes (click HERE to see how I prepare them…scroll down under the ingredient list and you will see a note about how I cook them), and I have broccoli and cauliflower roasting in the oven (click HERE to see how I roast them) while at the same time prepping corn to be lightly steamed and then roasted.  Note – the veggies should be prepared without oil and then roasted).

**Made the soup with 2 cups each (carrot, celery, onion), a 24 oz. jar of tomato basil pasta sauce (fill it up again with water and add that to the soup as well),  32 ounces low-sodium veggie broth, 8 oz. bag Harvest Sensations kale, 10 oz. sliced crimini mushrooms, and dried basil (I went to the garden to get fresh and it is all gone).  I did not add any salt because I don’t plan on using any and it really doesn’t need it.

  • 1:30 pm – 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
  • 2:oo pm – 1 cup grapes
  • 3:00 pm – snacked on some roasted cauliflower and broccoli while putting it away
  • 3:30 pm – snacked on some watermelon while prepping it for snacks
  • 4:40 pm – Asian Pear Crisps (by Brothers All Natural)
  • 6:00 pm – bowl of vegetable soup, ear of corn, roasted broccoli and cauliflower
  • 8:45 pm – bowl of blueberries, raspberries, and a sliced banana

So how do I feel?  AWESOME!  Today was one of those non-stop days and I really do feel great (even after only sleeping 5 hours last night).  I know it sounds cliché, but I feel very clean inside right now and not hungry at all…I definitely did not go hungry today.

~

I ran into my friend Jeff (The Plant Eater) at the Doug Lisle event on Sunday and after mentioning the cleanse to him, he decided to do it along with us.  Click HERE to read about Jeff’s first day of the cleanse.

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Filed under Cleansing, Cleansing, Education, Food Journal, Gluten Free, Recipes, Soup, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

HEALTHY AQUARIUM LUNCH – How to Substitute

Recently my kids had the day off of school and I surprised them by taking them to the aquarium for the day.  Our family has always loved going to the aquarium and we are very fortunate to live near the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.

My kids have a weird fascination with cafeterias and get so excited to eat lunch at the aquarium’s cafeteria, Cafe Scuba.  When I looked at the menu there really wasn’t anything I was excited about eating as displayed on the menu (a lot of fried, mayonnaise, and meat-based dishes), but there was a wrap that I thought might work if the chefs were willing to substitute out some ingredients.  The wrap had chicken and feta cheese in it along with a balsamic vinaigrette, which wasn’t going to work for me and the side that came with it was a mayo-based pasta salad.  When I got to the front of the line I asked if they were willing to make some substitutions and they were VERY accommodating.  The chef that serviced us found some grilled asparagus and red onions, tomatoes, and spinach for the wrap.  When I asked if she could sub out the pasta salad for me she was very willing to provide me with a green salad in lieu of the pasta salad.

My meal was very tasty.  I dished-up some yellow mustard on the side and dipped my sandwich in it and dressed the salad with some lemon juice.

Remember, don’t be afraid to ask for what you want (very nicely of course).  I find that the vast majority of the time people are more than willing to help…they ultimately want you to be happy with your meal which means that it is very possible to eat healthfully almost anywhere.

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Filed under Education, Food Journal, Food Substitutions, Vegan, Vegetarian

HEALTHY LIFESTYLE EXPO – MENU

As I mentioned, while at the Healthy Lifestyle Expo we had the opportunity to purchase vegan buffet-style lunches and dinners designed by Dr. Joel Fuhrman which meant that the meals were very lowfat (oil free), salt free, and vegan.  The picture above is my lunch meal on Sunday which was the last day of the conference.

I know that many of you may be thinking that the above description does not sound appetizing, but it was really tasty and satisfying (Just check out the Wild Apple Crunch pictured above!!!…Seriously amazing!).  When we fuel our bodies with good quality plant-based food that is packed with nutrients it is really filling!  I had zero desire to snack between meals because I just wasn’t hungry.  It was such a treat to go to a buffet knowing that EVERYTHING on the menu was health inducing and vegan.

I have always been confused with regards to added fats…are they good for you or detrimental???  After attending this conference and hearing first-hand what the experts have found through solid research and experience I am convinced that we need to remove most added fats from our diet and that oil is NOT a health food  (another post about that later…I promise to explain in detail…TEASER: It is not the olive oil that makes the Mediterranean Diet “healthy.”).

Below you will find the menu from our conference.

Friday night dinner (Recipes by Mary McDougall):

Mexican Bean Soup
Fiesta Mexican Salad
Tofu Tacos with Cabbage, Cilantro-Garli Aioli and Soft Corn Tortillas
Tamale Casserole with Enchilada Sauce
Brownies with Raspberry Sauce
Iced Tea and Water
(Oil-free and no added fat meal) Served 6pm in the main ballroom before Dr. Barnard’s kenote address

Saturday lunch (Recipes by Joel Fuhrman MD)

Special Low-fat Vegan Buffet:
French Minted Pea Soup
Mixed Grees Salad with Vegan Miso Dressing
Corn and Arugula Salad
Butternut Squash with Caramelized Onion
Couscous with Vegetables and Low Salt Olives
Grilled Seasoned Vegetables
Sesame Tofu
Chocolate Oat Clusters
Iced Tea and Water
(Oil-free and no added fat meal) 

Saturday dinner (Recipes by Joel Fuhrman MD)

Special Low-fat Vegan Buffet:
Golden Austrian Cauliflower Cream Soup
Sesame Sugar Snap Peas
Raw Kale Salad
Corn and Arugula Salad
Lemon Cranberry Quinoa
Sesame Tofu
Grilled Seasoned Vegetables
Wild Apple Crunch
(Oil-free and no added fat meal) 

Sunday lunch (Recipes by Joel Fuhrman MD)

Special Low-fat Vegan Buffet:
Creamy Lentil Soup
Mixed Greens Salad with Vegan Miso Dressing
Sesame Sugar Snap Peas
Raw Kale Salad
Grilled Seasoned Vegetables
Lemon Cranberry Quinoa
Sesame Tofu
Wild Apple Crunch
(Oil-free and no added fat meal) 

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Filed under Education, Events, Food Journal, General Vegan, Tradeshows, Vegan, Vegetarian

SEABIRDS – OC’s Vegan Food Truck!

This Saturday we went on a family adventure (led by my hubby) to experience the new food truck craze.  Downtown Anaheim was having an art walk and five food trucks came to provide the food.  The trucks parked in the parking lot of the training facility for the Anaheim Ducks.

My friend Anita clued me in to the fact that there is now a vegan food truck in our area (Seabirds) and since they were scheduled to be there I was excited to go and try them out.  If Seabirds hadn’t been there my food choices would have been major slim-pickings!

Here is their menu from last night:

I opted for three menu items; the nachos, portobello sandwich, and a gluten free cookie for my little girl (she’s GFree).

The nachos were very tasty and had just the right amount of spicey kick to them.  My only criticism is that the chips were a tad too greasy.

The sandwich was very flavorful.  The marinated portobellos were on spot!  My husband and son loved it too.

My daughter loved the cookie by Sweet Raya so much that when any of us got near it she literally started freaking out because she thought we were going to try to eat it.  Too cute!  I did sneak a bite ( a girl has to do her research, right?) and can tell you that it was really good…much better than it looks.

All in all it was a really great night.  The kids got to paint, watch other painters, and listen to bands.

I definitely recommend trying the food truck craze.  The next time I have the opportunity to eat at Seabirds I will be getting the grilled veggie burrito…I saw one of them and it looked really good!!

There are sites out there that track where the trucks will be.  One site to check out is www.roaminghunger.com

Click on the links below to learn more about that trucks that were there last night.

Seabirds

Kogi BBQ

Barcelona On The Go

Crepes Bonapart

Chunk-n-Chip

Have any of you tried Seabirds or another vegetarian food truck in your area?  What is your favorite menu item?

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Filed under Food Journal, Gluten Free, Restaurants, Vegan, Vegetarian

MY FOOD JOURNAL – Tuesday

Food Log

Food Log

 

 

Early morning – 16 ounces of green juice made with lots of kale stems, 1 head of romaine, 1 GIANT cucumber, 1 red bell pepper, 2 pears, and a huge handful of parsley.

Breakfast – 1/2 cup Barbara’s High Fiber Cereal, 1/2 cup Fiber One, 3 Tbs Salba, 1 stevia, 1/2 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup raspberries, 4 strawberries, sprinkle of dried cranberries, 4 chopped walnuts, and unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

Barbara's Fiber Cereal

Barbara's Fiber Cereal Fiber One Cereal

 

Salba Seed

Salba Seed

Lunch – I brought lunch to my son at school, so we had a “special” lunch… I had 1/2 of a large cucumber and avocado Togo’s sandwich on whole wheat with mustard, lettuce, bell peppers, pepperocinis, onions, pickles, olives…piled real high (no mayo)!

1pm – Young Thai coconut (I drank the coconut water)… I would have eaten the coconut meat then too, but ran out of time since I needed to pick-up my daughter from school.

Young Thai Coconut

Young Thai Coconut

2pm – I made a green smoothie with the coconut meat, Spirulina, chlorella, 2 cups spinach, 2 stevia, 1 scoop Plant Fusion vanilla protein powder, 2 dates, 1 cucumber, 1 zucchini, 1/2 avocado.  I drank 24 ounces (it made about 40 ounces)

4pm – I drank the rest of the green juice I made this morning (16 ounces more)

5:45pm – Dinner tonight was kale salad and veggie lasagna (I made it a few nights ago and it is yummy! ).   Sadly tonight we ate the rest of the lasagna.  I will need to post my lasagna recipe the next time I make it.

After dinner snack – this evening I will sip on the rest of the green smoothie I made this afternoon, though at the moment I am pretty full.

I’d say this is a pretty typical day for me food-wise with the exception of the Togo’s…I usually cook/make something simple for lunch.

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MY KID’S MORNING JUICE

Ready to Juice

Ready to Juice

As often as I can I try to start the kid’s morning off with fresh juice made from my Breville juicer.  The school week can be really busy and it isn’t always easy to cram in all of the nutrients they need to fuel their afterschool activities.  Fresh squeezed juice is a fantastic way to give their bodies what it craves.  In a perfect world my kids would drink 100% vegetable juice, but reality is different.  I can get the kids to drink their green veggies as long as I temper them with the sweetness of apples and carrots.  Little by little I have been able to add more and more greens. 

These were the ingredients in my kid’s juice this morning:

My Kid's Morning Juice Ingredients

My Kid's Morning Juice Ingredients

If your kids are new to juicing, start them off with apple juice (I have never met a kid that didn’t LOVE fresh squeezed apple juice).  Move on from there by slowly adding more and more carrots to the mix (also very sweet).  After a while you will be able to add in greens.  I find spinach, romaine, and sugar snap peas to be very mild in taste, so those are your best bets when starting to add greens to your juice.

You don’t need to own a juicer in order to make fresh juice.  If you own a blender or a Vitamix and have a nut milk bag or cheesecloth, then you can make juice.  It will be a bit more work, but well worth it.  In order to make juice with a blender you will need to add some water to the pitcher, chop in your veggies (watery veggies and fruits should go in near the bottom where the blade is), blend and then strain through the nut milk bags into another bowl.  Work in batches until you are done.

Nut Milk Bag

Nut Milk Bag

Cheesecloth

Cheesecloth

To make the juice, prepare all of your fruits and veggies by washing them and cutting them down to size if they are too big to fit through the opening of your juicer.  Once your produce is ready, set-up your juicer.  In order to minimize clean-up, I like to line my juicer’s pulp collector with one of my recycled produce bags.  Also keep some paper towel or an extra cup on hand for when you remove the juice pitcher.  I block the juice nozzle with a paper towel whenever I move the juice pitcher away…otherwise it will drip onto the counter.

When you juice, make sure you juice the softer fruits and vegetables first (i.e. romaine, cucumber, sugar snap peas, tomatoes) and then push the rest of their pulp through with the harder fruits and vegetables… this will ensure that you get as much juice out of them as you can. 

Softer Produce First

Softer Produce First

Most importantly, get your kids involved.  When children participate in making their food, they are much more likely to actually consume that food.

Get the Kids Involved

Get the Kids Involved

Some kids are very put off by the color of juice that has carrots or greens in it.  I have found a way around that by purchasing some fun cups in different colors.  When my daughter drinks out of her fun green cup with the cool straw, she has no idea what color the juice actually is.  You could also get some wacky straws to help encourage your children to drink the juice.

Using a Fun Colored Cup

Using a Fun Colored Cup

Since we are on the subject of juice, I thought I’d show you what my morning juice consisted of.  Most of you won’t start with this many veggies…work up to it with the same method as described above for the kids.

My Morning Juice Ingredients

My Morning Juice Ingredients

When my daughter saw the juice she named it “Mommy’s Rainbow Juice.”

Rainbow Juice

Rainbow Juice

Don’t forget to compost your juice pulp…your garden will thank you.

Here’s to health!

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Filed under Food Journal, Fresh Juice, Gluten Free, Raw, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian