Trust My Intuition

Today has been the best day ever in a while food wise!  I LOVED the chickpea cutlets from Veganomicon!  They are so simple to make and sooo delicious!  I didn’t know what to expect in terms of texture and flavor, and I loved both!  They were surprisingly very chewy.  Did not disappoint!  :-)  I topped my cutlet with a blob of spicy horseradish mustard.  The flavors went together very nicely.  I sauteed some brussels sprouts in a tiny bit of EVOO with fresh garlic.  I added oregano, basil, thyme, lemon juice, and lemon seasoning.  They were excellent!  To round out this meal I cooked a serving of quinoa and tossed in some leftover spinach from last nights dinner.  I added the same spices to this mixture, and again…yumm!  I was extremely pleased with this dinner and am sooo satisfied right now and soo happy I have tons of energy! haha  ……but…Time to go study now :-(  way to ruin the mood. 

My first class was cancelled today, and I figured I would just stay home and skip the second one since all my professor does is read word for word off of the notes that I already have.  It has been a very relaxing day so far, but I really need to study the rest of it :-(  booo.  Breakfast was pumpkin oatmeal (pumpkin, steel cut oats, whipped banana, walnuts, spoonful of PB, flaxseed, cinnamon, vanilla, soymilk)-yumm!  Lunch I cut up some celery, had baby carrots, a red grapefruit, and a sandwich of Ezekiel bread, hummus, tomato, avocado, and hot sauce!  It was very tasty.  My mouth still wanted something else though and I was really craving PB and honey for lunch, but I have so much hummus that needs to get used up!  So, two hours later I ate a pumpkin muffin topped with honey and PB!  It was delicious!  I had 2 squares of my Supreme Dark Endangered Species Chocolate bar too!  Dark chocolate has definitely been an acquired taste for me because I used to hate it, but now I love it and think milk chocolate is too sweet!  I made chickpea cutlets this afternoon this well, and will be having one with my dinner!  As for the exercise…today is a rest day.   (the first pic is of my sandwich…tomatoes, hummus, and avocado)  I need to work on my photography…

My calves are soooo sore for some reason today, but running and ET don’t bother them, so I did 40 minutes ET and 10 minutes on the treadmill at the gym.  (Before the gym I ate some of my leftover Easter candy…peanut butter egg, jelly beans, and a marshmallow peep).  All were yumm, but not vegan.  For lunch I had some of my hummus and tomato on two slices of Ezekiel bread.  I had more hummus on the side with tomato slices (I just loovve tomatoes!), celery, and carrots.  Plus two kiwis!  :-)  So good, so good.  The picture is incomplete due to my blogging forgetfulness.  Dinner was the exact same thing (pasta with beans, spinach, and broccoli in a tomatoey sauce) as last night for me because I loved it so much, and was feeling lazy to think of something else to make.  It wasn’t really leftovers because I cooked it from the beginning again…just the same thing though.  I’m going to drink some hot chamomile tea and cuddle up with In Defense of Food.  I might get some studying in too for my microbiology test on Tuesday :-(  Oh, and I included a picture of my pumkin muffins!  I just may eat one for snack later

I haven’t been taking pictures and blogging like I should.  :-(  These past few days have been filled with oatmeal breakfasts and PB and honey sandwiches, so you didn’t miss much!  I bought some yummy things at the grocery store though!  I got kiwi fruit and chili powder…and some other stuff too, but those are my favorites!  I bought In Defense of Food and Veganomicon!!!!!  I haven’t made anything from it yet, but I wanted to make chickpea cutlets yesterday and couldn’t find vital wheat gluten in the store.  :-(  I will have to find it one of these days though.  I can’t wait to start reading In Defense of Food though.  I am almost done with Superfoods Healthstyle.  I wanted to buy Skinny Bitch, but I didn’t allow myself because I already spent enough money!  All of the books I want (those plus Eat, Pray, Love) were on the Bestsellers shelf!  That made me happy!  I told my dad I was going to get another one, and he asked what it was called, and I told him Skinny Bitch.  He got mad, and said don’t be doing that and be one of those bulimics.  I was offended.  It’s not even about that, but he didn’t understand.  Can’t I be healthy and interested in nutrition, as it is my passion, without others thinking I am harming myself?  That makes me think…if someone is trying to be healthy and eat how he or she should, people automatically think that person has an eating disorder or something because everyone is so used to putting junk into their bodies.  Anyways, yesterday I had the usual oatmeal for breakfast, and then went to Pita Pit for lunch and got a hummus pita with avocado and all sorts of other veggies on a wheat pita!  I think I asked for too many veggies because the guy had trouble putting it together, and it started to fall apart!  haha.  Last night I threw a quick tasty dinner together.  I cooked some whole wheat penne, and in a skillet I chopped up garlic, onions, tomatoes, and broccoli and let that cook in 1/2 tsp EVOO.  Then I added spinach, 1 cup tomato sauce, apple cider vinegar, and 1/2 cup great northern beans!…Plus spices and other things..pepper, basil, oregano, thyme, chili powder!, lemon juice, and lemon seasoning.  It was very tasty and hit the spot!  I had kiwi and strawberries on the side.  The kiwi was delicious!  Later, I ate a pumpkin muffin that I got from IntuitiveKitchen’s blog, plus 2 pieces of dark chocolate!  The pumpkin muffins are great and moist, and they were sooo easy to make!  I will take a picture of one later today.  This morning I had a bowl of oatmeal with whipped banana, cinnamon, vanilla, flax, walnuts, and PB.  YuMMMM! :-)  I’m going to the gym now for a nice workout. 

I slept in until 10 again!!  I stayed up until 1 watching the food network although I was tired, but I had to see who won the cookie showdown! dork.  9 hours of sleep… felt great!  I had another 2.5 cups (3.3 servings) of Kashi H2H for breakfast with cup of soymilk.  Then I went to class and had lunch after at 1.  I got a salad of spinach, chickpeas, tomatoes, cucumbers, a little olive oil, and vinegar.  I also got a vegetable fajita minus the sour cream and cheese that had black beans, roasted red peppers, onions, and green bell pepper on it.  I didn’t see them put any oil or anything on it, so that was nice.  It was served on a white tortilla that was probably 12 inches.  I peeled off a lot around the edges because it was way too big, and there wasn’t much “stuffing” in it anyways.  I cut it down to probably an 8 inch?  It was good.  I am getting bad at remembering to take pictures.  So, here is a picture of it almost gone!  :-O   

Before I went to the gym I had a clif nectar cranberry, apricot, and almond bar.  I did 50 minutes on ET plus some stretching.  I have decided that I am going to start lifting weights 3 times a week and cardio like i’ve been doing 2 or 3 times a week.  On my strength training days I will do 10 minutes warm up, long stretching, then lifting, followed by another 10 minutes of cardio and light stretching.  I decided this after reading Every Gym’s Nightmare’s blog, plus I need to tone up…mostly my arms and stomach.  I enjoyed a very relaxing day today.  Only my one class in the morning and the rest of the day free.  I get to sleep in again tomorrow and go home later!  I’m very excited.  I enjoyed dinner in the dining hall with about 1/2 cup brown rice, 1/2 cup white beans and escarole, and a fruit and veggie plate (grapes, pineapple, watermelon, cantaloupe, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, and cherry tomatoes).  I also had a scoop of fresh salsa that I ended up mixing in with the rice.  It was a filling dinner.  Now, I’m drinking a cup of spiced chai tea.  I’m tired.      

The past few days I feel like I have just kept eating and eating and not listening to my stomach.  Today has been good, and I feel much better.  It felt great to sleep in a bit (til 10)…I didn’t go to sleep until 2.  I haven’t gotten more than 6 hours of sleep for the past 3 days, so I definitely needed my sleep.  I think that has a lot to do with my uncontrollable eating.  It is a beautiful day  I had 3 servings (2.25 cups) kashi Heart to Heart cereal with 1 cup soymilk and a blueberry soy yogurt for breakfast.  I didn’t take a picture because it’s basically the same as yesterday.  Lunch was at the dining hall.  A BBQ mushroom wrap that was very tasty.  It had a little too much oil in it though for my liking.  Plus I had a small banana and a few bites of pasta salad that I stopped eating because there was absolutely way too much dressing on it.  Gross!  I estimate my lunch was about 500-600 kcal and breakfast was about 600.  Right now I am sipping on some Tazo calm tea  I need to vacuum my room and maybe watch Yes, Dear.  Then I will be off to the gym for a workout before dinner!   

I had a chocolate coconut cashew Larabar between lunch and dinner and then an Amy’s frozen entree for dinner tonight.  It was teriyaki tofu, brown rice, and vegetables!  I like this one.  It’s tasty.  I also had some Kashi TLC honey sesame crackers and a strawberry silk yogurt.  I’ve been filling out papers and doing two online “courses” that only took an hour to complete.  lots of paper work though for my clinical this summer.  I’m kind of excited but kind of bummed that I will be taking classes in the summer.    I am going to go work out now.  Then, I dunno…do some reading, TV watching, or homework?  The homework option isn’t looking good!  haha.  I can sleep in tomorrow until 11!!!  I can’t wait to go home.  I am pumpkin oat homesick.  I’m going to have pumpkin oats for dinner on Thursday I think…Either that or PB and honey sandwich.  It’s been too long!

I walked into the dining hall and was very happy to see there was a hummus bar!!  There were baked pita chips and flatbread, olives, and peppers.  I got a wheat flatbread and put some hummus on my plate…spinach hummus, black bean & cilantro, white bean, and lemon garlic hummus.  I think I liked the black bean one the best, although it was difficult to tell.  There is a lot on my plate because I didn’t realize how many there were before I started piling it on!  I think I ate about 1/4 of a cup worth of hummus.  I had a cup of vegan tomato soup, a small golden delicious apple, and some green grapes.  I got a salad before I found the hummus and ended up not eating it.  I had a couple of the grape tomatoes off of it and one of the peppers.  I’m pretty satisfied  (The apple and tomato soup pictures are from google…I guess my pictures didn’t take or something).      

I didn’t have time to post yesterday…too busy working on my speech because I waited until the last minute.  I had Kashi Go lean cruch for lunch with soymilk and two small oranges.  I also had silk yogurt, clif nectar bar, snacked on Kashi H2H, and ate some soy crips throughout the day.  I went to the gym and did 50 min ET.  Dinner was at the dining hall…soba noodles and kale.  I like kale!  That is the first time I had it.  It was tasty…probably from salt and oil they used.  haha.  But it was good.  I snacked on newman’s own pretzels until late even though I wasn’t hungry.  I think I ate out of boredom/not feel like doing my speech.  It happens.  I swear all that easter candy really threw my body out of whack because I could not get satisfied all day, but my tummy was so full from snacking all day!  I got really tired at about two.  I think that is from the sugar too or something.  My breakfast wasn’t balanced either, so that didn’t help.  Oh well!  This is exactly why I like to eat balanced and healthy meals because I feel soo much better and energized…not polluted with all kinds of garbage.  Breakfast today was Kashi H2H (about 1.5 cups), soymilk, and a small banana.  With water and multivitamin.  My speech went okay.  Could have been better, but that’s what I get for procrastinating.  I went to bed at 1 am, which is better than my last speech, which before I went to bed at 4 and got up at 6!  Crazy!  I may take a nap at 1 after my morning classes are done.  I feel like drinking tea all day long  It always makes me feel so good.