Hope you are all doing well as your school year ends or that you're just doing well in general! Before I'm gone all summer (more explanation later), I'll be cranking out the recipes to try and keep some coming over June and July. I'm leaving May 28th so that gives me a decent amount of time...the wheels are turning ;)
Phew! It's over. I thought it would never end.
Hope you are all doing well as your school year ends or that you're just doing well in general! Before I'm gone all summer (more explanation later), I'll be cranking out the recipes to try and keep some coming over June and July. I'm leaving May 28th so that gives me a decent amount of time...the wheels are turning ;) annnd the breakfast picture sucks so here's a picture of Brasse to hopefully make up for it. Of course this turned out blurry too...sorry! :)
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Schoooooool's out...for...summer! Or in my case...until Summer or Fall of 2013 when I start my Master's! In case you care, I got an A in both sections of Anatomy and Physiology and I am THRILLED. It was tough but sooo worth it :)
So in the next few days I'll be posting oodles of recipes, and that includes ending this craptacular meal plan and moving on to some really. great. stuff. So pumped. Today's marks one year since I became a vegan. It has been an extraordinarily positive journey and I have learned a lot. I am far from perfect in my vegan habits and I know I may never be the "perfect vegan" but as long as I am growing and contributing to the well-being of animals, the environment, and myself, I will be happy.
I hope that in the past year I have gotten some of you to at least consider a more plant-centered diet, or even think about where your food and everyday products (clothing, furniture, cleaning products, etc) come from. In the coming year, I hope to bring you a greater variety of vegan fare, open your eyes even more to the reasons to go vegan (or reduce your animal product consumption), and reach a larger audience (dreaming big here...). On to the meal plan...this is one day in particular that takes quite a bit of work. The lunch menu requires planning at least a day in advance. Beyond that, there are no negatives! The nutrition profile is beautiful as always and the meals are all equally delicious (even the salad with beets, and I hate beets!). Enjoy :) Loook...I don't know about you all my dear readers, but I have a life outside of making food/blogging about it. I am trying to maintain A's in 8 credits worth of anatomy and physiology, train for a triathalon, have a social life, and work 20 hours a week. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE cooking and this blog, but this "brilliant" idea I had to do the meal plan was, in fact, overambitious. Whoever designed the plan must have no life, because these meals take WAY too much time for anyone with a schedule like mine... I will most definitely push through and share the last 3 days with you all, but please use these posts as inspiration for some healthy meals. DON'T follow it all the way unless you have oodles of time to kill. I am not slamming the plan; it is nutritiously sound. I just think I could do a better job of making one tailored to vegans on a tight schedule (and budget). That is my next project (time TBD). MOVING ON. All of that being said, this is one of the more simplistic days/menus so it is more doable for normal human beings ;)
Sorry for the delay dearies...I'm a busy girl!
Day 3's menu features an incredible amount of protein and calcium along with impressively low sodium and saturated fat. There is no cholesterol (as usual with a vegan diet) and plenty of fiber (also to be expected on a vegan diet). The total fat percentage is a little higher than usual, but these are good fats that keep your heart happy and skin hair and nails looking gorrrgeous. May I just say....today was delicious. Everything I had was perfection, and super healthy as you will see from the stats below! 24% of today's calories are from protein (!!!) and it boasts 45.9g fiber!
This day's meal plan is a bit higher in sodium (2150mg), but that is still well-under the recommended daily allowance for healthy people without heart disease and/or high blood pressure. This is at the low end for calories so I would suggest using at least 100 of your "happy calories" on this day... Soooo other than completely veganizing this meal plan I have also decided to make some additions and more "liberal" substitutions. Before I eat breakfast every day, I will start with a Carrot-Daikon Drink [38 calories] from Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet (NOTE: sorry if I confused you by mentioning this in my last post!). It is supposed to act as a diuretic so we'll give that a shot ;) I am also going to try to limit my sodium intake to 1800mg or less to avoid water retention. A couple of important (and easy) components to weight loss are getting enough sleep (6.5-9 hours; 8 is optimal) and drinking plenty of water (8 cups/64oz or more).
This plan allows for 200 "happy" calories per day, and you can use the "rollover" system for any unused calories. There are no restrictions here, so go crazy! I'm hoping to indulge in some peanut butter chocolate chip cake I plan on making later this week... Click "read more" for the Day 1 meal plan! Didn't boy scouts teach us to always "Be Prepared"?! Oh, wait...
Shucks. Did I say "starting tomorrow" in that last post? Turns out that was an AWFUL idea considering I has to work 9 hours and study for an Anatomy/Physiology exam AND practical...I didn't even find time to workout! Here's how the day went: I woke up an hour and a half before I had to leave for work, thinking I would have plenty of time to get ready since I showered the night before. The first breakfast on the meal plan was a complete flop and took way longer than expected due to not enough preparation the night before. I made a huge mess of the kitchen in the process of making that, the carrot-daikon drink, and prepping/packing my lunch. I didn't even get to the recipe for the "snack". I was already running way late, and then I discovered my straightener had gone to hair-styling tool heaven. I can't even explain to you how bad my hair looked considered I slept on it damp and it's super thick. Use your imagination. Needless to say I was 15 minutes late to work and without the snack item from the meal plan. By the time I got home after work I was too hungry to work out first, and by the time I finished making "snack" it was dark out and I was exhausted (that's right, I ate "snack" after 7pm!). Plus, I desperately needed to study. I clearly wasn't hungry for the dinner menu item at this point, and to top it all off, my camera was dead and we didn't have any AA batteries! By the end of the day, I knew I needed to restart this meal plan Friday (once I was on spring break), exactly 7 days before the wedding. I have continued the Carrot-Daikon drink regimen and I have decided to give you my weight loss results for the full 10-day period. Why the heck not, right?! Well helloooo! Here's the thing. I'm going to be in a wedding in 10 DAYS (!!!). I have been consistently losing weight on my beautiful, wonderful, spiritually-fulfilling vegan diet; however, I wanted to switch things up a bit to see if I could drop a little extra for the big day and this month's SELF magazine provided me with inspiration!
This month they featured the "Drop 10" plan, which features HIIT (high-intensity interval training) and includes a 7-day meal plan. The meal plan focuses on superfoods and everything looks delicious (minus the fact that it isn't vegan...). So starting tomorrow, I will be creating a vegan version of this 7-day meal plan and sharing it with all of you, PLUS my personal workout and recommendations for you! At the end of the week I will also let you know how much weight I lost, if any :) Sound grood? I certainly hope so...because I'm not changing my mind! Feel free to ask questions, and make requests. Here's the plan on Self.com I must say, this is one of my favorite vegan meals I've made to date; and it's so quick and easy! Not to mention, it contains almost 80% of your daily fiber needs, 50% of your calcium needs, is overflowing with healthy fats, and is high in protein.
What's not to like?! I know I've been on a dinner streak lately...but I promise baked goods are coming soon! And as always, please feel free to give me any feedback/make requests! ...Now go make this: |
AuthorHi, I'm Teagan (the vegan) and I like to cook and eat ALL the vegan things. Got questions? Hit me! I promise I won't even shame you for asking me where I get my protein ;) Categories
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