Way of Life

[Caroveggie]

Slightly sick today. I had chlorella and oatmeal for breakfast but it came up. I feel better now but I won't have lunch and maybe not dinner. My stomach feels sensitive but at least not super nauseous.

Sucks to be sick. I don't think I'm contageous, it feels more like an upset tummy. Frankly I need the money and the sick pay isn't as high.

I was going to try jogging again. That's out today at least. Maybe by tomorrow I'll be feeling 100%.

[Caroveggie]

I'm liking potato sandwiches lately. I found sprouted wheat (with whole wheat flour) hot dog buns and I've been eating them with cooked potato slices and ketchup and mustard. They're really good. Today I found whole wheat flour flat bread and I made a potato ketchup pizza which was really yummy.

Yesterday:
B: chickpeas, a little salt, and all purpose seasoning
L: 2 McDougall cup soups (chicken flavor and pad thai)
D: 2 potato "hot dogs" with ketchup and mustard

Today:
B: chickpeas, a little salt, and all purpose seasoning
L: potato ketchup pizza on whole wheat flat bread and a pad thai McDougall cup
S: pear
D: two potato "hot dogs" with ketchup and mustard and a pear and almond milk to drink

Exercise: walked to and from work (about an hour each way)

Perhaps I should try to get more veggies in but so far I'm liking what I'm eating and it's fast and convenient. I have a whole bunch of Chinese broccoli, green onions, and cilantro, so I should try to make something with those.

Wish it were warmer out. The cold weather keeps me indoors where I don't get any exercise.

This weekend we'll be celebrating my sister's birthday at Chevy's. So I'm going to have to figure that one out. I think it'll be whole pinto beans, no cheese, salsa and corn tortillas. The party should be fun.

I've been reading this website a lot which is keeping my motivation high.

[Caroveggie]

Yesterday:

B ~ steel cut oats, berries, rice milk, cinnamon
S ~ clementines
L ~ brown rice and veggie curry and pad thai soup cup
S ~ more clementines
D ~ brussel sprouts and shitake mushrooms (baked)

This morning I was up early so I went for a slow jog/walk. Then I walked to work. I'll probably walk home also.

Today's breakfast was a can of chickpeas with nutritional yeast and all purpose seasoning and another clementine. Lunch will be the rest of the veggie curry and rice, a soup cup, or maybe a sweet potato. Not sure what's for dinner although I have more brussel sprouts.

[Caroveggie]

Lunch yesterday was pinto beans and salsa and a sweet potato and dinner was two potato pizzas.

Today:

Walked to work listening to Pride and Prejudice which really makes me want to walk more.

B ~ can of chickpeas with nutritional yeast and all purpose seasoning.
L ~ will likely be a sweet potato, salsa, and a McDougall cup
D ~ not sure yet

Tonight is a movie night so I'm going to avoid the (no doubt buttered) popcorn and other unhealthy snacks.

[Caroveggie]

Last night I put some effort into my meals for this week and I'm glad I did. I made steel cut oats for the week, brown rice, baked two sweet potatoes, and steamed some broccoli. Looking forward to lunch!

Tonight I get my glasses and I'm also going to try to pick up a garlic press while I'm downtown. Over the weekend I had a delicious salad with this "dressing":

~ fresh garlic pressed and sprinkled onto the salad
~ sea salt sprinkle
~ lemon

The salad also had avocado but I think even without it it would be good. I want to try making it without the avocado and see if I still like it as much.

[Caroveggie]

Went to a vegan restaurant with Bay Area McDougallers (BAM) and that was fun. The restaurant was very good about no oil. It was great to see old friends and make some new ones.

Other than that I've been trying to save money so living out of my pantry. I've had a lot of yummy meals. Luckily I am well stocked on starches. I have quinoa, white and brown rice, just finished up my potatoes and yams, and lots of beans. Oh, and some oatmeal. I'm going to try to go as long as I can without doing major grocery shopping because the stuff I have just tends to sit around. (Mostly the quinoa and dried beans.) So I'm going to have to learn how to cook these beans I have. I know you have to soak them all day and then I think you have to cook them for 2 hours or so. Anyway, I want to get through them.

So there's not much to report. I have a physical in May scheduled for my work. If you get a physical by June 30th then you're entered in this "Make a Date with your Doctor" contest to win free health premiums for the rest of the year. I could use the saved money. I'm also interested in what my cholesterol and other numbers are. I always have low blood pressure but haven't had my cholesterol checked in a few years.

Hope everyone's enjoying their day.

[LoriLynn]

Hi Caroveggie,

It was so nice to meet you this past week.

We make beans at least once a week in the crock pot. We just soak them the night before and then start the cooker in the morning. We put in a diced onion and some fresh garlic and then a bunch of seasonings, usually with lots of chili powder. My husband has been throwing in a can of hominy lately and it is a really nice addition. I like to keep it soupy so that I don't eat too many beans.

For the rest of the week, when I come home for lunch, I put a little bit of rice in a bowl, cover it with beans and broth and then serve with greens or fresh salsa. I sometimes throw a whole cup of salsa in with the beans and rice. I vary it slightly every day, but that is my usual lunch and it's my biggest meal of the day. I think beans are a great way to keep it interesting.

[LoriLynn]

"Pride and Prejudice" is one of my all time favorite stories.

[Caroveggie]

Hi LoriLynn thanks for stopping by! It was great meeting you and your family at Vanilla Orchid's (keeping her anonymity just in case).

I loved listening to Pride and Prejudice. What a great book. The lady who read it did a great job -- was able to do the voices for the men, old women, old men, various young women -- etc.. each individual and natural sounding! I was very impressed. I got it on iTunes for $1.50.

I don't have a slow-cooker any more. For some reason the first time I used the slow-cooker I did have there was this really strong bad smell that came out (something metallic, so I don't think it was the food). I wasn't sure what it was but I was afraid to stink up the house again and so I sold it. Now I don't have one but I'll just try cooking beans on the stove or ask my roommates because I've seen bowls of dry beans in water in the kitchen occasionally, so I know they know how to cook them properly.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

I've been busy lately but settled into this routine as far as food:

~ steel cut oats with berries and almond milk and sprinkle of sweetener for breakfast

~ curry veggies with rice or barley for lunch

~ bagels or more curry veggies for dinner, or oven potatoes which are really good

I'm still in the trying to eat everything I've got first in the kitchen although I occasionally shop for an item or two to make it palatable. Like if I run out of curry powder, I'm definitely going to get more. And I'm not living without a $0.75 bag of russet potatoes.

I've been thinking for a while to start running again but just haven't done it. I prefer running in the mornings because the weather's cooler and there's less cars and less people out. It's more peaceful. But I can never seem to wake up enough. I've tried setting my alarm for 5:30am and just could not get up. So needless to say I'm getting out of shape. So I've been thinking I should try afternoon or evening running, just to get a workout in. I might start recording it here in my journal to keep track.

I'm really looking forward to dinner. Yummy curry to look forward to.

Here's the oven potatoes recipe:

Peel and chop a potato and cook in a covered microwavable dish until cooked. (I use a small casserole and can cook one potato at a time for about 4 minutes 20 seconds.) Then in a bowl you put rice vinegar (garlic or plain, doesn't matter) and ketchup. Mix it together and then add the potato and mix the potato chunks up so they're covered. So you do this with a couple potatoes. Then get a baking sheet and add parchment paper. Spread out the goopy potatoes and bake for 10 minutes or so at about 425f. You can bake them longer, just check on them and take them out when they look crispy but not too burnt.

They're delicious.

[Vanilla Orchid]

I never read the journals, but now that the new overeaters thread is in this section, I came here, and noticed yours.

I think you may have had a defective crock pot. There isn't supposed to be a metal smell when you use it.

However, I have the coolest pot for cooking beans that my friend bought for me because I admired it at a shop in Half Moon Bay. It's made from some sort of black clay from Columbia, I think, and it's kind of pricey, but they often have some that are slightly blemished (as mine is--and I can't even find the "blemish"). You can cook with it on the stove, or in the oven or even on an open fire. For some reason, you don't need to soak the beans before cooking them this way, and they cook faster than in other pots, and hold their shape rather than getting all mushy.

Come on over and check it out, and I'll be on the lookout for when they have some "blemished" ones that they sell for half price.

[Caroveggie]

Thanks Vanilla Orchid for stopping by. I still have not cooked any beans. The only legumes I've had are chickpeas, if they count. And that's just from a can.

I have Jeff's burger and fries DVD but haven't made anything yet. I think I am low on oatmeal (only have steel cut) so I'll have to get some of that and check my spices. But I do want to try cooking some of Jeff's burgers soon. I know I have the kidney beans at least.

I still haven't run. I haven't been able to get up earlier in the mornings. I just hit snooze and then I'm sleepy for the rest of the day. So I'm thinking I need to run after work. It's tough though because it's been pretty windy and misty. However I'm tired of being so out of shape. I'm lucky if I get some walking in.

My meals are still the same also... steel cut oats for breakfast (although this morning I haven't had them yet because I'm not hungry)... curry vegetables with potato and brown rice for lunch.. and then dinner is a mix but generally potatoes figure in. Maybe I'll try making some of Jeff's burgers tonight. And I have potatoes so I can try making the wedges too. I understand it'll be like cooking in bulk so I'll have some left over. I just need to make sure I have the oatmeal and garlic spice. Maybe look over his DVD again.

[Vanilla Orchid]

Thanks Vanilla Orchid for stopping by. I still have not cooked any beans. The only legumes I've had are chickpeas, if they count. And that's just from a can.

Chickpeas count. I generally use the canned ones because they are so easy, and I love them.

We had a really exciting windstorm yesterday, so I can imagine why you wouldn't want to be outside. Trees were down. Stuff littering the streets all over. Give it a couple days to die down.

[Caroveggie]

The weather in SF has been lovely. Just a little windy but I wasn't out much. This morning I actually got up at 6am and went for a run. Well, a jog with walking spurts in between, but it's a start. I put it on my calendar with a star.

I really am out of shape. I was feeling winded and tired through much of my run, not full of energy. I just had energy when I started and then I had to pace myself. I only went to 15th and back.

Still, I'm happy I went out at all. It's been really hard to do what with the crazy weather and my sleepiness level in the mornings. At night I tend to want to eat and then do something else before bed time. Usually something quite sedentary, like reading or watching a movie.

I'm going to try to run tomorrow also. I didn't wear myself out enough to need a day of recovery I don't think. Tomorrow (or the next time I run if I do wait a day) my goal will be to try to jog more of the time I'm out there rather than less. I'll also try to remember to bring my ipod since that makes the whole thing more enjoyable.

[LoriLynn]

Nice work on starting the running again. I have never run since junior high, until recently. I tried again a couple months ago and last month. The first time was outdoors and the others were on a treadmill in a gym. I mostly walk, but I jog as much as I can in intervals. I would like to do more, but I get too self-conscious in the gym I use, so if there are other people around, I won't attempt it. I use a small gym upstairs where my daughter practices gymnastics for 3.5 hours three times a week. I can be on a machine and watch her practice below. On Saturday mornings, I have the place to myself, but on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, I am lucky to even find an open machine of any sort.

Perhaps if I get a few more pounds off, I won't be afraid to try it again.

[Caroveggie]

Good for you for starting running also! Jogging a couple times a week will help the pounds melt off before you know it.

You shouldn't be self-conscious, although I can relate to the feeling. I liked when I belonged to the YMCA because every body shape would represent and flaunt their nakedness in the locker rooms ~ young, old, wrinkled, jiggly, didn't matter. It felt very democratic.

Why not bring an ipod so you have something to distract your thoughts? An audiobook works especially well for this. And most of all just know that most people, no matter which gym, are thinking more of their own body than yours.

But anyway, if you can keep it up on more than just one day a week you'll see your stamina improve. I know this from the last time I was jogging regularly. You can really tell by the treadmills. You'll be able to go faster and longer, which is cool to track.

If you feel self-conscious and decide to go for it anyway, just know McDougallers like me are rooting for you and it's just a matter of time when you'll feel more self-confident because of how you'll look, time which will happen sooner the more you work at it.. at least, that's what I tell myself too..