Full day of eating

 For an idea of what my meals for the day look like in depth and detail, here are my Cronometer stats and images of my meals. 

I always start my day off with what I call my gross sludge...I'm the kind of person who wants to ingest all those super healthy ingredients without having to taste them! So I put all the powders and such together in my morning Turmeric shot! I then wash it down with a sip of coconut Bai. This never changes, and pulls me through my morning 2hr walk with plenty of energy to spare!

I then take my vitamins with the Nettle leaf tea that I make the night before and let it steep in the fridge until the morning, mixed with a tablespoon of the Beet Crystals.

 

When I return from my morning walk I crave my smoothie bowl Weetabix! I used to have the blueberry as a smoothie, but the Weetabix takes it to the next level and I consume it at a slower pace and get those healthy carbs in too.  Now that it's getting chilly, I still can't give it up! So I heat up a home made corn bag, bundle up and snuggle with a blanket with my puppy on my lap and enjoy my chilly desert-like first meal ^_^ 

In my cronometer I combine this smoothie bowl and my oats together even though i eat them 1-2 hours apart, so the calories and nutritional info is for both dishes combined.

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After about an hour or two of chores or doing something productive I settle down for my warm meal of the morning, my beloved cracked oats with chia & banana!

 The smoothie and oats combine have: 593.3 calories, 23.5g Protein, 89g Net carbs, and 13.2g fat

Then after a workout, usually a Chloe Ting challenge workout, I will have my Meal 2, which is technically my third meal of the day, which gives me the protein I need right after my workout. It's truly my favorite meal of the day, it's like chocolate ice-cream only very healthy!

 376.2 calories, 12.2g of protein, 22g Net carbs, 12.1g Fat

I love my dinner salad! It's always massive but ends up being less calories than any other family member's meal for the night. I added in some mung bean sprouts and alfalfa last minute, not listed in the ingredients. I love chickpeas, so I've been leaving them out and picking them off first, then I enjoy my sweet potato, then the mixed salad:) There is a benefit for adding some fat with your greens for absorption, but I didn't do that today. Added hemp seeds would have been ideal.

 I added sprouts & had some steamed Swish chard, so this is the total tally for my meal: 496 calories, 25.9 Protein, 75.8g Net Carbs, 4.6g fat 

 There's nothing like a delicious, chocolaty, peanutbuttery hot cocoa as a night cap to end the day:) The sleepy tea and warmth is the perfect combination to get me all prepped for sleep.

107.9 Calories, 5.7g Protein, 3.5g Net Carbs. 5.1g fat

 

 With my full day of 100% plant based meals I get all the nutrients I need as seen below:) I make sure that I'm eating over 1,500 calories while still managing to stay in roughly 1,000 calorie deficit for weight loss. This has worked perfectly for me as I've lost 15 lbs in just 2 months! That's roughly 2 lbs a week as is predicted with a 1,000 deficit. I make sure to stay active to be able to eat the amount of calories I do in a day:)

 I shoot to get roughly 50-60 grams of protein a day, but may increase that when I start to eat at a surplus to build muscle after my weight loss phase is done. Eating a fully vegan diet, I could reach this number of protein with foods such as beans, as you can see my dinner salad meal packs the most protein, and although I do include plenty I do love my vegan protein shakes as part of my more dessert meals, but in a whole day I only have a total of 3/4 of a serving of protein powder, so I'm getting most of my protein through foods. I will share my body transformation stats tomorrow and surprisingly my protein measured in my body has only risen since going fully vegan again!

I make sure to get plenty of healthy carbs and fiber in my day! It's very important to get lots of fiber.

I also keep my fats very low, avoiding all fat sources such as oils and choosing healthy fats such as whole nuts and seeds. I eat 1/2 a Brazil nut daily to get my recommended Selenium requirement, walnuts and flax every single day. Along with chia daily for both fats, proteins and omega-3s.  

If you track all your meals you know that it's usually hard to get the nutrients to balance below, but with my favorite meals eaten today I'm perfectly balanced!

My 2020 Health & Wellness Journey

As mentioned in the previous blog post, my recent start to regaining back my health after a year of unhealthy habits, weight gain, and health decline, began on July 7th 2020. Two months later and I'm thriving, feeling mentally clear, physically stronger, and excited for every new day of eating and workouts! 

 

This is what my typical day looks like:

• Regardless of my work schedule not changing, I have been waking up earlier than usual, at round 7:30am-9am.  
  
• The first thing I do when I wake up is drink my Loaded Turmeric shot - Turmeric, Ginger powder, pepper, Ashwagandha, Resveratrol, Trace Mineral drops, Glutathione, Iodine, Matcha, Moringa powder, Alma powder, Amazing Grass Green Superfood Alkalize & Detox powder. I then chase it down with a few sips of coconut Bai drink. I also take some vitamins. A Ritual multivitamin, omega-7, chlorella/spirulina. Although my diet is 100% vegan, I don't need to take B-12 because my foods give me plenty. I take my vitamins with a Beet crystal drink for some extra health benefits.
  
  
  

  
• I then go got a Fasted walk for 1-2 hours most days, time & weather permitted. This walk is after I walk my puppy, which is for about 20-30 minutes. I come home, bathe and feed her, then go for my walk.
  
• Then I eat my Breakfast (right after my walk) - I call this my first course breakfast - Smoothie Bowl - Banana, berry (blueberry or strawberry), Inulin, Prebiotic powder, Maca powder (yellow or red), Garden of Life Greens & Protein powder, almond milk, and one Weetabix biscuit crumbles on top, yum! This can be anywhere from 11am to 1pm!
  
  
• After about an hour of being productive, with chores or other things I need to get done, I do a Home Workout - 30-50 minutes (usually a Chloe Ting workout challenge, free on YouTube) 5-7 days a week.
• Right after my workout I eat my second course breakfast - Oatmeal (1/4 cup Cracked oatmeal, 1/2 cup almond milk, 1 Tbsp ground flax seeds, 1/2 Tbsp chia seeds, 1/2 Tbsp Blackstrap molasses, 1/2 Brazil nut, cinnamon and 1 banana. 
  
• I then take an hr to either be productive of spend time with family. 
• Next comes my beloved Chocolate Chia Pudding (1/2 Tbsp chia seeds, 1 cups almond milk, 1 tsp maca powder, 1 tsp mesquite powder, 1 Tbsp cacao powder, 2 Walnuts, 3 Prunes, 1 banana and ice. I actually prepare this first thing as I wake up. I blend it all up and stick the bowl in the freezer. I then take it out and re-blend it into an amazing creamy consistency and add the chopped walnuts and prunes. It's my favorite thing of the day! I guess I can call this lunch. I now just blend the whole banana in to make it more creamy. I used to blend half and chop half for on top. I've also recently added walnuts to it.
  
  
• Extra boost snack, sometimes had during my workout - Green Smoothie - Almond milk, veggies (kale, cucumber, celery, dandelion greens, carrots, fruit (apple, berries, pineapple etc.), fresh spearmint leaves, Bai coconut juice, lime juice.
  
  
  
• What I used to do for Lunch - was have a Sweet potato and any veggie side with nutritional yeast & spices or a healthy sauce, and then a grain (Barley, Buckwheat, Quinoa, etc.) However recently I've considered the chia my middle day meal and just gone all out on veggies in a big dinner.  
• Not too much time between lunch and dinner, then for my Dinner meal- Huge salad - mixed greens, spinach, variety of sprouts, a vinaigrette or other healthy dressing, Sauerkraut, tomato, cucumber, red pepper, basil, hemp seeds, fresh lime juice, strawberries (or apple or orange), and beans (garbanzo, red kidney beans, black beans etc.) & about 5 oz of sweet potato. Alternative dinner, becoming a favorite with the weather cooling off - creamed soup with added kale, spinach, cabbage or bok choy, sweet corn, spices a grain. The creamed soup usually had foods such as sweet potato, beans, lentils and other veggies. I recently mad a slow cooker pot of veggies, freeze sections and portion it out per meal adding in 2 cups of veggie broth to make my soup fresh each time. I liked to keep the added chopped veggies nice and crunchy too.
  
  
  
  

  

  

  
  
• I then sometimes go for a walk with my pup right after dinner, but it's getting darker sooner with winter approaching so weather permitted. 
• Evening drink - If I still feel like having something, I will have a delicious hot chocolate drink comprised of half sleepy tea, half almond milk, raw cacao powder, cinnamon,  Mushroom Extract Powder (Powerful 10 Blend, Organic Lions Mane, Cordyceps, Reishi, Shiitake, Turkey Tail Mushrooms) & sometimes a table spoon of PbFit organic peanut butter powder if I feel I could use a little bit more protein for the day. I then sweeten it with monk fruit extract. It's super yummy!
• Sauna time - And lastly, before bed I sit in my portable sauna, that gets up to 140 degrees for 30-60 minutes. It's helped me tremendously with sleep and muscle recovery!  
• Next some Veggies that I try eat pretty much Daily or at least 5 times a week minimum in my meals, either fresh in salads or cooked dishes- Dark leafy greens like Lettuces, Kale, Swiss Chard etc., Tomatoes, Spinach, Cucumber, Zucchini, Red/Orange/Yellow Bell peppers...other favorites I like to have on hand for cooking are Red Onions, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Sweet Potatoes and Broccoli. I also love Asparagus but have it on occasion.Then I try get in a variety of beans each day and healthy whole grains.  
• Then the essential Fruits to Always have on hand consumed frequently in order of frequency - Bananas, blueberries, strawberries, Oranges, Limes, Lemons, and also love grapefruit but haven't had it in a while...others I love to have but not essential to eat daily, often due to being seasonal are mangoes, apples, peaches, papaya, grapes and my favorite fruit, Pineapple.  
• Where I get my protein- Always have Organic Hemp seeds and Nutritional Yeast, Quinoa has also become a staple protein source for me, mushrooms too are an essential in the week. Kidney beans, Chickpeas, lentils, sprouts, and Spinach are also favorites along with all the other beans, and they also packs a good punch when it comes to protein and I love big spinach salad. Also, with the quantity of veggies I eat the protein adds up! I'm never under my recommended amount for the day. I also get protein from Spirulina/Chlorella tablets that I prefer to swallow than crush to mix in smoothies. And although I don't feel it to be a needed addition, I do love my vegan protein powders! Currently, and for many years, Garden of Life Greens & Protein powder. However I've recently loved all the flavors of SELECT PREScience vegan protein powders! They all taste like dessert! I use those in my chia putting.
  
• Supplements- Ritual, which is the only one I really trust to just get what I need (highly recommend looking into them), Seabuck Oil Blend Omega-7 Complete for my omegas, and Citicoline (because I was deficient at my last dr. appointment on my vegan diet early last year. 
  
• Other supplements Active Charcoal pills (when I need a detox from anything ingested or in my system...like a poisonous spider bite, or food poisoning). Echinacea Goldenseal when a bug is going around to boost my immune system. I rarely have these.
  
• Other essential foods- Almond milk is an essential because I do not eat any form of dairy, so it's my liquid for my smoothies, breakfasts and chocolate/mushroom extract drinks or any other dish that requires milk.
• Spices and Condiments- Turmeric, Ginger, cayenne pepper, stevia, monkfruit, garlic powder, ginger powder, onion powder…
• Daily Drink- Nettle Tea...it's amazing for balancing the female body! I drink it either during my workout or sauna session.
  

 *Note, I am in a weight loss phase, so I am eating at a calorie deficit. As soon as I reach my weight goal I will switch to a calorie surplus and work on gaining muscle:)

Spaghetti Squash Chow Mein with Spicy Orange Sesame Cauliflower

 Vegan and Gluten-Free 

Ingredients

• 1 cauliflower 
• 1 Tbsp Siggi's Plain Greek yogurt
• 1/3 cup Natural Orange Sauce (more or less)
• 1 Tbsp Sriracha (or to your spicy preference)
• Panko breadcrumbs
• garlic powder
• onion flakes
• 2-3 large eggs

Directions

Chop up the cauliflower in small bite sized pieces.   

Preheat over to 400 degrees.  

Whisk eggs in a bowl, and place breadcrumbs in another bowl adding some garlic powder and onion flakes.   

Coat cauliflower with egg and cover in bread crumbs. Lay on a parchment paper in single layer. Bake for 15-30 minutes.

In a small sauce pan, whisk together Orange sauce, yogurt and sriracha sauce on high heat until it boils.   

When cauliflower is ready it's delicious just like that! So snack on a few;) Then put the rest in a saucepan and drizzle sauce over and mix until coated evenly. Sprinkle sesame seeds and mix in. It's ready to top on the chow mien!

 Recipe for Spaghetti Squash Chow Mien - https://anitashealthblog.blogspot.com/2016/05/spaghetti-squash-chow-mein-tofu.html