Day 8: Hungry, So Very Hungry

Today I wasn’t really craving bad food, I just wanted a lot of it.  My meals were also weird.

Breakfast of champions!  I was at Hannaford early this morning and they were marking down all the older meats.  Grabbed some lean ground beef and made this when I got back to the apartment.  Looking at this picture makes me miss Hawaii and Loco Mocos.

I had also grabbed some broccoli which I steamed for lunch along with a bowl of the leftover turkey/fennel/squash stew.

For dinner, a friend and I made a veggie saute.  Kale, Onion, Pepper, Zucchini, and Baby Bellas dressed with basil, olive oil, and lemon juice.  Pretty tasty.

The main reason we got together tonight was to watch The Way (just out on Redbox). We are hoping to hike el Camino de Santiago in the Spring of ’13 and The Way is a movie that takes place on that trail.  It was pretty well done and definitely made me wish the trip was a lot sooner.

Day 7: Pretty Good Week

First week of the diet is over and I feel better now than when I started.  I still have cravings but they aren’t too bad now.  Those energy bars I mentioned before are amazing by the way.  Still milking the chili and stew from the other day.  For breakfast I had a big ol’ chili omelet.

The for lunch I had sweet potato steak fries (let me know if I am incorrectly labeling these) with some of the stew.

While there are a lot of veggies in the stew and chili I do feel like I should be eating some more. I will try and remedy that tomorrow.

I have been reading Walden and it is a pretty amazing book so far.  Probably not the best thing to read when you are jobless and renting your friends couch though.  Motivational in a certain way but probably not the direction I need any help going in right now.

Also, got a good workout today.  Went to the gym at around 5pm then went to boot at 7pm.  For those who don’t know, boot is an indoor version of ultimate played on a basketball court.  Back to the gym at 6am tomorrow morning so hopefully I can figure out how to fall asleep tonight.

“This spending of the best part of one’s life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of it, reminds me of the Englishman who went to India to make a fortune first, in order that he might return to England and live the life of a poet.”

 

Castaway on the Moon

This should have been the last movie I watched before I canceled my Netflix account.

The movie isn’t as goofy as this poster makes it look.  It is called “Castaway on the Moon” and I recommend finding a way to watch it.  It is a little weird at first but watch it all the way through. Instantly one of my favorite movies.

Like I said, that should have been the last movie I watched but then I clicked on this:

This movie is every bit as goofy as you would expect.

Day 6: Familiar Ground

Chili’s and stews are a great way to easily prepare and stock a lot of food.  Also, they are open to whatever variations you like.  There was a post a little while ago that will be quite similar to the start of this one actually.  All the ingredients I usually use are approved for this diet so no problems there.

I made one pot with turkey and fennel then another with chuck roast and tomatoes.  These should last me through this week.  Unfortunately no bread to go with them but I stocked up on sweet potatoes which aren’t too bad.

Left Side = Turkey Stew: Right Side = Chili con Carne

If you check out the top right of that photo you will see I am planning on trying out the drink Dave suggested in a comment on a previous post.  Will let you know how it goes.

Turkey, Butternut Squash, and Fennel Stew:

• Turkey
• Fennel Bulb
• Butternut Squash
• Zucchini
• Onion
• Celery
• Fennel Seeds
• Paprika
• Salt and Pepper

I was pretty happy with how this turned out.  Mild fennel flavor, almost creamy from the breakdown of the squash.

Chili con Carne:

• Chuck Roast
• Tomatoes
• Bell Pepper
• Pablano Pepper
• Onions
• Celery
• Tomato Paste
• Chili Powder
• Cumin Seeds
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Salt and Pepper

One of the better chili’s I have made.  If you give it enough time the meat falls apart and the tomatoes break down.  The pablano was pretty mild so I added the pepper flakes to give it a little kick at least.

Normally I would use garlic in both these but I forgot to purchase some.  If you can bag your own spices and buy them by the ounce it is usually worth it.  I went to whole foods just for that and some coconut flakes and ended up paying a little under $2 for all the spices (and I have a good amount left over).

Earlier this week I was talking about cravings with a friend who had just finished this diet.  He suggested I make some energy bars and so today I gave that a shot.

Simple Energy Bar:

• Coconut Flakes
• Dates (Figs were the suggestion but I had bought a bag of dates for the tournament this past weekend and realized they were gross by themselves so…)
• Walnuts
• Almond Butter

Basically just process equal parts of the coconut, dates, and walnuts until it is all mealy then blend in some almond butter to make it cohesive.

Just pat it into a pan and refrigerate until set.

Going to be trying them later today and will let you know tomorrow how they turned out.

Pretty happy with the diet.  Don’t feel terribly different but I am still less than a week in.

“I had three pieces of limestone on my desk, but I was terrified to find that they required  to be dusted daily, when the furniture of my mind was all undusted still, and I threw them out the window in disgust.”

 

 

Day 5: Good Morning! (double entendre)

Today is going pretty well.  Two things happened which inspired me to put a little more effort into breakfast than usual.  First, my roommates initiated a kitchen cleansing which led to me doing a bunch of dishes.  Second, I noticed some of my kale was growing mold.  I don’t know about you but whenever I am faced with a clean kitchen it makes me want to create a whole new mess (aka cook) and with my kale in danger I needed to use it all up anyway.

Most of the kale went into kale chips (timely suggestion Dave, thanks!).  The rest was sauteed for breakfast.  I also made some curried cauliflower mash and pan seared chicken.  Not a terribly conventional breakfast but when life gives you cauliflower, chicken, and kale…

 

Unfortunately I don’t think my meals are going to get much better today.  I have one hard boiled egg and half a green pepper left in the fridge.  Time to go shopping.

I also added a team picture to yesterday’s post. I was only half as miserable as I look, check it out!

Kale Chips: before

Kale Chips: after

Day 4: Live, Freeze, or Die

Went to a tournament at UNH today.  I felt about how I usually feel at a tournament like that.  It was nice to play outside again but frustrating to play with a pick up team.  Like SESO it felt like lanes were rarely open and it was more about hitting random shots than making good cuts or playing like a team.  We went 2-3 on the day.

I didn’t notice any negative side effects from the diet.  I had enough energy to play, any issues seemed to be just about conditioning.

Breakfast:  Sweet Potato Hash and Eggs

Snacked on almonds, a couple bananas, and an apple throughout the tournament.

Discovered that I DON’T like figs except when they are wrapped in bacon.

Dinner: Tuna and Avocado (meant to bring this for lunch but that didn’t happen)

After tournament cravings?  Yep.  Not too bad though.

Day 3: Tired

Started the day with a frittata with kale, carrots, and peppers.  I did burn it a bit on top but it was still pretty good.

I was low on energy today but I imagine that is more due to my difficulties sleeping than the new diet.  It was nice out and since I don’t much of a life I spent most of the day walking around.  Ended up grabbing some almonds and an apple from Trader Joe’s to snack on.

Lunch was boiled chicken, sweet potato, and some zucchini with onions.

That’s a lot of food.  Was going to save half of it for tomorrow but then I ate it all.

I went to the store to get some food for the tournament tomorrow and decided to grab something different for dinner.  Ended up buying a pollock fillet (cheap-o fish stick fish) and cooked that up with some cauliflower and more zucchini.  It looks terrible but tasted alright… I didn’t do a great job of making it into a good meal but it was nice to at least have a different protein.

Heading to UNH tomorrow to pick up with a team at Live, Freeze, or Die.  Doesn’t look like it is going to be as miserable this year as it usually is but getting back outside is always a bit frustrating.  Should be a good work out anyway.

Probably how I will feel by tomorrow afternoon.

Day 2: Very Similar to Day 1

Lost my backpack at some point between today and two weeks ago.  My camera battery charger is in my backpack (I think?).  Don’t worry, I figured out a way around that problem.

I started this morning with a scramble cooked in coconut oil including:

• Kale
• Pepper
• Onion
• 3 Eggs

Here is what it looked like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

For lunch I had chicken with kale and sweet potato:

 

 

 

 

Then for dinner I had more chicken!  This time with some zucchini, summer squash, and tomatoes.  It looked nothing like this:

 

 

 

 

 

I also ate three hard boiled eggs before my workout today.

Meals do all seem quite similar but that doesn’t bother me too much.  I really enjoy the food I am eating, the only issue is going to be continuing to avoid the food I am not able to eat.

All and all I am feeling pretty optimistic about this still.  I know I am barely into it so that doesn’t mean too much but a month really isn’t too long.  First outdoor tournament of the year for me is this weekend, should be interesting to see how much energy I have.  Also, dealing with the post tournament binge…

I will go and pick up another battery charger tomorrow so you don’t have to worry about suffering through any more of my artwork.

 

 

Connecting

There are a lot of people in the world who have something interesting to say.  Some have the ability to share their thoughts in a way that gives other people the opportunity to connect with them.

Often I need to be in the right frame of mind to really feel what an author is saying.  Not just digest it but understand it on a level that connects to emotions.  I wonder how many revelatory passages I have overlooked because I wasn’t in the right mood to take it in.

This train of thought was brought on by a book I have been reading on and off for the last few months.  There were only a few times where I felt myself drawn into the book.  I wasn’t constantly fascinated with the story or the ideas but I got enough to feel it was worth it to stick with it.  I am quite glad I did.

I am certainly not claiming this book will change everyone’s life who reads it or that it will change mine.  I did feel a connection to it that I imagine a lot of people feel when reading it.  It explores questions we all probably have about life and society in a way that is reassuring and sometimes exhilarating.  There are moments of arrogance in the writing that I didn’t appreciate but that is often the price of passion and hardly enough to significantly impact of the overall impressions left from the book.

If you have not read it I recommend doing so soon.

Walden is up next on my book queue but if anyone has any book recommendations please share.

Day 1: Realization

Today forced me to take note of how often I actually crave bad food and how consistently I give in to those cravings.  I was full all day and enjoyed what I was eating but I often caught myself wanting more.  Nice to have a solid goal and plan to keep me in check.

Worst part of the day was going to a friends for a birthday dinner and having to bring a separate meal for myself.  I REALLY hate being THAT person.  I did manage to make it through the day though.   Avoided honey in my tea,  cheesy/meaty spaghetti pie, and a lovely looking lemon meringue.

For lunch I made chicken and vegetables with some light curry seasonings.  Sauteed/steamed the chicken in coconut oil then cooked the veggies in the pan drippings with cumin, turmeric, and coriander.

Dinner was a stir fry of chicken, cauliflower, and kale.  I took a picture but it looked pale and gross which is totally misleading.  It was pretty tasty so I decided to omit the picture to avoid any confusion through bad cameramenship (not a proper word? okay).

Feeling pretty good after day one.  Probably going to be eating a lot of chicken until other meats go on sale or I feel like splurging on fish.

Got any meal suggestions?  Know any good vegetables I might not have tried before?  I encourage sharing this information with me because otherwise this blog is going to get even more boring fast.

“…stop yanking and just stare at the coconut for a while.”