MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Share your daily McDougall menus and/or keep a journal describing your personal progress.

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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Wed Dec 21, 2011 7:55 pm

Today I decided to up the veggies and greens. I took a dinner plate piled full of mixed veggies and collards and put a smallish portion of hash browns over the top. Added a few capers and a squirt of ketchup. It was tasty and satisfying.

The capers are a new thing. Since they're high sodium I'm limiting the amount to maybe 1/2 teaspoon or less. It's a nice flavor boost for plain veggies.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Fri Dec 23, 2011 10:52 pm

I put tobasco sauce on air popped popcorn tonight. It worked better than anything else I've tried previously (plain salt, soy sauce, nut. yeast).

Also made a lentil stew with carrots, celery, onion, potatoes. It's amazing how much it tastes & smells like beef stew. I guess most of the flavor I associate with beef stew is the veggies. I sauteed the onion first in a nonstick skillet with nothing added.

I ate a *lot* today, I just felt ravenous. I had my last bowl of rice and corn after midnight.

B: oatmeal, cherries
S: 2 bananas, cherries (blended with water into a smoothie)
L: rice, lentil stew
D: veggie plate (squash rings, potato wedges, mixed veggies), 1/2 apple
S2: huuuuge bowl of air-pop with tobasco
S3: oatmeal, cherries
D2: rice, sweet corn, potato wedges
off-plan: 2 girardelli peppermint bark squares

Even with the candy it was still over 90% of calories from whole plant food
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Mon Dec 26, 2011 7:35 pm

Made it through Christmas pretty well. I had a few unplanned treats, but today I tossed out the lingering food gifts (butter cookies, salami, cheese wedges). Feel a bit guilty but oh well, better in the trash than down my gullet. My weight was up 1.6 pounds over my goal today.

I think I just eat more when I'm off work.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Wed Dec 28, 2011 12:22 am

I notice I haven't been snacking during the day while I've been off work. When I'm hungry I just have a meal. I end up having four meals, and another bowl of oatmeal before bed if I'm still hungry. I think I'll try to continue that trend when I go back to work. I can pack two meals to take with me, and have lunch and early dinner at work, then have dinner at home later. I think that will end up being better nutrition and more satisfying than taking one meal plus potatoes and bananas as snacks.

No off-plan food today, and I was at goal weight this morning. I also took a really long walk. :)

M1: oatmeal, cherries
M2: hash browns, lentil stew
M3: rice, sw. potato, pineapple chunks
M4: mashed potatoes, veggies & greens
M5: oatmeal, cherries

I feel more determined to eliminate the food treats. It's seeming like more trouble than it's worth right now to try to include limited treats. Heck, when I was a kid we got food treats on Sunday only. Now it's become an expectation to have treats several times a day. Just trying to limit myself to one treat per day seems radical, plus it's really hard for me to do. I just want to stop eating in response to cravings, period.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Thu Dec 29, 2011 4:01 am

Maybe I should just expect that every time I made a declaration of wanting to up my good food and reduce the not-so-good food, I get a backlash. Today wasn't so great

M1: oatmeal, cherries
M2: hash browns, lentil stew, veggies/greens
M3: mashed potatoes, veggies/greens
S1: huuuge bowl of air pop with tobasco
off-plan: slice pumpkin pie, cocktail (1 oz liqueur, 1/2 oz vodka), chocolate coin candy

I had planned to eat the slice of pie (last one) today or tomorrow, but not the alcohol and candy. I also have a restaurant meal tomorrow, so it would have made sense to do an all-good-food day today knowing tomorrow will likely have some off-plan indulgence.

I'm a bit disappointed in myself, just because it happened the very next day after deciding I wanted to finally work to eliminate the habit of using food as treats.

On the plus side, I did a new workout called "beginner bodyweight burn" that was quite challenging. I skipped one exercise and could not do all reps on all exercises, but I made it to the end.

I think the thing that triggered the eating was letting myself get too emotional over some old letters I was going through in order to sort them. I did manage to finish the project but I wallowed a bit in nostalgia and re-lived some unpleasant memories as well. I need to prepare for emotional upsets and figure out some other comfort besides food or alcohol.

It is really like my inner food addict is just waiting for a moment of weakness to press its agenda and derail me and get its fix.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Fri Dec 30, 2011 7:49 pm

My restaurant meal last night didn't have any great options. I ordered a beet salad and an appetizer. Both turned out to be high fat and had dairy. I also ate two large pieces of bread. I'll give myself credit for skipping wine and dessert. I was really hungry and ate almost every bit of the food except for the ridiculous quantity of goat cheese on the salad. I was glad not to get any obvious GI troubles from the meal, and I did enjoy the ambiance and the conversation.

Today is back on track, enjoying my usual breakfast, finishing off the lentil stew (finally! I'm tired of it) and taters. Also did my 'beginner's body burn' workout for the 2nd time and got a few more reps complete compared to the 1st try.

I realized there's no point in being down on myself for not being at 100% on the "no off plan treats" thing yet. I've only just decided to make it a habit, and it really is getting more 'normal' to ignore the off plan junk I'm exposed to, and to limit quantities when I do indulge. It seems that little incremental progress is my way and I need to work with that, and celebrate the little changes.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Sat Dec 31, 2011 8:16 pm

A couple tasty experiments today:

2 bananas (refrigerated), 10 raspberries, 1 T cocoa power, a little water, blend = yummy chocolate raspberry shake

1/2 large sweet yellow onion, 8 oz sliced mushrooms, sautee in nonstick skillet until mushrooms are tender and onion starts to brown = yummy snack
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Mon Jan 02, 2012 10:07 pm

I made bread today, following the recipe in Mark Bittman's big yellow cookbook. I used about 1/2 c whole wheat flour and the rest all-purpose flour. Like other breadmaking experiments I remember, it didn't really rise enough and the result was a bit denser than I was hoping. I was hoping for something close to french bread texture, but it's more like a bagel. Not bad enough to stop me from eating it though.

I found this interesting blog post http://www.happiness-project.com/happin ... ng-up.html about how when breaking bad habits, some folks find it naturally easier to moderate, and some find it easier to abstain. And she points out how common it is for people to think their way is the only way to do it, leading to irritation and conflict around the topic. Er, where have I noticed that type of conflict? ;-)

I've used a mix of the two tactics over time, and use moderation a lot more successfully than abstinence. But, I've used abstinence at times when attempts to moderate create continual struggles. And I've switched back and forth between the two tactics over time. So I'm reluctant to label myself either one. I'm certainly not an abstainer, but I like to keep that option open, and I've experienced the irritation she describes over people insisting moderation is the way to go, when abstinence seems easier for her.

=================

I debated starting a new 2012 journal, since my goals have shifted from when I started this one. But I don't quite want to start over, so here I'll stay.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Tue Jan 03, 2012 2:01 am

I am loving this veggie mix lately:

frozen chopped collard greens
frozen sweet white corn
frozen cut broccoli (mix of stems & florets)
1/2 t capers

Heat the frozen veggies in a pan with a little water, add capers when it's done, eat.

I love this with hash browns or mashed potatoes.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Tue Jan 03, 2012 8:10 pm

I'm cooking red beans in a crock pot. I thought overnight on "Low" heat would work. Boy was I wrong. They've been cooking about 22 hours now and they're still not cooked. I turned the heat up to High, hoping they'll be done by the time I go to bed tonight. Next time I'll try soaking them overnight first.

Well today is my last day of a long (2 weeks + 2 days) vacation. Back to work tomorrow. I'm going to prep by cooking rice, mashed potatoes, and sweet potatoes. I plan to pack two meals a day to take in now.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby StarchBeet » Tue Jan 03, 2012 8:30 pm

Things are looking good!!

I'm upping the greens and veggies too. I actually had two bowls of greens with three bean salad today. That's a great start for me.

Occasionally I've gotten beans and lentils that don't cook all the way no matter how long you cook. One was a main dish on a trip and I ate those stupid crunchy lentils anyway because I didn't want to eat off plan. I think it might have to do with when they harvest the beans, but just guessing. Could be the weather, or who knows what else.

Did the beans finally soften?

Julie
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Tue Jan 03, 2012 9:26 pm

Hi Starchbeet. I think they're finally cooking, some are starting to break and they're almost soft. Upping the heat might have done the trick.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Wed Jan 04, 2012 12:07 pm

Well the red beans finally cooked :) Lesson learned, soak overnight, use high heat, or both.

I came across this book and bought it for Kindle http://www.amazon.com/Skinny-Thinking-R ... 1600377491 I read about 2/3 of it already. It really goes into detail about what I've been struggling with-- my tendency to use food as "treats" and rewards. She lays out good arguments against that habit, and lists specific ways to change your thinking and interrupt yourself when cravings hit. One point she made that was kind of new to me was that eliminating "pleasure foods" doesn't mean you eliminate the pleasure of eating. You'll still get pleasure from food. As we know, your tastes adjust and real food becomes tasty. The less candy I eat, the tastier fruit becomes.

She's definitely on the abstainer side of the abstainer/moderator split, so some of the suggestions don't click with me right away. She says it's easy to decide you just don't eat X anymore (where X is sugar or whatever problem food you might have). I've found that deciding to not eat X anymore results in not eating X for a day, then somehow, X makes its way into my belly. Yet looking back, I can see there are many things I really just don't eat any more or eat once in a blue moon and don't miss. So I thought I might make a list of "I don't eat X anymore" and see what foods seem easy, which are a struggle, and which are just not gonna happen yet (e.g. coffee).
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Thu Jan 05, 2012 1:38 am

First day back to work. I took in two meals, but ended up not having time to eat the second one, so I heated it up for dinner after I got home.

On the way home I passed a McDonald's and remembered how driving home late from work tired & hungry used to so often lead to a drive-thru dinner. I was happy to notice the contrast with my new WOE. For one thing I now always have healthy food at home I can prepare quickly, and for another, I know that I can easily go several hours after hunger sets in before eating without any blood sugar crash or other ill effects. So there's no need to eat road food. :nod:

Plus, the stuff doesn't even sound remotely appealing any more.

B: oatmeal, cherries
L: rice, beans, veggie mix
D: veggie mix, mashed potatoes, sweet potato

I'm wiped out from getting only 6 or so hours of sleep last night. Looking forward to catching up tonight.
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Re: MmmCarb's Good Food Journal

Postby MmmCarbs » Thu Jan 05, 2012 1:45 am

I read an article on the zenhabits blog lately about developing habits instead of setting goals. That made sense to me and I was inspired to think about new habits to adopt for 2012. My good food habit is clicking along nicely, but there's one aspect that's been difficult-- I tend to let dirty dishes and pans pile up around the kitchen during the week, resulting in a big mess to clean on the weekend. The mess is worse that it used to be since I cook at home so much more now.

So I'm trying a new habit of taking time to clean the dishes every night before bed. I figure I've been spending at least an hour surfing the web before going to sleep anyway, so it's definitely not a real time crunch issue.

Tonight I wanted to sit and watch some TV before bed and I actually managed to make myself do dishes first so I could better enjoy the TV time without having to do dishes later.
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