SunshineDay's Diary: 'Nothin' but Blue Skies....".

[SunshineDay]

Thanks, Chile! Yes, it's lovely indeed to be able to really tell a difference like this -- heck, I feel almost 'skinny', ha-ha, despite the dozens upon dozens (upon dozens) of pounds I could still stand to lose here. Funny how that works ....!

As for my crockpot experiment yesterday, all I did was scrub the veggies -- no chopping except for the carrots (which I cut into thirds). I just layered my orange beets on the bottom, followed by the carrots, followed by the potatoes and the sweet potato -- and setting my cooker for high (I have an old, 70's model I picked up second hand -- perfectly serviceable but only two settings). I should have paid more attention as to how much time it actually took, but I think it was somewhere around 2.5 - 3 hours....? It was interesting to see that there was a good inch or more of liquid at the bottom of the cooker -- just from the veggies themselves because I put them in dry (and I ended up using that 'pot liquor' in a batch of mushroom gravy I also made to top my roasty veggies). In all I was really pleased -- easy, simple and good (plus I can especially see it being useful in summer when I've that taste for roast veggies but it's way too hot to fire up the oven)....

[Chile]

Thanks. I'll give it a try. My crockpot is an old one, too, hand-me-down from my elderly mother-in-law.

[SunshineDay]

Thanks Chile -- indeed those vintage '70's crockpots are Golden Oldies. I actually have two (sometimes getting both going at the same time): one 'avocado green', and one 'harvest orange' -- so ancient those colors have actually almost come back in vogue again, but yet they're still going strong ...


Food Update for yesterday (wednesday):

Lunch and Snacks: I nibbled on my crockpot-baked veggies pretty much all afternoon long. These were especially tasty topped with some mushroom gravy I also whipped up (using as part of the liquid the 'pot-liquor' left in the crockpot upon baking the veggies).

Dinner: Thai food restaurant. I ordered my stand-by 'Green Papaya Salad' for my entree. My husband and daughter also ordered veggie Spring Rolls and Coconut Soup for our appetizers. The Spring Rolls were obviously fried, so in the spirit of things I allowed myself a small taste of them, but no more than that. The soup came with white rice, so I filled my bowl with that, fishing out the veggies to top the rice with, leaving behind most of the broth. I also ate a couple of the carrots from my daughter's dish (Mock Duck) since she doesn't care for cooked carrots (plus I also had a few unexplainable sips of her Sierra Mist for some weird reason -- madness I tell you, since I don't even like pop!). My salad was tasty as usual, but I ended up packing a lot of it up since I couldn't finish it all....

Today:

B: So far today, for a late breakfast I had more crockpot veggies topped with mushroom gravy, plus a bit of my leftover Thai salad...

[SunshineDay]

I know the term 'big boned' is often a euphemism for 'overweight' -- however while I am definitely the latter, I am also most certainly the former. I'm sure I must come from a long line of hardy peasant stock, for at 5'-7" (used to be 5'-7.5" -- damn gravity) I sport a size 11 shoe, and have the largest hands of any woman I've ever met. Wide hips and strapping shoulders, broad joints, laughably wide feet, brawny knuckles -- I'm not and never have been mistaken for a 'petite flower' . Well, while I admit it pained me a wee bit in my youth, today I'm fine and comfortable with my large frame (extra poundage it's carrying aside ..)-- though it always has thrown my BMI off a bit, even when thin. I know a lot of people here use BMI as a measurement and as part of their goals -- we'll have to see how it goes, but I doubt I'll be paying much attention to it for myself....

My food update for yesterday:

For lunch I finished off my crockpot roasted veggies, and the leftover Green Papaya Salad. I still had half the Mushroom Gravy left, so in the afternoon I made a big batch of oven fries so I could top them with the gravy. I ate this for a snack, and then again for an early dinner, finishing the gravy (and I must say I really like that gravy, and want to make more soon). Then I went over to my folks for our weekly TV night last night, where I had a locally grown honeycrisp apple and a bit of local cider. Coming home, it was late but I still felt a little hungry (I guess from my early dinner?) so I had a few more over fries with ketchup before turning in.....

(****Edited to add: Oops, forgot to mention the smoothie I also made for myself yesterday afternoon: 1 fresh banana, some frozen banana chunks, cocoa powder, almond extract, tsp of molasses, blended with water)

[SunshineDay]

Food Update for yesterday (Friday):

B: A handful of cold oven fries and a banana eaten on the run, heading out the door for the gym in the a.m..

L: Baked potato topped with chopped lettuce salad.

S: More of the same.....

...Then later yesterday afternoon I whipped up a big batch of 'Mary's Burgers' (chickpea). Wow oh wow, the recipe made a veritable ton of burger patties (much of which I plan to freeze), and was really tasty to me....! (I altered the recipe slightly by dumping in a big heaping helping of chopped fresh garden basil (needs to be used up), plus some turmeric powder (just because ..). Very yummy indeed, and I ended up eating several of the patties right away (first with one slice of bread, cut in half, and then with the last of the mini Flat Out flat-bread thingies). In fact, for the first time while on the program it all sort of triggered twinges that I might be dangerously overeating ('Danger-danger Will Robinson!!'), though in actuality I can't imagine they really have that many calories...? I guess it's just that they were so yummi-licious, really satisfying those (veggie) burger hankerings that I didn't even know I had.....

D: I made 'Couscous With Seven Vegetables' (though my version had more like 8 or 9 vegetables ) for tonight's dinner (and, since I'd already eaten bread today, my serving was more stew and less couscous)....

S: Bit of orange juice.

[SunshineDay]

It's a beautiful warm sunny Sunday in these parts. I'm really loving this Indian Summer weather. Yesterday I managed to take two bike rides -- my spouse had to go in to his office to catch up on some work, and, being such a pleasant day, decided to ride his bike (about a 4-5 miles round trip). So for fun I accompanied him both going over there, and coming home. I haven't been biking much this summer though (like, at all?), so there's really nothing quite like huffing and puffing on a bicycle to make a person feel woefully out of shape. I mean, Hello...!!! It did occur to me as I was peddling away yesterday that if only I'd been consistently riding all summer, things would have been easy-peasy for me by now -- but oh well! Yes i got my late start here, but it's still a lot better than nothing (and hopefully I can get in more rides before the snow starts flying)....

So in any case, it's been 20 years. 20 years, that is, since my very first foray into the McDougall Lifestyle. I remember it was back in the fall of 1990 that I went to hear a free lecture on vegetariansim by a doctor whose name I'd never heard of. A Dr. John McDougall. At the time I was 24 and had been an ethical vegetarian since my teens, so when I saw the fliers for the upcoming talk, my interest was piqued. And what an eye-opening discussion it was! The Dr. was such a good speaker, and a persuasive one. It gave me much food for thought, and I left the auditorium feeling...different. That very night I recall going out for Mexican with a friend and actually ordering my veggie bean burrito without the dairy -- which was fairly radical of me at the time because of course who didn't love that gooey nacho queso all over everything? Well, that initial resolve didn't really last terribly long -- likely i was back to my ovo-lacto veggie ways within a matter of days ...but still, the wheels in my head were definitely turning. I bought the books available at the time (all Regular Plan -- no MWL back then), and began reading. And ruminating. And so it was that by January 1, 1991, a few months later, it was my especial New Year's Resolution to go ALL McDougall, ALL the time... (as I did, with great results...!)...

Therefore in light of all this, it feels fitting indeed that I was able to truly recommit again this year. Later in the year, yes, than the OFFICIAL 20 year mark -- but as 2011 is not over yet, while I may have missed my official McDougall-versary last New Year's Day, the timing still feels really right ....

My food update for yesterday:

L: Leftover 'Couscous with Seven Vegetables' (didnt' make that much couscous to begin with, so am eating mostly stew and less couscous), a few 'Mary's Burgers' patties.

S: A 'Mary's Burger' using 1 slice bread, cut in half (with mustard, ketchup, onion, pickle). 2 thin slices of my husband's vegetarian/vegan lunchmeat (and why exactly I felt compelled to dig into that I can't really say) with a small shmear of avocado....

D: Leftover 'Couscous with Seven Vegetables', more of 'Mary's Burgers' (without bread)....

Beverage: Throughout the day yesterday I sipped on fresh limemade I made using diluted lime juice sweetened with stevia....

[WeeSpeck]

I loved hearing about your evolution along the McDougall path. It definitely does happen the way you describe. A seed is planted, it germinates and it grows to a natural way of life. Sometimes it takes a lot of years for that to happen.

[SunshineDay]

Thanks so much for comment Nancy -- indeed, even though I strayed from the straight and narrow over the years (namely, allowing dairy and junk food back into the house at the others' request -- and then eventually going on to consume it myself with the 'if you can't beat 'em, join 'em' mentality), happily I never did over these 20 years stop believing that McDougall truly was still THE way to go, as the healthiest and best option for diet and lifestyle. That notion has always stubbornly stuck in the back of my mind, like a little voice whispering in my ear, heh...

My Food Update for yesterday (Sunday):

So I woke up yesterday morning all set to make myself a lovely bowl of oatmeal, but when it came down to it, as usual I grabbed the cold leftovers ('Couscous with Seven Vegetables', Mary's Burgers). I think it's just a habit (leftovers for brekki) that I've gotten into over the years. Perhaps the notion of hot oatmeal will be more appealing when the cold weather really sets in -- in any case, I aim to work on that....:

B: Leftover 'Couscous with Seven Veggies' (not that much couscous), A 'Mary's Burger' using one slice ww bread, cut in half.

L: Breakfast was eaten late and was hearty enough that I ended up skipping lunch.

Late Afternoon S: My daughter and i came home from an afternoon of shopping and I was pretty hungry. Finished up the leftover 'Couscous with Seven Veggies'...

D: Pizza Night! It had been two weeks since we'd made any. As usual we made two -- one with red sauce, and one with alfredo. I made a crust with half ww flour, and added extra oat bran (plus for the liquid I used leftover potato cooking water). The red sauce was some cheap, jarred stuff that has oil in the ingredients, yet in the nutri info claims to have 0 fat. I left cheese off a portion of the red sauce pizza for myself. And I think I let myself get a little too hungry at the time because I ended up picking at the veggie sausage and olives as i was cutting them up to top the pizza! (oops -- well still, in any case I was not at all tempted by the Alfredo sauce (in fact it smelled yuckky to me last night) or the cheese). My own little red sauced, cheeseless veggie pizza was lovely and really hit the spot -- and I ate all my portion last night because I just wanted it good and gone, so now I can leave the leftovers alone today knowing there is nothing in there for me...

[SunshineDay]

Whew, a busy week for me, and as such I haven't been able to check in here -- thus I will try a quick recap of the last several days (and instead of trying to recount here everything I've eaten since Monday, I'll just mention the things that are somewhat more notable and different from my usual suspects)....

On Monday I made veg Sloppy Joes for dinner, as per my daughter's especial request. She grew up with me making these from TVP -- however for the last few years I haven't been as comfortable cooking with that, just because it's such a processed product. So I made this batch of Joes from frozen tofu that I thawed and chopped very finely -- with the other two family members never noticing any difference. It goes without saying that I used no additional oil -- plus I also managed to dump into my Joes (in addition to the onion and pepper it calls for) two baggies (containing one cup each) of frozen shredded yellow summer squash that were taking up precious real estate in the freezer (and no one the wiser of that either, score! ...). I had one serving of the Sloppy Joes, and on one bun, that, while not ww, did not contain any animal products.....

Yesterday (Tuesday) I felt inclined to use up some of my lovely garden basil, here as we are at the end of the season -- so I whipped up a pesto-y kind of dressing/sauce to top my potatoes and salads with. My blended sauce did contain 1/4 cup of blanched almonds, so it was a little richer than usual -- however, again, those almonds had been sitting in my freezer for an age and it was really time for them to be used up (and as you can probably guess by now, I get a perverse thrill effectively using up random stuff that's taking up space in my freezer)....

Today I ate more potatoes, this time topped with a gravy recipe out of The Uncheese Cookbook by Joanne Stepaniak. Actually, what I REALLY wanted was the Mushroom Gravy I made last week -- but was all out of mushrooms. Yet I had a hankering for a warm, 'gravy-ish' topping for my potatoes -- so I made something called "Say Cheese Gravy". It's thickened with flour, and does call for a milk alternative (plus some oil that I did not use) -- in my case I utilized the powdered, potato-based milk alternative (called 'DariFree', by Vance Foods) that we keep on hand in our pantry and reconstitute with water. In any case, while I can't say I liked it quite as well as the Mushroom Gravy, it still hit the spot....(plus today i also finished the Sloppy Joe leftovers from Monday -- one serving on one bun...).

Now..., to me anyway, equally as important as the stuff I have been eating, is the stuff I HAVEN'T been eating...such as the cupcake offered to me yesterday at a gathering, or the takeout cheese pizza my spouse brought home leftover from an event last night. Nor the two quarts/flavors (one of them Georgia Peach) of mom-n-pop, locally made frozen custard that he also brought into the house, and which is currently sitting in the freezer. Nor the frozen Potato-and-Cheese Perogis that I made for dinner tonight for my husband, daughter and her friend (and something i myself once found quite tasty). It's good to be able to decline these things without too much fuss....

[SunshineDay]

It is the 14th of October today, which means....it has now been 6 weeks On Program for me . And what a difference 6 weeks can make! My clothes are looser, my energy level higher. i don't recall a single headache in all this time -- nor has constipation (ahem), a lifelong chronic issue, even been anywhere on the radar. So it's all good, and I'm looking very much forward to what the next 6 weeks will bring....

Speaking of, looking ahead it's almost impossible to believe that Thanksgiving is already next month (!?), but so it is. I'm going to have to think long about how exactly I want to approach that day (stay strictly on plan? Modify?? Full-on Feast Day???)....

I do know what I will be making for Thanksgiving at least -- the same thing I make every year. We traditionally get together with my extended family members for a big dinner at my folks, and each year I make my family's own vegetarian entree to take as an alternative to the turkey my mom makes. It's a beautiful, show-stopping dish (called a 'No-Turkey'), that does happen to use commercial puff pastry, which, while it contains no animal products (to my knowledge anyway), it does contain fat (and trans-fat at that). But this 'No-Turkey' I make is something my family looks forward to every year (I've been making it since 1995, when the recipe was featured in Vegetarian Times magazine), so I don't particularly feel inclined to alter that tradition. Aside from the puff pastry, the rest of the components of the dish involve seitan and bread dressing, which I make myself and as such can control the ingredients and fat content -- it would be easy enough for me to just avoid eating the puff pastry if I decide to (which I'm not all that crazy about in the first place). However, then there are also all my mom's traditional side dishes to consider (not to mention her many desserts)... Anyway, just thinking ahead here...!

My food update for yesterday:

I finally had a day mostly at home yesterday, and as such was able to catch up on some much-needed cookery. I made a big batch of brown rice, and an even bigger batch of chop suey-style veggies (following a McDougall recipe, and pretty much cleaning out my fridge). I also baked a sheet of oven fries, a whole buttercup squash, and two loaves of bread (one a gift for a friend using white flour, and the other for us and containing 3/4 ww flour and no fat). Plenty of leftovers to munch on over the coming days!

B: (skipped by default)

L: A baked white potato and a baked sweet potato, topped with canned vegetarian baked beans.

S: Vegetable Chop-Suey (onion, garlic, celery, broccoli, carrot, bok choy, green onion) with Brown Rice.

D: Two slices of homemade ww bread topped with red sauce (leftover from weekend pizza making), chopped fresh tomato, garlic and basil, and broiled for a few minutes in the oven.

S: Glass of cider and a bowl of tossed salad at my folks for my weekly TV night.

[Norm]

Speaking of, looking ahead it's almost impossible to believe that Thanksgiving is already next month (!?), but so it is. I'm going to have to think long about how exactly I want to approach that day (stay strictly on plan? Modify?? Full-on Feast Day???)....

I've been thinking about Thanksgiving lately too. I'll probably be spending it with my parents, and that means a table of food that more resembles a minefield. Will be interesting to see how I can steer things in a more healthy direction.,

-Norm

[f1jim]

Interesting because a few years ago we decided a full on McDougall style Thanksgiving was what we wanted to try. It has worked out great with the rest of family and a few friends that end up part of the celebration seem to enjoy it. Everyone seems to be happy enough to show up the next year and we feel like for at least one meal a year THEY eat healthy. They also learn no one dies by eating a completely animal protein free meal. Seems to work for everyone, especially us.
f1jim

[SunshineDay]

Thanks for the comments, Norm and Jim -- indeed it is interesting just what a 'weighty' topic (pun intended ) Thanksgiving can be for folks. People get downright emotional about it -- I guess because it is the one american holiday that really is centered around eating.....? It's all about THE FOOD. Other holidays and celebrations have their food traditions as well, to be sure -- but nothing quite like Thanksgiving with its ritualistic dinner, and consumption of it. In any case, congratulations Jim on your successful full-on McDougall Thanksgiving celebrations -- sounds wonderful, and I have no doubt they are every single bit as delicious, celebratory and satisfying (heck, even more so) as the heavy, fatty, GERD inducing typical SAD fare.....!

In any case, today the plan is to do some grocery shopping -- for the first time in two weeks. I stocked up on a lot last time, and in fact still have a few things to use up since then (for example some collards that I aim to turn into Ethiopian-style Gomen today) -- but there are plenty of things I will be keeping my eye out for. I know I want to make another big batch of crock-pot roasted veggies chock-full of wonderful autumn fare this week -- carrots and parsnips and beets, potatoes, rutabagas, and turnips, mmmmm. Plus I want more Mushroom Gravy, so plan to stock up on plenty of fungus. I have other things in mind as well -- like giving MixedGrains's (a member by that name) big epic, chopped Veggie/Pasta/Bean salad, as he has posted in the forums, a go. At any rate I do feel as though by now I have hit my stride with the grocery shopping -- having a much more clear idea now on Shopping Days of what exactly I have in mind to purchase, and in what quantities.....

My Food Update:

For the past few days I have mostly been eating up all the cookery I did this past Thursday. Oven Fries, Baked Buttercup Squash, Veggies Chop-Suey with Brown Rice, and my homemade wheat bread.

On Friday I ate mostly of the above -- the things that were a little richer included: 2 slices of my hub's veggie lunch 'meat' which I put in a big veggie stuffed sandwich (cucumbers, onion, lettuce) on my homemade FF ww bread (didn't need those lunch meat slices -- don't know why I felt the need to include them), a bit of honey in my hot tea, some apple juice, and...one (ONE!) piece of candy corn (and woah, SWEET!).....

Yesterday (Saturday) I finished up all the Veggie Chop-Suey and Brown Rice, which was quite a feat considering that I'd made an epic ton of it, and was the only one actually consuming it! However, because the sauce had really broken down by this time I ended up adding a touch of peanut butter (like, a tsp or so, just for flavoring) mixed up with Sriracha to thicken it and give the soggy, tired leftovers a little more....pizazz. I also had another big Veggie-Stuffed Sandwich on my homemade wheat bread for an afternoon meal (and again, I'm the only one around here actually eating my bread), while for dinner I ate two thin slices topped with red sauce and chopped garlic, and broiled in the oven for a few minutes. I do feel as though I've likely consumed more bread (even ww ff bread) than is probably optimal in these last few days -- my aim today is to make one more big veggie-stuffed sandwich (to use up the rest of some cucumber, tomato and lettuce before shopping), then slice the remainder of the loaf and freeze it before it dries out too much....

Yesterday I was struck again as I was brushing my hair in a mirror that I think my face is looking a little thinner these days (and a welcome sight indeed!)....

[WeeSpeck]

You know, I noticed that people started asking, "Are you losing weight?" when my face started to thin. It's like, "Something about you is different, but I can't put my finger on it.", like when a man shaves his mustache and you just want to stare until you can figure out what is different.

Your enthusiasm is contagious. Keep it up!

[StarchBeet]

maybe you already know about this but it's helped me greatly, in case you don't know about it:
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2010nl/oct/holiday.htm

holiday planning made easier.