What I've Been Eating

Here it is! Finally! My long-promised "what I eat" post.

I tracked what I ate for over a week to give people who were interested an idea of the kinds of meals and snacks I eat frequently.  My diet is not perfect and I am NOT advocating that this is the right diet or telling anyone they should eat like I do. Believe me, I'm aware my diet could use a lot of improvement.

I simply recorded what I've been eating to give people an idea of what my daily meals  look like (and to show I actually uh, do eat.)

I'm working on adding more veggies to my diet right now and more protein as well.  You'll also notice I tend to eat the same thing for breakfast almost every morning: oatmeal with cinnamon and blueberries. I just love it and can't help myself. I've also included my workouts on any given day so that you can see what I did that day, in addition to my eating.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Morning workout:
1 hr, cardio and core focused

Breakfast: two cups of green tea with mint (I drink the bigelow brand or Zen green tea by TAZO)
1/2 cup or so of quaker oatmeal (plain, the quick cooking ones)
1 cup of blueberries (mixed in with oatmeal)

Teaspoon or so of cinnamon powder (I don't measure it I just spinkle and mix it in)

Lunch:
Two chicken roll-ups from Zoe's Kitchen (leftovers from dinner)
small seving of Zoe's mayo-free coleslaw
About 7 pieces of honeydew melon
1 cup of  green tea with mint

Snack:

Kashi 7-grain cracker (about 15) with Skippy Natural Peanut Butter

1 cup of green tea with mint

Dinner:

Whole grain pasta with Jennie O. Turkey Sausages (about 90 calories for 2 links, FYI) and tomato pasta sauce

2 Butterfinger "fun size" chocolate bars (it's no secret that I'm addicted to these)

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

Morning workout: lower body/legs and some bursts of cardio

Breakfast: two cups of green tea with mint

1/2 cup or so of quaker oatmeal

1 cup of blueberries

Teaspoon or so of cinnamon powder

Lunch:Jason's Deli turkey wrap

Side of fruit

kroger chocolate/chocolate cookie

1 cup of green tea with mint

Afternoon Snack:baby carrots and a couple pieces of brocolli with some organic ranch dip

Dinner (I was at an awards event):

Southwestern salad

Chicken with some kind of cheese and sun dried tomatoes, potatoes and asparagus (I didn't finish the chicken)

Some "bottle caps" candies (maybe a handful)

Half of a brownie

Friday, June 24th, 2011

Morning workout: total body (upper and lower)

Breakfast: 2 Breakfast buritos with ham, egg and cheese w/whole wheat tortillas (I didn't eat the second tortilla, just the filling inside of it)

2 cups of green tea with mint

Snack:about 7 large chunks of honeydew melon

1 cup of green tea with mint

Lunch:Whole Foods Tamarind Chutney Chicken Salad (small size  0.38 lb)

Whole Foods ShaSha Co. Original Ginger Snaps (you can have 15 cookies for 140 calories)---they contain no refined sugar, trans fat or dairy.

1 cup of green tea with mint

Water with 1 pack of Emergen-C super orange

Dinner:

5 Guys Cheeseburger with NO bun---lettuce, tomatoes, onion, ketchup, pickles

Some 5 guys french fries

2 butterfinger fun size chocolate bars (YUM!)

1 cup of mint medley tea (non-caffeinated)

Saturday, June 25th, 2011

Breakfast:

Strawberry & Banana homemade smoothie with "LifeWay" brand Kefir from Whole Foods

Strabucks Zen green tea (grande, hot)

Lunch:

Dim Sum at Gigi's (this included chicken, shrimp, crab and pork dumplings and spring-rolls)

* This is a big lunch for me and filled me up for a long time

Snack:

Wheat Thins crackers with JIF peanut butter

Snack:

Handful of almonds

(I had gotten last-minute concert tickets and I didn't want to have a heavy dinner before I went---I didn't get home until after 11 so I went to sleep because I just didn't feel hungry---I'm learning more to just listen to my body)

Sunday, June 26th, 2011

Breakfast:

1 1/2 slices of whole wheat toast (I buy the Nature's Choice brand) with JIF natural peanut butter

1 cup of TAZO Zen green tea

Snack:

(Sunday was kind of random because we woke up late, at around 10:30 AM. and then by noon we were at the pool where we stayed until about 3 PM)

Large handful (probably 15 or so) wheat things

1 large bottle of Smart Water

I also had a piece of turkey and cheese at the grocery store deli (you know where they give it to you to make sure it's what you want?)

When I got home from grocery shopping, I had a massive bowl of fresh cherries!  YUM!

Small bowl of Frosted Flakes cereal w/ skim milk

1 cup of green tea with mint

While cooking---a piece of cucumber and a slice of a peach (I was cutting up fruit for the work week)

A few bites of the egg, spinach, broccoli and zucchini casserole thing I made---it was a combo of whole eggs and egg whites. Baked in the oven for 30 minutes. I am going to eat them for breakfast to get a little break from my oatmeal.

Some PopChips (BBQ flavor). Today was a massive snacking day for me. I typically never really eat like this---I like to have full meals, but it just didn't work out that way for me. I was so focused on preparing food for the week that I kind of just grazed all day.

Monday, June 27th, 2011

(I was in and out of the office today so I was trying to eat as much as I could between meetings)

Breakfast:

1 piece of homemade Frittata (eggs, egg whites, spinach, brocolli and zucchini---it was about the size of my hand)

About 5 slices of a peach

1 cup of green tea with mint

Snack:

(during a long work meeting)

2 cups of green tea with mint

A few pieces of strawberry, kiwi and blueberries

Lunch:Some Kashi crackers with peanut butter

(I usually bring leftovers but didn't have any today---this is pretty filling for me though because of the whole grains and fats in the peanut butter)

Snack:

Whole Foods Strawberry cupcake (it was a co-worker's birthday)

Workout (evening)

Full frontal body

Dinner:

1 Jennie-O Turkey Burger w/white American cheese and a scoop of guacamole

4 Tostito chips with guacamole

2 "fun size" Butterfinger chocolate bars (mmmm...my guilty pleasure!)

1 cup of mint tea (no caffeine)

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011
Breakfast:

1/2 cup of oatmeal with blueberries and cinnamon

2 cups of green tea with mint

Snack:

1 babybell cheese (the red wrapper one)

1 cup of green tea with mint

Lunch:

1 Jennie-O turkey burger pattie with cheese and guacamole

About 20 cherries

Whole Foods ShaSha Co. Original Ginger Snaps (I had a lot of these--I was craving them and just listened to my body)

Snack:

Some Kashi crackers with Skippy natural peanut butter

Workout:

Full body---back of body

Dinner:

Zoe's Kitchen protein plate---grilled chicken over a huge bed of non-mayo coleslaw (it has feta cheese! so yummy and crisp!)

1 Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich

More ginger snap cookies (these are clearly a trigger for me---they're the kind where I just can't stop eating them, so I may stop purchasing them alltogether)

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

Morning workout:

Cardio and Core

Breakfast:Oatmeal with cinnamon and blueberries

2 cups of green tea with mint

Lunch:Leftover Zoe's Kitchen protein plate---grilled chicken over a huge bed of non-mayo coleslaw

Whole Foods ginger snap cookies (at this point, I am just trying to get rid of them so I can't eat them anymore. I am going to have to start calling them crack cookies)

Snack:about 7 or 8 chunks of watermelon (so good!)

Some BBQ PopChips

Dinner:

Jennie-O Turkey Sausages with whole grain pasta and marinara sauce

2 fun size butterfinger chocolate bars

Thursday, June 30th, 2011:

Morning workout: full body

Breakfast:

Oatmeal with blueberries and cinnamon and about 2 peach slices

2 cups of green tea with mint

Snack:

1 Babybel cheese

Lunch:

Medium Turkey Guacamole sandwich from Schlotzky's Deli (I only eat half of the bread that its on to save on calories/carbs)

some gingersnap cookies (this is the LAST of them, thank goodness!)

Snack:

watermelon chunks

some BBQ PopChips

Dinner:

Beaver Nut burger from Beaver's---it's a no-meat burger made with cashews, brown rice and some other ingredients I don't remember---but it was delish!

Side salad of mixed greens, cucumber and tomato with a bit of vinaigrette dressing

Friday, July 1, 2011

Morning workout:

Bull body, back of body

Breakfast:

croissant sandwich from La Madeline with egg, tomato, cheese and turkey

Snack:

About 7 peach slices

Some BBQ PopChips (I eat these often as a snack, they are low-cal and delicious!)

Dinner:

Chicken roll-ups from Zoe's Kitchen w/ side of non-mayo coleslaw (I got the chicken roll-ups with mozzarella cheese and NO onions---they do the fried onions on them which is a lot of butter and unnecessary calories)

2 "fun size" Butterfinger chocolate bars

1/2 of a skinny cow ice cream sandwich

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Morning workout: cardio & core

Breakfast:Oatmeal with strawberries, blueberries and cinnamon

2 cups of green tea with mint

Lunch:Kashi Black Brean Burrito (I try not to eat frozen foods often but this was one of those days)

About 2 cups full of cherries

1 cup of green tea with mint

Snack: (shortly after lunch, still felt hungry)

quaker oatmeal raisin granola bar (I love these---90 calories and so sweet!)

Snack:

Some kashi crackers with peanut butter

Dinner:

2 Jennie-O Turkey Burger patties w/cheese and reduced-sugar ketchup

3 "fun size" butterfinger chocolate bars

A few bites of H's oreos n' cream ice cream (yum!)

1 cup of white berry Tazo tea

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Breakfast:
Oatmeal with strawberries, blueberries and cinnamon

1 cup of green tea with mint

1 cup of black coffee (no milk/sugar)

Lunch:Large "spinach" salad from La Madline (it has spinach, red bell peppers, strawberries, walnuts and balsamic---my absolutely fave!) I get my salad with the bacon bits or mushrooms that are supposed to come with it.

A few bites of La Madeline who grain bread dipped into their straberry jam (OMG to die for!)

Snack:

quaker oatmeal raisin granola bar

some "bottle caps" candies (obviously craving sugar today!)

Pre-workout snack:

Kashi crackers w/ peanut butter

Dinner:

Five Guys french fries with ketchup (this is obviously unusual for me, but hey, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do)

2 fun size butterfinger chocolate bars

1 cup of Tazo whiteberry tea

What I'm trying to work on:

• Recently, I've been trying to add more protein to my breakfast to keep me full until lunch. In addition to my oatmeal with fruit, I am now eating 2 turkey breakfast sausages (Jennie-O brand, 90 calories for 2 links). My coworker also suggested eggs and egg whites so I will try to add those in some days as well instead of the oatmeal to mix it up a little!
• Eating more veggies---period! I need to eat more vegetables. I've been eating more salads lately and have been buying veggie trays with dip to keep at work for snack time
•  I would like to eat cleaner---more fresh, less processed
• I would like to eat more protein in general, not just at breakfast

Tips:

• Drink lots of green tea---studies prove green tea lowers cortisol levels and that green tea drinkers tend to have less belly fat
• Drink a lot of water
• Buy "fun size" treats so you don't go overboard
• Grocery shop on Sunday and buy healthy foods---cut all fruits up and take them to work in GladWare so there are no excuses for bad snacking!
• Buy pre-made veggie trays so you always have accessible veggies that you can eat at work or on the go (no excuses since it's already cut up into bite size pieces for you!)
• Skinny cow ice cream sandwiches are huge, satisfy ice cream cravings and are only 130-140 calories---I like to have one after dinner sometimes
• If you have trouble understanding how much you are eating (like I did) use www.dailyplate.com to track calories
• Eat smaller portions---I used to eat until my stomach hurt because I thought that's what you should feel to be "full"---STOP before your stomach hurts---I promise if you give your stomach a little more time to tell your brain you are full, you will feel satisfied even if you stop eating before that "full" feeling
• Read Bethenny Frankel's "Naturally Thin" book---seriously---it made me think differently about food

Favorite Snacks:

• BBQ Pop Chips
• Fun Size Butterfingers
• Homemade strawberry banana smoothies
• Quaker oatmeal raisin granola bars
• Plain almonds
• Skinny Cow cookies and cream ice cream sandwiches
• Reeces Pieces bites (you can have like 55 of them for 160 calories!)
• Kashi crackers with peanut butter
• Brocolli, cauliflower and baby carrots with ranch dip
• Cereal- honey nut cheerios, fruit loops, Kashi Go Lean, frosted flakes (all in moderation, of course)
• Starbucks's low fat very berry coffee cake
• Teddy Grahams in "cinnamon" or "honey"
• ShaSha ginger snap cookies (addicted to these!)
• Sour Patch Kids (but I hardly eat these anymore...they are too good to eat in moderation)

Here are some updated pics of my workout progress too!

(Yes, my hip bones have always stuck out like that, no matter what weight I am at)

Well, that's all ladies.  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them below. If you have constructive suggestions or recipe/meal ideas, I welcome those as well. If you are going to leave a comment telling me that I have an eating disorder or anything in that realm, please don't waste your time actually typing it out, because I will not publish it.

xoxo,

Veronika.

Updates:
I realized I didn't post about water intake---I drink a TON of water everyday.

I also have been really loving a lot of different fruits lately---watermelon, honey dew, cherries and raspberries galore---I am often eating these as snacks after lunch.