(Only 2 more weeks left! Remember to update us!)
Week 10
by guestblogger Elise
This was not a good week either for eating or exercising. I did not meet my goal of aerobic exercise, and I really missed exercising at all.
Unusual stresses in our life lately have been pushing their way into my eating and exercise habits. Economic and major life changes have been immensely distracting to my attitude about healthy living. So far, vegan whole foods eating is a planning challenge. It still requires a great deal of thought and planning for me to be successful. This is usually okay. But lately there have been more pressing matters taking up my time and thought. Unhealthy eating has been creeping back in. Lately I have been just eating what I can grab--this tends to be whatever my kids are eating, which isn't always vegan. We also haven't been home much lately. We've been out of town, visiting family, and this can be a challenging time for eating too.
The result is that I've been feeling yucky. Of course. Highly processed foods do that, don't they?
My question to you is, how do you eat in a crisis? What food choices do you make when you don't have time (or maybe the desire) to eat and prepare several meals per day? What do eat when you have to grab and go?
I really appreciate your input. You guys are wonderful. And in answer to one of your questions, I attend kick boxing classes in the middle of nowhere Texas. Wish it were there in Utah! Might make vegan foods more available.
Thanks for your constant support and encouragement.
My response:
Elise, and all,
A healthful plant-based diet does require planning. But I've found that having a well-stocked freezer and pantry make my life a breeze. As much as I love cooking, I can't spend very much time in the kitchen.
Here are a few things I do to make my life simpler:
1) Stock up on frozen fruits and veggies. Yes, I know, I know. Fresh is better. But frozen is the next best option and I don't even cook some of my frozen veggies like green beans and sweet corn--just run them under hot water for a few minutes. Costco and Sam's Club carry the best selection of a variety of mixed veggies and fruits. A quick and easy meal--baked potatoes topped with some beans & salsa, and a side of frozen mixed veggies (steamed). When I'm short on time, I use canned beans, microwave my potato, and I have a meal in less than 5 minutes!
2) Freeze extras. I double the batch, and freeze for later. Soups work especially well for this.
3) I shop once a week. Period. I broke the bad habit of multiple shopping trips throughout the week--it's an energy drainer, time waster, and with proper planning, completely unnecessary. All of your produce should last AT LEAST a week.
I had a challenging week last week too. I did stay vegan except for some whole wheat bread (at someone else's house) that had milk powder in it! I can see how I did way better this last week then I would have in the past! But I also see heaps of room for improvement. Some of my compulsive overeating kicked in, but at least it was overeating of better foods. I still need to figure out what goals to set for myself when eating away from home. I gained 1 pound. But my measurements were the same or a little less.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite things to eat is quick if I have prepped a little. I try to have whole grains (brown rice or quinoa) cooked and ready and beans and then chopped/shredded veggies (but frozen could probably work!) I heat the beans and grains, pile high with veggies and then add some chopped avocado and some lime juice and a little salt. YUMMY! I can eat this several times (or more) a week and just vary the veggies and beans for variety.
Courage to you Elise! It is SO hard when other things are going on and it hasn't become habit yet. I find if I can just make sure I'm at least slowly going in the right direction it makes a big difference in the long run. If I drain myself pushing to hard I just end up farther back then I was before. But little baby steps pay off:)
I'm into the canned beans thing too. Angel hair whole grain pasta sometimes has a cook time of 3 min. --a lifesaver. We also have smoothies and toast for dinner some nights. For during the day --I echo the cook ahead comments, but if you can't or didn't cook ahead apples or bananas with nut butters are a quick and keep you full option. I'm also known to fall back on protein bars to grab and keep me full. Not the best option, but better than Krispy Kremes! Some of the clif builder bars are vegan, and there are other brands in the health food store I can't remember.
ReplyDeleteoh elise, i'm so sorry you have extra worried in your life right now!
ReplyDeletedon't be too hard on yourself!
here's what i have found....
plan my meals out for a week and have all the stuff i need on hand--actually write the meals on a calendar
(last summer my husband lived/worked out of town after a lay off and i took care of our farm, animals, yard work, 3 little girls, a full time job and healthy meals) organization was key--you only need to carve out a little bit of time to be prepared
also--healthy meals don't have to be complicated
one of our throwbacks is rice layered with a can of black beans, avocado, black olives (kids love it that way) and rotel tomatoes for my husband
i am the queen of crock pot soups--you can throw almost anything in the crock pot as far as veggies/beans/barley/veggie broth, etc and it will come out really good
it's WONDERFUL to come home to a healthy meal waiting for you
and such a good way to use up extra veggies laying around
on the road, in a pinch, we do peanut butter sandwhiches to keep costs down
it's not super healthy--but it's cheap and easy
a loaf of whole grain bread, natural peanut butter and perhaps some sliced banana on top with an apple on the side and everyone is filled up
it's also "fairly" mess free for the kids to eat in the car
hang in there and don't let a step back turn into 30
focus on the good you do
and remember--ask yourself to only make one good decision at a time
don't think "i'll never eat cookies again" get overwhelmed, then binge and eat them all
just ask yoursel
"can i not eat that cookie right now"
usually you can magange a decision like that
when i want something bad, i stuff myself with something good
like a whole bag of romaine lettuce salad and a baked potato--or 4 bowls of bean soup
by then the bad craving has moved on
Hi Everyone,
ReplyDeleteThis last week was a "steady as she goes" week. Kept up the exercise, tried to be good on the weekends, not eat crap just because it was the weekend, and I lost three pounds! Total: 13.
Elise: I also plan a menu for the week, usually based on what has come in the farm box I get. I plan several dinners, but not every night because I always seem to have leftovers (I think I'm just made to feed a big family, just haven't finished the family part yet). Like that "Fixing Dinner" show, I only plan for maybe five nights.
Fast food is anything in a tortilla - often I'll make a bunch of burritos and freeze them. I try and have a batch of rice or quinoa cooked on hand most weeks, too. Good luck!
This isn't a quick fix meal idea, but I buy whole food snack bars to tie me over until I can get home to cook. I keep them in the diaper bag all the time and a couple for my boys too. It's enough to get my mind off of my hunger and those temptations out there in the world. :)
ReplyDeleteI bought an electric pressure cooker last year and you can't beat it for quick meals. Some examples: potatoes in 6 minutes, corn on the cob and green beans in one minute, brown rice in 22 minutes. You can make super fast soups as well.When I need to eat NOW, I just put some yukon golds in there and within minutes I know I will have some healthy starches to eat. I usually make extra to snack on throughout the day.Pasta is another one of my quick go to meals- we like FatFree Vegans Mac and Cheese.
ReplyDeleteI have had a good week and am really trying to focus on not losing any more weight and am trying to focus more on fitness and healthy eating and if my body wants to be at this weight so be it. Since I cross fit, I am really seeing great improvement in strength, endurance, and tone so I want to celebrate these achievements instead of weight for now. I have added a morning fruit smoothie with a mix hemp protein, chia seeds, and greens after exercise and this seems to have really helped with my energy levels. Still working on drinking enough water! Huge challenge for me. I love all the ideas for quick meals. Fat Free vegan has a great recipe for sup in a jiffy using frozen veggies that is great too.
Just wanted to let you know that a couple friends and I started a health food blog, that features weekly menus, and I have and I plan to link to your site a LOT, because you have some really great posts and some amazing recipes. So I'm letting you know. I'm not into plagiarism so everything is linked back here. Please tell me if it's ever a problem. Now I need to catch up on your many posts I haven't read yet! Thanks for the awesome blog!
ReplyDeleteI really connected with this post. I have been eating whole foods vegan for about 3 months now, and I love it. I have two small children and a willing husband. I recently went out of town to visit family. I didn't want to put them to any trouble, so I brought some staples from my pantry and fridge in a cooler, and had it there. I also asked my Mom if she wanted to try eating healthy with me for the week, and she was more than willing. My Dad, who is a junk food junkie, even was asking what was going to be for dinner with excitement!
ReplyDeleteWhat I found with my children, is to not have non healthy options for them in the house. They eat what I make! My oldest had a rough first couple of weeks giving up his morning star farms chicken nuggets and ranch dressing. But now I make a big huge batch of hummus every week, and he dips everything in it! He loves it as much or more than he loved buttermilk ranch dressing.
I am blessed to stay at home and have more time than some busier working moms to prepare the food we eat. But I still have some nights where I am totally frazzled and haven't planned ahead. We usually eat a veggie sandwich or PB&J with some fruit. It's not the end of the world if it isn't something big and fancy. Just have healthy things on hand, eat a quick snack (hummus with veggies) then make something quick! You'll start to find that when all you have are healthy options, you can't really go wrong! Good luck!