A little book review and other random thoughts and eats...

Quote of the day (as told to me on g-mail chat): “You are the Keanu Reeves of typing.” I’m a TERRIBLE speller and typer…put the two together and I’m almost incoherent on the internet. I hope I do a little better blogging than g-mail chatting….

Ok, now onto food blogging, finally! Its been a while. My days have been crazy, my eating has been sporadic, my camera has not been charged, but now I’m back!

I have been reading a very interesting book called Eat to Live. His main emphasis is the nutrient to calorie ratio in foods…so the more nutrients per calorie in a food, the more you should eat of it.

I’ve sort of been experimenting with trying to do a version of his specific dietary recommendations:

1. Eat unlimited raw veggies. He recommends aiming for a whole pound every day!!! Raw veggies have the most nutrients per calories.
2. Non-starchy cooked veggies are also unlimited.
3. Eat at least 4 servings of fresh fruit. (I like this one! I love fruit, but for some reason feel like I shouldn’t eat more than a couple servings. Permission to eat unlimited fruit = happy.) BUT no dried fruit and no fruit juice…too much sugar.
4. Eat one cup of beans or legumes per day. He especially recommends bean soup since he thinks you eat it slower b/c its hot….I don’t know if that’s true for me, but black bean or lentil soup every day?! Sure! Does hummus count, too? I’m gonna say YES
5. Eat up to one serving of whole grains or starchy veggies (ie oatmeal, sweet potatoes, winter squash, corn…). OK, don’t freak out yet, b/c this recommendation was actually just for the first 6 weeks if you really need to lose weight. Otherwise, you can eat more, but not unlimited. These foods aren’t bad, but they just don’t have as many nutrients per calorie as non-starchy veggies and fresh fruits. However, I don’t really crave much more than a serving after I stuff myself with fruits and veggies.
6. No refined grains. Obviously.
7. Only one ounce raw nuts and seeds per day. Also, only 2 oz. avocado. What?!!!
8. No salt. I’m not too concerned about this….I think if you don’t eat too many processed foods, then you don’t have to worry about sodium.
9. No animal products. Whoa, wait this is a vegan diet?! This is where I’ve been “cheating” the most. He does say that you can eat some non-fat dairy, egg whites, lean meats, and fish if you want, but he clearly favors a vegan diet. 

I’m not sure if it is fair for me to give a real review of the book yet since I haven’t finished it, but here is a pre-mature pros and cons list:

Why this diet sucks: Although I agree that there are many benefits to a plant based diet, I’m not convinced that animal products are that bad for you… especially locally farmed eggs, grass fed meat, wild caught fish, etc. The diet is also pretty low in fat….more avocado and almond butter, please!!!

Why this diet is awesome: I love huge salads and eating lots of fruit. Also, the author doesn’t seem to discriminate against more calorically dense fruits like some people… Therefore, the other day, I made some banana soft serve “ice cream” with four frozen bananas!! Amazing. It was like eating a whole pint of ice cream (which I might be known to do sometimes…), except it was healthy. Also, I’ve finally stopped gaining the post-grad pounds even though I cheat. Jeans are expensive…I need to fit in mine!

No, I have not been eating any B&J lately...but eating 4 blended frozen bananas is as exciting as eating this pint, and you feel better afterwards!

My take home message: Eat as many fruits and veggies as possible. The end. (I like simplifications…)

Here is what I ate the day I got closest to Eat to Live recommendations (this was Monday, sorry no pics…):

• 2 cups fresh berries (strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries)
• 1 banana
• half a bag of baby carrots
• spinach salad with half a bag of spinach, 1/2 cup sauteed baby portabella mushrooms, handful of sauteed asparagus, and homemade balsamic vinaigrette (Just mix olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and honey mustard. You will never buy salad dressing again.)
• 2 cups roasted broccoli
• 1 cup lentil soup
• about 4 oz baked chicken breast (I really wanted more protein! My lentil soup only had 8 grams...)
• handful of Ghirardelli chocolate chips (Must. Have. Chocolate. Every. Day.)

Oh wait! I do have a couple pics:

Mmmm….vegetables!

In other news:

 

• I ran 10 miles on Sunday! It was my first long run (over 6, I consider “long”) since I don’t even remember. My legs still hate me today, but hopefully they will be better in time for the Atlanta Thanksgiving Half Marathon NEXT WEEK! Ah! This is the 6th time I’ve done this race, and the least I have trained.
• I went to yoga for the first time in months yesterday (b/c my legs refused to run…). We did side planks, and my abs feel nice and sore
• Today is my baby brother’s birthday!! He is 15. Holy crap!
  

  the oldest pic I could find digitally....Me (on left): age 16. Hunter (middle): age 9

  

  and a more recent pic. he is now taller than me, and can pick me up!! crazy b/c i used to throw him around all the time

• Have you all heard about the Blogger Vegan for a Day? Its tomorrow the 19th and I’m in! Even though I don’t have any interest in becoming vegan, I have lots of respect for those who are vegan, and I am willing to try it for a day! This could be interesting…

So sorry for disappearing and then randomly coming back and writing a super lengthy post. I’m a sketchy and unpredictable blogger. Thanks for reading (if you are still here)!

Also, back to the quote of the day, while writing this post I spent about a minute yelling “HOW DO YOU FREAKING SPELL VINAIGRETTE?!?!” at WordPress who told me I was misspelling it with the red underline, but had no suggestions. Finally I typed something like “vinagariette” into Google who knew what I meant. “Did you mean vinaigrette?” Yes, Google. Thanks.