day 26

breakfast:
1 cup kale
1/2 cup frozen peaches
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 T protein powder
1 slice whole wheat toast
1 T earth balance

snack:
strawberries, cherries, raspberries

lunch:
avocado/chickpea spread sandwich with spinach on whole wheat toast
1/2 grapefruit

dinner:

theresa and mark are in town. we grabbed a beer with them in japantown after mark's tattoo appointment and headed to santana row. had dinner at thea restaurant with mike, fanny and emily too. the server was great about modifying dishes to accomodate my diet restrictions. i ordered the vegetarian tagine. it's a nice combination of earthy vegetables in a tomato-like stew. very delicious! and how wonderful are my friends for being so patient with my limited options! in fact, mike shared this website with me today:



i love an evening where i can spend time with as many people whom i cherish with all my heart:

day 25

breakfast:
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup raspberries
1/2 frozen bananas
1 T protein powder
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 slice whole wheat toast
1 T peanut butter

snacks:

strawberries, cherries, raspberries

lunch:
leftover curry
roasted seaweed

snacks:
pita chips
roasted bell pepper hummus

dinner:
leftover curry

dessert:
1/2 cup so delicious peanut butter zigzag ice cream
peppermint tea

day 24

breakfast:
1 cup kale
1/2 banana
1/2 cup rasberries
1 T protein powder
1/2 cup coconut milk

1 slice whole wheat toast
1 T earth balance
(been craving savory breakfasts...strangely enough scrambled eggs...)

snack:
1 cup raw carrots
1/4 cup roasted bell pepper hummus
green tea

lunch:
sandwich with chickpea/avocado spread and spinach on whole wheat bread
1 tangerine

snacks:
8 pita chips
1 T olive spread

dinner:

coconut curry gardein chicken with potatoes, green beans, carrots & zucchini accompanied with brown rice
i couldn't find the curry paste that i usually use so i bought a pre-made green thai curry sauce. not great but i used enough coconut milk and curry spices (cumin, turmeric, chili powder, coriander) to adjust the taste.

day 23

breakfast:
2 T protein powder
1 cup water

snack:
carrots
green tea

lunch:
paxti's pizza
1 cup cherries, strawberries, raspberries

snack:
3 vegan wheat toasts
1 T roasted bell pepper hummus

dinner:
more shabu shabu!
1 cup brown rice

exercise:
1/2 hour cooking & cleaning

day 22

breakfast:
1 cup kale
1/2 cup raspberries and strawberries
1/2 orange
1 T protein powder
3/4 cup coconut milk

snacks:
2 cups movie popcorn
1 cup corn chips
1/2 cup almonds
3 ginger chews

lunch:

shibazuke, kappa, oshinko sushi rolls

dinner:
cold and dreary weather calls for some shabu shabu! we boiled pieces of angus beef in a pot on the stove for ry so the broths didn't mix. used our usual vegetables: bok choy, napa cabbage, enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms. and tofu. note to self - decrease tofu and other unfermented soy products!!!

snack:
toasted coconut chips

exercise:
packing!!!

my chuckles for the day:

day 21

breakfast:

1 carrot
1/2 apple
1/2 banana
1/2 cup almond milk
1 T protein powder
(and might i add - yuck!)

lunch:
ry was craving a burger so we went to santana row and ate at the counter

i ordered the vegan patty with sprouts, cucumbers, avocado and spinach. it was delicious! the counter has a webpage dedicated to all types of food allergies and diet restrictions. extremely helpful! we split some fries.


dinner:
brussel sprouts roasted in truffle oil
arugula salad with tomatoes & avocado with honey/lemon/olive oil dressing
slice of my vegan pizza leftovers

dessert:
1/4 cup so delicious ice cream
green tea with 1 T coconut oil

exercise:
1 hour at communications hill (3 1/2 times 222 stairs, trail)
and lots and lots of walking around santana row and valley fair

my endorphin releasing activity:

season 4 of arrested development on netflix. coming back stronger than ever!

day 20

breakfast:
1 cup spinach
1/2 banana
1/2 cup frozen mango
1 T protein powder
1/2 cup coconut milk

lunch:
tofu pan fried in sesame oil
10 roasted seaweed sheets
1/2 bowl of annie chun's udon noodle soup

dinner:

we met up with ry's family at patxi's. tickled pink that they offer a vegan pizza with whole wheat deep dish crust!

turmeric tea

exercise:

15 minutes stationary bike
50 minutes treadmill

day 19

breakfast:
1 cup spinach
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 cup frozen mango
1/2 T coconut oil
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 T protein powder

snack:

arugula, tomatoes, carrots with champagne vinaigrette dressing

lunch:
1 cup of leftover lentil & veggie soup
1/2 orange

dinner:
olive spread and 2 vegan wheat toasts
arugula, tomatoes, carrots with champagne vinaigrette dressing

bucatini with olive oil, earth balance, garlic and fresh basil

snack:

baked sweet potato chips with rosemary, olive oil, garlic and salt

dessert:

1/2 cup so delicious peanut butter zig zag ice cream!
so freakin' incredible...recommended by becky and addy. just as an indulgence as dairy ice cream however with a whopping 460 calories per cup!

turmeric tea

exercise:

subbed in for some of the kids during PE playing field hockey

day 18

breakfast:
1 cup spinach
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 frozen mangoes
1 T protein powder
1/2 cup coconut water
1 tsp coconut oil

snacks:
1 cup blueberries
1 cup almonds
1 brazil nut

lunch:
bucatini leftovers
1 serving vegetables (broccoli, brussel sprouts, carrots)

dinner:

i know it's not the prettiest looking dish, but this soup (ended up being more like a stew) is packed with flavor and cancer-kicking ingredients!
vegetable broth
brussel sprouts
kale
carrots
lentils
kidney beans
seasoned with salt, pepper and turmeric

snack:
1/2 grapefruit and turmeric tea

exercise:
skipped out on kendra's bootcamp. with this virus being so contagious, didn't wanna spread the love.

happiness:

day 17

breakfast:
1 cup spinach
1 cup kale
1/2 frozen banana
1 cup frozen mango
1 T protein powder
1 cup water

lunch:

i devoured this!
1/2 a block of tofu pan fried in sesame oil with chili garlic sauce
1 package of roasted seaweed

snack:
turmeric seasoned quinoa, gardein meatless ground, bell peppers & kale

dinner:

bucatini pasta (all my knowledge of the importance of whole foods went out the window)
tomato sauce with garlic and onions
fresh basil
roasted carrots, broccoli, brussel sprouts with coconut oil, lemon juice, salt & pepper (to redeem myself)

dessert:

1 frozen banana
1 tsp cocoa powder
chopped almonds

snack:
peppermint tea with 1 tsp coconut oil

exercise:
sitting on the couch watching alias reruns ondemand...what about finger exercises on my iphone and beating my all-time bejeweled record? ok, i know that doesn't count. i did predict a pattern though right?

day 16

well, i guess i caught the stomach bug. feeling achy and queasy so i stayed home and my routine is a little off.

breakfast:

1 cup spinach
1 cup kale
1 cup frozen raspberries
1 strawberry
1 T chia seeds (that were expanded overnight)
1 T protein powder
1 cup water

lunch:

chilled cucumber and avocado soup with tomatoes. did not sit well with my stomach

snacks:

corn chips with avocado, tomatoes, onions, salt & pepper

dinner:
i heated up my corn soup from saturday

snacks:
turmeric tea

my happy moment:

a flower crown workshop and book signing of "the flower recipe" at the palo alto anthropologie. notice all the sweet treats? i passed and had a glass of almond flavor sparkling wine.

exercise:
zero, zilch, nada...this is the beginning of a terrible habit.

day 15

breakfast:
1 slice whole wheat toast
1 t peanut butter
1 t coconut oil
1 cup green tea

snacks:

blueberries, almonds & green tea

lunch:
my leftover vegetable pho. even in 80+ degree weather, still so good!

snacks:
peanut butter cookies

dinner:

gardein meatless grounds, bell peppers & kale with turmeric seasoned quinoa. sightly modified this recipe:
http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/moms_ground_turkey_and_peppers/

exercise:
60 mins housework (cooking, washing dishes, 3 loads of laundry)
that should count for something right?

feeling a bit out of it all day. last night i took a benadryl but was surprisingly tossing and turning all night. my triceps felt achy and made it difficult to fall asleep. at school today, my stomach was doing somersaults. there's a bug that's been going around with the lower grade classrooms and has slowly made it's way over to middle school. hoping i haven't caught it.

day 14

breakfast:

since we're still in napa, i couldn't get my usually servings of vegetables via my green smoothies so norman got me a bowl of minestrone soup from the grocery store across the street. easily 2 servings of veggies.

lunch:

back at home, and trying to get on track again.
2 cups spinach
1 kiwi
1/2 frozen banana
1 cup frozen mangoes
1 T protein powder
1/2 cup coconut milk

snacks:

vegan toast crisps & olive spread
1/2 orange

dinner:

ry must have been craving pho. he checked the menu for pho viet online and food a delicious vegan option for me. mixed vegetable soup in a vegetarian broth with rice noodles. all of the recommended vegetables to blast my cervical dysplasia made an appearance - cabbage, bok choy, broccoli, carrots & celery. flavorful & satisfying.

skipped out on exercising today.

and more indulgence with some peanut butter cookies:

http://www.food.com/recipe/egg-free-peanut-butter-cookies-71849?scaleto=12&mode=null&st=true
substituted butter with earth balance. delicious!

day 13

i must have had a premonition about going vegan...we are celebrating brian's (aka white knight) marriage nuptials to his wife sophia today in napa. i had ordered a vegetarian meal months prior. one would equate a weekend trip to the wine country to decadence and indulgence so i must prepare to handle it all.

exercise:

did a chill 40-minute workout at 8am this morning on the treadmill

unfortunately suffered from time management so skipped breakfast. i had a cup of peppermint tea.

lunch:

a call ahead joint featuring thomas keller's infamous buttermilk fried chicken and pulled pork, i was wise to pack my own goodies. made a chilled corn soup the night before - fresh corn off the cob, onions and garlic blended up and garnished with coconut milk, cilantro, ground pepper and sea salt. added a kale, arugula and strawberry salad with a cilantro lime dressing. very satisfying, even in the presence of some excellent ingredients. i used this recipe for the chilled soup:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/chilled-corn-soup-recipe/index.html

snack:

blueberries, raspberries, oranges & kiwi

at the wedding reception, i was very good about passing on appetizers (chicken satay, bruschetta with tomatoes and unfortunately butter, salmon blini canapés). instead i munched on endive leaves (after ry ate all the cheese crumbles off them) and overcompensated with glasses and glasses of white wine.

dinner:

started with a lovely blend of mixed greens with tomatoes and cucumbers finished with a light vinaigrette.

true to my request, i received a vegetarian entree. however it was creamy mushroom risotto topped with parmesan shavings. smelled like heaven! how blessed am i to have wonderful friends and a loving husband to encourage me to stick with this diet. they offered me their vegetables from their chicken dish - tomatoes, green beans & potatoes. skipped dessert - don't even think i took a look at the cake.

exercise:
at least an hour on the dance floor spinning & shaking with my bay area family.

back at the hotel for some, what niko would call, drunken munchies...while the crew ordered pizza, i snacked on my roasted seaweed from trader joe's.

all in all, i was proud of myself for not faltering with the many temptations that were within arm's reach. what i also realized was the more and more support i get from my loved ones, the easier it is to stick to it. thank you, my north cal family! and congratulations brian & sophia eakle!