I went to 7am spinning this morning but I was so exhausted and sleepy that I didn't get a great workout. But I figure it's better than I worked out at all and got my heart pumping a bit before I went to work to sit on my butt for ten hours. I'm noticing a definite change in my body, specifically my legs. I'm starting to look athletic. The problem is that I'm also not losing weight. I know I could be stricter with my eating, but I also feel like I just gain muscle too easily and muscle weighs a lot. I want to get a body fat test done and see how I'm really doing, because I just don't trust the scale anymore.

Food log:

Dinner last night: stroganoff with whole wheat pasta, seitan, portobellos, extra peas and non-hydrog Tofutti sour cream from Vegan with a Vengeance.
Dessert: a small piece of dark chocolate with almonds and cherries and half of the super healthy corn muffins I made (fake sugar, whole wheat flour, half oil/half apple sauce).

Breakfast #1: local nectarine on the subway ride to the gym.

Breakfast #2: two corn muffins (they are pretty small) with Soy Garden butteriness, two little local plums, soy protein shake with chocolate rice milk, and coffee with Silk Creamer.

Lunch: leftover stroganoff. I can't wait. With some pressure cooked local beets on the side. Look at the size of that beet!

Snack: wasa crackers with edamame hummus, local corn, local tomato.

Dinner: quinoa salad I made last night with broccoli, local grape tomatoes, local fresh basil, garlic, baked tofu, Vegannaise and lemon juice. A complete meal in one bowl.

I have not been excited enough about my vegetables recently. I want to really enjoy veggies so it'll be easy to have my meals focused on them. I think I just need some new tricks in the kitchen to get me excited again, but I don't know what those tricks would be.

I'm going to start taking bikram (hot) yoga once I get my first paycheck at my new job (i.e. once I have money for it). I'm really excited about it. I think it will make me feel really good about my body.

Food log:

Breakfast: four pieces of small whole wheat sesame toast sandwiched with homemade nutritional yeasty cheese spread and heirloom tomatoes, extra heirloom toms on the side with basil, salt and a bit of olive oil, and two little plums.

Snack: wasa cracker with edamame hummus.

Lunch: stir fry with eggplant, cabbage, carrots, onions, collards and fake chicken over quinoa and a salad of romaine, arugula, carrots, raw beets, tomatoes and cukes- everything except that carrots, fake chicken and quinoa was local! My co-worker saw a vegan cookie at a health food store near work and got it for me as a present. It was a really nice gesture, but full of calories. I ate half the cookie and that was 240 calories! I justified this with a spinning class and potentially smaller snacks later on.

Snack: another cracker with edamame hummus and/or strawberry soy yogurt.

Dinner: I'm thinking about making the seitan portobello stroganoff from Vegan with a Vengeance. I think if I use whole wheat pasta and extra peas it will be fairly healthy.

I'm also going to try to make up some pasta salad or quinoa salad or something to eat tomorrow night while picnicing and watching Purple Rain on the big screen in an empty pool near my house (weather providing). I want to make one dish that can be eaten cold and is a well-balanced meal.

I can't think of anything to write today. On to the food.

Food log:

Dinner last night: I came home quite famished, so I made some mac and cheez with broccoli and tempeh bacon. Even though I was really hungry, I portioned myself a small amount and stuff to it. Then I ate a homemade twinkie, which I shouldn't have, but it was calling to me! I've discovered they don't have much filling in them, so they are a bit healthier than planned.

Breakfast: olive toast with tofu spread and cut up local nectarines.

Snack: delicious and local blueberries.

Lunch: leftover mac and broccoli and a big salad with local red leaf romaine, local arugula, local cukes, local toms, red pepper, green peppers, orange peppers, about 1/4 of an avocado, cut up green olive and red wine vinegar. It got me really full!

Snack: twinkie.

Another snack: if I need it, a small portion of chili from last weekend and sauteed collards. But I'm pretty full right now, so I'm just going to see if I can go without it.

I ate too much this past weekend. I always eat too much on the weekends. But I love food so much that I like cooking a lot and eating with friends. I should at least start exercising more on the weekends. I got lots of good things at the farmer's market that I'm looking forward to enjoying all week.

Food log:

Breakfast: a few small slices of olive toast (bread from farmer's market) with sundried tomato basil tofu spread, a nectarine and two fresh apricots.

Lunch: homemade chili over quinoa and a homemade twinkie. The twinkie is marginally healthier by having half whole wheat pastry flour and no hydrogenated oils.

Snack: sauteed collards with basil.

Snack/early dinner: salad with mesclun mix (farmer's market) and a bunch of random veggies that Nick took home from catering on a job this weekend.

Small dinner in evening: probably a tempeh lettuce and tomato sandwich on whole wheat pita (from farmer's market). Hopefully I will be able to resist more twinkies.

I did my third spinning class this week during lunch. This is good because I'm trying to do 3-4 spinning classes a week, so I've reached my minimum. I feel pretty good. I hope I don't crash.

Food log:

Dinner last night: a small grilled uncheese with jalapenos on olive bread; sauteed chard, mushrooms, carrots and onions with cilantro; popcorn with vegan butter flavored spray, adobo and nutritional yeast; and a few small squares of espresso dark chocolate.

Breakfast today: multigrain bagel with sundried tomato and basil tofu spread.

Snack: green apple.

Lunch: pasta with cilantro-lime-butter sauce and carrots, leftover sauteed veggies from last night and some cinnamon chocolate pudding. I was sooo hungry before lunch, so I tried to eat slowly and really savor it. I'm still hungry. I hope it goes away, but I'll give myself a snack at 4 if the hunger doesn't subside.

Dinner: I'm going to a free concert then dinner afterwards. I have no idea where I'm going, and honestly I'd rather eat at home then wander around looking for a place with something for me to eat. Plus I know I'll be tired. But I'll buck up and suggest a place that will have a nice salad for me and hope I get home at a reasonable hour.

This morning has been really stressful but I've maintained control and continued to eat healthy despite of it. My normal half hour commute to work took two hours due to weather-related total subway meltdown in NYC and ended up with me biking through the swelteringly humid weather to work and having to shower at the gym before I went it. I usually eat breakfast at work, so I ate breakfast a lot later than usual. I gobbled it down and was convinced I was still hungry. But I held out until an acceptable lunch time to eat what I brought for lunch. Plus, I had the unplanned work out of biking to and from work today.

Food log:

Breakfast: two small pieces of olive toast with sundried tomato and basil tofu spread and cherries.

Lunch: Caribbean tofu and broccoli stir fry, angel hair pasta and shredded carrots with a cilantro-lime-butter sauce, zucchinis and summer squash with garlic and cilantro.

Snack: leftover pizza slice on whole grain crust with veggies and Yves brand veggieroni and a low-fat chocolate almond milk.

Dinner: I'm thinking something light, like lots of veggie dishes, but we'll see how I feel when I get home later.

I did a 7 am spinning class this morning and I am pretty proud of myself. It was really hard to get out of bed, but I did it, and I got to class on time. On some sort of sleepy whim, I decided to take the spot directly in front of the spin instructor in the classroom. This ended up being great. I really pushed myself with her right there in front of me. I want to make a point of doing this morning often. I felt really good afterwards. Two spinning classes by Tuesday and I'm really into it. I just hope I can keep up this energy for long periods of time... that and maintain a social life on top of exercising, eating well, and everything else I need to do.

Food log:

Dinner last night: multigrain pizza crust with tomato sauce, garlic-y sauteed mushrooms, green peppers, green olives, Yves brand veggie pepperoni (sparingly, a little weird tasting) and a slice yellow tomato. I must admit I ate more than I needed of this. But I also made sugar-free cinnamon chocolate pudding that wasn't set before bedtime so I had no dessert to make up for it.

Breakfast #1: before spinning, I had about 2/3rds of a banana nut Odwalla bar so I wouldn't get too famished and weak during class.

Breakfast #2: really good strawberries and a few pieces of olive toast with my new favorite spread on it, accidentally local too! Picture not mine.
Lunch: two leftover slices of pizza.

Snack: red tomato, yellow pepper, white onion and green olive salad without lettuce and dressing and pudding I made last night.

I've also been snacking throughout the day on little bites of dried goji berries and these little carob banana spirulina energy chunk things (I really can't describe them) that they sell at my local natural food market. Both yummy and un-scientifically proven healthy.

Potential dinner: I'm thinking a simple stir fry of tofu and broccoli while having a picnic outside (weather providing). I'm trying to think of a super easy and quick grain to go with it, but nothing is striking me. Maybe quinoa? But it's pretty calorie dense, in addition to nutritionally dense.