Breaking it Down

This gorgeous photo is an affirmation: I can select healthy foods. Now that I've been vegetarian for 18 days, having fish only once early in the first week and no meat or fish since, I'm beginning to fine tune my food choices. I track my intake at the Daily Plate and this is what yesterday's consumption looked like:

My Calorie Breakdown (2,762)
50.18% carbohydrate
39.87% fat
9.95% protein

This is sobering information. I exceeded my suggested calories by 1,079. It was really easy to see where the problems arose. I had too much food at each meal. I believe I would have been satisfied with less. I didn't need oatmeal AND a slice of pecan french toast at breakfast. I didn't need a second and half of a third breadstick at lunch. With butter (I know, I know! Not vegan). Or the shared trail mix snack two hours before dinner (I was thirsty and bought a diet soda and on impulse bought the package of trail mix). Or the bread and butter at dinner, or the cheesecake shared with my husband. But the worst offender by far was my choice of entree at the restaurant at dinner: Linguine Alfredo (they were out of fettucine). That was the only entree that was vegetarian, and I asked for the linguine because the menu called for cheese tortellini. So I have learned I can't "just eat anywhere and adapt" as I've believed. I worried that I wasn't getting enough protein, so I ate more and yet it was still below 10% with all the food I ate.



Today for breakfast: Smart Bran cereal with almond milk and a half cup of raspberries. The China Study summarized on KidSmart speaks to the cancer risks of consuming 20% protein compared to under 10% with exposure to carcinogenic substances, so I feel okay about it today. By the way, plant proteins do not carry the same risks as animal proteins, so I still plan to go vegan, in time. Live and Learn.

Mid-morning snack: 1" square Whole Foods granola bar

Lunch: leftover vegan lasagne (still good and very tasty) and green salad with a TBS of Italian salad dressing.

Afternoon Snack: 1 slice of freshly baked whole wheat bread (my first in years) with a little Earth Balance spread and fig spread. Delicious! I can do this!

Dinner: organic field greens with quinoa, pepitas, onion and fresh raspberries and 1 TBS Newman's Own Oil and Vinegar; Fakin' Bacon and garbanzos with couscous and broccoli from our neighbor's garden.

Dessert: Soy vanilla frozen dessert with organic blueberries. Total percentages for Today (1,792 calories): 53.73% carbohydrate, 31.22% fat, 15.05% protein. And only 9 calories over the goal.