What I Ate in a Day

Here's a healthy post, like I said I would!

I'd like to first clarify a common misconception that a lot of people seem to have of those who follow the plant-based diet: the notion that we don't eat enough, that we live off of grass and that we're severely malnourished as a result. NEWS FLASH: this could not be any less true. We eat, and we eat a lot. If you eat mostly clean food (i.e. vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, healthy fats like avocados and nuts, etc.), you kinda have to, because your body digests and breaks these down a lot faster.

Of course, everyone's body works differently, so "eating a lot"can mean different things too. For me, eating a lot doesn't mean stuffing my face with a big meal three times a day. Rather, I like to hit various food groups and have them spread throughout the day-- think small meals + snacks in between, and by snacks I'm referring to the nutritious kind, not the junky ones I posted about earlier.

Which brings me to share my first "What I Ate in a Day"!


Morning:

• Glass of Water

Uh, self-explanatory. Everyone knows you're supposed to start the day with H20, you've been fasting all night while sleeping and your body's screaming at you for hydration.

• Coffee 

I can't really function in the morning without a good cuppa, especially when I'm at work... can ya blame me though? Supposedly, having coffee first thing on an empty stomach isn't good for you, but it's never affected me in a bad way. If anything, I think the caffeine helps kick-start my metabolism, in addition to my brain and the rest of my body. 

•  Banana 

My go-to breakfast item-- it's light but the starches and natural sugar keeps me satiated, and this buddy is packed with potassium, fiber [pectin], Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, magnesium, and antioxidants, just to name a few. What's it good for? Reducing swelling, preemptive protection against Type II Diabetes, alleviating heartburn, lowering blood pressure (also helps you cool off on a hot day), strengthening the nervous system, and producing white blood cells (in case you didn't know, these are the little warriors who help fight your internal battles against the bacteria/viruses when you get sick, so they might be important). 

Fun Fact: When your bananas start developing freckles, that's when they're the best for you. The spotty ones are ripe with TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor), which is a cancer fighting substance that shoos away those weird abnormal cells in our body. 

Lunchtime

• Veggie Fried Rice

No, I did not eat all of this in one sitting, but pictured below is the big batch that I meal-prepped on Sunday night for three days' worth of lunch all packed and squared away. It's got edamame, green peas, french green beans, corn, broccoli, carrots, red pepper, onion, sugar snap peas, mushroom, water chestnuts, and a fistful of kale. Oh, and rice, obviously. I used very minimal vegetable oil (we're talking like 2 tbsp) for sautéing and Trader Joe's Soyaki for seasoning, no additional salt or anything. Talk about vegging out! You can't say I'm not getting my fill of protein and nutritious goodies here ;)

• Peach fruit cup

Dessert after lunch, and probably my treat of the day since this is the only thing listed here that has artificial sugars in it (plus, fruit cups bring back good memories from when I was little!)

Snack

• Fuji Apple

So usually with a lunch like the aforementioned, I'm pretty good until I get back home from work... but not for too long! Mid-day hunger pangs are so real, especially after a long grueling day makin' that moola. I'll usually have some kind of fruit, either an apple or orange. Teddy, my bunny, basically likes everything I eat so he's always in for a treat regardless of what I'm having! He's a greedy one.

Dinner

• Greens, Greens, Greens

I like to space out my food groups in different meals... so since lunch was rice (carbs), I went with something that's mostly greens for dinner. Below is a thing of arugula that I threw together with some thinly sliced/baked tempeh, breaded cubes of tofu, half an avocado mashed, grape tomatos, and I tossed a few cashews in there for crunch. Dressed with a garlic tahini dressing that I've been pretty obsessed with making lately (thank you Trader Joe's for carrying your jars of tahini!). Also added two flatbread triangles in there for extra substance-- learned from one too many nights where I'd glance at the fridge with my tummy growling around bedtime.

So that's everything in a day! Each day is fairly similar with variations depending on what I got for groceries that week. Weekends are usually my "cheat days" so to speak, since the bf usually opts for us to go out for food :) More "What I Ate in a Day" posts to come with tidbits on nutrition! This is great since it's helping me retain a lot of information too, as I'm researching and learning along the way. Cheers to many more healthy eats!