Musings from Mandy

I haven't been posting a regular update of what I have been eating because it hasn't been too exciting.  I have been eating a lot of Dr. McDougall's Asian Entrees from Whole Foods.  They are absolutely delicious, come in a cup that you can put in the microwave, are 200 calories, and 1.99.  The grocery bill is definitely expensive, but hopefully the results will be worth it. I ordered a vegan cookbook and am going to try some recipes out this weekend.  I have been CRAVING a burrito so that is definitely on the menu for dinner tonight. 

Breakfast: Wheat bread and almond butter and a banana. Lunch: This may have been a slight cheat...this morning I went to the gym and did some walking and sprints, then I went to hot yoga at Prana Yoga (and it was 105 degrees and 60% humidity in the room). I felt a little feverish last night and think I wasn't fully recovered enough for yoga. At one point I stood up and saw spots then black and was pretty sure I was going to pass out. I stayed in child's pose (basically on your knees with your forehead on the mat for all you non-yogis) for a few minutes, then was able to tough out the last few poses. Whole Foods is right next to the yoga place and I figured I maybe was hungry too since it was after noon now and I ate breakfast around 730 this morning. Anyways, to make a long story longer, I walked around the hot food section (loosing my cart in the process and never finding it). I saw the vegan hot food options but I'm not crazy about tofu, I am kind of salad-ed out...

Breakfast: Toast with blueberry jam and a tangerine. Lunch: Leftover Buffalo Chick'n Pizza and mixed greens with light Italian dressing. The texture that bothered me with the pizza last night was even more apparent today. I was able to get through these two slices because I hate wasting food, but I'm afraid that the rest of the pizza is going to be for the birds (who will probably eat around the tapioca cheese). Dinner: White Bean and Spinach Salad and a a slice of the tomato, basil, and ricotta pizza. I made some changes to the white bean salad Whole Foods recipe...this is what I did: 2 cans of cannelloni white beans, drained and rinsed. 1 bag of spinach 1/2 red pepper 1 tomato 1 small red onion 2 1/2 tablespoons of Dijon mustard 2 1/2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar 1 tablespoon of Italian seasoning So I REALLY was not a fan of this one. I thought the dressing of mustard, apple cider vinegar, and Italian seasoning was pretty good and I might use it on an actual salad ...

Breakfast: Toast and blueberry jam, coffee with soy milk and a teaspoon of sugar. I also had a bottle of mango juice from the United Arab Emirates. One of the teachers at my school was running a healthy breakfast day with cereal, yogurt, and juice for the kids and peer pressured me into taking something. It may not have been 100% vegan, but it appeared to be on the ingredient page. Lunch: The end of the sesame-peanut noodles! Dinner: I bought a groupon with this little experiment in mind for Peace O Pie ( http://peaceopie.com/ ) in Allston. My coupon was for $8.00 for $16.00 worth of pizza. I took along my brother's vegetarian GF, Molly, and my uncle Neil. It was interesting to say the least. We had the Neapolitan which was fresh basil, tomato slices, and organic tofu ricotta. This was one of my first experiences with tofu and it was a positive one. The pizza could have used a little more garlic I thought, but the sauce, tomato, and "ricotta" was good. The on...

For days 2 and 3, I ate almost identical meals each day so I am grouping them together. Breakfast: Whole wheat bread with blueberry jam. Coffee with one teaspoon of sugar and soy milk. Lunch: I split one can of 365 days vegan vegetable soup between these two days because it was so high in sodium. With it, I ate a large salad of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and shallots with Newman's One Light Balsamic and Vinegarette dressing. Dinner: I took the cold sesame-peanut recipe from day one and to liven it up a bit, put it in a saucepan with tomatoes, garlic salt, and one tablespoon of olive oil. This added about 100 calories, but also made me willing to eat it, which was good because I had a ton of it. Snacks: Tangerine, apple with almonds, and chips and peach salsa. *Disclaimer - Day 3 also included 2 Wachusett Blueberry Ales and 3 PBR's.

Day 1: Breakfast (7:00 a.m.): One slice of Whole Foods brand hearty wheat bread with organic wild blueberry jam and coffee with soy milk and one teaspoon of sugar. I was pretty nervous about the soy milk but it wasn't bad at all. The coffee was a little bit lighter than I like, but I think tomorrow I’ll put a little bit more of the soy milk in and see how it goes. Lunch (11:30 a.m.): Amy’s Black Bean Vegetable Enchilada ( http://www.amys.com/products/product-detail/entrees/000081 ). This is described on the website as “Two tortillas made from freshly ground organic corn, filled with a blend of organic black beans, tofu and vegetables and covered with a traditional Mexican sauce.” I had never had tofu before, but I really didn't notice it. The only thing about this was that is was low in calories but super high in salt. Dinner (6:30 p.m.): Sesame Peanut Noodles from the recipe below. Luckily my g-uncle happened to show up just as I was starting to slice up ...

Last night I started off with my first vegan shopping trip. I went to Whole Foods in North Andover in between school and a city council meeting. I bought the ingredients for two recipes I found on the Whole Foods website: WHITE BEAN AND SPINACH SALAD Serves 4 to 6 With so few ingredients, this salad is surprisingly substantial thanks to the protein and fiber of the beans and big flavors from red onion and a bold Dijon dressing. This is an excellent cold side salad for grilled meals or sandwiches. Ingredients 3 cups cooked no-salt-added cannellini beans (from 2 (15-ounce) cans beans, drained and rinsed) 1 small red onion, quartered and thinly sliced 4 cups tightly packed fresh spinach leaves (about 1/4 pound), tough stems removed 2 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 2 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning Method In a large mixing bowl combine beans and onion. Slice spinach into thin ribbons and add to the beans. In a separate small b...

Hello, and welcome to 7 Day Vegan. I am going to be experimenting with vegan eating for the next 7 days. My reasoning for this is three-fold. The first reason is that I have been reading and hearing a lot of information about veganism in the last few months. Many vegans claim to feel healthier and more energetic as soon as they removed animal products from their diets. Secondly, I have been trying to eat more fruit and vegetables in my diet overall and thought that this experiment would put more pressure on my fruit and veggie diet. Thirdly, I feel that lately the more I try to cut calories, the more I am adding more unnatural foods like sweet & low or splenda to my diet, which, calorie wise works, but overall isn’t good for you. So, in addition to my veganism for the next week, I am going to try to cut down on all unnatural foods. I have done a little bit of research and printed out a few recipes and coupons from the Whole Foods website but am going into th...