Hi, my name is Chelsea, and I love food. I am usually thinking about what my next meal or snack will be. At any given time you will find me armed with snacks and water, as I am in perpetual anxiety about getting hangry. If I go to a new restaurant, the first thing I do is google the menu to figure out what I will order when I get there. When I travel, I love experiencing the food culture and new restaurants. When people learn about my fondness of food and eating plus the fact that I am plant based, the next logical question is, “well what the ::bleep:: do you eat, then?”. Great question. I decided to write down a week of eating for you all so that question will be forever answered in this blog post. So, the rest of this post will be a list of food I ate from Monday-Sunday, with pictures. I know, enthralling, right? I will also add some notes and musings if I deem necessary.
Monday
-Warm lemon water with ACV (apple cider vinegar)
–Breakfast: Bowl of Nature’s Path Bran flakes with honey and raisins and almond cashew milk
Snack– banana zucchini muffin
Lunch-green smoothie
2nd lunch– big salad (Taylor farms organic mix from Costco) I omitted the feta cheese that came with the mix and added cherry tomatoes from my plants, and half an avocado.
-Organic tortilla chips and mango peach salsa, Heavenly Hunks oatmeal dark chocolate cookie (didn’t take a picture. They are these small, square oatmeal cookie bite thingies from Costco.)
Dinner– roasted red pepper hummus, cucumber and tomato sandwich on Dave’s Killer Bread
Carrot chips (not pictured)
-Homemade banana zucchini muffin
Tuesday
Breakfast– green smoothie & 2 banana zucccini muffins with PB and jam
Lunch– salad and popcorn (apparently I didn’t take a picture of this. The popcorn I like is Skinny Pop)
Snack– chips and salsa, one oatmeal cookie chunk, baby food
Note: I have found out recently that baby food isn’t just for babies. I am obsessed with baby food. I can down a pack in no time flat when I am back to back with clients and it keeps my hanger at bay until I can get a real meal. Perfect to keep on hand in your desk at work or in your purse or gym bag. So many flavor combos!
Dinner– beans/lentils/peas with brown rice and quinoa & broccoli, cauliflower, carrots
Wednesday
Breakfast: warm water with ACV and lemon
-Green smoothie
-2 banana zucchini muffins
Snack– baby food
Mid morning: 2 pieces Ezekiel bread with avocado & 4 cashew clusters
Lunch: big salad
Handful tortilla chips with salsa
One oatmeal cookie chunk
Snack– carrot chips and PB
Dinner– eggplant with marinara sauce made by the bf’s mom. I scarfed it right when I got home, no time for pics when this girl is ready to eat.
Thursday
Breakfast- Nature’s Path bran flakes with raisins and almond cashew milk
Pre workout- banana zucchini muffin
Post workout- green smoothie
Lunch- veggie salad bowl from Chipotle (lettuce, brown rice, black and pinto beans, tomatoes, corn, medium salsa & guac
yeahhhh, I don’t mess around when it comes to Chipotle. Here are the remnants.
Dinner– Mediterranean pasta from Findlay Market. TMI note: felt gassy and gross into the evening. Had a headache. I think tooo much oil!
At home: 4 pieces dark chocolate coconut almond bark
Other notes about this day: Left home 5:30am and got home at 7:30pm. Yikes.
Friday
Breakfast– 2 packs baby food (out of fresh and frozen fruit! Wahhhh!)
Two pieces Ezekiel bread with Melt spread & local cinnamon creamed honey & hemp seeds
Snack– 2 banana zucchini muffins with PB and jam
Snack 2– 4 cashew clusters & 2 baby food packs
Late afternoon lunch– salad with eggless egg salad on top ( so good!!!) and avocado, with a side of Brussels sprouts/cauliflower/apple salad. Both from Findlay Market. The eggless egg salad was made from tofu. Seriously, so delish, I wanna go back and get some every week.
Dinner– 3 beers at happy hour. Oopsies. Happy FriYAY. Then I was responsible and hit the grocery store so I would have some semblance of health food for the weekend.
Late dinner– eggplant with marinara sauce and one oatmeal chunk cookie
Saturday
Breakfast: Suja Uber greens juices, big bowl of blueberries, cinnamon raisin Ezekiel bread with vegan butter and cinnamon honey
Snack– apple
Lunch– 1 cucumber, Mary’s Gone Crackers brand crackers with cashew cheese (about 10?), half pack of Seeds of Change rice and quinoa with an avocado. Looks like I forgot to take a pic.
Dinner– 2 beers. Wow, I am really enjoying beers for dinner this weekend. Although tonight was an exception as I had just left a funeral. Beers necessary.
Late dinner– Rainbow veggies & rice from Green Papaya (Thai restaurant).
Note: Sorry for the lack of photos, but I accidentally left my phone at the gym for 6 hours that day, and I was mega busy.
Sunday
Breakfast– Suja green juice, bowl of blueberries, one banana zucchini muffin with Pb and jam
Lunch– big salad with beans/lentils,tomatoes, cucumbers
-Bowl of strawberries
Dinner– Chickpea flour pasta with creamy avocado basil sauce and a side of broccoli. Dessert: So Delicious coconut ice cream bar.
Whew. That concludes what I ate for a week. I have never food journaled before, so it was definitely an interesting experience. I observed that I definitely thought twice about things I wanted to eat or decided not to eat because I knew I would be writing it down. i.e. randomly shoving snacks in my mouth while making a meal or eating two cookies instead of one. I tried to be as accurate as possible about what I would normally eat, so I went ahead and ate the cookie, even though it’s not the healthiest choice. The week I recorded my food was exceptionally busy for me with work/meetings/and outside of work activities, so I think it was both a good and bad week to record. Good in that it accurately depicted what I throw together if I have not food prepped, do not have much time, and am rarely at home. Bad because I feel like it wasn’t the most shining example I could have presented to you all- lots of beer and baby food. I think the homemade banana zucchini muffins saved my life. Easy/quick to make and eat! Snag the recipe here.
As you can see, I do not count calories, macros, or anything of that nature. I do my best to eat a whole foods, plant based diet that includes lost of different colored foods. I eat cookies. I also consume a lot of food as my job is active, I work out a lot, and I am trying to maintain muscle mass. If I were to critique my own food journal for the week, I would definitely not drink beer two nights a week for dinner (shocker), and one of my biggest struggles is food prepping. I do not like it, but I like how it makes my week a whole lot easier.
Frankly, it’s kind of nerve wracking to put my week of food journaling out there for the world to see & inevitably judge. So what do you think- is my food pretty clean or do I eat like an unhealthy turd? If you would like a FREE analysis of your own food journal, send me your typed food journal or a snapshot of a program you use, like MyFitnessPal. I will give you insights on healthy swaps, what you could eat more/less of, and why you might not be getting the results you want. Send your food journal to chelsea@feedhealthandwellness.com.
Happy Eating!
