3/5/14-Cheated with a bit of Oil

Stayed up near Newport Beach today. Regular hotel oatmeal with raisins for breakfast. Very watery oatmeal.

I ordered the Cali Roll from Au Lac ($12. Not enough for a full meal though, I was hungry shortly after) that I went to last night. It has pine nuts, bell pepper, avocado, cucumber, and I didn't know coconut until I just looked at their website right now, all as a sushi roll.  It was very good, the ginger it came with tasted a bit sour.

Dinner, I picked up from my favorite place, Native Foods Cafe. This is where I cheated, I ordered their fries. The spices on them are so good, I had a 2 hour drive home and fries are such a great snack on the road.  Must find a new great snack. And I need to find out what spies they use so I can make my own baked, no oil fries.

I also got their Moroccan Bowl, without oil so substituted black beans for the tofu and added kale. I felt funny ordering the rest of my stuff with no oil, then I add french fries to the order. Oh well, I cheated but at least I minimized the cheating. Ate half that bowl so have some for dinner tomorrow too. Also finished my Scotch Rocks with a lovely cup of the Mighty Leaf Tea.  Not pricey either: $8.95 for the salad (it's a meal, not a side salad), $11.95 for the Bowl and $1.95 for the fries.

I want to get a vegan cookbook with some really different types of recipes. Different types of cuisines, not just american or mexican food. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know.  I think I will also order Rawsome Vegan Baking by Emily Von Euw. Her desserts look delicious. My hesitation is so many raw desserts use coconut, which if following the Engine2Diet, we should stay away from. Plus my husband is not a fan. One of the coaches on Engine2 said if used for baking substitute applesauce so I think I will get the book and go that route.

3/4/14-Awesome Food Today!

Before I get to my awesome dinner have to get through the beginning of the day:

I had to drive up to Newport Beach from San Diego for work today. Had an ezekial english muffin (saw them in the store for the first time yesterday so thought to try it) with almond butter and a banana. I did stop at Starbucks for a soy latte, they have become a new favorite of mine. I asked the workers, they said it is just espresso and soy milk so shouldn't be too bad for me, right?

I went to Mothers Market to pick up lunch before work. There is one right near the site I was going to today. Again, their fresh pre-made food all contained oil, except fruit salad. So I got some fruit salad (about $5.50 for a medium container) and a side salad. Good salad-had mushrooms, beets, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and cilantro-jalapeno dressing that had no oil. The dressing was pretty spicy, I liked it, made the salad that much more interesting. The salad came with brown rice. I thought that was weird (option was bread or brown rice) but nice addition (and all for $4.75. I think that is a great price for those items!). I had half the salad, a couple bites of the rice and half the fruit salad-coworker enjoyed the other half.

Before dinner I went to the hotel gym and the machines were used up so did 20 minutes of strength training instead of treadmill.

Now, dinner. I wanted to go to a really nice raw food restaurant I had tried before in Santa Ana called Au Naturaw. Good thing I tried calling and when that didn't work, checked Yelp-they closed! But Yelp showed me some other places around, I decided to try one called Au Lac (http://aulac.com/). Wow!! I will go there everytime I am up here, it was delicious. All vegan, their menu has a mixture of raw and cooked foods. Unfortunately all their pho has oil in the broth but I of course found other good options. I wanted to get so many things. From the server's suggestion, I got BBQ Pork Rolls (soy pork of course-$4) with a peanut sauce. They were delicious, came with 3 I ate them all pretty quickly. For my main I got raw curried rice ($15). It's soaked organic wild rice with a bunch of vegetables including zucchini pasta, cauliflower, avocado, cilantro, olives, crispy onions (I guess dehydrated?) and wonderful spices. I ate about half of it and was full (well that and I wanted to save room for the dessert).

Dessert, I got their Scotch on the Rocks ($7). It says scotch rocks on the receipt. I wonder what my manager will think when she reviews my expense report. Ordering scotch would be quite different for me. I wrote it's a dessert on the receipt but then thought liquor scotch could be a dessert so added cake :-)
It's actually a raw dessert- a butterscotch-macadamia filling with walnut crust and raspberry sauce. Oh my so nice. I have eaten half so far but the night is still young. I got it as take-out and the bag they gave me was this nice maroon canvas tote with their logo on it. I couldn't believe that's their take out bag, it's lovely!

I needed a really nice tasty restaurant where I can easily order food without oil, animal products, the dessert has no coconut either as many raw desserts too. I will just say I am very content tonight.

Day After the Challenge

I continued with this plant strong eating.  Worked in La Jolla today, I always stop at Whole Foods before work since it is right by it. I had my normal oatmeal for breakfast. Picked up a quinoa-brown rice-kale sushi roll and some pineapple for lunch.

For dinner I made quinoa with zucchini, kale and onion. That was very good and so easy to make. I will definitely make that again. I also baked a potato (like fries with lots of seasonings). I probably didn't need the potato, for some reason I just really felt like eating a potato.

Snack I had some homemade banana ice cream with cacao and mighty leaf tea.  I think I got some of those tea bags from VeganCuts (if you like snacking it is so fun to get a subscription through them. They send a box each month of different vegan snacks. I did cancel it a couple months ago since the products don't always follow Engine2 guidelines and wanted to work on cutting down on snacking). So anyway, I got some from a VeganCuts box, I'm pretty sure that's where they came from, and I love it. So I picked up some more from Whole Foods today.  Look at those pretty flowers in the picture here of one of the pouches.

I think following this way of eating will be pretty easy when traveling for work, and eating at home. It'll be more special occasions/vacations that are more difficult.  We'll see how it goes!

Day 28 - Last Day of the Challenge

Sunday was pretty productive. Breakfast I had the last 2 pancakes with berry sauce. Then I went and did some errands. Tony's sister, niece and nephew are coming to visit Friday from Ireland so went to get some snacks, food and drinks for them.  Someone at work is having a baby and it has been my thing to make a diaper cake/centerpiece for all the pregnant women at work. Below are the ones I made.  My mom does the embroidery on baby items so some of the items are done by her, the ones with the baby's name and such. The tiered more traditional cake is the one I made today.

Came back from errands late so had a 2pm lunch of broccolini and baked tofu. Tofu covered in whole wheat flour, nutritional yeast and garlic powder. I did have a snack before errands. I had a sweet tooth so mixed some almond butter with chocolate chips and a banana. Very tasty.

Made the diaper cake so didn't have dinner until 9pm. I really didn't feel like cooking then so I had a McDougall vegetable soup.

The weekend went way too fast!

#E2Challenge

Day 27 - Only One More Day?!

Well, only one more day left to the challenge. I have been thinking about if I will continue with the plant-strong no oil diet. I feel like I mostly will but temptation will be there more to cheat. With this challenge I knew I had to blog about it and in my head the thought that it's a 28 challenge was always there. I am still working on losing weight though so that will be a motivator to continue, that and I think this is the healthiest diet (I'm just not sure if it really does hurt to cheat every once in awhile, a few times a year).

So for breakfast, I made whole wheat pancakes and a berry sauce on top.

 Lunch, I had a baked potato with some vegetables.  It was a lot of food so for dinner, I only made some baked onion rings and had it with ketchup.

Snack: An Engine2 Crispbread.

For exercise I did one of FitnessBlender's upper body workouts (12 minutes) and just half of one of the cardio workouts (15 minutes about).  I like that you can search for types of workouts and such. I am going to put together an exercise plan with their workouts to incorporate cardio, flexibility, strength training.  Just try that for awhile for a change.

Plant-Strong Pigs!

Very messy plant-strong pigs

#E2Challenge

Day 26 - Another Day of Training and Glad it's Friday!

Last day of training in the hotel. More pastries with chocolate drizzle there, I brought my oatmeal and raisins.  Lunch, I had the same thing as yesterday, the Engine2 burger patty as a sandwich with their red pepper hummus. Had some melons and olives for a snack in the afternoon.

It was so rainy and windy today! I really just wanted noodle soup for dinner. I used to eat Annie Chung's miso udon noodle soup but white noodles. I decided to make my own. I don't have any soba noodles, only pasta I have is linguine, I thought to just try that. I am glad I have the miso paste. I just have to mix that with boiling water, add some veggies and it is tasty! I had the miso soup broth with spinach, carrots, tofu and cilantro.  Had 2 Happy Herbivore cookies (the last two) and some tea for a snack and one Engine2 crispbread.

Again I didn't exercise.  That will need to be my next goal--exercise when I am home. I am being good with the hotel gyms but I'm not always in a hotel (thank goodness).


#E2Challenge

Day 25 - Training in San Diego

Today I had work training at a hotel next to our work office.  They provide us lunch and snacks and an email to let someone know if we have any dietary restrictions. I didn't email though. It's only 2 days of training, I thought it would be a bit much to ask for no animal products and no oil on top of that.  Last year when I had training at the same hotel it was for 5 weeks. We had a very nutrition and fitness conscious trainer.  I don't remember if I let them know I was vegan at that time, but there was a lot of steamed vegetables and salads I could eat. I was eating oil at that time.

This time, good thing I brought my own food-even the salad had cheese!
I had oatmeal and raisins for breakfast. At training they had pastries and fruit-I stuck with an apple and tea. Lunch, I made a sandwich. Engine2 burger on ezekial bread with Engine2 red pepper hummus, lettuce, tomato and cilantro. It was very tasty.
Snack in the afternoon, they brought us all chocolate! Chocolate candy bars, chocolate fudge and chocolate chip cookies. I had an orange...

Dinner, Tony suggested we go out. We had a $15 for $30 deal to Kensington Cafe. Tony goes there often for breakfast. I asked them if they could make something without oil. I had a side salad with balsamic vinegar and the main dish was red quinoa, zucchini, peas and kale. It was really tasty but not a lot of vegetables. A dish I can make at home, I'll just add a lot more vegetables.

I didn't exercise today. I am noticing I am having a hard time exercising when at home! Granted, by the time I got home from training it was after 6pm, and we went to dinner right away. But yeah, lazy excuses.  It's something I will just keep working on!


#E2Challenge

Day 24 - Tired Today!

Maybe I am not caught up on my sleep from my long day yesterday? I don't know but I have been tired all day. I had to get up early since I had a lot of work to do in the office (home office) before training 2-5:30pm. So, no exercising today.

Had Engine2 cereal with almond milk and a banana for breakfast. I did have some coffee.
For lunch I had the macro bowl I got from Native Foods last night. I had half for lunch and the other half for dinner. Had some fruit and mixed nuts during the training class today and 1 Happy Herbivore cookie for snack.

Felt a little unmotivated today since I weighed myself this morning and am back to 124. Went onto engine2extra.com, chatted with some people, one who said it took her a few months to start losing weight, so I will keep going.

#E2Challenge

Day 23 - More Work and Travel

Was working a bit north of LA today in Encino. Had some hotel oatmeal with craisins for breakfast.
Lunch I got an avocado wrap from Hugo's yesterday. It was soooo good! A whole wheat wrap filled with red hummus, avocado, cucumber, sprouts and a sesame-chile dressing on the side. Delicious.

I exercised in the morning, 20 minutes on the treadmill, but did walk about 5 of those minutes. I was pretty tired.

Worked on site 8:30-5. Someone else on site with me has lost a lot of weight in the last few months with a low-carb, high protein diet. We know those work with losing weight. But reading about the Engine2Diet, reading other books like the China Study, and listening to talks from some of the doctors who advocate these plant-strong diets, we know this isn't a great way to sustain weight and health. The food on the diet is all in packets that you add water or heat up or whatever. You do have fresh vegetables, but some you can't because too much sugar. Sugar in vegetables...  The diet sounds a bit like Atkins but she said it's not as much fat. The weight loss is great and she feels much better so that's good. Just with reading stuff, I feel so healthy having whole foods, no more processed foods. I did tell her the diet I am following but that's all.

The forks in the background means
Native Foods Cafe!

I tried medifast once, I did not feel healthy. I felt very lethargic but in my mind I just didn't feel healthy eating all from packets. Probably from things I've read. At that time, I went back to plant-based whole foods, minimal animal products and just felt a lot better.

I left the site around 5 to drive back to San Diego. Took about 3.5 hours. I stopped at a Native Foods Cafe for dinner. I love it there. They don't have as many options with no oil but
I can still get tasty food there. I picked up their taco salad (seitan as the taco "meat") and salsa as the dressing. I also got the macro bowl but didn't eat that today, just had the taco salad after I got home. On the ride home though I did have 2 Happy Herbivore cookies and a soy latte-no sugar.

#E2Challenge

Day 22 - Work and Travel

Today I worked in San Diego but then after work, drove up to LA for work tomorrow morning. Long day.

I had breakfast before I left-oatmeal and raisins.

For lunch, I picked up some food from Whole Foods yesterday. I had brown rice avocado sushi. I also got a salad with raisins, edamame, butternut squash, no oil. I only ate about 3/4 a cup of the salad though. I was very busy on site so didn't eat much.

I left the site at 5 and came up to LA. I wanted to try a place called Hugo's. Happy Herbivore posted about it on facebook and that she goes there often. I got there about 7:15pm (not a terrible drive I thought it would take me longer, especially at that time). They list soups with no oil and dressings but when I was looking for a main the waiter didn't seem to know what I could have with no oil. He got this big book of all the ingredients. Not so helpful to me just because it's such a big menu to go through it all, I had such a long day already, was hungry and maybe I was expecting it to be a bit easier to find something. So I just chose spring rolls appetizer - 2 with a sauce (all no oil). They have an option on the menu to choose a few different options and make your own meal out of them so I just decided to do that. I chose brown rice, broccolini with garlic and steamed mixed vegetables. I got it to go though since I was tired and a little bored sitting there by myself, I forgot to pack my book. I only ate a little of the rice and vegetables after exercising. I do get a little bored with just vegetables and really wanted to sit in a restaurant and have many tasty options available to me. Is there a no-oil plant strong fancy restaurant out there? I want to go to it!

Exercised when I got to the hotel: 30 minutes on the treadmill, 2.25 miles. I really didn't feel like it, it was about 8:30 when I finally got to my room so 8:45 when I got to the gym but it felt good to run a bit after sitting all day long.

Day 21 - A Nice, Relaxing Sunday

I got up early since Tony had to go to work for 8am. But I just reheated the last 2 whole wheat biscuits and olive gravy for breakfast with spinach again. I had some errands to do, so went to get some stuff from Whole Foods, got another pair of workout clothes from JC Penney (getting a little smelly with one pair), had to pick up the rental car for work this week. For lunch, I had leftover Ethiopian food from last night-just had some cabbage and bread left, and made a salad of romaine lettuce and vegan caesar no oil dressing.

Exercise: Insanity Cardio and Balance

Dinner: I made Tony and I baked tofu and a veggie broth stir fry with garlic and some other spices, broccolini, red, green and yellow peppers, asparagus and red onion. My husband is a meat eater. He sometimes makes comments about how he needs meat, or this dish would be good with ground beef. But he doesn't really cook so he'll eat what I make (to an extent since he won't do rice, pasta, bread). After he ate it, he said he was full (but did have lots of grapes later) and it was all right. If I follow a recipe the meals seem to be a bit tastier and he likes it more. I'm working on it.

Snack I had two of my HH cookies with some tea.

The rest of the day, hung out with my pigs and my husband!

Day 20 - Great Restaurant Experience

For breakfast I decided to make Happy Herbivores drop biscuits with olive gravy. Had some spinach cooked in veggie broth with it. And a cup of coffee.

I also decided to make Happy Herbivores chocolate chip cookies. The batter is very liquidy, next time I'll take the suggestion of adding a banana to thicken it up. They came out really good though, a bit big and a little flat but very tasty.

I didn't have lunch I was still really tired from the day before since I still couldn't fall asleep last night until about 11pm and woke up at 6:30 since the examiner for life insurance came at 7am for blood draw. I cleaned the apartment in the morning so afternoon I decided to lay down for a bit and I took a quick nap, but rested for a couple hours.  The only exercise I did was Insanity Abs, it's just 15 minutes. But I did weigh myself this morning, lost 2.5 lbs since starting the challenge. Not much but at least it's something!


For dinner, Tony and I went out with a couple of friends. They suggested an Ethiopian restaurant, Muzita Bistro. They have a nice menu of meat and vegan options. I decided to call to make sure they could do no oil. They said it'd be fine.
When we got there and I asked them for no oil, the chef (Abel) came out to speak with me, asking which one in our group was the problem child. He just wanted to confirm what I could and could not have, and then let me know he would make me something special. He was very friendly and chatted with us a bit, letting us know no oil was no problem and that once someone came in who couldn't have spices or seeds. They had to go ahead and remove all the seeds from the tomatoes for that person's dish. So I didn't feel too bad! I had some white wine with dinner.
Abel later brought my dish out himself and let me know he had everyone in the kitchen taste it. That was the second dish he made, the first one the tasters complained had no flavor. The dish they brought me was excellent! He said he used black cardamom as a base. The dish consisted of salad, green cabbage with a tomato sauce and another spicy dish with green beans, zucchini and mushrooms. All with Ethiopian bread (Injera) to eat it with. It was a great experience not only because the food was so good, but the chef seemed to really enjoy making something different.

#E2Challenge

Day 19 - Exhausted!

I had to leave the hotel at 4:30am for my 6:15 flight. I didn't eat until my layover in Denver. I was feeling pretty tired of having oatmeal every morning so went around to a few different restaurants to see if there was anything else I could have. I sat down at one that had potatoes, black beans, peppers, salsa in different menus on the item so I asked if they could make something like that with no egg or oil. This is one of the first times I was told no regarding the no oil. She said they don't have vegetable broth only beef or chicken so they would have to cook it in that, butter or oil. I asked about sauteing in water but no.  I felt a little angry- I think it was the exhaustion and having a long day of travel. I thought how can they not do that. I ordered Muesli instead but then kept thinking about it and really didn't want oats again, so I canceled the order and left.

The next restaurant I asked before I sat down and they said they could do it! They boiled some potato and I had spinach and artichokes with it. It was a really nice change. I had a 3.5 hour layover so I did have a coffee there.

On the plane ride, I was lucky and got upgraded to 1st class for both flights! I was very happy about that. They give you snacks, the first flight was a scone so I didn't take that. The next flight, the options are chips, cookies, chocolate and a banana. I chose the banana.  I was still very hungry though and limited choices on the plane. I wasn't smart and I packed my Engine2 crispbreads in my large bag instead of bookbag (remember my exhaustion). Best thing I could find was whole wheat crackers with hummus to purchase. The hummus had no oil! The crackers had whole wheat in the ingredients list. There was some oil in them though so not perfect. 

After finally getting home about 1:30 I had lunch.  I ordered some rice with tofu and vegetables from Saffron in the San Diego airport again. I said no oil, which I get there often and the cashier said ok, as well as the manager who was right there, but when I brought it home and ate it, the container did feel oily so I am not sure.

I've been gone all week so my refrigerator is empty right now! For dinner I just cooked up some whole wheat pasta with spices and tomato sauce. I have to get fresh vegetables tomorrow. No exercise today, was too tired.

The taxi ride home, the driver asked me what I do for work. I said clinical research and that got into a talk about health insurance which he then started speaking about how people eat so unhealthily. So I let him know how my diet is. He did ask me where I get my protein. I answered and I let him know about the China Study, Forks over Knives and Engine2Diet. He was really interested, before I left he asked me the name of the documentary again and said he'd find it online. It's funny how often this topic keeps coming up now. Not surprising when I am out to eat with people since they see it and it might come up but this time was just in the cab.

Sunrise from first flight:

Leaving Denver

Hello San Diego!

#E2Challenge

Day 18-Potatoes do Taste Better in Idaho!

I should be on the plane home right now, but I am in a Holiday Inn instead. Since 2:40pm my flight kept getting delayed more and more. By 6:30pm it was delayed from the original 8:30pm to 11:05pm. I knew since about 5 I would miss my connection from LA. By the time dinner was over around 7, my flight was delayed to midnight. I wouldn't get to LA until after 1am, then what, rent a car and drive home at that time? Or stay in LA airport until morning flights start up.
I went to the airport to see my options and while there my flight was canceled. They put me in a hotel and my flight out is at 6:15am, shuttle will get me at 4:30. I haven't been up that early in a very long time, well why would I be? 3.5 hour layover in Denver then home around 1pm. Maybe I'll be awake when Tony gets home from work so I can finally see him!

I woke up early and did 30 minutes on the treadmill before breakfast again. This time though my legs felt pretty tired, I walked about 6 of those minutes and jogged the rest.

For breakfast I had my usual oatmeal with raisins. Lunch, I got a salad from the Yardhouse last night. Lettuce, corn, avocado, tomatoes, cucumber, celery with balsamic vinegar for the dressing. I also had a little bit of the brown rice and vegetables from dinner last night so had that too.

I went to dinner with a coworker to Outback Steakhouse. I got a side salad wth no cheese and no croutons and balsamic vinegar for dressing. For dinner I had a plain baked potato with steamed carrots and broccoli. The picture might look plain but let me say, potatoes are better in Idaho! It was so good! Just added some freshly cracked pepper, the outside of the potato did have some salt on it (made it really tasty). I said no oil on anything and the waitress just said sure. It was a good dinner.

I have been very surprised with how easy it has been to eat out on this diet. It is definitely something I will keep doing after the 28 days. Especially having to eat out so often because of work its a great way to make sure I keep the calories down and stay healthy. I've also been surprised that I have been able to get up in the morning and workout before breakfast. I used to try this before and besides being tired and not wanting to get out of bed, I would feel too hungry and a bit weak to do it. But these few days were great. Not quite the same once I home because no treadmill with big flat screen TV right downstairs to use :-)

#E2Challenge

Day 17 - Oops Martinis

The Village in Idaho

Started out well today. 30 minutes on the treadmill before breakfast. Then oatmeal with raisins again for breakfast. Lunch was the same that I had from dinner last night, brown rice and vegetables with soy sauce.

For dinner I went with coworkers to the Yardhouse. We were going to grab a drink at happy hour so I had a martini. My coworker ordered a cosmo (he never tried a martini) and didn't realize it was so fruitty, not what he wanted so he ordered a dirty martini instead. I ended up having his also (I will say it was a long dinner, over 2 hours). They weren't very big but I feel so guilty writing that I had them!! I hope all my exercise cancels out the sugar of the drinks...

Dinner went well though. They have a vegetarian section on their menu with fake chicken said it's made of soy, wheat and whole grains. So I got that with vegetables and brown rice. I let them know no oil. The server had a manager come over to talk to me and let me know some of the sauces have dairy so I let her know I couldn't have that either. They gave me a mushroom sauce on the side that had no oil so I had that and it was very nice! I am so surprised at how easy it has been and how accommodating restaurants have been to the no oil request. It's nice! I forgot to take a picture when I first got my food so the one posted is after most is already eaten!

After dinner I did 20 more minutes on the treadmill and about 15 minutes of strength training (4 different exercises, 15 reps, 2 sets each).

I also got some more affirmation to this diet today. I went to eat with my coworker last night who asked questions about the diet and said he didn't think he could do it because he'd miss meat. I let him know how our taste buds change and how once you read the benefits and why you should eat this way it makes it easier. This morning he said a classmate of his died of a heart attack, young only about 41 I think. He said he thinks it may be a sign so I gave him the names of the 2 Engine2Diet books and the website, and also told him to read the China Study. When we went to dinner and met up with another coworker she had just gone to a funeral for someone who died of a heart attack who is also young with kids at home. I looked at my other co-worker, another sign! So hopefully he will give it a try.

#E2Challenge

Day 16 - Yay for Jogging!

I had a good gym day! Was able to get up early and complete 25 minutes on the treadmill before breakfast. This hotel has a very little gym with only one treadmill. Someone was using it when I went in so I had a banana while waiting my turn. After the run, had some oatmeal with raisins and almonds. This was around 8am. About 10:50am I got pretty hungry again and had the udon noodles with vegetables. I did not like them and felt guilty because they felt really oily, even though the Whole Foods worker said there is no oil it in, I am not sure that's right. But, I was hungry and also didn't want to waste them by throwing them away.

Around 1pm I had the salad I made, and shared some with my co-worker since he only had goldfish.

Went to dinner right after work to an asian fusion restaurant called Ling and Louie's. I asked if they could just make me some brown rice and vegetables with no oil. The waitress just wrote it down and said sure. I was surprised so I double-checked and asked the no oil won't be a problem. She said no, they can steam the vegetables. Great! The dish didn't have much flavor, I don't think they used any spices, but I added some low sodium soy sauce and it was nice. Got some more for lunch tomorrow. Also had a miso soup and a really nice ginger peach tea.

I did another 25 minutes on the treatmill after dinner and about 8pm was hungry again so had a bit more of my brown rice and vegetable dinner and some pineapple chunks.

My legs feel a bit tired but I hope I will be able to wake up early again tomorrow and exercise. It's so convenient staying in a hotel and having the gym 2 minutes away, right downstairs to use. And yeah, hotel smelled like freshly baked cookies again. It is a nice smell... :-)

#E2Challenge

Day 15- Traveling to Boise

Today I came to Boise for work this week. Left around 8:15 this morning so I had my usual oatmeal with raisins before leaving. No coffee.

I picked up the rice with vegetables and tofu from Saffron in San Diego airport for lunch later. My layover was in San Francisco but I know and like Saffron, and know they will make their meals without oil so it was a safe choice. For the dish I got, and they charge you for sauce if you want it, I got Sriracha sauce with it, came to $12.45. A bit pricey for the amount you think, but it is airport food so not too surprising.

Boise, Idaho

I got to Boise about 4pm. I like having time to settle in before starting work tomorrow. I didn't feel very good when I arrived though. Kind of bumpy ride in but I think the main problem was not drinking enough water during the trip. I could definitely tell I was very dehydrated. I made my usual stop at Whole Foods when I arrived to get some snacks for the week, dinner and lunch for tomorrow. I picked up a freshly made tangerine juice. I know Engine2Diet doesn't recommend drinking your calories. It seems to be I want fruitty drinks when traveling. Last time I got the smoothie, this time really wanted the juice.

I was very disappointed with this Whole Foods prepared foods selection. They must not be participating in the challenge because almost every item in their hot bar had oil! There was a couple soup options without oil so I got a white bean and kale soup for dinner. I made a salad for lunch tomorrow. The only dish on the hot bar without animal products or oil was udon noodles with peppers. It looked a bit shiny so I asked a worker to make sure there was no oil. He went and found out the answer and assured me no oil involved, just a peanut sauce. So I picked up some of that and added some additional vegetables to it from the salad bar (didn't eat it yet, will save it for lunch tomorrow). Udon noodles are white though so I don't think they exactly fit Engine2diet either. I did look at getting the rice/vegetable medley Engine2 sells but you can't microwave it in the package, it says in a microwave-safe bowl. Since I am in a hotel I do not have that. I also picked up a brown rice, avocado cucumber sushi roll. I ate the roll, soup and a green apple for dinner.  

I didn't bring Insanity with me this time. When talking about needing an exercise program to do, I forgot, you also have to like it or it will make it that much harder to do! I knew I would have the hotel gym this week so today I jogged 2 miles and did 15 minutes of strength training.

I am staying at Hampton Inn, it always smells like freshly baked cookies because they keep them on the counter. It smells good, they were there when I left the gym but no way, I was not tempted! Every once in awhile, I see something I used to eat and think I would like to eat it again, for example I passed 3 McDonalds to come here and thought some fries would be nice. Or sometimes, oddly enough since I haven't had beef in awhile, I just want an In-and-Out burger but it's not a physical craving, just in my mind so easy to not give in to it. It's just a thought. Physical cravings have finally gone mostly away for animal products. Cheese was the last craving to go, that took forever. It's been only a couple months that I haven't craved it, but that's a start!

#E2Challenge

Day 14-A Day at the Beach

My aunt is vacationing in Palm Springs right now from NY so came to Oceanside today to meet me for brunch. Mimosa brunch at the beach is a tradition we do when she comes out. By the time we got seated and got our food it was almost 11am so I ordered lunch, we'll say brunch (looked better then oatmeal again). We went to Beach Break at the Harbor. Not much plant strong on the menu. Breakfast was going to be oatmeal with fresh fruit but then I saw the lunch menu.  I got a vegetable sandwich. Had avocado, sprouts, tomato and some other veggies on toasted wheat bread with a side salad, salsa as the dressing. I also had one cup of coffee and 2 tangerine mimosas  The sandwich came with cheese and Dijon. I said no cheese but when I read Dijon I automatically thought mustard. When it came out it turned out to be mayonnaise, the menu wording was Dijon spread. I apologized that I misread it and they did exchange it, no problem. 

I got home about 2:30 pm and was pretty hungry. I had an orange.  About 4:30pm I was still very hungry so had some brown rice and broccoli.

Dinner about 8ish, had some leftover whole wheat spaghetti with a bunch of vegetables including green and waxed beans, broccoli, carrots and the rest of the spinach tofu mixture from the other day.  I like to keep a bunch of those vegetable mixtures frozen and just steam them when I need it.

Exercise: Does walking on the beach count?  I'll get back to it tomorrow. Traveling to Boise for the week so will have a bunch of time on my own.

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