Losing it...the post baby diaries...October 26

As promised...here is a look at my food diary for yesterday!

Breakfast 
Organic steel cut oats (1/4 cup dry), 2 tsp brown sugar, 1 tsp organic butter, tea with 1/2 cup organic 1% milk and an organic apple.

Approximately 341 calories, 10 grams of protein and 7 grams of fibre

The dietitian in me thinks this is a pretty balance breakfast: fibre, protein and slowly released carbohydrates for sustained energy (thanks to steady blood sugars). For weight loss, I typically like to see a little more protein and energy; you could add 1/2 cup cottage cheese to accomplish this nicely.

Lunch
1 egg, scrambled into 1 1/2 cups of leftover beans and rice stew topped with 1/4 cup light feta cheese

Approximately 440 calories, 28 grams of protein and 8 grams of fibre

This is a good lunch but a little bit light on the veggies...a super quick side salad of baby spinach and cherry tomatoes would bump up the veggie servings without adding much in the way of calories.

Snack
1 pear with tea with 1/2 cup organic 1% milk

Approximately 150 calories, 4 grams of protein and 4 grams of fibre

Dinner
Scrambled extra firm organic tofu with carrots, soy sauce and 1 cup of brown rice

Approximately 400 calories, 18 grams of protein and 5 grams of fibre

The dietitian in me says "not bad at all!" This is a good balance of grains, vegetarian protein and veggie servings.

My totals for the day: approximately 1331 calories, 60 grams of protein (18% of total calories) and 24 grams of fibre. This is a bit low for a lactating female...I did get 3 calcium servings and almost exactly met my daily goal for fibre. I also could have stood to bump up my fruit and veggie servings, as I only got 5 of my 7-10 for the day. More snacks could have helped with this (or the side salad at lunch). This is one of the biggest challenges I find being at home with a little one: I rarely think to snack and make lunch as quick as possible, so I am not always perfectly balanced in terms of nutrients. The good news is that this is a pretty healthy day overall...and I get a whole new chance to eat even better again today!

In good health,
Desiree

Eat...like me!

There is nothing stronger than photographic proof...so time to share a day in the diet! This was my Wednesday...nothing too unusual going on, although I was trying to clear out my fridge before leaving tomorrow for 9 days away....

Breakfast was organic steel cut oats with unsweetened soy milk, hemp seeds, a fair trade banana and a bit of brown sugar....starting your day with a combination of high fibre whole grains plus the extra protein from the hemp and soy milk will help to keep you full.

Lunch was a 2 egg omelet (Rabbit River Farms Omega 3 Eggs) with a sliced organic potato, light feta and a chopped green pepper on top. The pepper provides 2 servings of veggies (although not the most nutrient dense option...) and perhaps a touch too much saturated fat from the egg and feta - but not too bad!

Every once in a while, I get a craving for one of their sugary concoctions...and then am always left unsatisfied. I had a decaf, half sweet toffee mocha. Not too bad...but not that exciting. Even half sweet, it is more sugar than I needed.

An afternoon snack  (which looks completely indistinguishable here!) was Liberte apple pie yogurt with a sprinkle of raw trail mix, All Bran buds and hemp seeds. Now this is a good sweet treat: probiotic yogurt, protein and the heart healthy soluble fibre that all of us need more of.

Yum! This is a riff on a Jamie Oliver recipe from the Cook with Jamie book. It is a raw beet, pear and feta salad to which I added chick peas for protein. And leave it to me to forget to take a picture of the bread...but there was bread too. Two slices of Terra green olive bread with butter. I love chopped salads to help you get a huge proportion of your fruit and veggie servings at one go but I never serve a main course salad without a protein: either beans, tofu or eggs. It's a must! 

See you in a week or so...I shall actually be without Internet access while I'm away!

Desiree

Eat...like me! The fibre challenge...

This week at work was our employee fibre challenge as part of our ongoing employee wellness program...we challenged everyone to meet their minimum recommended fibre intake (25 grams for women, 38 grams for men) with only whole foods - no fibre supplement bars or metamucil. The average Canadian eats only 14 grams of fibre, generally because we eat too many nasty processed foods...but it can be really easy to get what you need.


I thought I would take a photo log of what I ate this Tuesday. It is a pretty honest "real world" day - I had a terrible selection of food in my fridge and barely any fruit and veg because I needed to go grocery shopping and I spent the last half of the day out (and didn't grocery shop)...but at least I still managed to get my minimum 25 grams of fibre and pull off a not too bad day!


Breakfast: 1 small mango, 3/4 cup of Liberte Apple Pie Yogurt (no artificial sweeteners or stabilizers...good stuff!), 1/3 cup of Kellogg's All Bran Buds with Psyllium. 13 grams fibre total.

Lunch: leftover whole wheat pasta (1/4 box), made with lots of garlic, chili flakes, parmesan, olive oil and butter. A cup of Numi Emperor's Puerh tea. I ate this at 10:00AM because I was starved and didn't want the snack I brought. 8 grams fibre total.

Snack: which I ate at about 12:30....carrots and hummus...I definitely would have brought more to snack on if there was more in my fridge :) About 2 grams of fibre.

On the road...on my way to a meeting at 3:30 and absolutely starving (surprise, surprise!) so stopped at Starbucks for a banana chocolate Vivanno. I feel like this is a slightly healthier bevvie than average because I can actually watch them put in the real milk and whole banana. Also, it is way less sweet than their other varieties. 6 grams of fibre.


Dinner: out with family at Nuba, one of my favourite places! Easy place to eat healthy foods...always a challenge to estimate the fibre, etc in restaurant meals but here is my attempt!
Hummus and pita...maybe 4 pieces and 1/2 cup hummus...4 grams fibre...and one piece of the heavenly haloumi...no fibre...just yummy :)

Next came my fruit and nut salad...and my falafel...roughly 6 grams fibre...mostly from the falafel and dried fruit in the salad.

I also had a couple of bitefuls of the amazing cardamom creme brulee...just a couple as I was stuffed!

Grand total for the day? 39 grams fibre and I also managed to eat my minimum servings of fruit and veg too...If you are wondering how I figure out the fibre in foods, our lovely government provides a database where you can look up detailed nutritional information for almost any food...called the Canadian Nutrient File. Here is the link! http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/nutrition/fiche-nutri-data/index-eng.php 

Happy Spring,

Desiree