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October 16, 2006
We Might All Do Well To Take A Cue From The Iguanas
Annec writes:
"Iguanas are cute! I had a friend who had one, and we (my boyfriend and I) would feed him when she was out of town. I remember thinking that the stuff we were feeding the iguana (which included kale and collard and other greens) looked pretty tasty. It's funny, a lot of people don't see such greenery as "people food" at all, but we all might do well to take a cue from the iguanas..."
It is sad how many people don't see yummy greens as people food. In fact, vegetables in general are often not considered appropriate for human consumption, unless cooked to death. Think of what happens if you're munching on a salad while everyone else is eating cheesesteak -- someone asks why you're eating rabbit food. Are you on a diet? Grrr...
Eggwhites aren't exactly rabbit food, but they are my CR friendly breakfast. MR's parents have gone to see New York for a few days, so I'll have a couple of days of quotidian diet. I've tweaked my diet a bit as of late, so here it is the updated sketch. I don't eat the exact same thing everyday by any means, but I do have a few foods that I find easy and convenient ways to get the nutrition I need while keeping my calories low.
Breakfast: 6:30 am
1 cup eggwhites, scrambled, with 1 tablespoon Lewis Labs brewers yeast, 1 fat free cheddar single, 1 teaspoon flax oil, and a drizzle of Whole Foods Organic Hot Sauce
1 teaspoon wheat bran, soaked and drained
20 g shiitake mushrooms, scrambled into eggies
Coffee
Mid-morning snack: (approx 10 am)
1 carton Dannon Light and Fit Nonfat yogurt (60 cals)
40 cals almonds or hazelnuts
Lunch: (approx noon)
Salad of kale, napa cabbage, tomatoes, green pepper
50 g turkey (62 calories)
1 cup Trader Joes Nonfat Cottage Cheese (140 Cals)
60 calories almonds or hazelnuts
Dinner: (approx 7, though varies with work schedule)
Brewers yeast soup: organic veggie mix with broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, totaling 40 calories, cooked in 1 half cube no salt veggie broth (organic) with 1 teaspoon flax oil (added after removing from heat)
1 Quorn Dog (80 cals, loaded with Zinc)
Nuts or another teaspoon of olive oil
6 ounce glass of red wine: 150 cals
I end up eating a piece of fruit or a fruit salad about every other day, either a fruit salad if I go out to a restaurant with a salad bar, or an apple, pear, plum, whatever on other days.
I might need to figure out a way to get some citrus into this thing. Hmmm... perhaps I will eat a grapefruit. I love grapefruit.
I'm still tweaking the nutrition on the software... it seems I haven't properly entered the nutrition info for Quorn dogs, so my zinc is all messed up. Grrr!
I'm coming in with about 1204 calories, which is below my average but I've eaten out quite a bit lately so a few weeks of below average would balance that out. I monitor my weight every day and if I start losing fast, I increase my calories.
Will post the nutrition info once I have time to fix it in DWIDP. I'm actually transitioning to Aaron's Cron-O-Meter, which is a much better program. So maybe I'll do the whole thing in COM and post it. It's about time to make the leap.
A few nutritional notes:
It's hard to get 100% of the RDA of calcium from food, but I try and usually come close. All my milk products are nonfat organic, with the exception of the Danon which is only a recent addition, as in the last few days. I may stop eating it soon, but it's so low cal that it's hard to give up.
B vitamins seem hard to find, so I increase them with mushrooms and Lewis Labs.
My iron level in my diet is low, but my blood tests consistenly show my iron level to be just right, so I'm not too worried about it.
My zinc is low but I supplement.
My protein is very high 38% which I find helps control both mood and hunger.
I love Quorn dogs, and you should try them!
All for now... must go run some errands before work.
Posted by april at October 16, 2006 6:46 AM
Comments
I also keep a decent amount of protein in my diet, about 130g per day. I love salads and veggies and yes you are right people always ask how can I stand to eat rabbit food so much. Or "What is that in your salad?" Me : "Ummm... they're called lentils." For most people a salad is just a pool of ranch dressing with some iceberg lettuce floating in it. I actually know people who will go for days and and days and not eat ANY fruits or veggies whatsoever.
Posted by: jake silver at October 16, 2006 10:39 AM
I've been reading this blog for a while and have picked up some really great tips (thank you for introducing me to flax oil, Quorn and Lewis Labs brewers yeast!) so I just thought I'd throw this suggestion out there and see what you think. Have you ever tried any sea vegetables, like Dulse flakes and kelp? I add a couple of tablespoons of Dulse flakes to my kale salad every day and for a mere 26 calories I get a whopping 28%DV of iron, 14% of riboflavin, 60% B-6 and 24% B-12 (not to mention more than 300%DV of iodine - no goiters here!).
Kelp is also filled with nutrients and blends pretty well into soups. In a 1/3 c. serving I get 25% DV of iron, 12% riboflavin, 40% B-6 and 9% B-12.
The only downside I see for these things is the relatively high sodium content (312 mg sodium in a serving of kelp, 174 mg in 2 tablespoons of Dulse flakes). To me, all that nutrition is worth a little extra salt. What do others think?
Posted by: Robin at October 16, 2006 11:18 AM
Hi Robin,
Thanks for your comments! RE: sea vegetables, the only thing I would worry about is iodine. If they have too much iodine, they can mess with your thyroid pretty bad. MR had a bad experience with kombu. Check the iodine levels. I'll see if I can find his old post on the topic.
a
Posted by: April at October 16, 2006 7:57 PM
Wow, I'm really glad I asked!
Now that you mention it, kelp *does* have an insane amount of iodine in it. Something like 2000%! I guess it never occurred to me that one could get too much iodine. Do you have any idea exactly how much is considered too much?
Posted by: Robin at October 17, 2006 6:52 AM