Probably helps to login more often

[jdkc4d]

Well, the last challenge didn't end so well. And by that, I mean that I pretty much gave up half way in. The holidays. The goodies at work. Etc etc blah blah blah. I'm going to do this challenge a little bit different. My goal for these 6 weeks is to eat more vegetables. I was sitting at work over the holidays (cause you know someone has to work) and I started thinking as I was staring down at my deep dish personal pizza..."When was the last time I had any veggies?" I couldn't remember. That's probably not good. So here's the deal usually Its a main goal, 3 sub goals, & and a life goal. Sorry, but I'm throwing that out the window. 

 

Goal: Eat more Veg.

 

Since it's Thursday and this started Monday, let me tell you about my week so far. 
 

• Monday
  • Breakfast: Fruity pebbles Rice Crispie Treat, Mighty Mango juice
  • Lunch: Steamed Broccoli & Carrots, Tuna salad sandwich
  • Dinner: Baked Cod, Roasted Carrots & Onions
• Tuesday
  • Breakfast: Protein Smootie
  • Lunch: Steamed Broccoli & Carrots, Tuna Salad Sandwich
  • Dinner: Baby back ribs, brocolli, baked potato
• Wednesday
  • Breakfast: Piece of cake
  • Lunch: Italian Sub
  • Dinner: Homemade pizza
• Thursday (hey that's today!)
  • Breakfast: Orange Juice, glazed donuts
  • Lunch: Blackened (supposed to be) salmon, spaghetti squash, not all the way cooked broccoli, banana
  • Dinner: Left over Pizza
• Friday
  • Breakfast: 2 Bananas, 1 apple
  • Lunch: Salad + 8in imos (super thin crust)
  • Dinner: Buffalo chicken boob
• Saturday
  • Breakfast: Nothing
  • Lunch: Italian beef and some cheetos
  • Dinner: Frosted Flakes

[Shello]

Keep. It. Simple.  Check!  

 

I'm working on veggies this challenge too. Keep us updated!

[jdkc4d]

Looking through the posts, it looks like a lot of people are going to have veg on their plates for the next 6 weeks.

[Shello]

Yes.  The trends this challenge are more veggies and Whole30

[jdkc4d]

Lets see what week two holds.  I have a big pot of turkey stew in the crock pot for this week. 

 

• Sunday
  • Breakfast: King size kit kat from home depot. Note to self, eat something ... anything before you leave the house. It wasn't even that good.
  • Lunch: Soft pretzel.
  • Dinner: Italian Beef, green beans. I know everyone thinks I'm crazy, but french style green beans from the can are the best.
• Monday
  • Breakfast: A banana
  • Lunch: Last of the italian beef, steamed broc & cauli
  • Dinner: Hamburger helper. 
• Tuesday
  • Breakfast: Smoothie (has blueberry, raspberry, blackberry frozen fruit, a banana, and 1/2 cup of that POM juice. Also 1/2 cup local greek yogurt and my probiotic)
  • Lunch: Turkey stew. (Rutabaga, carrots, onion, celery)
  • Dinner: Pizza
• Wednesday
  • Breakfast: Donuts and a banana
  • Lunch: Leftover pizza and a banana
  • Dinner: Hamburger + fries from Wendys. 
  • This day was kind of a bust. I had to work 14 hrs and was in a bad mood to boot. 
• Thursday
  • Breakfast: Smoothie. 
  • Lunch: 3 Oranges and a handful of peanut M&M's
  • Dinner: Grilled chicken, roasted tomatoes/onion, and a bakes potato
• Friday
  • Breakfast: lemon ricotta pancakes with a blueberry compote (free breakfast woo hoo!!!), 4 sausage links, fresh squeezed OJ
  • Lunch: Taco bell - my stomach is still rolling from this mistake...
  • Dinner: Party food. today is our office christmas party. Cause nothing says christmas like Jan 16th.
• Saturday
  • Breakfast: None
  • Lunch: Spicy chicken Sandwich, fries
  • Dinner: Roasted Potatoes & Monkey Bread. There was some Pork loin that came with this, but I couldn't eat it, it was nasty.

[Shello]

 

Lets see what week two holds.  I have a big pot of turkey stew in the crock pot for this week. 

 

• Sunday
  • Breakfast: King size kit kat from home depot. Note to self, eat something ... anything before you leave the house. It wasn't even that good.
  • Lunch: Soft pretzel.
  • Dinner: Italian Beef, green beans. I know everyone thinks I'm crazy, but french style green beans from the can are the best.
• Monday
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday
• Saturday

 

 

While I don't agree on the 'french style' part, I do prefer canned green beans.  I just can't seem to get a handle on the fresh ones.  And absolutely despite the frozen ones.  

[Mekong]

Nice goal.  Lady Shello is right, vegetables are definitely a common theme in this challenge.  I'm okay with eating vegetables but usually the starchy ones I can roast, puree, or throw in soup.  I'm trying to focus more on eating leafy greens, but so far I've had like one salad and a lot of steamed spinach.  Ah well.

 

I actually consider it one of my super powers to be able to make vegetables palatable to people who hate vegetables.  Generally this amounts to adding butter and/or bacon, being careful not to under salt, and leaving the vegetables alone in the pan long enough so they can caramelize.  I still await my invitation to the Justice League.

 

Anyway, your meals look tasty and it looks like you already know your way around a vegetable, so I'll just wish you luck in consuming them.  Vegetable Girl away!

[jdkc4d]

I would say the most difficult thing is that vegetables sure do give me gas. 

 

:: pause for the laughter to die down ::

 

Seriously though. I am sitting here at work, and I don't want to make a stink...or worse that sound. But I also can't get up and walk down the hall all the time either. 

[Shello]

I would say the most difficult thing is that vegetables sure do give me gas. 

 

:: pause for the laughter to die down ::

 

Seriously though. I am sitting here at work, and I don't want to make a stink...or worse that sound. But I also can't get up and walk down the hall all the time either. 

 

LOL.  Evidently it works to put a little vinegar with your veggies... at least with cooked veggies.  I can't imaging wanting to eat fresh veggies with vinegar.  

[Mekong]

Vinaigrette for fresh vegetables?  I wonder how the probiotic affects this while your stomach gets used to eating vegetables and starts producing the right kind of enzymes.  Actually, I guess vinegar would have a similar effect so Lady Shello makes sense. Eat more pickles!  Especially pickled cauliflower because it's delicious.

[jdkc4d]

Vinaigrette for fresh vegetables?  I wonder how the probiotic affects this while your stomach gets used to eating vegetables and starts producing the right kind of enzymes.  Actually, I guess vinegar would have a similar effect so Lady Shello makes sense. Eat more pickles!  Especially pickled cauliflower because it's delicious.

Pickles are gross. That is all. 

[Mekong]

Pickles are gross. That is all. 

 *cough* so are farts.

I'll assume I know how you feel about sauerkraut, you poor deluded man.  I guess vinaigrettes and probiotics are your best bet.

[jdkc4d]

Actually,

 

I've never tried sauerkraut. I found a recipe on how to make it in a mason jar. Maybe I'll give it a whirl: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-easy-homemade-sauerkraut-in-a-mason-jar-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-193124

[Mekong]

Depending on why you're biased against pickles, you may like it.  It's basically vinegary pickled cabbage, but you can eat it warm also.  Your recipe looks really good, and the probiotics would probably be a nice plus on top of just getting vinegar with your veg, though I guess that's a toss up if you cook it anyway.  But If you do cook it, it's pretty good sautéed with onion and a diced apple, and you can always rinse it before adding it to the pan to make it more mild.

[jdkc4d]

I just don't like the tastes of pickles. Don't like cucumbers either, they are just like little slime circles. Sometimes I will put some pickle juice into things like deviled eggs or tuna salad though. And a good Chicago style hot dog is not complete without some neon green relish.

[Mekong]

Fair enough.  Sauerkraut may be cool then, or pickled other vegetables.  Unless by not liking the taste you just mean strong vinegar taste, in which case you may be screwed.

[jdkc4d]

You know...just writing down what I eat. I notice I eat a lot of crap.

[Shello]

That is the benefit of writing it down, even if you eat the crap.  Awareness is progress.  

 

How did week 2 go?  Ready to stick it out for week 3?

[jdkc4d]

Week 2 Report: Really trailed off on my veggies at the end of week 2.  I could say I was trying to cut down on the gas, but its really just cause I'm a slacker. =) Here's to the treacherous week 3.

 

• Sunday
  • Breakfast: Eggs, sausage, potatoes
  • Lunch: None
  • Dinner: Broasted chicken, salad, beef barley soup, the best bread ever!
• Monday
  • Breakfast: Smoothie
  • Lunch: Sausage + Pepperoni Pizza
  • Dinner: Sloppy Joes
• Tuesday
  • Breakfast: Smoothie
  • Lunch: Leftover pizza from Monday
  • Dinner: shredded buffalo chicken
• Wednesday
  • Breakfast: donuts -- running late has disastrous effects to my health apparently
  • Lunch: Leftover broasted chicken, can of green beans
  • Dinner: buffalo chicken
• Thursday
  • Breakfast: Rice Krispie
  • Lunch: Italian Sub (roast beef, salami, cheese, lettuce, tomato), Rice Krispie.
  • Dinner: Buffalo Chicken, baked potato -- I think I might be in a chicken rut =/
• Friday
  • Breakfast: Some gingerale
  • Lunch: mini pizzas
  • Dinner: Grilled chicken with bacon and cheese, broccoli, potato
• Saturday
  • Breakfast: Nothing.
  • Lunch: Shredded chicken. Was going to have this spaghetti squash with it, but that didn't turn out
  • Dinner: chicken & broccoli (Chinese) on white rice. 

[jdkc4d]

When I was picking up stuff for lunch at the grocery store today, I found out that you can just buy pre-made sauerkraut. I think I will try that method over trying to make it, since I don't have any jars currently not in use.

 

I have had a spaghetti squash sitting on my table for about a week. I need to try cooking that up this weekend. Recipe says it takes an hour to cook, and then you have to let it cool for a while before you can cut it open and dispatch it. Makes it hard to cook during the week. 

 

I think I might be in a same vegetable rut.  The squash will help with that, but I was curious what kinds of veg everyone else has been eating. Here's what I've been having:

 

Broccoli. - lots of this, easy to make, boring

Cauliflower  - one of my favorites, but my stomach doesn't really get along with it anymore

Onions - eh

Carrots - eh

Canned Green Beans

[Mekong]

For spaghetti squash I just cut it in half vertically, clean out the seeds, and put one half cut side down on a plate and microwave 10 min, then do the same for the other half.  Then I just leave them on the counter to cool and shred them with a fork.  It's really tasty with pesto.

 

I wonder if different cooking methods would affect your stomach differently? I'm personally a fan of roasting for pretty much every vegetable.  I've been eating a lot of roasted carrots this challenge- cut them into sticks, some oil and salt, in the oven at 400 F for 20 min.

[jdkc4d]

Well...I roasted the squash whole. It was easy enough, but when it came out it was super hot. I pierced it with a chefs knife and then waited for the steam and boiling juice to go away before cutting it the rest of the way.  It was too hot to try removing the seeds straight away. Now I am not a fan of pumpkin sees, so I didn't bother trying these, but for someone that does like them I would expect this would be an interesting way of both cooking the squash and roasting the seeds at the same time. 

 

I let the squash cool on the counter while I ate the rest of my lunch. The problem...that was yesterday. I never went back to it. Maybe next time I'll try cutting it first. Would probably roast up well with a bit of butter. 

[jdkc4d]

I did poorly overall with week 3. I really lowered my intake of vegetables, mainly due to lazyness. I think I need to find some additional ways to eat vegetables. Steamed is good, but not every day. Roasted is good, but it takes some time. Let's see what Week 4 brings:

 

• Sunday:
  • Breakfast: cookies and cream ice cream...not one of my finer moments
  • Lunch: Cheese Burger
  • Dinner: Grilled Chicken
• Monday
  • Breakfast: Banana - my 3 smoothie cups were all dirty. Hella dirty.
  • Lunch: 3 Hot Dogs w/ sauerkraut
  • Dinner: Potatoes and 1 bite of tilapia. It was too salty. I don't like salty.
• Tuesday
  • Breakfast: Mighty Mango naked juice. Not the best for me, but not the worst either.
  • Lunch: Hot Dogs, blueberries, handful of peanut butter m&ms. So busy, this week needs to end.
  • Dinner: Gotta work till 10pm tonight. Probably won't get dinner. 
• Wednesday
  • Breakfast: None
  • Lunch: half a hot dog, chocolate covered strawberry
  • Dinner: 5 pieces of toast. - Didn't have anything else I could eat at the oven went kaputt.
• Thursday
  • Breakfast: Banana
  • Lunch: Bagel Bites
  • Dinner: Pepperoni and green pepper pizza with pretzel crust....nom nom nom
• Friday
  • Breakfast: mixed fruit: green and orange melon, watermelon, grapes
  • Lunch: roasted chicken salad with peas and mushrooms
  • Dinner
• Saturday
  • Breakfast: Nothing
  • Lunch: Hamburger, fries.
  • Dinner: Roast Beef sandwich, lettuce, bread

[jdkc4d]

So today's the day. I picked up some sauerkraut at the store, and I'm going to have some with my lunch. Wish me luck.

 

I am very tired today. I always am the weekend the Monday after I start on call. I hate being on call. Hate is such a strong word...I REALLY REALLY HATE being on call. We switch on Fridays, then we are on call from Friday at 5 until the following Friday morning.  Have to answer any issues until 10pm on all those days. Other people don't seem to have as much of a problem as I do. I think they must have something at home to distract them. But I worry about why my phone isn't going off until it does. And then I worry about the problem. Probably not healthy for me, but not a lot I can do about it. 

[Shello]

When I was picking up stuff for lunch at the grocery store today, I found out that you can just buy pre-made sauerkraut. I think I will try that method over trying to make it, since I don't have any jars currently not in use.

 

I have had a spaghetti squash sitting on my table for about a week. I need to try cooking that up this weekend. Recipe says it takes an hour to cook, and then you have to let it cool for a while before you can cut it open and dispatch it. Makes it hard to cook during the week. 

 

I think I might be in a same vegetable rut.  The squash will help with that, but I was curious what kinds of veg everyone else has been eating. Here's what I've been having:

 

Broccoli. - lots of this, easy to make, boring

Cauliflower  - one of my favorites, but my stomach doesn't really get along with it anymore

Onions - eh

Carrots - eh

Canned Green Beans

 

 

 

I did poorly overall with week 3. I really lowered my intake of vegetables, mainly due to lazyness. I think I need to find some additional ways to eat vegetables. Steamed is good, but not every day. Roasted is good, but it takes some time. Let's see what Week 4 brings:

 

 

I vote for roasted as well.  Roasted asparagus takes 5 minutes.  toss in some olive oil, salt and pepper.  I add some fresh parmesan cheese and then roast 5 minutes.  Pefect and tasty.

 

I also roasted some mixed vegatables (carots, onions, purple potatoes, red pepper, and asparagus - see that? every color  ) and roasted.  It did take a bit of time but I made enough for leftovers so that the other days it's grab and go.  

 

How about salads?   Adding shredded carrots, purple cabbage, peppers or radishes helps increase the veggies.