Gosh the weeks are just flying by- nearly March!
This week I went for Monday again (because I remembered to take photos) and did make sure I got a lot of veggies in there.
Breakfast:
It has been so mild so I went for a smoothie- with mango, blackberries, 1/2 a banana (don’t like it too banana-ey), hazelnut milk and peanut flour (for some protein- I much prefer that taste to any protein powder that I have tried too). Topped with some hemp and some muesli. I loved the pink colour! Yesterday I made an even pinker one- with cherries instead of mango.
Lunch: I popped to the shops to pick up a few bits, so by the time I got home I wanted something really quick.
Caramelised onion hummus on sunflower seed ryvita, with yellow pepper to dip, and grapes.
I also made a little banana pudding by mashing the other half of the banana with some chocolate pb, and topped it with chocolate almonds (looks like a mess because I mashed it in that bowl). Plus chocolate tea. I was in a chocolate mood it seems! It gave me energy for a little afternoon walk anyway- what a busy day!
Dinner:
Here is where I fill up on veggies! This was a freezer surprise! I thought it was going to be lentil chilli, but it turned out to be quinoa and wholegrain cous cous with black eye beans, peppers, carrots, squash and tomato, and I added in some spinach just before I served it.
Dessert:
A little bar of Montezuma’s white chocolate with raspberry. Yum.
And pink!
Well, pink flecks anyway.
I enjoy doing these WIAW posts, so thanks
Jenn for organising them. I really am a creature of habit, so it does make me think about making something different so that all my posts don’t look the same. What I have realised I need to think about are my protein sources, or more specifically, combining protein sources. When I was younger I had a bit of a battle with my Mum letting me become a vegetarian. I never liked meat, so I just used to leave it, and my Mum was very worried that I would not eat properly. When I was doing my GCSE’s for Home Economics (Food Tech it is now called) I had to do a project about specific diets, and I chose vegetarianism. One of the things that was so important is getting a variety of plant protein sources, in order to get the complete chain of amino acids. This would mean having pulses or nuts or seeds with a grain/ carbohydrate typically. E.g. jacket potato with beans, peanut butter on toast, rice with chickpeas, and so on. Anyway, I have realised that I have moved to eating more pulses, which is good, but I have not been combining them with another source of protein- I don’t like rice (I don’t dislike it, just think it is a bit blah so never have it) plus I find pulses and veggies very filling, so if I was to have a chilli type meal, I will typically have it on it’s own. I know there are a few vegetarian complete proteins- quinoa is one, but I would only have this maybe once a week, and not a great deal of it. So anyway, it is something I need to think about and maybe come up with a few different meals or things to add to meals I have already.
Vegetarians/ Vegans- how do you make sure you are getting complete protein sources in your meals?
That chocolate pudding is a great idea- I have a very ripe banana at home that I am going to use tonight in the same way 🙂
There’s actually been a lot of research that shows that vegetarians and vegans don’t have to worry about combining proteins – at least not strictly in the same meal so its something that I don’t worry about to be honest. I just like getting my protein from all the usual places, beans, tofu, tempeh and nuts and seeds but I love my protein powders too! I love the sound of that smoothie!
I suppose that makes sense- over the course of a day I am sure I get a mixture- it is something I will keep an eye on. 🙂
When you say you don’t like rice, do you mean all rice? I don’t know if the content of different types of rice are different but going with your pink theme – what about a beetroot risotto? When it comes to other rices i quite like brown rice – i love that nutty taste.
I don’t really pay enough attention really to protein unless i’m training really hard, like now with my marathon training. I stopped eating meat when my eating disorder started (in fact i stopped eating everything other than certain fruits and vegetables) but i’ve just never gone back to some both for health and personal likes. Red meats are rarely eating in this house anyway, but i still eat less meat than my parents. I go for lean proteins like chicken, non-oily fish and other seafood and also eggs. I used to eat a lot of cottage cheese but i overloaded my body and now have an intolerance to all lactose and have problems with soya too, so no more tofu choc puddings for me 🙁
Are you eating a vegan diet? or could you include other veggie proteins if you are worried?
xx
No I am not vegan, but I don’t like eggs, and am trying not to eat too much cheese- especially at the moment as I am pretty sedentary and the calories in cheese add up quickly. I like rice pudding, and if I had to I would eat rice, but I would never choose it as I think it is just very plain- would much rather have quinoa. And risotto seems to take ages to cook so I have never tried!
That smoothie sounds tasty! & I agree with you – I haven’t found any protein powders that I like, but I do love peanut flour! I had a snack today of strawberries with peanut flour sauce (just p.flour + milk) – delish 🙂
I don’t really like beans, so I tend to get most of my protein from tofu (smoked/basil and regular), peanut flour/butter, nuts, eggs and dairy. I would have to think about it a lot more if I were vegan I think as I do eat eggs most days and drink milk. And we almost always have some kind of carb – quinoa, pasta, sweet potatoes, rice etc – so maybe I have it covered? I should probably think about it a bit more really. The children do have occasional tuna/ham sandwiches if Liam’s making them for lunch, but most of the time they eat the same as me.
I used to really pay attention to it, but have really forgotten. But if, as Laura has said, it only needs to be a variety over the day, then I am probably fine.
Oh yey – you managed to work out how to get the reply function back! 😀
Well, not quite me- Andy did it for me. 🙂
Like someone else mentioned, I’ve heard recently that now it’s not as big of a concern to combine proteins, just make sure you get enough in over the course of the day. I struggle to get enough protein some days too, but eat lots of beans, nuts and occasionally eggs and yogurt. The vegan challenge for March should be interesting as far as protein goes. 🙂
Oooh I didn’t realise you were doing a vegan challenge- I will be interested to see how that goes for you- good luck.
I love freezer surprises. I often pull things out of the freezer thinking it’s one thing but ends up being something else.
I was going to cite a lot of research about how combining proteins is a myth, but Laura’s already mentioned it for me 🙂 I think it’s all down to how you feel – some people genuinely don’t need an awful lot of protein to get by, I know I function better with a lot of it. It’s difficult to tell at the moment until you’ve had your operation…then again, recovery from surgery does tend to be faster with lots of protein involved, or so my consultant told me.
Peanut flour is great, but pricey, and so is my favourite Sun Warrior…and it’s tricky not to OD on soy, so I do sympathise! How are you with seitan? I keep meaning to try making some as it’s meant to be quite digestible even for people intolerant to gluten (obviously not coeliacs though!) but it’s quite intimidating for a non-chef like me.
xxx
I tried seitan once, but I didn’t like it as it was very “meaty” which I do not like. Yes I read something today about having more protein to help recover from surgery- guess I will be going down the peanut flour route right now. I think I am a pretty carby person, but I feel better with some protein in there too. x
I’m not vegetarian of course, but I only eat meat occassionally so I do have to be careful about getting good protein. Luckily I do like rice, so the combo of rice and pulses is a common one for me. I also eat eggs quite often as they’re a complete protein.
I love the look of that Montezuma bar – I love white chocolate!
Yes I don’t like eggs really (only in baking which I don’t think counts!) so I forget about them I suppose. Yes the chocolate was lovely.