What I Eat in a Day on a Plant-Based Diet

Many people are surprised by how much I eat and what I eat.  "But you're so skinny!" some will say as I'm eating the largest bowl of potatoes and veggies they've ever seen.  (I personally prefer lean (and strong!) over skinny).

I eat a large volume of food everyday and I love it!  I love not being afraid of eating too much or gaining weight.  I know that the food I eat is helping me not only stay lean, but energetic, incredibly healthy and this, makes me very happy and in control of my body.

So what do I eat to feel and look this way?

Currently, I'm working 10 hours/day, 50 hours a week (at least) on an organic vegetable farm, burning calories (and needing more food) than if I was working an office job.  Keeping that in mind, this is what a regular day looks like for me.

My Typical Daily Eats

Breakfast (5:30 am):

I always eat breakfast.  Every single day.  If I don't, I'll faint in a few hours.  

Regular or thick rolled oats with ground flax seed, cinnamon and fruit is what I eat for breakfast 95% of my mornings.  It's filling, keeps me energized for 3-4 hours easily and it's cheap!

Today I topped my oats with a small banana, blueberries and half a peach.  

I rarely get tired of eating oatmeal everyday.  Changing the fruit with the seasons keeps my oatmeal feeling new everyday.  

However, when I do urge for something different, pancakes typically call to me.  I'll make whole wheat pancakes with banana and blueberries or banana with dark chocolate nibs if it's a treat.

Mini-Meal (snack) (9 am):

Multiple days each week I'll eat half of a large sweet potato for a snack.  Or a salad with plenty of beans (I love garbanzos right now) with 100% whole-grain toast or a smaller amount of left-over dinner.

I prefer to call snacks mini-meals because people tend to eat healthier when they eat a meal versus a snack like pretzels or chips.  

Lunch (12:30 pm): 

Lunches are always something filling (I don't want to feel hungry out in the field!), highly nutritious and are typically left-overs from last night's dinner.  We always cook large batches during dinner so both my boyfriend and I have lunches for the next day.  

The base of the meals are always either beans, potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash, rice or other whole-grains like corn, quinoa, farro or 100% whole-grain pasta.

These filling starchy (yes starchy!) whole plant foods, are always topped with a variety of different vegetables and sauce for a complete meal.  

This may look like corn tortillas with rice, black beans and corn with grilled zucchini, onion, peppers, spinach and salsa on-top.

Mexican burrito bowl lunch -- rice, beans, shredded jicama, corn, salsa, cilantro and lime juice.

Or, lunch may be vegetable curry over rice, vegetable lasagna and salad or a thick veggie burger patty with sweet potato fries.  

If I didn't have time to cook, I'll just eat 2 sweet potatoes and a large salad with a lot of beans on-top and it tastes delicious!

Mini-Meal (snack) (3-4 pm):

Depending on how full I feel, I'll eat another small snack in the field around 3 or lately, I've been eating banana ice-cream when I get home around 4:15 to hold me over until dinner.  

Dinner (7 or 8 pm-ish):

I'm either making dinner at home similar to lunch OR going out to eat, especially now when I'm working so much.  When we go out to eat our favorite locations are Laughing Planet, Nearly Normals and Block 15 in Corvallis, Oregon.

I'm lucky there are so many restaurants where I live that offer vegan and plant-based options.  So when I go out to eat I can eat an oil-free burrito at Laughing Planet -- rice, beans, salsa, spinach and kale with their hole mole sauce.  Yum!  

Or, at Nearly Normal's I'll frequently get the Peanut Pad Thai which is not sautéed in oil with a salad with their oil-free tahini dressing.  

Peanut Pad Thai from Nearly Normal's

Sweet Potato Enchilada from Nearly Normal's

At Block 15, I order their home-made Black Bean Burger (It's huge and delicious!) with their oil-free honey mustard dressing.  

Block 15's house made Black Bean Burger with oil-free honey mustard dressing

(Haha whose coming to visit to go out to eat with me? Seriously!)

Take Away Tips

These are the important notes I want you to take away from what I eat on a regular basis.

1.  In my home, I don't cook with oil (it's not even in the house), sugar (again, not in the house) and we don't eat dairy or meat in the house as well.  Any of these rare 'treats' are saved for special occasions outside of the house.  

2.  When I go out to eat (yes you can do this!) I always order as healthy and filling meals as possible without oil and animal foods.  Sometimes it's not always possible to get completely oil-free, but I go for the best possible option.  (Please note I'm also at my ideal weight and disease free. Depending on your situation, I may be tougher with you here ;-).

3.  Nut, seeds and other high-fat foods are used as condiments.  I don't eat an entire avocado as a snack, eat peanut butter out of the jar or snack on hand fulls of nuts.  I wouldn't lose or maintain my current weight if I did!  To get the nutritional benefits of high-fat plant foods without gaining weight, sprinkle nuts on-top of a larger dish like salad or oatmeal or spread one slice of avocado on a veggie burger.

Now I'd LOVE to hear from you!  Please share your thoughts in the comments section below by answering today's Take Control Now Question.

Take Control Now

What's one improvement you can make to your daily diet based on my daily eats and the info shared in this week's Take Control Tuesday episode?

What's the Healthiest Way to Cook Veggies?

Have you been told you shouldn’t cook your veggies because they're healthier raw?  Or that a microwave kills the nutrients in your vegetables? 

What's the healthiest cooking method for your veggies anyway?  Is it boiling, baking, frying, pressure cooking, using a microwave or a griddle? (a thick hot pan with no oil).  Which of these cooking methods will retain more antioxidants in veggies?

A study (1) published in the Journal of Food Science in 2009 sought to determine just this -- how different cooking methods affect the antioxdant levels in vegetables.  

Researchers took 20 different vegetables and measured their antioxidant capacity.  First as raw veggies, and then again after they'd been cooked to see what changes took place.

Every cooking method either caused a great loss in antioxidant power, a small loss, no loss or an increase in antioxidant power.  An increase in antioxidants from cooking?  Yes!  

Some veggies became healthier from cooking them.  For example….

- asparagus increased its antioxidant activity when boiled

- eggplant's antioxidants increased when pressure cooked

- baking caused an antioxidant increase in green bean, eggplant, maize, swiss chard and spinach

- and the microwave!  Eggplant, maize, pepper and swiss chard all increased antioxidant capacity in the microwave

Cooking methods decreased antioxidant capacity in some veggies...

- zuccini lost over 50% of its capacity when boiled

- most veggies lost 30-50% when pressure cooked

- leeks and cauiflower lost 30-50% when baked

The above are examples of changes in 1 type of antioxidant.  The researchers actually measured 2 types of antioxidants and the 2nd measurements found different results for different cooking techniques.  This means cooking affects different antioxidants differently.  All antioxidants aren't created equal.

Overall, researchers found that griddling and microwaving were the best cooking methods for maintaining antioxidant levels, while pressure cooking and boiling led to the greatest antioxidant losses.

You may be wondering "did any food not lose its antioxidants from cooking?"

Both celery and carrots increased in antioxidant power after all cooking methods and beets, green beans and garlic retained their power after most cooking.

How can you actually use this information?

Should you only microwave and never boil eggplant anymore?  Heck no!

This is what I want you to take away from this article...

Don't worry about the cooking method you use.  Eat veggies in whatever way you enjoy!  This will ensure you actually eat vegetables which is more important -- eating a variety of vegetables everyday!

When you eat a warm bowl of veggie-noodle soup for example, you'll be eating a variety of different veggies.  Some of these veggies will have increased their antioxidants from the heating, while other veggies will have decreased antioxidant amounts and others will have stayed the same.  The variety of veggies will produce exactly what your body needs.  

So don't worry about which cooking technique is "healthiest."  Even I’d go nuts trying to boil and bake some but not others.  Aye!

Now it's time to hear from you.  Answer today’s Take Control Now question and put your answer in the comments section below. 

Take Control Now

What's your favorite vegetable and your favorite way to have it prepared?

I look forward to reading your answer.

If you 'liked' this article (and I hope you did!) please show me some love by pressing the thumbs up button on the top-right corner of the video.  Or, email it to your friends and send them to www.TrishaMandes.com.  Tell them to sign-up for free emails so they never miss an episode of Take Control Tuesdays (plus the weekly email which is fun!).  Thanks for reading!

1.  Jiménez-Monreal AM , García-Diz L, Martínez-Tomé M, Mariscal M, Murcia MA. 2009, "Influence of cooking methods on antioxidant activity of vegetables", J Food Sci, vol. 74, no. 3, pp. H97-H103.

The 'Eat ONE New Plant-Based Meal' Challenge

Is it a challenge for you to eat more plant-based meals?  Do you find it's challenging to keep meals exciting?  Today I'm going to help you overcome this.  How?

While challenging you to eat one new plant-based meal, I'm also giving you 4 implementation steps to ensure you make this happen.

If you're already eating a lot of plant-based meals (good for you!), your challenge is to try one NEW meal.  On the other hand, if plant-based meals aren’t really your thing, your goal is to eat one meal that is made entirely of whole, plant foods. 

Now you may be thinking "ok I'm going to do this" but things always come up right?  Kids have to get to hockey, then there's book club, volunteer work and so on. 

So, to ensure you actually eat this meal, here are my 4 implementation steps.

Step 1.  Decide how much time you have to make a meal

Take out your calendar/planner.  Yes seriously, go get it right now. 

Open it up… what does your next week looks like?  How much time will you have to cook? 

If you have a lot going on, choosing a quick and simple new recipe might be better for you.  Or, if you have more free time, then a maybe you'd like to cook a more intricate meal?

Step 2.  Pick a new recipe that fits your time frame

Take note when your recipe browsing...

- How long will it take to prepare?

- Who are you cooking for?  Yourself of your family?

- Are you already familiar with the ingredients?

When you're choosing a recipe, it should be made of...

- whole, plant foods (no animal products) and

- ideally, oil-free to save you 100s of unnecessary calories

Below are some yummy recipes to help you get started.  You can also find more of my favorite recipes on my Pinterest board, 'Family Recipes' (@TrishaMandes).    

Additionally, when you sign up for email updates at www.TrishaMandes.com you get a FREE resource guide that will give you the BEST recipe websites delivered instantly to your inbox.  Yee-ha!

Here are a few recipes that adhere to my guidelines AND taste delicious!

Burrito bowl from Cathy Fisher (yes I love her recipes!)

Stuffed baked potatoes from Cathy Fisher

Sweet potato salad from Cathy Fisher

BBQ beans and greens from Cathy Fisher

Banana Ice-Cream from Trisha Mandes

Ambrosia Fruit Salad from PCRM (kids love this recipe!)

Once you've picked your recipe you're ready for the next step.

Step 3.  Make a grocery list and save it where you can't forget it!

And this is even easier with cell phones.  You can simply look-up the recipe from your phone in the store, or keep a grocery list stored in your phone. 

Just remember to keep it somewhere where you won't forget it.  In your phone, the car glove box or your wallet.

Step 4.  Schedule shopping and cooking dates

As Marie Forleo says, "If it's not scheduled, it's not real."

Again, open up your calendar and schedule… (if you were watching the video right now, you'd see some dancing and hear from Finnish hip-hop music!)

- When are you going to go shop?  Write in your planner the date, time and store or stores you will visit.

- When are you going to cook?  Write in your planner the date, time and for whom you'll cook. 

Now it's time for you to implement this information, hold yourself accountable AND motivate others to follow-through as well.  To do this, I want you to enter the following information in the comments section at the end of this article.  Let me and the TrishaMandes.com community know…

Take Control Now

1.  What recipe did you choose?  Include the recipe's direct website link.  You might find something someone else would like to try.

2.  Write the date, time and place you're going to shop AND cook.

I encourage you to do this challenge with a friend or family member.  Share this video and article  with them and have them sign up for email updates at www.TrishaMandes.com so we can all do this together.  We all do better when we have support!  

Get educated, get support and take control.  You can get the healthy body you deserve. 

3 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint With Your Diet

Today is Earth Day, a day we celebrate how beautiful and important our planet, our home truly is.  I know global warming is a concern of yours and it's something I take very seriously as well.

To better protect our planet, we all know we should recycle, turn the lights off, drive less etc.  But what about our food choices?  What impact do they have on climate change?  It turns out that our food system, what we eat, has a greater climate-change impact than the transportation sector (1), (2), (3).

So this Earth day, I’m giving you 3 ways you can reduce your food carbon footprint by 60%, from the book 'How Bad Are Bananas?  The Carbon Footprint of Everything' (4).  

Now just a heads up, when I say carbon footprint, I’m referring to the carbon footprint equivalent (CO2e).  That is, the total impact of all the greenhouse gases caused by an action and expressing it as the amount of carbon dioxide that would have the same impact of all the greenhouse gases combine.  It's a more comprehensive measurement than just carbon dioxide. 

How to decrease your food carbon footprint

1.  Eat what you buy

Eradicating your waste can reduce your carbon footprint by 25% (4).   

In Western or privileged countries, “we are thought to waste about ¼ of the edible food we buy” (4).  Wow!                                           

Make sure your food doesn't go to waste by storing it properly.  Then, make sure you eat it!

2.  Avoid animal products

The author states that “sensible” reductions in meat and dairy can reduce your food carbon footprint by another 25% (4).

He says “food from animals turns out to be more greenhouse gas intensive than food from plants.”  It’s far more efficient for humans to eat plants directly so all the plant's energy goes to us humans, not the animal.

In addition, the average water footprint per calorie for beef is twenty times larger than for cereals and starchy roots (5).  

Beef and lamb are especially high in carbon because they are belching ruminants.  2.2 pounds (1 kg) of beef equates to about 37 pounds of CO2e!  Dairy foods have the same emissions problems as beef because the product is still coming from a belching ruminant animal.  2.2 pounds (1 kg) of cheese equates to about 29 pounds of CO2e.  

To implement this guideline, consume no more than 2-3 ounces of organic meat per week or, none at all!

And tip #3 for reducing your food carbon footprint...

3.  Go seasonal

This can help you reduce your food carbon footprint by another 10% (4).

You want to avoid foods grown in hothouses that are artificially heated.  You also want to avoid foods that have traveled via planes.

Ships can carry food around the world 100 times more efficiently than planes (4).  Ships are also more efficient at shipping food than food that has traveled 1000s of road miles like from one side of the U.S. to the other.  These road miles are roughly as carbon intensive as plane miles (4).  

“As a guide, if a food has a short shelf life and isn’t in season where you live, it was probably grown in a hothouse or traveled via plane.  In the U.S. in the winter time, examples include lettuce, asparagus, tomatoes, strawberries, and cut flowers.  Apples, oranges, bananas on the other hand, almost always travel on a boat" (4). 

There you have it.  Three ways you can reduce your food carbon footprint by 60% -- eat what you buy, avoid animal products and go seasonal.  

If you’re interested in learning more about food and the environment, here is a paper I wrote on the environmental impact of food that is filled with scholarly references.  

Now I want to challenge you to put this information into action into your personal life.  Today’s Take Control Now Challenge is….

Take Control Now Challenge

Don't eat any dairy or meat products for one day -- tomorrow, in honor of Earth Day.  

Do you think you can do this?  

Put your answer and experiences in the comments section below this video.

If you liked this video, please email it to your friends and family.  Send them to www.TrishaMandes.com to sign-up for email updates and receive a free resource guide with THE BEST books, recipe websites and more for achieving permanent weight-loss and disease reversal.  

Thank you so much for joining me this Earth Day for Take Control Tuesdays.  Get educated, make a change and get support.  You can get the healthy body of your dreams.  

References

1.  Castel, V., Gerber, P., Haan, C. Rosales, M., Steinfield, H. & Wassenaar, T. 2006. Livestock’s long shadow. Environmental issues and options. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

2.  EPA. Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Updated September 2013.  Available at http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/global.html

3. Vermeulen, SJ., Campbell, BM., and Ingram, J.S.I. Climate Change and Food Systems. Annual Review of Environment and Resources. 2012. Vol. 37: 195-222 First published online as a Review in Advance on July 30, 2012.  Accessed online April 2014.

4.  Berners-Lee, Mike. How Bad Are Bananas? The Carbon Footprint of Everything.  London: 2010. 

5. Hoekstra, A.Y. & Mekonnen, M.M. 2010. The green, blue and grey water footprint of farm animals and animal products. [online] UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education. Value of water research report series no. 48, volume 1: main report. Accessed 24 November 2012. Available at: http://www.waterfootprint.org/Reports/Report-48-WaterFootprint-AnimalProducts-Vol1.pdf 

The Vegan Food NO ONE Should Eat

You might be surprised to hear me say that vegan food sucks.  

This is fake vegan food I’m talking about.  C.R.A.P. food.... calorie rich and processed as Jeff Novick, RD, MS commonly says.  Not the whole plant foods I cherish... potatoes, beans, whole-grains etc.  

C.R.A.P. foods like french fries, corn chips, alternative meats that are highly processed; fake cheese, vegan bar food, mock sour creams, vegan ice-cream bars, fake french onion dip and the list goes on.  

Many people beginning to implement a plant-based diet, will still eat these foods because they're vegan, assuming they're okay or good for your health.

However, these foods are disasterous for your body and won’t help you lose or maintain a healthy weight.  They’ll do just the opposite!

You don't have to be vegan to eat these foods either.  Meat lovers are definetly munching on tortilla chips, french fries (vegan) and other C.R.A.P. foods too.

This is one reason I don’t resonate calling myself vegan -- the term vegan is only defined by what you don’t eat and not at all by what you do eat.  Although I rarely eat animal foods, I’m eating whole plant foods at least 95% of the time and I rarely eat C.R.A.P.!  

The term 'vegan' doesn't differentiate my clean eating habits from the 'junk food vegan' who's eating C.R.A.P. everyday.

When you look at the nutritional profile of most C.R.A.P. foods, they’re even worse for you than animal foods.  However, both the refined C.R.A.P. vegan foods and animal products aren't nearly as health promoting as whole, plant foods.  So this isn't an excuse for you to eat animal foods!  Remember that.

Tofutti's 'Better Than Sour Cream' is an example of how disasterous some vegan C.R.A.P. food can be.  Take a look at the ingredient list.  What whole, plant foods can you identify?

The only whole food in this product is tofu, but who cares!  It's covered in trans fat (which we should not eat any of) and chemicals.  Seventy-five percent of the calories of this 'food' are coming from fat too.  

This food is not good for you!  Even though it's vegan, it's still C.R.A.P.!  

(If you want another example, watch the above video... you'll see what's in the famous 'Boca Burger' and it's not good).

To decipher through the C.R.A.P. always remember...

1.  Vegan doesn't necessarily mean healthy.   

2.  Always read the ingredient list of any product you're buying.  It's the only way you'll know what's in your food.

So stop eating C.R.A.P. my friends and choose whole, plant foods instead!

It’s time for you to put this knowledge into action because what is knowledge if you don't do anything with it?  Useless!  Answer this Take Control Now question and put your answer in the comments section below.  You can answer this question whether you're vegan or not!

Take Control Now

What kind of C.R.A.P. food is currently in your house?  Remove that C.R.A.P. from your house, report back and tell us what you threw out.  

Put your answers in the comments section below.  Awesome job taking action.