Talking about my nutrition and intake on a vegan diet & recent eats

Hello :)

Yesterday i finally had my appointment at the CF clinic where i was going to get the results from all the tests i did in summer. I was supposed to have my appointment a few weeks ago but because of my work schedule i had to move it forward, and then i had to change it again because i was moving so yesterday was the only day that worked! But finally i got my results, and everything seemed good.... or unchanged. So basically +/-/0 , but there is still room for alot of improvement in my CF care, which is something i need to begin motivating myself more to do. I guess finding the time for it is just the main problem at the moment.

Anyway, moving onto what i planned to write about here.... the results from my 4 day diet check. I.e i wrote down everything i ate for 4 days(I did one back in May/June, but that one got lost in the post so i had to do a new one which i did roughly 3 weeks ago. So what i have been eating recently to try to gain weight and while at work).

My dietician calculated how much i ate based on what i had written, and my estimated food amounts.

I was supposed to weigh my food, but as i was at work and have no patience to weigh my food i just used eye measurements, so i mean the amounts arent 100% accurate, but they are atleast a rough number.

If you find food or numbers or any of that irrelevant or triggering just skip this part, but i find it very fascinating and it might be helpful for some of you ? Remember food is individual, so is intake so you shouldnt compare!

Basically, my body needs around 3200kcal a day, and i eat around 3400kcal a day and that is the intake i have been maintaining/slowly gaining weight on.  Unfortunatly my weight hasnt gone up so much, but when i talked to my dietician about this she said that i wasnt underweight and that my weight wasnt necessarily a problem. But that for the sake of my CF health and also because of my past eating disorder, it would just be a positive to regain a few more kilo. I dont focus on the scale or the number so that doesnt bother me, it could say X or Y and i wouldnt really care. What i care most is about how i feel and whether i have energy, can function etc and at the moment my body is very energetic and i dont necessarily feel the need to gain weight, but if i do it doesnt really matter either. 

According to my food diary i also eat around 2g protein per kilo body weight, which is actually rather cool considering i eat completely vegan. But all that protein comes from soy products, lots of seeds and nuts and vegetables as well as oats and i also use 1 scoop of soy protein now and again.

I also eat around 388g carbs per day i.e 50% of my intake! Last year my carb intake definitely wasnt that high, hahaha.

And then of course my fiber intake was 282% of the recommended amount i.e almost 80g (recommended amount around 28g). But i eat ALOT of vegetables, oats, fruit, seeds etc so it is hard to not eat so much fiber. But if you have a sensitive stomach i guess too much fiber isnt so good, but for me it works fine :)

All my results were really good apart from D vitamin and B12 which wasnt exactly a surprise as most people dont get enough D vitamin through a normal diet, and a vegan diet doesnt include b12, and i take supplements for both.

My iron levels were good - but during the 4 days i wrote the food diary i was having serious cravings for spinach, raisins and dark chocolate so that might be the reason why, and i think i was lacking iron for a while.... but i think i have replenished my iron levels now!

I found it all very fascinating and my dietician was like "i can tell that you study nutrition and know about nutrition" because what i ate and the amounts was so good. As well as being able to get enough vitamins and protein through a vegan diet... and all of this is done through intuitive eating. I dont track at all and i dont count or measure. Infact those 4 days was awful when i had to write down everything i ate and try to eyeball/measure my food.

I just eat what my body needs and craves, and then i add things such as coconut oil to my oatmeal, extra peanut butter and nuts and seeds so that i eat more than my body needs to gain weight, but not having to eat extra huge amounts.

It was fun to get my results and to see how well i eat by eating intuitively! But also how well i know my body. Also.... all my blood tests were fine and i had great results! 

So to all of you who say that 1) I dont eat enough or 2) a vegan diet isnt healthy or 3)a vegan diet doesnt work for me.

Well you are wrong.

No a vegan diet doesnt work for everyone. In the beginning i know my vegan diet contributed to my weightloss, but there was much more in my life going on then as well as physical pain and my body using alot of energy each day which lead to my weight loss. But you can be healthy and eat enough while eating a vegan diet - but i also think it is super important that you know somewhat about nutrition when eating a vegan diet.

You can live on oreos and tofu ice cream but that might not be the best for your body, but you can also live on potatoes and spinach and that wouldnt be a balanced diet either. So do your research before, and get blood tests and such done after a while just to check up!

So that was pretty much all i had to write :)

If you have any questions just let me know, or maybe you want me to write more about vegan eating or how to get enough of certain vitamins or minerals etc

And below, some of my recent eats!

Recent eats - and the unshown recent eats

Below are some of my recent eats over the past while - as i have been asked to share how my typical day of eating looks/what i eat in a day. But it varies so incredibly much at the moment. For example how i eat during my work days varies alot to how i eat when i am at home and also based on hunger, cravings, what i have at home etc

How often and how much i eat varies alot as well. But of course i have some type of plan to increase my intake of nuts, avocado, oils, potatoe, oats etc to help with an energy increase which my body needs! I love my vegetables so wont stop eating those, but adding vegan butter or oil to my veggies as well as decreasing the amount i eat of them and instead replacing with potatoes or bread is a much better thing to do for me at the moment, and i am already noticing a difference! But i am not going to write about that unless it is requested, but in general i just want to avoid the whole topic as it is most likely triggering and unnecessary here.

So instead, here are some of my recent eats and ALSO... the "unshown" recent eats. I find that many think they know how and what i eat from just a few pictures, but trust me... you dont, hahah. So over the past few weeks, when i have remembered i have taken photos of the food i eat which i havent planned to post - apart from in a post like this. .To show that you dont really know how i eat from just a few pictures, not that it really matters as what a person eats is so individual, but just so that you see that one picture doesnt show it all!

Lunch: Bread with fake meat, dairy free sauce, sweet corn and store bought vegetable fries and of course peanuts

Sweet potatoe and potatoe cubes made in the oven with salt and oil. Guacamole made from 1 avocado and store bought hummus as well as tomatoe sauce. (This x 2 was eaten at the time)

Dessert i had with my family a few days ago.

Breakfast i made yesterday - fruit salad consisting of 2 types of apples, 2 nectarines, 2 pears and 1 banana mixed together with the soy yoghurt, and then i also ate the 2 extra bananas and the avocado.

Yesterdays snack when i got home from work at 10pm. 3 pita bread, 1 with hummus, 1 with chocolate peanut butter and 1/2 with "cream cheese" (made with oats) and 1/2 with avocado.

Todays lunch: Tacos i.e soy meat with peanuts, sweet corn, nacho chips and some vegetables and some soy yoghurt on top.

Dinner i ate a few days ago with my family. Burger with tofu, oumph mixed with ketchup and potatoe fries. (This x 2 was eaten at the time)

Lunch: Lentils, sweet potatoe, vegetables, soy meat, sunflower seeds, sweet corn and crisp bread with spread.

Post work snack: Bread with chocolate peanut butter, banana, crushed oreos, more chocolate and of course peanuts!!

And now the unshown food!

My pre bed snack a few days ago: 2 apples, 1 nectarine and 3 bananas.

A night snack i had a few days ago i.e potatoes with soya yoghurt (This x 2 was eaten)

I was craving fruit - as you can see i have already began eating the nectarine and apple XD

Random snack i had a few days ago

After meal prep i just threw food together into a lunch box and ate it like that.

I.e rice, lentils, guacamole, hummus, peants and some soy meat

Dinner i ate a while ago: Beetroot burgers, fake meat balls, lentils in tomatoe sauce and brocolli

I tried making aubergine with vegan cheese - i didnt like them, hahaha. 

"Salad" consisting of falafels, pasta, sweet corn, avocado and fried onion

Cris bread with home made potatoe salad and fake meat balls with some beet root mix

Pancakes i.e flour, sugar, corn flour, oat milk

Lunch in a box - bean pasta, tomatoe sauce and peanuts

Fruit - orange, 2 apples and a banana

2 portions oatmeal with banana, oatmilk and peanuts

Lunch - mix of everything and lentil soup

Oats when home from work - oatmeal with banana and peanuts

A post including lots of vegan food and products & My day (I.e if you dont care about food or veganism skip this post!)

Hello!!

It's Thursday and what feels like my first free day in a while, even if i was free last Thursday and Friday due to midsummer, it was still sort of stressful days and these past few days have been long. So mentally and physically i needed a day of no plans and to "just be", and that is exactly what i have done today!

A morning with no alarm and a long time for myself with my coffee and breakfast (I got a comment asking about why i dont post any breakfast pictures anymore and that is because i actually eat left over dinner for breakfast XD hahahahha. Nothing special there. Or i eat breakfast at work or after my workout... all depending on how i feel. ) and social media browsing. Then i headed to the gym and did a bit of what i felt like doing before i headed off to a sports store where i bought chocolate flavoured soy protein. Is protein powder necessary? NO. Can you get enough protein on a vegan diet? YES. So why did i buy protein powder? Because it is a good way for me to get in calories i.e mix protein powder with milk = morning snack. Also good to have with me to work, and also easy to drink a shake after a workout as well as eat a banana and some rice cakes. There you have my reasons for buying the powder. And as my chemistry teacher said in university - people are free to spend money on whatever they like even if the products arent necessary (in his case he meant vitamins and minerals which people buy but dont actually need. But the same is with protein powder, some people use it even though they dont need to. But if you like it and you find it helpful in some form then why not, people are free to spend their money as they like).


Then i headed to Goodstore a completely (or almost completely) vegan store, where i was shocked at the amount of products there. However i wasnt tempted to buy any of it - apart from the chocolate, but all the fake meats such as fake duck, fake sandwich topping that tastes like chicken or salami, fake prawns? Whyyy.... I dont want a vegan-chicken-tasting-sandwich topping. I want to move away from the meat and not buy products that look the same and almost taste the same? Of course for some they might like that, but for me i prefer my soy products and tofu products that dont resemble meat!!! hahah.







I had to leave the store with something though, so i bought pastry dough that was half price and some chocolate to reach the minimum card payment XD

And then i continued my store browsing and ended up in a food store and bought oreos and bread as i had some lunch ideas!!

Came home, made myself lunch: Started off with a scoop of chocolate soy protein mixed with oatmilk and topped with mini vegan marshmallows, and then two oreos with chocolate peanut butter - this while i was waiting to make my actual lunch:



Burgers with pulled vego meat and carrot and parsnip strips.



And then i did some baking: Just a little sneak peak:



And then FINALLY it was time for a little spa treatment. First off a shower and washing my hair using Maria Nila products (Got these for christmas from my mum, and was happy to find out that they were not animal tested!). Then i used facial oil, scrub and body oil which my mum has made. They are sooo good, and not to mention vegan friendly i.e no ingredients tested on animals. Apart from one of the products where there is a form of animal oil :(

But otherwise i love the products and feels much better using products where i know what is in them. If you want to know more or order you can email: [email protected] (hahahah. Feels like i am doing a promo, in a sense i am, but it is also something i use myself and find the products very beneficial!)






And lastly... i am now sitting with plastic bags filled with gel on my feet to get rid of dead skin cells. XD I got sent the package with "Baby foot" a few months ago, but it has taken me this long to actually try it. As i have written before, i dislike feet and so dont really take care of my feet... but i thought, now its time to take care of my feet so trying this product and hopefully they make my feet smooth and smell fresh, hahahah. But i guess i will update in 10-14 days when my feet should be fresh and smooth like baby feet XD XD You can read more about Baby foot HERE if you want to!




So for now i am sitting and feeling all fresh and relaxed! This has been a long post and so many products in this post - i am sorry, the only sponsored product is the baby foot. But otherwise all products i recommend arent sponsored and things i have bought myself and use myself i.e when it comes to food and such as well, its all bought myself, but i leave the brand name in so that others can find the brand if they want to try it :)



And also sorry for all the food in this post XD But i did warn you in the title ;)

When the day passes by quickly - good news, lunch and dinner, bloating (and the difference between morning and evening belly)

Hello :)

This day has just passed by in one flow today and dont really know why the time has gone by so quickly, but at the moment i am sitting locked away in the kitchen as my mum is having a yoga class in our house (in our living room), so i had to choose between sitting in my room (which has a claustrophobic and warm feeling as i have no where to put my things) or the kitchen... and i choose the kitchen, so that i could silently try to make dinner and not have to wait until 8.30pm when the yoga class is over XD

I'll start off with the most important thing i want to write, because after that it will just be food talk and those who arent interested in that... just skip it i guess XD

Soooo... I got a job!!! Yayyy.

At a food store and i will mainly be in the cashier, and i dont have so many days/hours scheduled at the moment, but hoping for more!! But i am so happy and excited, and i start tomorrow. I am nervous and a little worried, but mostly happy. 

As i dont have so many hours to start with, it also means it wont be too much all at once which is a good thing i guess. I start tomorrow and will learn how the cashier works and that, and i also have a few hours of online course/work to do and learn before the end of this week, so going to start with that now!

So that was that... now food talk, haha.

For lunch today i made cauliflower pizza again topped with tomatoe sauce, veggies and some fake meat! Despite not following a recipe it turned out great, and then of course potatoe wedges, peanuts and sweet corn on the side! 

Then for dinner - while being locked up in the kitchen i decided to try making rice paper rolls as this is the recipe idea i have as starter for the recipe book i will be part of. Though i am aware that the consistency of the rice paper rolls (i.e can taste a little bit like gum or elastic) can be a little love/hate, so i thought i would try and also try to make them look good. As i couldnt boil or cook anything i.e rice or rice noodles i had to just use some prewarmed fake meat and cucumber and beet roots and the combination was delicious, but my plan had been to cooke rice noodles and add sriracha and things like avocado.

I personally think rice paper rolls are delicious and am planning to eat plenty of them now as i have roughly 20 rice paper left, however i dont think it will be a good starter and i dont think my friends will like the consistency of the rolls, and i dont think i can make them look good. So now i am going to try to think of a new starter idea which will match my main course and dessert idea.... 

But it is a good thing i tried making the starter before hand, and didnt start panicking on Saturday when serving my friends/taking photos, and realise that it wouldnt work or taste good for anyone but myself, hahaha.

For now that is enough food talk, and i am going to try to get some of the work/study done which i need to do for my job!! It will be an early start tomorrow for my first day at work, hahah!!!

Also thought i would add this... i.e my bloat. Due to my diet changes i havent been bloated at all i.e compared ot my usual 90% bloat it is down to 10% bloat.. and the same with stomach pain. But yesterday and today i have had alot of stomach pain and bloating, and i thought i would show you the difference in my morning shape/after breakfast shape compared to my evening post dinner bloat.

Bloating happens, it is normal and it is OK. Don't panic, smile anyway and just wear comfortable clothes :) (p.s the right photo isnt even my complete bloat, hahaha dont dare post that )

Embrace the bloat. Be ok with the bloat... and if you want, give your food baby a name XD XD