January 14: A Food Journal Again and Thoughts on Choking

I'm keeping a food journal again to help me keep track of what I'm eating. There is just something about seeing it written down starkly - as long as I am completely honest with myself - to give me perspective on what I am putting in my body.


Thursday, January 14

Breakfast:

• Scrambled tofu with tomato, onion and carrot
• 1 10-oz. glass of water with multivitamin and 3 SlimQuick Hoodia tablets
  

Snack:

• 1 mug of authentic Korean ginger tea - Ginger is supposed to help digestive ailments.
  
  I don't know if I'm having reflux issues or what, but it's worth a try. The thought of seeing a gastroenterologist and getting scoped is enough to make me cry. I have no problem being knocked out and cut open for a surgery, but scopes skeeve me. :/


• 10:30 snack - raw apple "granola"
  
  
  • 1/2 Granny Smith, cored, but with the peel still on
    
  • 1/4 cup of oats
  • 2 heaping T raw sunflower seeds
  • 2 T almond butter
  • drizzle of agave nectar
  • pumpkin seeds
    
  • 1 T ground flax seeds
    
    Process the apple, oats and sunflower seeds until finely chopped, then add the almond butter and pulse a few times until mixed well. Top with ground flax seeds, agave and pepitas.
    
  
  
  
• 1 10-oz. glass of water

Lunch:

• Zucchini pasta and raw marinara sauce
• 1 10-oz. glass of water
  

Snack:

Dinner:

---

Notes:

• I really did well with my food yesterday even despite the sour cream on my 2 bowls of lentil soup. Not vegan, I know, but I wanted it. And it was good.
  
  Two of my meals were flat-out raw: the Raw Apple Breakfast and Zucchini Pasta with Raw Marinara sauce. I made a spicy lentil soup which was vegan, but then I nixed that by topping it with a dollop of sour cream.
  
  My snacks were all vegan and raw except for the occasional mug of hot tea.
  
  Also, I drank water regularly, every few hours, every time I had something to eat. I think that really helped keep cravings under control.
  


• Something weird - last night I woke up choking on something. Before I went to bed last night it felt as though there might still be a fragment of a lentil stuck way back on the soft palate part of the roof of my mouth. Maybe I breathed it in last night and choked? Sometimes I do wake up choking on nothing but my saliva.
  
  When I woke up last night, after trying to cough it out, I got up and drank some water. Nope, didn't help. Then I got back up and had 4 whole wheat crackers with cheese and another glass of water.
  
  I can still feel something in there though and no amount of clearing my throat or coughing is helping.
  


• Something gross - I have a choking phobia. This may be a bit TMI, but one time during my last pregnancy I woke up choking on a tiny bit of vomit. I was actually choking and panicking until I could cough it out, but the acids burned my throat for days. I have only ever had problems with reflux and heartburn when I was pregnant, but maybe now that my weight is up, it's recurring?
  


• Another weird thing - I have that same sensation that everything is being forced up inside me as I had when I was pregnant during the end of the 2nd trimester and the 3rd trimester. It just feels as though there is something more in there than just my organs. I don't know, could that be just a sign that I've got too much fat hanging around in there? I mean I am nowhere near The Biggest Loser-morbidly obese, so I wouldn't think that that would be a problem.
  
  I mean, sure wouldn't it be cool to find out that there is one of those 50-lb, benign tumors loitering in my abdomen? So maybe I'm not overweight because of lack of exercise and eating too much. *sigh* I can dream, right? I'm always hoping for a Deus ex Machina, but no. My only choice to to make better choices for myself, NOT hope for some freakish medical anomaly!
  


• So anyway, it feels as though something is literally shoving things back up my throat. I am not eating a lot in one sitting (except for my 2 small bowls of soup last night), so why should I feel over-stuffed?

Zucchini Pasta with Raw Marinara Sauce

Today's two main meals so far have been raw. For breakfast I had the raw apple breakfast, and for lunch, this tasty take on pasta and sauce.

Zucchini Pasta and Raw Marinara Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 tomato
• ½ cup sun-dried tomatoes
• near-boiling water
• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
  
• 1 heaping tablespoon jarred sun-dried tomato and minced garlic or 1 clove of fresh garlic, minced
  
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  
• ½ teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)
• Dash black pepper (optional)
• 2 medium zucchini
  

Directions:

1. Place the sun-dried tomatoes in a bowl and pour enough hot water over them to cover them and then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain.
   
2. Place the fresh tomato, sun-dried tomatoes, bell pepper, and garlic in a food processor and process until smooth.
   
3. Add the olive oil and spices and continue to process, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
   
4. With a mandoline or a spiral-slicer, cut the zucchini into thin ribbons.
5. Toss the zucchini with a bit of salt and pepper and ladle some sauce over it.

Makes 2 servings.

Green Smoothie

Today's lunch.

I had forgotten just how delicious these are.

Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 3/4 cup fresh pineapple
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 oz baby spinach leaves
• 1 scoop Michaels Super Defense Food powder

Directions:

1. Blend.
   


2. Drink
   


3. Enjoy.
   

Red Lentils over Quinoa Pilaf

I love red lentils in soups, stews and dhals. Just as the various spices that accompany them lend heat to the dish, so does the vivid color of the lentils perk up the dish. On this frigid day I have been looking for a comforting dish to warm me up, so I tossed some things together and served it over the leftover Quinoa Pilaf from last night's dinner.

Red Lentils over Pilaf

Ingredients:

• 1 stalk celery, diced finely
• 1 medium onion, diced finely
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced finely
• 1/2 cup of diced carrot
• 1 large clove garlic, chopped (about 2 T)
• 1/4 cup diced tomato
  
• 3/4 cup red lentils
• 4 cups water
• 1 T tomato paste
• onion powder
• garlic powder
• chili powder
• coriander
• cumin
• 1 bay leaf
• turmeric
• hot sauce
  

Directions:

1. Heat 2 T olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
   


2. Add the chopped onion and celery and saute for 2 minutes.
   


3. Add the bell pepper, carrots and garlic, stirring well.
   


4. After 5 minutes or so, when the vegetables have softened significantly, add the tomato and stir well.
   


5. Add the red lentils, turn the heat to high and add the water, the tomato paste and the spices.
   


6. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, keep covered and let simmer for 30 minutes.
   


7. Taste and adjust seasoning. Here's where I add the hot sauce.
   


8. Simmer uncovered another 15 minutes until the lentils are no longer crunchy. You may add more water if you prefer a more stew-like consistency, but I prefer it with a texture more like dhal. I even sometimes use a potato masher and smash the lentils a bit.
   


9. Serve over rice or pilaf of your choice.

Notes:

• See this post for my pilaf technique.

Raw Apple Breakfast

In keeping with my attempt to eat many more light & healthy meals throughout the week to balance out the times when I indulge in full-cream, full-fat decadence - and believe me, I do indulge - here is a fiber-rich, deceptively filling, delicious breakfast that may have you thinking, "Hey, some of these raw vegan dishes are pretty damned tasty!"

Unlike many raw dishes which require some fancy footwork with a food dehydrator, the only pieces of equipment you need here are a food processor and a coffee grinder.

Raw Apple Breakfast

Ingredients:

• 1 apple, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
• 1 heaping tablespoon of almond butter
• 1 tablespoon flax seeds
• 2 T pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
  

Directions:

1. Peel, core and cut the apple into quarters.
   


2. Process it in a food processor along with the almond butter until it is in small pieces - you don't want to make a puree.
   


3. Grind up the flax seeds in the coffee grinder until they've become powdery.
   


4. Serve in a bowl topped with pepitas and the ground flax seeds.

Notes:

• This filled my cereal bowl pretty well, so it was a good portion for one person.
  


• Next time, I may drizzle some honey or agave nectar over the top for a teeny bit of extra sweetness.
  


• Other additions which might be nice:
  
  
  • chopped almonds or walnuts
  • chopped dried fruit
  • untoasted sesame sees
  • unsalted sunflower seeds
  • maple syrup
  • wheat germ
  • a dollop of Greek yogurt
  • blueberries
  • cinnamon