Helloooooo, friendly faces!
I missed you guys yesterday, but only a little 😛 Truth be told, it feels nice to get away every now and again – the blog world can get to be a little much sometimes, no? But that’s a whooooole other topic on it’s own, and one that I don’t really want to get into today seeing as it’s WIAW and all. So if no one objects, let’s talk food; and I really hope that no one does because I’m kind of a big fan of it – it being food…
I do have to admit, however, that I’m not really a fan of this month’s theme (sorry Jenn! I still love you, though!). Or rather, my stomach isn’t. Back in the day, I used to eat massive amounts of veggies; in fact, there was a time in my life where that was pretty much all I would eat…
But even without going all the way back to the darkest days of my ED, there was a long period of time during my recovery where I would bulk up my meals with a crazy amount of veggies because I was absolutely terrified that not having enough volume in my meals would leave me hungry… and heaven forbid I eat more if I wasn’t satisfied. So I ate monster salads…
… and enough squash and broccoli to make me look like I was 5 months pregnant…
But even though I stuffed myself with enough veggies to leave me in a decent amount of physical discomfort, deep down I was never truly satisfied. It took a bit of time and a lot of effort, but eventually I cut the bulk out of my diet and started focusing on eating smaller volume, higher density foods that, despite my initial fears, actually left me perfectly satisfied. And as an added bonus, the massively protruding veggie-belly that had plagued me earlier disappeared as well. Double win. So now? Now the only veggies I really eat come in the form of these guys right here…
… and when they do make an appearance, it’s more as an afterthought than anything else. At first I wasn’t quite sure what to make of the lack of veggies in my diet, seeing as it goes against most healthy living recommendations and what have you, but following those ‘recommendations’ left me feeling like garbage more often than not, whereas now I’m feeling pretty pretty darned good – probably because I get most of my vitamins and minerals from eating my weight in fruit. And now, with all that backstory out of the way, we can finally get to the food!
So I know yesterday was Pancake Tuesday and all, and to give myself a little credit, I actually considered whipping up a batch of pancakes for breakfast to celebrate the occasion… buuuuut that thought lasted all of 5 seconds before I broke into the cereal stash…
Plain Greek yogurt – banana – blueberries – Puffins – Enjoy Life trail mix.
What can I say? I like my yogurt messes best. And as a quick aside, you know what kind of skeeves me out? The idea of eating veggies at breakfast. I know it’s a perfectly normal and common practice, but I just can’t stomach it – I tried putting pumpkin in my oatmeal on a few occasions and wasn’t even a big fan of that. Veggies for breakfast just doesn’t sit well with me. Veggies for lunch, on the other hand, I can definitely do…
Ezekiel English muffin with cheese, hummus, and deli turkey. Random veggies on the side.
And on the days where I don’t opt for having breakfast multiple times a day, veggies are perfectly welcome to make an appearance at dinner…
Sometimes I don’t even mind snacking on them…
Baby carrots and Sunbutter.
Baked sweet potato with cottage cheese and almond butter.
But more often than not, I have to admit that I prefer snacking on things like this…
Chocolate chip oatmeal muffin.
Chocolate chip cookie dough ball.
Deep chocolate Vitamuffin – plain Greek yogurt – banana.
Banana and almond butter.
Quite the picture of health, aren’t I? I’d like to think so, actually. My diet may not be veggie and superfood packed, but it seems to be working for me – I feel good and I look good, so what else matters, right? 🙂
And now if you’ll excuse me, I have a date with a plumber. My shower drain has been backing up and as willing as I am to go without veggies, going without showers is just…. no.
Happy Wednesday, friends!
. – . – . – .
Can anyone relate to my veggie-bulking woes?
Do you have an easy time getting your veggies in?
Do you ever eat veggies at breakfast?
I wish I could break free what the crap tanglement I’m in and be like u more. For sure.
What kind of deli slices do you buy? Do you have a link? I miss deli meats but can’t find anything that looks “normal” enough to eat if you know what I mean…
Ever try the full fat mediterranee PLAIN yogurt ? A lot less protein and not organic but its the only one at my grocery store lately…very thick and creamy! Not bad. Full of cals and fat…the way I like things apparently 🙂 (not sure how to make an icon for “sheepish face” ).
I also have been eating “Iogo” either the 2 or 3.5 % milk fat cause yogurt selection is zilch lately…and I must say, its okay…I use to ban “Iogo” because its not what my orthorexic self terms as “healthy”…well screw that..the vanilla is yummy. So there.
My mother just bought a kingsized package of multigrain cheerios. She loves them…you? Honey nut use to be a fave of mine.
I wonder if you’ve ever had the Mini Wheats? Tons of different flavors and if you like little pillows and shredded wheat, you might like them. You can get frosted, or honey or blueberry muffin flavors. I use to love the vanilla or the maple frosted!!
I’m trying to get my mother to try the Nature’s Path pumpkin flax granola cause I think she’d like them…she’s very much a “stick to my foods’ person though…she’ll eat her balogna, corn flakes, oatmeal, and 10 slices of bread per day literally 🙂 Creature of habit and “old school”.
I also hear the “Mesa Sunrise” from Nature’s Path is okay…not sure.
And I don’t know about you about I eat chocolate literally every day…kind of funny how I can’t go one day without at least one ounce of chocolate (and that’s with a big snack…I tend to eat at least 600 calories at 10 pm bedtime snack….problem I am working on, or pretending I’m working on it anyway).
I also made these “chocolate cupcakes” from “Elana’s Pantry”. Makes 6 cupcakes. Ate them all in one sitting. Fricking delicious. Eeasy recipe too, you can google it…but basically 1/4 cup EACH of coconut flour, cocoa powder, coconut oil, honey + a bit of baking powder or soda (can’t remember) and 4 eggs….pretty easy and quick to make. And quick to devour (apparently for me!!). I also tried the “almond butter fudge” and the “pb blondies” from the Detoxinista and addicting.
Elana’s Pantry has a nice fruitcake too that my parents love …full of sweetend cherries (I added gumdrops), raisins, nuts, etc…quick and easy to make.
I made some blueberry muffins from “Sally’s Baking Addiction” and a good classic recipe I must say that was.
This is actually a really common problem, and kudos to you for doing what works, even though we are constantly told to eat more veggies! I don’t have this problem personally, but I know a lot of people who do. Many of them continue to eat a ton of veggies, thinking their body will eventually adjust, but for most of them it doesn’t. I am not sure WHY some of us can digest loads of veggies better than others, but such is life. Do you do better with cooked veggies?
I do slightly better with cooked veggies, but they still cause me problems if I start to eat them too regularly.
Amen, if your body is loving the way you are eating that it all that matters. 🙂
Everything looks and sounds so delicious. Well except the whole shower backing up thing. That’s no fun. I’m afraid I must confess. I adore my veggies in all shapes, sizes and pretty much at any meal. I could drink them for breakfast, eat them for lunch, plate them with dinner or even brinner. My stomach is like steel (not in a six pack way…sigh) but they don’t make me uncomfortable. Weird but true. I could also and sometimes do eat my body weight in fruit, eggs and cheese.
I cannot stomach veggies for breakfast either! I need sweeeet food in the morning. On rare occasions where I go out to breakfast or brunch I may get an omelet or skillet but usually accompany those with pancakes 😉
It’s so refreshing to read a WIAW post that’s not a photo bomb of veggies, veggies, and more veggies. I think it’s almost too easy to fall under the comparison trap, especially with these WIAW posts. She ate more veggies than me?!? She had smaller portions than me?!? Etc. Which is why I adore that you stay true to what your body truly craves instead of what it “should” be fueled with. You set a great example for all the people out there who struggle with unhealthy eating habits. And I’m totally with you – carbs all the way! My veggies have been sparse lately as well, especially these past few wintery months. Once the cold strikes I’m all about “heavier” foods. But the thought of veggies for breakfast kind of makes my stomach churn – the only exception is a breakfast skillet which I tend to order only when I go out to eat for breakfast.
I love my veggies for breakfast.. an egg white omelete with lots of peppers/onions is the bomb. But that’s not to say I don’t like my fruit/yogurt/granola bowls either. All depends on the day 🙂
I need to make sure I’m eating more veggies. My boyfriend hates all vegetables (and anything remotely healthy for that matter..yet he still is super fit) so when we’re together I find myself eating junk!
I can so relate! Back in the day when I first started my blog, I ate so many monster salads, because I let myself be too influenced by what I saw on blogs. But then I realized that I was treating F/V like they were the only important food group, and slacking in the other food groups. Nowadays I still enjoy eating my vegetables, but not in massive quantities at once and I make sure I balance them with other food groups!
I can’t do veggies at breakfast either. I need my sweet foods in the mornings! The exception is pumpkin in oatmeal, but that doesn’t count because I cook it into the oatmeal with half a banana, so it ends up being a sweet breakfast. 😀
I have certainly been there before… huge salads for lunch and dinner would occur, no dressing, minimal fat added (maybe a few almonds), and then I expected to feel fantastic after. UMM NOOOPE. It was a feeling of death, or errr extreme gassiness and yep, pregnancy like you said! Gorgeous, urgh. Now I do have vegetables in my diet but they are more often cooked than not as this is easier on my stomach and FAT is always there to help with digestion and delicious flavor!
Veggies for breakfast are like veggies for dessert – a big no no! Actually I can only stomach savoury for lunch and dinner… Every time else my sweet tooth is raging!
i crave sweet meals like you all the time. except for dinner that is what they are most of the time. i do get my greens usually – but in the form of a sweet green pb chocolate smoothie! you know its true!
Veggies for breakfast are a no-go for me unless I’m having a sweet potato topped with nut butter or using shredded carrot to make a carrot cake inspired breakfast. Otherwise it’s just too weird!
I try to eat some kind of veggie every day, more often than not at lunch and dinner, but I definitely prefer greens like spinach and kale to a lot of other veggies, and I’m weird in that I actually prefer most veggies in their raw form, like cauliflower and broccoli–both taste amazing dipped in salsa! I’ve been branching out with my veggies a lot in the past couple of years and I’ve found ones I love and ones that are just no-nos, like beets and tomatoes. However, I will always be a bigger fan of fruit than veggies! They’re just too darn good, and I LOVE most of them!
Anything dipped in salsa is pretty amazing – I think even cardboard would be passable as long as it was smothered in salsa. But even the thought of eating raw broccoli or cauliflower gives me a stomach ache – those are a couple veggies that I definitely can’t tolerate unless they’re cooked.
It sounds like you’ve found EXACTLY what’s working for you and you OWN IT! I eat so much randomness that I am sure I’ll never figure out what causes me to bloat and be gassy (other than the obvious like..beannnss!) I love me some veggies, but I gladly go a day or two without a lot of them. I have been carb heavy lately and I am more than ok with that!
I have always been very big into veggies, hint why I eat so many during the day, but I do pair it with protein as well… and I think that’s why it works for me.
Once in a blue moon I’ll have a spinach egg white omelette for brunch with toast. I just need my sweets at breakfast! Which reminds me I need to get puffins to make your breakfasts!!
Hey, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it right?? Do what works for YOU. I am with you on this one – i do generally eat veggies for both lunch and dinner most days, but the only ones I can really eat without stomach issues are spinach, kale, tomatoes (which are technically a fruit lol), avocado, potatoes (which don’t really count…they’re like a starch)…yeah that’s about it. I mean, I truly LIKE asparagus and zucchini and carrots and squash, but eating too much of them just makes my stomach HURT. Fruit is where it’s at! plenty of phytonutrients there, and hey – you eat whole grains, hummus is made of beans, you’re not really completely “veggie” deprived. 😀
I love this post Amanda! You are awesome. I put my veggies into green smoothies. If I eat too many veggies (ahem..squash ), then I’m way too full for anything else. Thank you and happy WIAW!
veggies have been so blah to me lately.. i use to do that and have just a whole squash for dinner, yeah it filled me up but obv was never enough ! i have been having savory oatmeal for breakfast for the past few days i cant get enough of it ! i love my green smoothies though but i really need to bulk it up with coconut oil , nutbutter or an avocado to make it satisfying, something i would have NEVER done a year ago..baby steps!
Hi! I noticed that you said that you never post a full day of eats. I would love it if you did- honestly, I love that you aren’t afraid to eat the calories that you need. Seeing how beautiful you are, even though you’re not munching on carrot sticks all day, is an inspiration to so many people! I’m very curious to see a full day of your food
I’ve considered it before, but I really don’t like the comparison and judgment that comes with that sort of thing, and trying to photograph every random handful of stuff that I grab throughout the day would probably drive me a little crazy. I try to show that it’s perfectly healthy to enjoy everything in moderation, but aside from that, the amounts and specific foods are so different for everyone that I really don’t want anyone thinking that I’m some perfect example.
Your meals look pretty perfect to me girl! I eat spinach sometimes in my eggs for breakfast. I have been eating a ton of carbs and nut butter but not so much veggies lately either. I need to add more, but I’m allergic to all the good ones!
I eat my veggies! I make room for other food though too 🙂
I’m really working on reducing my veg inatke because I spend most days bloated and in pain, and I suspect my overload of veg may have to do with it.
Random question – since you live in Canada, do you speak French?
I don’t. I studied it in school for about 8 years, and at one point I could actually understand it decently enough, but since stopping after high school, I’ve kind of lost most of what I picked up 😕