This is one in a series of food photo diary posts in which I track my food in pictures. I’m also counting my calories. Read all about it in this post or click here to view a detailed breakdown of my calorie intake in a nifty spreadsheet.
Today’s food lesson: use fresh herbs to kick up your fruit smoothies.
Today I tried mint in my strawberry and banana smoothie – superb! It got me thinking about other herbs I could add to my smoothies. Here are some ideas:
- Mango-Orange Basil Smoothie
- Banana Basil Smoothie
- Raspberry, Carrot and Basil Smoothie
- Watermelon Mint Smoothie
- Grapefruit, Cucumber and Cilantro Smoothie
Diary for Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Calories In: 1,699
Calories Out: 2,125
Deficit: 426
Breakfast
Vegan Crepes with Fruit and Yogurt
Two vegan buckwheat crepes filled with banana slices sprinkled with cocoa then warmed up on a low heat on the stove. I love this. I also had some berries on the side with some natural yogurt seasoned with lemon zest. Yum.
Calories: 224
Protein: 8.5g
Fat: 4.6g
Carbs: 39.2g
Snack
Strawberry Mint Smoothie with Peanut Butter on Pita
Breakfast was light so it wasn’t long before I was ready for breakfast #2. I had a smoothie breakthrough today: mint! Yes, three leaves of mint in my banana and strawberry smoothie totally kicked things up a notch. The mint was so refreshing and brought out the taste of the strawberry so well that I didn’t need as much honey as I normally put in.
Calories: 347
Protein: 17.2g
Fat: 10.5g
Carbs: 50.9g
Walk
Three park walk, about 4 miles. Just me and This American Life.
Calories burned: ~300
Lunch
Leftover Braised Lentils and a Mini Portobello Sandwich
Lots of leftovers for lunch today. And the requisite big salad.
Calories: 377g
Protein: 17.6g
Fat: 5.9g
Carbs: 69g
Cycle
12mi round trip to a client meeting and back.
Calories burned: ~225
Snack
Apple, carrot, and a cuppa tea
Consumed at the client’s office, so no photo alas.
Calories: 97
Protein: 1g
Fat: .3g
Carbs: 25g
Dinner
Vegan Pizza with Baked Broccoli
The mushrooms came out a bit shriveled but overall this was a really good pizza! I topped it with: tomato sauce, red onion, crumbled tofu ricotta, spinach, garlic and mushrooms. This was the first time I tried tofu in this way and I loved it. It’s not cheese; it’s a whole different thing. But very nice! And surprisingly light – more room for dessert!
Calories: 261
Protein: 16.4g
Fat: 11.3g
Carbs: 28.6g
Dessert
Vegan Dessert Crepe
I was in the mood for dessert, and used the opportunity to experiment with tofu “cream”. (I hate using the word “cream” because this isn’t trying to be “cream”, but it’s creamy, so what else should I call it?) I wizzed up some silken tofu, lemon zest, lemon juice, coconut milk, honey and a little salt in the food processor, then drizzled it over the fruit and crepe. It was so good!
Calories: 326
Protein: 9.1
Fat: 9.6
Carbs: 34
I like having second breakfasts. Interesting idea with the herbs!
Hi!
I just found your blog and LOVE the quality of your pictures. PRETTY!
I’m kind of confused though because I thought you’re trying to gain weight? doesn’t that mean you should be taking more calories in than out?
@junghwa – Thanks for the compliment on my photos. 🙂 I had a look at your blog – it’s great! Always good to read about what new fun foods are out there. I still haven’t tried chia seeds yet (I’m not sure that they’re such a hit here in the UK).
As for your question – YES, I AM trying to gain weight. But as you rightfully noticed, I do continue to run deficits. I’m having a hard time breaking my old eating habits and eating more. I think I’m sort of mentally resistant to it. I do seem to be slowwwwly puttingi on weight (about 1kg in the last 3weeks)… this I credit to my twice-weekly eat-out meals with friends. Not sure that that’s such a healthy way to go about this, but these events do usually lead to excessive calorie consumption. Hmm, I should blog about this! And I should also add my goal calorie surplus to the food diary. I’m on it!