The Great Veggie Quest

Vegetables:  It's the one thing almost everyone can agree on.  In the endless swinging pendulum of what is or is not healthy; whole grains, no grains, eggs bad, eggs good, high protein, or low fat, very few would argue that we eat too many vegetables.

9 servings, or around 4 to 5 cups is the general recommendations for fruits and vegetables.  Some are even increasing that recommendation to as much as 13 cups. 

More simply, the USDA MyPlate graphic shows 50% of every meal consisting of a combination of fruits and vegetables.  

Using the 50% guideline to plan meals, I set out on a 6 week quest to meet at least the minimum recommendations, moving toward the upper end.

Day 1

Breakfast

Egg Casserole

2 eggs (half a cup)
Peppers and onions (1 cup)
Salsa ( 1/4 cup)
Tortilla

Lunch

Pumpkin Soup and Rice

Soup:pumpkin, white beans, vegetable broth  (2 cups)

Brown rice (1 cup)

Ham (1/4 cup)

Dinner

Chili

Chili:beef, chili beans, tomatoes, onions  (2 cups - about 1 2/3 vegetables)

Cheese (1 oz)

crackers  (5)

bread (one slice)

Wow, that was way harder than I expected.  I really thought I ate quite a lot of vegetables; especially with the number of homemade soups my super-cook daughter makes for me when she's home from college.

Today looks like 4 2/3 cups or around 9 servings.  It's not bad, certainly within the lower end of the recommendations, but I want to try for at least 6 cups tomorrow.

Day 2

Breakfast

Oatmeal: 

steel cut oats (1/4 cup)

banana (1 cup)

apple (1cup)

raisins (1/4 cup - 1/2 equivalence)

Lunch

Chili: beef, chili beans, tomatoes, onions  (2 cups - about 1 2/3 vegetables)

carrots (1 cup)

Dinner

Salad: shredded lettuce, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, red cabbage (3 cups - 1 1/2 equivalence)

orange (1 cup)

roast beef (2 oz)

ranch dressing (2 TB)

Better I guess; that gives me 7 1/2 cups of combined fruits and vegetables, but only 4 of vegetables themselves.  I love the huge salad.  I just fill the bottom of my plate with it and add a little meat and dressing.  That's a good place to add more.  Cucumbers would be good or chopped peppers.  

The only place I have no vegetables, of course, is breakfast.  I like the eggs with peppers or onions, but I really love oatmeal on these crazy cold mornings.  They're promising single digit temperatures and negative wind chills tomorrow morning.  Not the time to give it up.

Day 3

Breakfast

steel cut oats (1/4 cup)

dried cranberries (1/4 cup - equivalence 1/2 cup)

raisins (1/4 cup - equivalence 1/2 cup)

chopped apple (1 cup)

Lunch

Salad: shredded lettuce, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, red cabbage (3 cups - 1 1/2 equivalence)

orange (1 cup)

ranch dressing (2 TB)
Lentil soup (2 cups)
orange (1/2 cup)

Dinner

pulled pork (2 oz)

whole wheat bread ( 2 slices)

baked beans (1/2 cup)

cold slaw (1/2 cup)

2 cups of fruit for breakfast, 3 1/2 cups of vegetables plus 1/2 cup of fruit for lunch, and 1 cup vegetables for dinner.   No progress there.  I even lost half a cup from yesterday, although I think I may have had more than I recorded of the baked beans and slaw.  That's about 4 1/2 cups of vegetables and 2 1/2 cups of fruit for a total of 7 cups.  I'm really going to have to work on getting more at breakfast to make this work.  That and get some more gigantic salads for dinner.

Day 4

Breakfast

Onions (1 cup)

Green Pepper (1 cup)

2 eggs

Hummus (2 TBS)

Oranges (2 cups)

banana (1 cup)

Lunch

apple (1 cup)

peanut butter (2 TBS)

Dinner

Veggie Bowl:

    brown rice (1 cup)

    grilled peppers/onions (1/2 cup)

    corn (1/2 cup)

    cheese (1/4 cup)

    sour cream (1/4 cup)

    lettuce (1/4 cup)

    salsa (1/4 cup)

Is hummus a vegetable?  I really think hummus should be a vegetable.  It's chickpeas right?  I've made it at home before, so I know what's in it.  I could happily eat several cups a day.  I'd even promise to dip peppers in it instead of pita chips.  Well, instead of just pita chips.  

Ok, I give up, no counting the hummus.  I did manage to increase my fruits and vegetables to 7 3/4 cups today, mainly by front loading at breakfast.  The rest of the day was catch as can chaos as I played with my nephews and and took them to meet their new baby brother!

Day 5

Breakfast

Orange (1 cup)

Roasted Chickpeas (1 1/2 cups)

Lunch

Salad Bar:  

    lettuce (2 cups - 1 cup equivalence)

    carrots (1 cup)

    cherry tomatoes (1 cup)

    cucumbers (1/2 cup)

cheese pizza (1 slice)

Dinner

Steak (6 oz)

green beans (1 cup)

sweet potato (1 cup)

roll 

butter

Hot chocolate

So 8 cups, not bad.  It's definitely edging up.  It still takes constant thinking though and some rather weird meal plans.  I didn't have much fresh in the house today, but i did find a can of chick peas.  I love roasted chick peas, reference the hummus obsession, but I never considered eating them for breakfast before.  It worked though.  They were good and made a nice breakfast, with the added benefit of being portable on days I'm dashing out the door.  

I went shopping tonight for more fresh produce.  Hopefully that will make tomorrow, Saturday, easier to manage.  Weekends always seem to end up as 48 hour feeding trough containing virtually no respectable choices.

Day 6

Breakfast

Onions (1 cup)

Green Pepper (1 cup)

Broccoli coleslaw mix: shredded broccoli, carrots, red cabbage (1 cup)

salsa (1/4 cup)

2 eggs

Lunch

Veggie wrap:  flat bread, hummus, chopped vegetables (2 cups)

fruit cup (1 cup)

potato chips

Dinner

lettuce (2 cups - 1 cup equivalence)

garden vegetables: cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots (1 cup)

turkey cubes

ranch dressing

pretzels

hummus

hot chocolate

Saturday busy, too much eating out.  It wasn't as bad as it could have been though.  I made a frittata, crammed with vegetables, at home before we left.  Four hours at the science center with four busy kids didn't leave a lot of meal planning time.  Fortunately, they had some pretty reasonable choices.  The veggie wrap was enormous and probably not all that healthy, but it definitely met the lots of veggies requirement.   Back to the hospital with the boys to visit the new baby and eat dinner there with the family.  Lots of junk, but a decent salad too and of course my snack obsession - Hummus.  Overall, I managed about 8 1/4 cups, a small edge up from yesterday. 

Day 7

Breakfast

apple (1 cup)

banana (1 cup)

orange (1 cup)

Lunch

garden salad: lettuce, shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes, turkey, honey mustard dressing (2 cups)

a few snitched curly fries (guessing that doesn't count)

Dinner

banana (1 cup)

apple (1 cup)

carrots (1 cup)

green pepper (1 cup)

hummus (1/4 cup)

I edged it up to 9 cups today, primarily because I was too busy to eat much of anything else.  One thing I have to say for produce, it's portable.  Other than the salad at lunch, it was pretty much grab it on the way out the door.  Back to work tomorrow, I'm not sure if that will be better or worse.  It's easier to pre-plan with a set schedule, but there's also always something floating around to tempt me off that plan.  At least it's the time of year when everyone is thinking healthy, for awhile anyway.

Day 8

Breakfast

Oatmeal

   steel cut oats (1/4 cup)

   apple (1 cup)

   banana (1 cup)

   dried cranberries (1/4 cup - 1/2 cup equivalence)

   raisins (1/4 cup - 1/2 cup equivalence)

Lunch

Lentil soup: lentils, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, vegetable broth (2 cups)

carrots (1 cup)

orange (1 cup)

Dinner

Trail mix

   almonds

   dried cranberries ( 1/4 cup maybe - 1/2 cup equivalence)

7 1/4 cups total

Dinner in a hospital waiting room  - of all the places you'd think they'd have some healthy choices, there's just a vending machine of chips and cookies.  The trail mix was about the best I found.  I didn't feel much like eating anyway.  The oatmeal and soup were really pretty sustaining and my mind was on the baby and corralling the boys by then.  Sweet little boy, curled still into his warm fetal ball.  He cuddled with his parents and even got to nurse some today, before he's rolled off to surgery tomorrow.

Day 9

Breakfast

banana (1 cup)

apple (1 cup)

orange (1 cup)

Lunch

lentil soup: lentils, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, vegetable broth (2 cups)

carrots (1 cup)

Dinner

Chopped salad: kale, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, snap peas (2 cups)
ranch dressing (2 TBS)
Orange (1 cup)
pepper jack cheese (1 oz)

hummus (2 TBS)
pita chips (1 oz)

caramel mocha

9 cups total

3 cups per meal, that seems to be a pretty good way of spacing it out.  Adding one more to each meal could get me up to 12 cups, nearly the upper limit of recommendations I've seen.  Even at that, I really doubt they meant fifty year old, five foot three women.  It feels fairly sustainable at this point.  As long as I have stuff in the house, it's easy to pick up and eat or to take to work or running around.  Keeping it there can be more of a problem.  It does mean a lot of shopping and planning to have what I want and eat it before it goes bad.  No surgery for little bit today.  He's stable and strong, so he got pushed back to later in the week.  More waiting, more tension, but hopefully more time to make sure they've got it right.

Day 10

Breakfast

apples (2 cups)

orange (1 cup)

banana (1 cup)

Lunch

lentil soup: lentils, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, vegetable broth (2 cups)

Chopped salad: kale, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, snap peas (2 cups)
ranch dressing (2 TBS)

Dinner

chicken hummus bowl:  (Panera) spinach, chicken, cucumbers, tomato, onion, hummus (2 cups)

tomato soup (1 cup?)

apple (1 cup)

banana (1 cup)

around 12 cups total

The tomato soup is questionable.  I'm not really counting it, although I figure it off-sets any missing volume from the salad.  I don't know how much of it is tomatoes and how much might be cream.  

Well, none it would appear.  I looked up a site where they actually give their recipes, or at least claim to, and there was no cream included.  There was a fair amount of butter and oil of course, but not bad, and all vegetables and seasoning beyond that.  I may have to try making that this weekend.  It could become the new lunch staple, since I'm nearly out of lentil soup.

Day 11

Breakfast

sweet potato (1 1/2 cups)

apple (1 cup)

banana (1 cup)

raisins (1/4 cup - 1/2 cup equivalence)

Lunch

lentil soup: lentils, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, vegetable broth (2 cups)

Chopped salad: kale, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, snap peas (2 cups)
pomegranate vinaigrette dressing (2 TBS)

Dinner

Chopped salad: kale, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, snap peas (2 cups)
pomegranate vinaigrette dressing (2 TBS)
orange (1 cup)
carrots (1 cup)

12 cups

I'm going to turn orange.  Sweet potatoes, carrots, oranges... is this a bad thing?  I may need to get more creative in figuring out how to do this.  It's good though.  I really like the morning sweet potato idea.  I just cooked the sweet potatoes over night in the crock pot and added the fruit in the morning.  I wonder how it would work all cooked together like oatmeal though.  I might try it on the weekend when it's not a disaster if something doesn't work and I have to find another idea before running out the door.

I got to hold sweet little bit tonight.  He's so cuddly and calm with his crunched up little baby faces.  He looks so perfectly healthy and right under all his wires and tubes.  It's hard to imagine why they can't just pick him up and take him home.

Day 12

Breakfast

sweet potato (2 cups)

apple (1 cup)

banana (1 cup)

Lunch

apples (2 cups)

carrots (1 cup)

orange (1 cup)

Dinner

garden salad ( 2 cups - 1 cup equivalence)

honey mustard dressing (2 TBS)

carrots (1 cup)

These aren't exactly meals, but they work for right now.  I tried peeling the sweet potatoes and cooking them overnight with the fruit and it worked really well.  I'm thinking it would be even better with a bunch of pecans tossed in on top, but that might kind of defeat the purpose.  Lunch was a bit of a scrounge, definitely time for a grocery trip and cooking some soups.  I don't know if that will manage to happen this weekend or not.

Day 13

Breakfast

banana (1 cup)

apple (1 cup)

Lunch

spinach salad (maybe 3 cups - 1 1/2 equivalence)

apple (1/2 cup)

dressing ?

brisket (way too much)

strawberry smoothie sample ( 1/4 cup ??? no you don't get to count that)

Dinner

spinach apple pecan salad ( maybe 2 cups)

cinnamon bread/butter

raspberry vinaigrette dressing (2 TBS)

chocolate - 

6 cups - maybe, pushing it 

That was a total bust, but for what it was not all that bad.  Two restaurants, four small children, visiting friends, and an ice festival; it could have been way worse.  There weren't street vendors with all manner of decadent junk as I expected, so the BBQ restaurant  we chose really had some decent choices.  They had a salad that was really good.  It was even made with spinach, not iceberg lettuce. By the time I took the boys home, did some shopping with my mother and went to a second restaurant, I walked in thinking there is no way I want to look at another vegetable.  Honestly, though, when I opened the menu, that second spinach salad actually looked really good.  Of course, so did the fresh baked bread.  Overall, though, at least half of every meal was fruits or vegetables, so although the totals are no where near what I'm trying for, it wasn't horrible.

Day 14

Breakfast

carrots (2 cups)

orange (1 cup)

banana (1 cup)

Lunch

carrots (1 cup)

banana (1 cup)

cherry tomatoes (1 cup)

orange (1 cup)

Dinner

cajun chicken salad: salad greens, tomatoes, onions, cheese, seasoned chicken breast (3 cups ???)

grapes (1 cup)

cheese cubes - 4

about 12 cups total

Front loading day.  I knew we were going to Eagle Days in the afternoon, so I crammed as many fruits and vegetables into breakfast and a snack on the go lunch as I could.  It really worked.  When we got to the park, I had no interest at all in the food vendors.  Everything just looked greasy and unappetizing.  We walked a mile and back across the bridge stopping to take pictures, view the eagles, and talk with trail-net people about developing new bike paths.  I was really hungry when we got back to the car and headed into Alton to our favorite Cajun place, but their chicken salad is amazing and really pretty packed with vegetables.  I squeezed in a little more in a snack back at the hospital, to reach pretty close to 12 cups if not entirely there.

Day 15

Breakfast

sweet potatoes (2 cups)

apple (1 cup)

banana (1 cup)

gigantic extra mocha cappuccino in the surgery waiting room

Lunch/Dinner

fast food fish and chicken basket

french fries (not a chance)

slightly smaller peanut butter mocha

chocolate cheese cake

Okay, so let's just call this one a wash.  I didn't even remember to take a bag of carrots with me.  

Most of the day was tense with waiting; a breath of relief with every call from the operating room, then refocused on where the next step will lead.

Beautiful baby, surrounded by tubes and machines, but resting safe in his bed.

That's all that counts tonight.

Day 16

Breakfast

sweet potato (1 cup)

apple (1 cup)

banana (1 cup)

orange (1 cup)

Lunch

vegetable soup (2 cups)

chopped salad: kale, broccoli, carrots, snap peas (2 cups)

ranch dressing (2 TBS)

Dinner

chopped salad: kale, broccoli, carrots, snap peas (3 cups)

cherry tomatoes (1 cup)

roast beef 1 oz

ranch (2 TBS)

carrot chips and hummus

I'm really hungry tonight.  It's strange, in the two weeks of doing this, I haven't felt hungry before at all.  I felt more that it was difficult to eat enough to get all those vegetables in.  I've always heard that sugar will cause more hunger later and I think I proved it after yesterday.  I hope this gets back on track again tomorrow.

Day 17

Breakfast

sweet potato (1 cup)
apple (1 cup)
banana (1 cup)
raisins (1/2 cup - 1 cup equivalence) - way too sweet, I don't want to do that again
mandarin oranges (1 cup)

Lunch

chopped salad: kale, broccoli, carrots, snap peas (2 cups)

cherry tomatoes (1 cup)

vegetable soup (2 cups)

Dinner

broccoli salad (1 cup)

cucumber and onion salad (1/2 cup)

rice (1 cup)

fajita chicken (1 cup)

corn salsa (1/2 cup)

tomato salsa (1/2 cup)

roll

carrot cake

I deliberately ate as many fruits and vegetables as I could early in the day, knowing we were going out for an extended family dinner.  I didn't know what would be available out, but there really was quite a lot that was pretty reasonable.  The problem was stopping with the reasonable and avoiding all the other goodies.  

Day 18

Breakfast

apple (1 cup)

banana (1 cup)

orange (1 cup)

carrots (1 cup)

Lunch

vegetable soup (2 cups)

chopped salad: kale, broccoli, carrots, snap peas (2 cups)

cherry tomatos (1/2 cup)
Ranch dressing (1 TBS)

carrots (1 cup)

Dinner

fish 

chicken tender

green beans (1/2 cup)

10 cups

Not great, not horrible I guess.  Dinner is turning out to be the hardest right now, which I didn't expect.  When life settles down and we're eating regularly at home again it should be better.  This weekend will be interesting with traveling.  I'm not sure how I'll work that out.  Carrying along lots of apples and carrots should help.

Day 19

Breakfast

apples (2 cups)

oranges (2 cups)

carrots (2 cups)

Lunch

vegetable soup (2 cups)

chopped salad: kale, broccoli, carrots, snap peas (2 cups)

pomegranate dressing (1 TBS)

carrots (2 cups)

Dinner

chicken breast (3 oz?)

green beans (1/2 cup)

sweet potato (1/2 cup)

corn muffins (2)

butter ??

13 cups total

I knew I would be on the road tonight, so I deliberately front loaded the day.  I can get this all in just fine, but I feel like I'm eating all day long.  I took four mini packs of carrots and munched my way through advisory, grade level meeting, lunch detention supervision, and planning period.  It wasn't even all that necessary, as I found some pretty decent options at Cracker Barrel on the drive.  Ok, so those corn muffins might have been a bad choice, but they were really good.

Day 20

Well.... so the kitchen of a person who hasn't been home for three weeks isn't a great place to find vegetables.  Neither, necessarily, is our favorite local Mexican restaurant.  And then there's the pick-me 

-up stop at the candy store on the late afternoon drive back home.  I guess I could count the lettuce and tomatoes in the burrito, or maybe the onions in the salsa, but that's a pretty serious stretch.  Let's just call this one a loss and move on tomorrow.  Replenish the groceries, make some soup, and figure out how to teach next week without the computer I seem to have left in the guest room at my mother's house.  Since the other option is, it was stolen from my car at the candy shop, I certainly hope that's what I did with it.

Day 21

Breakfast

apple (1 cup)

banana (1 cup)

Lunch

tomato soup (1 cup)

green salad  (2 cups - 1 cup equivalence)

grilled chicken (2 oz)

carrot chips (1 cup)

hummus

Dinner

sweet potato soup: carrots, onions, celery, sweet potatoes, broth ( 2 cups)

popcorm ( 3 cups) ok, so not a vegetable, but not bad

7 cups

That's lower than I'd like, but I also just didn't eat much overall. The proportions are still heavily skewed to fruits and vegetables.  

The soup came out really well.  I made a big pot to use for lunches throughout the week, but it's not going to last that long, since I had some tonight.

Day 22

Breakfast

apple (1 cup)

banana (1 cup)

Lunch

sweet potato soup (2 cups)

chopped salad (2 cups)

cherry tomatoes (1 cup)

pomegranate dressing 1 TBS

Dinner

chopped salad (2 cups)

cherry tomatoes (1 cup)

roast beef 4 oz ???

crackers

popcorn

toffee

hummus 

pita chips

hot chocolate

10 cups total

Well, I got a lot of vegetables, but way too much of everything else.  I'm so hungry with no idea why or any reason why I should be.  It was a little tense at school, since I left my computer across the state, but I managed to work around it.  I have things I can do for the rest of the week until I can pick it up on the weekend.  Little Dewby didn't get to come home as planned, so I guess I'm upset and worried about that.  It should be soon though, he just needs to grow a little more.  His brothers are here and playing well.  Making kid food for them though, and then eating myself as well, kind of defeats the purpose of the healthy eating all day.

Day 23

Breakfast

apple (1 cup)

banana (1 cup)

Lunch

chopped salad (2 cups)

cherry tomatoes (1 cup)

mandarin oranges (1 cup)

ranch dressing 2 TBS

sweet potato soup (2 cups)

Dinner

chili: tomatoes, beans, hamburger, spices (2 cups - maybe 1 cup vegetables???)

carrots (1 cup)

10 cups total

I've read it takes three weeks to develop a new habit.  I'm just past that now.  By rights, I should wanting nothing else but vegetables by this point.  Unfortunately, until they classify chocolate as a vegetable, that doesn't seem to be happening.  In a sense, I am getting there though I suppose.  It feels very natural to eat just fruit for breakfast and piles of vegetables for lunch.  I don't even really crave snacks that much.  When I do, the bags of carrots are very satisfying.   It's after school that's the problem.  I leave just wanting to eat everything in sight.  More exercise probably is what I need.  I usually don't feel much like eating right after a workout.  I just need to get in the habit of making that happen, even when it's miserable outside.

Day 24

Breakfast

sweet potatoes (1 cup)

apple (1 cup)

banana (1 cup)

carrots (1 cup)

Lunch

vegetable soup (2 cups)

chopped salad (2 cups)

cherry tomatoes (1 cup)

ranch dressing 2 TBS

carrots (1 cup)

10 cups so far

I want to eat my fingers.

I added the sweet potatoes back into breakfast this morning.  I had stopped because I thought they were adding a bunch of calories, but I didn't remember coming home hungry when I was eating them.  I felt good through the morning, and then ate a bag of carrots during break.  Lunch was good.  I ate some more carrots after school while I worked on scanning student papers for our evaluation reports.  And scanned the again because it didn't take.  And scanned them to a different location because it still didn't take.  Maybe frustration causes hunger.  Either way, evaluation report is done, veggies are eaten, and we're going out for dinner.  Hopefully, I'll find at least a few good choices there.  

 Well, I'm not hungry anyway.  It all started out so well.

steak 6 oz
salad: lettuce, mandarin oranges, cranberries, and cheese bites (2 -3 cups - maybe 1 cup equivalence)
sweet potato (1 cup)

Okay, there was the mini loaf of bread and the butter and cinnamon sugar on the sweet potato, but overall at least the bones were healthy.

Then they came by with the desert offer.  We decided on a shared plate.  It looked a reasonable size in the picture.  Surely it would just be a few bites each.
No.  Not exactly.

It was an utterly enormous plate, that we somehow managed to finish almost all of as we compared vacation condo ads and dreamed about summer.

Final count: about 12 cups - as long as chocolate doesn't cancel greens.

Day 25

Breakfast

apple (1 cup)

banana (1 cup)

boiled egg

carrots (1 cup)

Lunch

chopped salad (2 cups)

Ranch dressing 2 TBS

cherry tomatoes (1 cups)

sweet potato soup (2 cups)

boiled egg

Dinner

chicken tortilla soup: tomato base with black beans and corn, very little chicken (2 cups)

bread stick

hummus and pita chips (??? no- already tried that one)

10 cups total

I added the boiled eggs today, hoping the extra protein would help with the hunger.  I think it did some, but I also think it's just January.  It's cold and dreary and carb-craving wintertime.  Maybe there not much to do but try to eat as healthy as possible and wait it out until spring.

Day 26

Breakfast

apple (1 cup)

banana (1 cup)

orange (1 cup)

boiled egg

Lunch

chicken tortilla soup: tomato base with black beans and corn, very little chicken (2 cups)

chopped salad/dressing (2 cups)

Dinner

chopped salad (2 cups)

sweet potato (1 cup)

pita chips/ hummus

10 cups total

Dewby's home.  It was so sweet to see him in tiny baby outfits with no tubes or sensors or beeping machines.  He stretched and wiggled and chewed at his bottle.  He didn't mind who held him, snuggling down in his big brother's arms when the older kids came in for the week.  Five kids they've got over there now, a busy happy place of easy camaraderie ... for the moment at least.

Day 27

Breakfast

apple (1 cup)

banana (1 cup)

orange (1 cup)

toast 2 slices

peanut butter 2 TBS

Lunch

cherry tomatoes (2 cups)

banana (1 cup)

Dinner

chopped salad (2 cups)

tomato soup (2 cups)

pecans

10 cups total

Better than expected really.  It was an odd, rather rudderless day, of nibbling while writing on my conference presentation, then rushing off to a wedding where I expected to wreck the whole day.  I enjoyed hanging around though and talking to friends and never even ended up making it to the buffet line.  We went downtown for the RV show in the evening, another place I expected to find only junk food, but they actually had a really good salad and soup meal.  Only the cinnamon roasted pecans proved to much to ignore.   

Day 28

Breakfast

apple (1 cup)

banana ( cup)

Lunch

salad: lettuce, black beans, corn, tomato (2 cups)

pizza slice - tomato sauce ??? forget it

bread stick

carrots (1 cup)

Dinner

tomato/black bean soup (2 cups)

carrots (1 cup)

8 cups total

Not great.  I have some sweet potatoes in there I cooked earlier and I have apples and oranges.  It's not that there isn't food available I enjoy, I just don't feel hungry.  Even that last bag of baby carrots was pretty well stuffed down because I felt like I needed more.  Interesting.  I hadn't eaten black beans before on this plan, and I had them twice today.  I wonder if they're exceptionally filling?  I guess I'll find out tomorrow since I'm taking the soup for lunch.

That was an interesting conglomeration.  I wanted to try making tomato soup, but I couldn't find the ingredients for any recipe that looked good.  I ended up just putting into the pot whatever I could find.  I had a box of broth, cans of fire roasted tomatoes, the black beans, and some frozen roasted corn.  It was good, but a little bland after simmering for a while, so I threw in some cumin.  How could anything go wrong with cumin?  It was really pretty good, and apparently quite filling.  We'll see what happens tomorrow.

Day 29

Breakfast

sweet potato (1 1/2 cup)

apple (1 cup)

carrots (1 cup)

Lunch

tomato/black bean soup (2 cups)

Dinner

Veggie bowl: Chipotle - rice, black beans, peppers, salsa, corn, lettuce, sour cream, cheese (3 cups?)

oreos - 4

about 8 1/2 cups

I ate most of the rest of the black bean soup for lunch today and also had them on my veggie bowl which I don't normally do.  I really do think they keep me more satisfied.   Tomorrow will be interesting, family activity night with the hot dog supper.  I'm leaving between school and the start of the program to pick up the boys, so hopefully I can find something relatively healthy before I go back.

Day 30

Breakfast

apple (2 cups)

orange (1 cup)

Lunch

chopped salad (2 cups)

cherry tomatoes (1 cup)

dressing 2 TBS

Dinner

Veggie bowl: Chipotle - rice, black beans, peppers, salsa, corn, lettuce, sour cream, cheese (3 cups?)

chips- child's bag

9 cups

30 days, a month more or less.  I have two weeks to go.  Today was easy enough until the evening.  I was glad everyone wanted to go out for Chipotle before family night.  I thought that would mean a good meal and no temptation from the goodies back at school.  It worked as far as the hot dogs.  I don't know that those would have done anything for me anyway, but the cookies were another matter.  I'm still in massive chocolate cravings.  Then taking the boys around we found more cookies at the cookie decorating station.  I should have gone to Exceed's room for the popcorn.  It would at least have some nutritional value.  Oh, well.  It was a fun night, a good time to get the boys out, and a quick snuggle with a sleepy Dewby when I dropped them back off home.  

Day 31

Breakfast

banana (1 cup)

orange (1 cup)

apple (1 cup)

Lunch

chopped salad (2 cups)

cherry tomatoes (1 cup)

Dinner

tortilla soup: broth, tomato, corns, black beans (2 cups)

bread

dark chocolate covered cherries .... yeah, no

8 cups total

My totals are really slipping here, although I'm still eating primarily fruits and vegetables at every meal.  I haven't been eating the bags of carrots lately.  I'm not sure why.  I really like them and they satisfy the late afternoon crunch cravings.  I need to try hard to remember to get them out tomorrow.  They're in the refrigerator at the back of the room.  The chocolate is, unfortunately, in the drawer next to the computer where I input grades.  I need to give the kids the rest of the candy box, not that anything except the chocolate tempts me anyway, and move the carrots over to my desk.  It was icy-messy and starting to snow when I left today, so we'll see what happens tomorrow.  They say it's going to clear soon, but who knows what the roads will be by the morning.

Day 32

Breakfast

apple (2 cups)

banana (1 cup)

orange (1 cup)

Lunch

chopped salad (2 cups)

carrots (1 cup)

cherry tomatoes (2 cups)

Dinner

carrots (1 cup)

hummus

Fajitas: steak, grilled onions peppers, lettuce, pico de gallo, sour cream ( 1 cup or so vegetables)

chips and salsa

around 11 cups

The snow day that wasn't.  I tried not to count on it, I really did.  I knew we weren't getting much and we didn't.  It was pretty messy this morning though.  The windows were iced over and the parking lot was covered with snow.  Most of the kids came anyway.  There was one late bus, and a handful absent.  I didn't hear any complaints of "Why are we here?" though, which was unexpected.  I managed lots of vegetables through the day, but still went home really hungry and topped it off with a payday trip to our favorite Mexican place.  Somehow, I remembered there being a lot more vegetables in those fajitas in the past.

Day 33

Breakfast

banana (1 cup)

orange (1 cup)

apple (1 cup)

Lunch

apple (1 cup)

carrots (1 cup)

orange (1 cup)

Dinner

stir fry vegetables ( 1 cup)

rice 

chicken

hummus/pita chips

Only 7 cups and really heavy on fruit instead of vegetables.  I bought a can a vegetable soup, but it didn't look that great in the store last night.  After I forgot it in the car this morning, it didn't even feel worth the effort to go back after.  I just scrounged what I had at school.   I've got to make some more homemade soups this weekend.  They really make it easy to get a good amount during the day.  Weekend dinners just aren't ever going to go that well, although I really did expect more vegetables in the stir fry.

Day 34

Breakfast

toast 2 slices

apples (2 cups)

orange (1 cup)

Lunch

carrots (3 cups)

Dinner

bread

corn fritters

salad: greens, strawberries, grapes, chicken, cheese (3 cups)

9 cups more or less

It was an unbelievably gorgeous day, especially for early February.  I was outside a good part of it.  I walked the bike trail at the river and looked over the new section.  It looks like they're working on it again.  I hope it's open for spring.  I went to the state park next and hiked up to the top of the cliff to the river overlook.  Bags of baby carrots were my main sustenance until we went out to dinner tonight.

Day 35

Breakfast

apple (1 cup)
orange (1 cup)

Lunch

melted brie with cranberries and almonds
baked potato soup (1 cup - pushing it I know)
roast beef sandwich: meat, lettuce, tomato, peppers, cheese (1 cup combined toppings)
banana crepe:  no, just no
chocolate coffee: completely amazing - pretty sure chocolate is not a vegetable

Dinner

not even remotely hungry

so 4 cups at best and that's a serious stretch.  

It was another incredible winter weekend day.  A day for an afternoon walk and lunch on a restaurant patio in the sunshine.   Tomorrow is back to work, back to winter cold, and back to thick, chunky, homemade soup cooling in kitchen right now.  

Day 36

Breakfast

apple (1 cup)
banana (1 cup)
orange (1 cup)

Lunch

vegetable soup (2 cups)
carrots (1 cup)

Dinner

chopped salad (3 cups)
dressing
shredded beef roast
bread/butter

chocolate toffee
oatmeal raisin cookies

9 cups total

It was hard to go back to work and back to winter today.  The temperatures plunged back into the thirties after that gorgeous weekend.  It's cold weather carb-craving again, with too much chocolate in the house and cookies set out at a frustrating work meeting.  I'm in the last of my 6 week challenge.  I'll need focus to finish it strong especially with a Valentine's Day trip this weekend.  

Day 37

Breakfast

toast- 1 slice
peanut butter 1 TBS
apple (1 cup)
banana (1 cup)
orange (1 cup)

Lunch

vegetable soup (2 cups)
carrots (1 cup)
crackers

Dinner

vegetable soup (2 1/2 cups)
watermelon (1 1/2 cups)
cheese bread 

10 cups total

I was desperate for a taste of spring when I saw the watermelon cubes.  It didn't exactly taste like spring.  They weren't bad, especially for the time of year, but they're just not going to taste like they just left a hot, sunny, field when they probably came from a greenhouse.  I tried adding some other foods today, peanut butter at breakfast and cheese with dinner to off-set some of the evening cravings.  I feel stuffed right now, so we'll see how far that goes.  

Day 38

Breakfast

apple (1 cup)

banana (1 cup)

orange (1 cup)

carrots (1 cup)

fruit cup (1 cup)

banana bread 1/2 slice

Lunch

tossed salad (2 cups)

dressing 2 TBS

pasta 1/2 cup

carrots (2 cups)

cake 1 piece

Dinner

chopped salad (3 cups)

hot chocolate

12 cups total

Not bad, especially on a day I thought would be really difficult to manage.  I was in a workshop all day, where breakfast and lunch were provided.  It could have just as easily been doughnuts and pizza, so I ate lots of fruits before I left and took three bags of carrots with me.  The breakfast had a good selection of fruit though, and there was a big salad bowl and lunch, so I really got in some pretty good food.  Four more days to meet my six week goal, so we'll see how the rest of the week goes.

Day 39

Breakfast

sweet potato (1 cup)
apple (1 cup)
pecans
carrots (1 cup)
orange (1 cup)
cherry tomatoes (1 cup)

Lunch

vegetable soup (2 cups)
carrots (1 cup)

Dinner

chopped salad (3 cups)
hot chocolate
popcorn

11 cups total

Breakfast looks completely ridiculous when I type it all out, but some of that is really during morning break.  It does help, though.  I don't feel particularly hungry in the early afternoon.  The soup and a bag of carrots are fine.  Of course, having one class between planning period and lunch, I certainly shouldn't be that hungry.  By the time I go home, I am.  The salad was good though, and bag of popcorn and a hot chocolate with a book felt like a treat. 

Day 40

Breakfast

apple (1 cup)

sweet potato (1 cup)

orange (1 cup)

Lunch

carrots (2 cups)

cherry tomatoes (2 cups)

chopped salad (3 cups)

Dinner

orange (1 cup)

salad (2 cups)

chicken strips

13 cups total

A day I thought would be impossible to manage actually turned out higher than I've gotten in awhile. I took a lot with me, knowing we were having the carry-in dinner at school this afternoon, and ended up not really being interested in it at all.  Even the first leg of the weekend trip went well.  We stopped at Cracker Barrel instead of a fast food place and they had a really good salad with lots of different vegetables and a little bit of chicken.  

Day 41

Breakfast

apple (2 cups)

orange (1 cup)

Lunch

banana (1 cup)

chipotle veggie bowl (2 cups)

chocolate pretzels: 2 mini

Dinner

cheese sticks/sauce
pizza: tomatoes, pineapple, cheese - (1 cup pineapple and tomato??? seriously pushing it)
toffee

6 1/2 - 7 cups total

Well, I started off well.  There wasn't much at the hotel breakfast, but I did find some apples and oranges, so I was happy with that.  I had a banana on the road and Chipotle for lunch, which gave me a good amount of vegetables.  Then there was dinner.  I hadn't had pizza in ages, and our daughter took us to a wonderful little family-owned place near her school.   We'd walked all day in gorgeous spring like weather on bike trails and historical sites in Little Rock.  The pizza just fit, and tasted amazing, and I still made a reasonable count through the early part of the day.

Day 42

Breakfast

apple (2 cups)

banana (1 cup)

oatmeal

raisins (1/4 cup - 1/2 cup equivalence)

orange juice (1 cup - 1/2 cup equivalence )

Lunch

pumpkin soup (2 cups)

chopped salad (1 cup)

bread

Dinner

grilled chicken salad: lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, chicken (about 3 cups equivalence)

10 cups total

And the quest is done.  6 weeks eating primarily vegetables.  It turned out to really hard to figure out 50% of a meal, so trying for at least 3 cups per meal with extra where I could fit is in seemed to work the best.

Several discoveries over the last six weeks:

I miss rice, oatmeal, and yogurt
I really like black beans
Homemade soup makes the canned stuff inedible
Sweet potatoes are an amazing breakfast food