Day 5

Today didn't go quite as planned.

This morning's menu included a Breakfast Burrito, which I made along with (what was supposed to be yesterday's) a Mango Spice Smoothie. The burrito was filled with fried potato, onion, and kale, and it was quite bland. Perhaps some pico de gallo could liven it up a bit? The smoothie has the word "spice" in the name because it literally included a hot pepper. It wasn't bad, but it isn't a flavor combination that I will be using again.

Potato & Kale Breakfast Burrito

I had a lab for my Fisheries class today which didn't get out until almost evening. That, plus the fact that breakfast was very filling, contributed to the fact that I didn't have lunch today. I was actually supposed to go shopping yesterday but didn't have the time, so I didn't really have the ingredients for today's recipes anyways. I ended up going to Kroger's, but forgot to get something for tonight so I just ended up eating odds and ends like toast and hummus with cucumber. I decided to try some rather expensive vegan dark chocolate sandwich cookies from the store, which turned out to taste wonderful and made an excellent impromptu dessert.

So, sorry for the slacking--I promise to be more on track with the meal plan tomorrow!

To be honest, I'm getting a little sick of the Latin flavors. I feel like I'm getting mostly the same variations of rice and beans with salsa, and am getting bored with it. What I really want are some good Asian flavors. Where is my morning bowl of miso? There are quite a few of these types of recipes later on in the book, so I briefly considered switching around some days. I decided to be patient and just wait it out, however. I'll be happy to delve into some curry, ginger, mushroom, and rich umami flavors in a few weeks.

Due to the fact that I don't own a scale, I thought I would keep track of weight loss by taking measurements, which I recorded on day three. My reading for today asked me not to do that, so I headed out after class to purchase a bathroom scale. While testing it out in the kitchen when I returned home it read 252.8 pounds. I'm normally about 255. I'd say that 2.2 pounds in five days aren't too bad of results! I'll be weighing myself every Sunday and measuring progress that way. This is starting to get exciting!

Day 1

Blacksburg has a lovely farmers' market Saturday mornings and Wednesday evenings, and I fortunate enough to be able to go this morning and start my shopping for the week. I've got to go to Krogers still to get my dry ingredients and a few out-of-season fruits that were on the meal plan. I'm not quite sure how this is going to work out financially yet, but I'll keep you posted about that as well.

I spent $33 at the market this morning (minus the two dollars in the tip jar of a wonderfully talented guitarist) and walked away with a bunch of herbs, several onions, some rather pricey garlic, a watermelon, and bunch of other green produce. Oh, and a 40 ounce $8 package of organic, home-made sundried tomatoes. These should last a while, and I would consider them more of a treat to use in special recipes.

Here is tomorrow's menu:


Breakfast
Mango Lime Pancakes with maple syrup (recipe)
Fresh Strawberries

Lunch
Blue Corn Chip Salad (recipe)
Sliced watermelon drizzled with lime juice

Dinner
Fettuccine with Grilled Asparagus, Peas, and Lemon (recipe)
Caldo Verde (recipe)
Pears in Balsamic Glaze (recipe)


I am buying for meals throughout Wednesday, and the cool thing is that since I am cooking small portions I can use half of an ingredient I buy for a recipe later in the week. I wish the book would have provided a shopping list as well, but it isn't a big deal to figure it out on my own. Except for the beans... Every single day I think I am eating beans, which isn't bad--I'm just not used to it. In four days I am scheduled to eat 72 ounces of beans, which is roughly half a gallon or two pounds of cooked beans. Holy crap!

I am going to prep a little tonight and a lot tomorrow in order to get things started for the week. Get ready for lots and lots of photos.