As you will see in this week’s daily food journal entries, I was tested, but able to stay strong and plan ahead. Social functions are where I struggle mightily! My husband and I had not one, but two banquets to attend in one week and guess what they were BOTH serving?
Hint: This is Texas.
Answer: BBQ
Yup, not a single thing that was whole food plant based. Not even green beans, although they probably would have had bacon or ham in it if they did.
Nutritarian Tip: Eat ahead of time
Luckily, BBQ isn’t something I really get excited about eating, so I happily ate ahead of time. I sipped on unsweet tea while I was there so I would have something to “do” while everyone else was eating.
The second banquet had a few baked potatoes for the “vegetarian” or “gluten-free” meals, so I did snag one of those and just put a little pepper and salt on it.
I’m super proud of myself because, I normally would have not eaten beforehand and would have “tried” to eat the best I could. Which usually fails miserably. So score for making the choice to eat ahead!
Mexican food is my krytonite
Mexican food on the other hand is a weakness I haven’t yet mastered, although I’m starting to find more and more good choices at many places like veggie fajitas. However, the spinach enchiladas at On the Border are hard to pass up, but they do have a cream sauce on them. They are like my kryptonite.
My favorite vegan restaurant for Mother’s Day
My other love is Spiral Diner Bakery in Fort Worth, Texas. This is where I chose to go for Mother’s Day. There are a few other locations in this area – Denton & Dallas. I highly recommend it! Every time I go I usually get the Ultimate Nachos. Which is MOSTLY whole food plant based, except the chips have oil in them. I do ask no vegan sour cream, which is most likely oil based. The nacho cheese sauce however is a house-made cashew based sauce and delicious! The Ultimate Nachos is HUGE and I never finish even half of it, but so delicious.
All in all, even with the cream sauce on the enchiladas and tortillas chips, I was able to stay over 90% whole food plant based throughout the week, which is always my goal! I find that keeping this daily food journal helps me to see what I have eaten and make the best choices as possible most of the time. Plus I like seeing all the healthy foods I’m eating so it’s like positive reinforcement!
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Repetition is the key to success on a plant-based diet
You’ll also notice that I ate A LOT of the same thing this week – Red Lentil Curry Soup, Instant Pot Turnip Greens & Turnips, and Brown Basmati Rice. I find that repetition & left overs work really well for me, especially when I find something delicious I love! It helps me save time and not feel like I have to be cooking constantly. I love making a big pot of soup for the week and several servings of brown rice to make meals with. In addition to having vegetables & fruits prepped, that is my meal prep secret!
Want to check out my Eat to Live journey from the beginning? Click here for Week 1 daily food journal where it all began.
Eat to Live Daily Food Journal – Week 18
Day 120: 147.7 pounds to start
- Breakfast – Everything Bagel Avocado Toast topped w/Arugula, berries, coffee w/unsweetened Almond milk
- Lunch – Curry Red Lentil Soup, Instant Pot Turnip Greens, & basmati brown rice
- Dinner – Curry Red Lentil Soup, Tofu Marinara (had a banquet this night, but ate before I went. They served BBQ and I just sipped on unsweet tea)
Day 121:
- Breakfast – 2 Everything Bagel Avocado Toast topped w/Arugula, berries, coffee w/unsweetened Almond milk
- Lunch – Curry Red Lentil Soup, Instant Pot Turnip Greens, & basmati brown rice
- Dinner – On the Border – Spinach enchiladas w/verde sauce, cilantro lime rice, black beans, 2 watermelon margaritas
Day 122:
- Breakfast – Everything Bagel Avocado Toast topped w/Arugula, coffee w/unsweetened Almond milk
- Lunch – Curry Red Lentil Soup, Instant Pot Turnip Greens, & basmati brown rice
- Dinner – Curry Red Lentil Soup, Instant Pot Turnip Greens, & basmati brown rice, baked potato (had another banquet this night, but ate before I went. They served BBQ and I just sipped on unsweet tea and had a plain baked potato….geez with the BBQ at banquets….oh yeah, this is Texas)
Day 123:
- Breakfast –Everything Bagel Avocado Toast topped w/Arugula, raspberries & blackberries, coffee w/unsweetened Almond milk
Lunch – Spiral Diner in Fort Worth – my favorite vegan restaurant – Ultimate Nachos, no vegan sour cream (tortilla chips, black beans, quinoa, guacamole, jalapenos, green onions, cashew nacho cheese)
Dinner – Not hungry after big lunch, just had a peanut butter & smushed blueberries sandwich on whole grain bread
Day 124: Mother’s Day!!!
- Breakfast – Still not hungry! coffee w/unsweetened Almond milk
Lunch – Whole grain tortilla veggie wrap w/ tangy no-oil hummus, spinach, arugula, broccoli, onion, bell peppers, sweet peppers, left over BBQ Jackfruit, balsamic glaze; Instant Pot Turnip Greens & Turnips
Dinner – Lentil Loaf, Italian Cashew Creamed Kale, corn, roasted potatoes
Day 125:
- Breakfast –Everything Bagel Avocado Toast topped w/Arugula, coffee w/unsweetened Almond milk
- Lunch – Vegan sushi from Kroger – carrots, cucumber, avocado, rice, seaweed wrap, soy sauce, wasabi
- Dinner – Lentil Loaf, Italian Cashew Creamed Kale, basmati brown rice
Day 126:
- Breakfast – Everything Bagel Avocado Toast topped w/Arugula, coffee w/unsweetened Almond milk
- Lunch – Burrito Bowl – Arugula, spinach, brown rice, chickpeas, onion, bell peppers, sweet peppers, cashew queso cheese sauce
- Dinner – Tofu Marinara Fingers, basmati brown rice, Taco Bean Soup
My weight loss on the nutritarian diet this week:
- Starting weight this week – 147.7 lbs
- Ending weight this week – 147.3 lbs
- Weight loss these 2 weeks – 0.4 lbs
- Total weight loss so far – 16.7 lbs
So after losing a lot of weight the last 2 weeks, I think I’m back to a more normal pace of about half a pound. I wish it was more, but I have to remind myself it is normal! Plus, I did do a little bit of strength training this week (I want more toned arms…) so maybe I gained some muscle??? Muscle weighs more than fat right???
Related reading – Continue following my journey with Week 19.
How are you doing on your Eat to Live or whole food plant based journey? Comment below!
How would you do the Turnip GreensAnd Turnip Soup on the stove top? I don’t have an instant pot. ?. Also, where can I find your ecipe for Curry Red Lentil Soup? Thank you- I love your posts!
Gosh I’ve never made the turnip greens or turnips without a pressure cooker. The greens wouldn’t take long to saute/steam in 1/2 cup of veggie broth in a pot. The turnips might could be steamed in a covered dish, but make sure to cut them up in small pieces. They are like potatoes and carrots so probably any way you cook a potato or carrots. Do you have a slow cooker? You could take the instant pot recipe & just put everything in a slow cooker & cook on low for 6-8 hours to get really good flavor. Thanks so much for the compliment! I’m getting the red lentil soup ready to post and should be done today or tomorrow! It’s so good!!!