My Diet History

I wanted to write about myself and veganism/ vegetarianism/ other dietary choices I have made. Over the course of my growing-up as a foodie (which I am by no means done with) I have had various bouts and forays into the meatless and dairyless cuisines. Sometimes it was out of necessity, sometimes accidental and sometimes deliberate. My conclusion was, in the end, that very little less than a truly omnivorous diet is sustainable for me.

Towards the middle of high school, I made an ethical decision to seriously cut back on the amount of red meat I consumed. This meant no hamburgers, abstaining when my family had steak, and while not a true red meat, avoiding pork all together. I ate chicken and fish. Mostly chicken. Or I ate vegetarian. I think this might be where my love affair with cheese-as-a-protein began, as well as my forays into tofu and eggs-as-not-breakfast. I ate like this for 3 years. I would cave and have a cheeseburger from In-n-Out about once every 6 months, but for the most part, I never ate cow or pig.

In terms of body shape, during this time I was the skinniest I have ever been, but I think it was because of other factors. I was exercising regularly (bi-weekly yoga class, during school hours) and I was also skipping meals. I recently read a journal entry of mine from either junior or senior year where I had purchased a chocolate muffin as my only lunch (and then proceeded to pocket it for later maybe), but a friend went and got me sushi, and then I wasn't hungry at dinner time and so I skipped dinner. I probably didn't have breakfast that day either. Thinking about the way I sometimes ate in high school leaves me wondering if my friends were secretly concerned. I was on a pretty harsh medication at the time (Acutane, for systemic acne. This is the acne drug that frequently causes depression) and I think that may have affected a whole lot of the way I was behaving and eating.

Eventually, I started having awful cravings whenever steak appeared. It just smelled and looked so good! So I would have a piece or 2. You know how sometimes certain foods just taste like your body needs them? Like they're nourishing you in a new way that you had been missing. That was the way I felt about steak. I still feel this way occasionally. There are vitamins in steak that my body does not get any other way. So I went back to eating the way my family did.... when I was with my family.

At this point I was in college, and eating at the buffet-style cafeteria every night. Meat was generally untrustworthy. It was occasionally good, but for the most part, I stayed away. I ate vegetarian on weekdays. Steamed vegetables, salad, tofu, cheese. The occasional slice of pizza, chocolate milk. Potatoes and pasta. I would often eat chicken or seafood on saturdays when we went out to eat, but for the most part my diet was meatless.

Needless to say, since I've already said it on this blog, all that pasta and potatoes got to me. I gained weight like crazy. I was not really eating the right things for my body, though I wasn't particularly aware of it at the time. I knew I needed protein, but I grabbed fatty proteins that were then partnered with either sugar or massive amounts of heavy carbs. I wasn't eating what I will call a "clean-diet."

Towards the end of my college career, I took note of how much weight I had gained. I was unhappy, so I tried to change things. The summer before my senior year I went on the South Beach Diet with both of my parents. I lost 15 pounds because all I ate was clean protein and vegetables, with relatively limited dairy. Towards the end of this, I had been contemplating veganism. My thought process was that I would lose a lot of weight if all I ate was salad. There is, of course, much more to veganism than salad. Vegans rely on starches to complete their proteins. It's a necessary part of their diet to have both the beans and the rice. But I had learned at school (though not in class) that a diet of veggies and starch didn't work for me. Also, my love affair with cheese was in the way. I thought about it, but I realized that I would give up many things I love for a lifestyle that may not work the way I want, and that would in the end become a chore rather than a tasty new way of living. I couldn't go vegan, and so I had to find another way.

The South Beach diet did work for me, but it was very restrictive. While there are plenty of things you can make, it is both carb counting and calorie counting, to some extent. I found myself hungry nearly all the time. And while I could snack, the snacks were difficult for me to prepare and bring to work. Nothing is easier to snack on than free goldfish and pretzels. Celery sticks and ricotta, or lunchmeat roll ups left me feeling somewhat lacking for the amount of work put into their preparation. And so I caved, and dropped the diet.

At first I maintained the weight loss. When I first returned to college, I managed to eat right for the most part. Then the financial drain and the constant presence of pizza began to take its toll. It was cheaper for me to sneak into the cafeteria, and to eat the pizza that my friends bought, than to take the time and money to buy vegetables and clean proteins for myself. The diet fell apart, and I re-inflated.

This brings us to the time already accounted for on this blog, between graduation and now.

My dieting in January and February was mildly successful. My weight has somewhat come back since, but I haven't gained it all back, and with a little bit of effort it goes down again. I was having a discussion with a friend the other day about weight gain (as she has had some problems with it) and she mentioned that the hormones in birth control during the first couple months could be part of the problem. I restarted BC in December; making January and February months 2 and 3. The tough ones. Now that I have been on it for longer and my body is more used to it, I should be able to get over the weight loss roadblocks.

The plan ahead is low-carb, but delicious I am sure.



I will post apartment photos as soon as I have the chance to tidy up and take them.

Enchilada Chicken

Well,  all of my things (or, all of the things I use plus a lot I don't) are inside the walls of my new apartment. I would say they're about 1/2 organized at this point. We still have a wall full of boxes. So, since I know I haven't been posting much, and I know that I won't be able to show pictures of my new place until at least later this week if not next, I figured I would give you guys a recipe.

I made this up after reading a few suggestions for low-carb chicken meals. It's super simple.

Ingredients:
Chicken Breasts (I use frozen, but you could use raw)
Chili Powder
1/2 can of Enchilada Sauce (I use red, but you could use green if you wanted)
Monterey Jack Cheese

My measurements are not precise when I make this and so I won't attempt to guess what they are on here.

Step 1:
Preheat oven to 375 and place your chicken breasts in a baking dish. I usually cook 4 frozen chicken breasts at a time. If you are using raw chicken breasts, skip to step 2 here, because you don't need to thaw. For those using frozen, stick the chicken into the oven for about 10 minutes. This will get it to thaw a bit so the spice in step 2 will take.

Step 2:
Dust the chicken with chili powder on both sides. If you're cooking from frozen, leave the chicken flipped, rather than returning it to it's original side. I'm never very exacting with this. Just dust some on, it doesn't have to be evenly coated but be generous. Stick the chicken back into the oven for 15 minutes.

Step 3:
The chicken should be completely white on the outside, for both frozen and raw, and the frozen chicken should have let out a bit of water. If you have a lot of water in your dish, I suggest draining it a little, but if there's only a little bit, don't worry too much about it. Shake and open your can of enchilada sauce. Pour  half of the can over your chicken, focusing on coating the chicken and not so much on filling the pan. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

Step 4:
Add a slice of Monterey Jack (or whatever other cheese you like) to the top of each piece of chicken. Bake for another 10 minutes. While that's cooking, make your side dish. I sauteed some frozen vegetables with olive oil and garlic powder for this meal.

Step 5:
Remove chicken from the oven and serve! Jon likes to add the extra enchilada sauce from the pan over his chicken.

The resulting foods should be moist and delicious!

I hope this will hold you all over until I have apartment photos to post, and let me know in the comments if you have any questions! (Yes those are our new plates on our new counters!)

Moving on Saturday

We signed the lease yesterday. We move on Saturday, a journey that will begin at my parent's house in Novato, stop by the current place in SF, and then end with me, Jon and my father moving all of the things out of the truck and into the apartment. I have never been so excited about something that's kind of a chore.

Seriously. I'm enthusiastic about packing up things. I want to start right now. I want to be home, with a box on the floor, emptying the bookshelf.

I have spent the week staring at DIY projects for wall decorations and other home-y things. I want to be able to do them RIGHT NOW. But I can't, because we haven't moved yet. I have a building enthusiasm for being home and making a home.

Unfortunately, the side effect of this is that it makes being at work nigh unbearably boring. I have nothing to do and I am not really of value (HECK, I'M BLOGGING) so... what's the point in me being here when I could be home doing cool things? I think this will only get worse... oh dear. Solutions for making a crappy job less crappy?

Pictures and such will be posted once we're settled (probably some time next week).

I absolutely can't wait to be moved in! Check out my pinterest (link above) to see the things I have planned.

I has a place!

Apartment obtained! It's a pretty large (670 sq. ft.) one bedroom with a big living room, a kitchen and it's in an apartment complex with a pool :)

I sense swimming, cooking and having people over for me all summer. I'm looking forward to it.

Step one is nearer to complete!

1) Be Happy at Home

This is the order in which I will achieve happiness and get out of this "My life sucks and there's not much I can do" rut that I am currently in.

1) Be happy at home
2) Be happy with myself
3) Be happy with what I do

Right now, I am not happy with or in any of those places.

1) I am displeased with my living situation for a large number of reasons, most regarding that I live with my boyfriend in a 15 by 8 foot room in a house with 6 other people who don't know me at all. I love living with Jon (we have somewhat similar living styles) but the rest of it is awful.


2) For reasons already expounded in this blog I am sure, I am unhappy with my body. I feel chubby, am definitely 40lbs overweight and have semiconstant acne. It sucks.

3) I will not explain right now all the things that bother me about my work, but I am sure I will get there eventually.

I am going to tackle these in order. First I am going to tackle my housing problem. Those who have been reading this blog know that I have been mentioning moving since the middle of January. No, we have not moved yet. This is our definite last month in our current place. These are the things I eventually want out of my new home. These outline my goals so that I can 1) Be happy at home.

I want a cat (eventually).

I want to be able to separate entertainment and bedtime.

I want a living room I can invite friends to.

I want to be able to go to bed at 11 and not have to plug my ears because of loud talking or music.

I want to relax when I get home. I want my home to be a retreat: peaceful, comfortable; not chaotic and tense.

I want everyone in my home to care about my needs. And therefore I want the only people in my home to be my friends and loved ones.

I want to be able to control the way my home looks and feels, and not be burdened by the design choices of others. I want a space larger than 15 by 8 to play with.

I want my home to be clean, except when it is messy by choice. I want there to be enough space in my home that if it is messy, you don't trip over the mess.

I want to be able to arrive home and have something to do. I want to have space for a hobby. I don't know what that hobby will be, but I want room for it. Right now, even if I had a hobby, there is no space for the things, and no space to execute it.

I want to be able to go to the kitchen whenever I am hungry, rather than waiting until I think there is no one there. I do not want to avoid parts of my home.

I want my home to have a rust-free cleaned-when-I-think-it-needs-cleaning-no-sooner-no-later bathroom with only my things/ Jon's things on the shelves.

I want my things to have homes in my home. Not ragtag this-goes-here-because-theres-nowhere-else-to-put-it homes.

I want a refrigerator I can put my magnets on. I want a refrigerator filled with my food and thats it. No assigned shelves, I can put things where they belong.

I want to finally be able to make that spice rack that Alton Brown has, and use it.

I want a home that's impeccably organized, because it started that way.

I want my things to match. Matching linens, matching furniture, matching colors. I want my home to be well designed and look nice.

I want a place to call my own, my house, my apartment, my bathroom, my kitchen. I want things my way in this space, and no one to challenge that.

It frustrates me that I don't have these things. I hope to have them soon. I'm waiting for the phone to ring and someone to tell me "Yes, you can have this apartment that you looked at, please move in ASAP!"

I'm waiting for that call, waiting for that space, waiting for the moment when all is right with at least one part of my world. As soon as I achieve that, the first, easiest, most important thing, then and only then can I truly turn to the other problems in my life. And trust me, this weight business is first on the list.

I'll write again with a progress report on housing next week.