Going Plant Strong

MEALS



For the last week or so, I've been aiming to get 80% of my food from plants. The other 20% consists mostly of healthy fats, protein, whole grains, and TREATS (it is halloween season after all - mini chocolate bars, anyone?). A registered dietician I talked to calls this a "plant strong diet", with plants including vegetables and fruit. Although I don't love vegetables, it's not as hard as I thought it would be. I'm certainly not eating 80% plant strong every day, but I'm making an excellent effort.




Here are some examples of very easy plant-strong meals and snacks I've been eating:



-Lots of fruit (no different from usual, as I love fruit)

-Small portions of nuts and dried fruit (a.k.a. trail mix)

-Vegetable wraps - I put carrots, cucumbers, spinach, avocado, and hummus or another dip on a whole wheat wrap

-Vegetable soup - Yup, from a can...I know homemade would be better, but I haven't gotten around to making it yet

-Baggies of carrots and snap peas - awesome to mindlessly eat while in class or studying

-Roasted veggies - I coat with olive oil and various spices to roast brussel sprouts, squash, broccoli, and mushrooms

-Veggie fries - I cut up sweet potatoes and parsnips, coat with olive oil and cayenne or garlic, and roast. Pretty good dipped in ketchup. No where near as good as real french fries...let's be serious.

-Green monsters - smoothie with spinach blended in

-Salad - obvious, and blah. But easy.



It's a little expensive to eat so much produce, but it's all in the name of health! I feel strong and heathy. Although in the spirit of keeping it real, I'd rather be eating pizza and candy all day, every day. No one's ever going to convince me that a vegetable is "delicious". They're just alright.



And, keep in mind that although veggies and fruit seem like "diet foods", I'm not intending to lose weight with this method of eating. With the addition of healthy fats and protein (and 10 mini mars bars a day...kidding?), I am actually eating a lot of food each day and fuelling myself properly to maintain a healthy weight.



MOVES



I've joined my schools triathlon training club! It's open to triathletes of all abilities, and we meet twice a week. Mondays are track workouts, and Wednesdays are brick days - indoor cycling and then track workouts. Swimming is separate, through the masters swim club. I'm not joining the swimming potion right now, so I'll just continue to swim on my own once a week.



We had our first meeting tonight, and it was so.much.fun. to train in a group setting! I think that's what I may be missing with running. I always run by myself, which is quite boring. I'm going to look into more group runs in the community and try and get involved with those and see if that changes my current feelings towards running. I did feel a little bit sad to be one of the slower runners in the triathlon group. I have to constantly remind myself to just focus on myself.



MEDICINE

I am glad neuroanatomy is almost over. The end.
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