I'm feeling much more positive today. For one thing, I survived my fast. I was weighed at the doctor and I'm losing weight, which certainly provides motivation. My doctor was intrigued by the VB6 diet and is going to get the book to check it out. And while I still haven't decided whether I want to stick to VB6 long-term, I did stop at Whole Foods on the way home to buy some oat milk because the only breakfast I could contemplate preparing in my fast-induced delirium was cereal. So I had cereal with oat milk on it and a banana, which is a kosher, if lazy, breakfast on VB6.
Then for lunch I decided I'd have some leftover rice and beans, and then on a whim thought I'd add salad to that, and that's when my mood seriously improved. I went out to the garden and picked a generous handful of greens including a few leaves of mint and some sage, and I tossed it into a bowl with some carrot and cucumber and a few olives and some dressing. It was heavenly. The greens are so fresh and the herbs add some interest to the bowl.
If every day was a day off, I'd eat like this all the time. I used to eat like this when the Kid was home. I'd make her something interesting and then she'd take a nap and I'd make something interesting for myself. It's part of the reason I love growing edibles in my garden. I threw seeds into the ground and now I've got a huge patch of greens that I can just eat from every day. Soon the berries will be in and I'll have both strawberries and raspberries to snack on. And the herbs are inspiring.
I did look up my hunger problem and Bittman recommends snacking all day long on fresh fruits and vegetables and on nuts. So I've got to get more snacks to carry around. Sunday we'll go to the farmer's market and I'll stock up on some goodies and that will help, too. And if some fresh mozzarella falls into my car, I can eat that for dinner!
As with most diets, the most important part of this one is to shop well. Hopper isn't terribly creative with weekday cooking--he wants to make something easy (which is understandable) and he grew up with what Bittman calls the SAD (Standard American Diet) so he tends toward making more meat and fewer veggies. Hopefully we can get our diet into a better balance if we work together. If I make a nice veggie soup each week and we keep growing veggies it should help. Then Hopper can just make whatever he wants, but heat up the soup and throw a salad together and we'll have good, healthy dinners. And if we prep more veggies when we get home from the farmer's market, we'll have snacks ready to hand.
Ooh! And the summer fruits come in soon. Yum.
I'm glad you had a better day. My favorite breakfast is Quinoa with oatmeal and dried cranberries. You can sweeten with maple syrup too, but I mix mine with yogurt, so its sweet enough. I know the yogurt isn't vegan, but you could try it with the oat milk. It's a full protein and very filling way to start the day.
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