Mark's Daily Menu

[Mark Cooper]

8 August 2018

1st Meal
Carrots, celery. Oat Groats with blueberries, pineapple, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon.

2nd Meal
Carrots, celery. Salad - lettuce, cucumber, tomato, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash. Simple Veggie Soup. Russet Potato, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash.

3rd Meal
Carrots, celery. Salad - lettuce, cucumber, tomato, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash. International Confetti Rice, Broccoli, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash.

Today's meals felt like they went perfectly! I was always satiated, never stuffed. The Oat Groats are a great change for breakfast, I think I'll be getting more after the big batch I made runs out. I think this was also the first day in August I was able to stick to the MWL recommendation of limiting fruit to 2 servings, so this feels like a real success.

[Idgie]

Way to go, Mark!!

[Mark Cooper]

9 August 2018

1st Meal
Carrots, celery, tomato. Oat Groats with strawberries, pineapple, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon.

2nd Meal
Carrots, celery, tomato. Salad - lettuce, cucumber, tomato, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash. Simple Veggie Soup. Russet Potato, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash.

3rd Meal
Carrots, celery. Corn, mixed Asian Vegetables, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash.

Today felt good, satiated and still comfortable. Oat Groats have really been working out, and today was another day of successfully keeping fruit to 2 servings. I feel like I'm starting to settle into a groove and get the cramming/over-stuffing under control.

[Spiral]

9 August 2018

1st Meal
Carrots, celery, tomato. Oat Groats with strawberries, pineapple, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon.

2nd Meal
Carrots, celery, tomato. Salad - lettuce, cucumber, tomato, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash. Simple Veggie Soup. Russet Potato, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash.

3rd Meal
Carrots, celery. Corn, mixed Asian Vegetables, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash.

Today felt good, satiated and still comfortable. Oat Groats have really been working out, and today was another day of successfully keeping fruit to 2 servings. I feel like I'm starting to settle into a groove and get the cramming/over-stuffing under control.

Based on a quick glance at your food diaries over the past several days, it looks like you do a 50-50 split between starch and non-starch. Is it pretty easy for you? Do you have to do a lot of chopping? Are you in the groove? I might have to copy some of your ideas for meals.

[VegSeekingFit]

9 August 2018

Today felt good, satiated and still comfortable. Oat Groats have really been working out, and today was another day of successfully keeping fruit to 2 servings. I feel like I'm starting to settle into a groove and get the cramming/over-stuffing under control.

Congratulation on finding a groove!!! Your meals sound good!! I also struggle with limiting fruit to 2 / day. Love fruit...

[Mark Cooper]

Hi Spiral!

I try to follow a 50/50 split as much as possible, I actually really love eating raw carrots and celery and basic salads, so it is actually pretty easy for me. Typically, I will chop a bunch of carrots and celery into nice size sticks when I have some time and keep them in the fridge (covered in water if I cut a lot of them). I usually tear up a big head of lettuce twice a week and keep it in my salad spinner in the fridge and it seems to last well. I prefer my cucumber and tomato and lemon fresh, so I do usually cut those each time I eat them and add them to my plate, which just takes a minute. If there is a good sale at one of the grocery stores I frequent, then sometimes I will buy baby carrots, cherry tomato, celery sticks, etc - no chopping required!

It took some time, but I feel like I'm really settling into a deep groove - I'm VERY active with exercise / athletics so it has been a bit of a balancing act between wanting to get my BMI down to 19 and making sure I have enough calories to not feel a lack of energy. Oat groats have really been working out, and adding a basic veggie soup daily (basically similar to Jeff's Longevity soup) has been a real game changer for me in terms of satiety. Getting my fruit consumption / bit of a sweet tooth under control was definitely the biggest hurdle.

[Mark Cooper]

Thank you so much for the congratulations, VegSeekingFit! It was really tough for me, fruits of all kinds are probably my absolute FAVORITE thing to eat, so 2 servings a day feels really different - but good!

[Mark Cooper]

10 August 2018

1st Meal
Carrots, celery, tomato. Oat Groats with strawberries, pineapple, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon.

2nd Meal
Carrots, celery. Salad - lettuce, cucumber, tomato, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash. Simple Veggie Soup. Russet Potato, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash.

3rd Meal
Carrots, celery. Salad - lettuce, tomato, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash. Broccoli-Potato White Bean Soup, Green Beans, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash.

Recipe link for Broccoli-Potato White Bean Soup
http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2016/01/broccoli-potato-white-bean-soup.html

Another day with only 2 servings of fruit! I feel like I'm settled in and things are starting to become automatic, definitely going to be getting more Oat Groats when I go shopping.

[Mark Cooper]

11 August 2018

1st Meal
Carrots, celery, tomato. Oat Groats with strawberries, pineapple, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon.

2nd Meal
Carrots, celery, tomato. Russet Potato, mustard, black pepper.

3rd Meal
Salad - Cruciferous Crunch, Cucumber, Tomato, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash. Simple Veggie Soup, Mrs. Dash. Straight Up Food Kichadi, Mixed Asian Vegetables, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash.

Felt like another excellent day! We went to Philadelphia for some fun at the Academy of Natural Sciences and ate in the cafe / food court of the museum. I brought veggies and a potato from home, and with the addition of some mustard and pepper from the cafe, had a delicious MWL compliant lunch. Only 2 servings of fruit again today, and I don't feel at all stuffed this evening, so hooray!

[Mark Cooper]

12 August 2018

1st Meal
Carrots, celery. Oatmeal with pumpkin, strawberries, pineapple, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon.

2nd Meal
Carrots, celery, tomato. Salad - Cruciferous Crunch, Cucumber, Tomato, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash. Simple Veggie Soup, Mrs. Dash. Yam, mixed vegetables, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash.

3rd Meal
Oatmeal with pumpkin, strawberries, pineapple, banana, apple, apple butter, raisins, splash soy milk, cinnamon.

Too much fruit today, and too many calorie dense foods that I need to avoid. I definitely feel overstuffed. Back to whole oat groats tomorrow, and 2 servings of fruit.

[Mark Cooper]

13 August 2018

1st Meal
Carrots, celery, pineapple. Mixed Whole Grains (Oat groats, millet, buckwheat, wheat berries), banana, brown sugar, apple butter, splash of soy milk, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon.

2nd Meal
Carrots, celery. Salad - Lettuce, Cruciferous Crunch, Cucumber, Tomato, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash. Yam, zucchini, goldbar squash, stir-fry vegetable mix, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash.

3rd Meal
Carrots, celery. Sloppy Lentil Joe’s on Salad - Lettuce, Cruciferous Crunch, Cucumber, Tomato, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash. Oven Fries, California Mix.

[Mark Cooper]

14 August 2018

1st Meal
Carrots, Celery, Tomato. Salad - Lettuce, Cucumber, Tomato, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash. Mixed Whole Grains - Oat Groats, Buckwheat Groats, Millet, Wheat Berries, Blueberries, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon.

2nd Meal
Carrots, celery. Salad - Lettuce, Cucumber, Tomato, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash. Simple Veggie Soup. Yam, Sloppy Lentil Joe’s, zucchini, goldbar squash, stir-fry vegetable mix, lemon juice, cider vinegar, Mrs. Dash. Apple.

3rd Meal
Gingery Carrot Soup, Green Beans, Mixed Whole Grains, Banana, Pineapple, Pear.

[Mark Cooper]

15 August 2018

1st Meal
Mixed Whole Grains - Oat Groats, Buckwheat Groats, Millet, Wheat Berries, Blueberries, Carrots, Celery, balsamic vinegar, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon. Apple.

2nd Meal
Carrots, Celery. Salad - Lettuce, Cucumber, Tomato, Lime Juice, Cider Vinegar, Mrs. Dash. SNAP Meal including Yam, Russet Potato.

I made sure to add a little extra STARCH at both meals, and suddenly NO sweet tooth, NO cramming. I listened to the MWL audio book, and even though I thought I already understood the program there were several moments that were real "light bulb" moments for me - particularly cravings for sugar often mean NOT ENOUGH STARCH and trying to chew each mouthful of food 30+ times. Really seems to make a difference, although time will tell.

[Idgie]

Mark, thanks for the reminder on the starches!

[Mark Cooper]

16 August 2018

1st Meal
Mixed Whole Grains - Oat Groats, Buckwheat Groats, Millet, Wheat Berries, Blueberries, Carrots, Celery, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon. Apple.

2nd Meal
Carrots, Celery. Salad - Lettuce, Cucumber, Tomato, Lemon Juice, Cider Vinegar, Mrs. Dash. Simple Veggie Soup, Russet Potato, Lemon Juice, Cider Vinegar, Mrs. Dash.

3rd Meal
Simple Veggie Soup. Kidney Beans, Brown Rice, California Mix, Lime Juice, Cider Vinegar, Mrs. Dash.

But feeling a little bloated / stuffed at end of day.