Monday:
Breakfast: 2 c. oatmeal with 1 apple, 1/4c. soy milk, 1/4 c. hemp seeds, and 1 Tbsp brown sugar
snack: 1 orange
Lunch: 1 black bean burrito (homemade with tomatoes, lettuce, vegan cheese)
1.5 c. lentil soup (with potatoes and carrots)
snack: 1 orange
1 Cliff bar
Supper: organic corn chips with tomatoes, peppers, and vegan cheese

Tuesday:
Breakfast: 2 c. oatmeal with 1 apple, 1/4c. soy milk, 1/4 c. hemp seeds, and 1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 orange
snack: 1 orange
Lunch: 1 black bean burrito (homemade with tomatoes, lettuce, vegan cheese)
2 - 2.5 c. lentil soup (with potatoes and carrots)
snack: 1 orange
1 Cliff bar

I found a trick to drinking protein powder:
BANANAS!
Tonight I tried the berry-flavoured Vega protein powder (I bought the sample packages so that I could see what I liked best) with a banana, and some soy milk. It was actually pretty tastey. I would recommend throwing a banana into the mix if anyone ever tries it.

Today I tried the Vegan Complete Whole Food Meal Replacement, Chocolate flavour. I tried it just mixed with water and I have to say that it's not my favorite thing in the world to consume. But I've heard that no protein powders are very good, so I won't take my distaste for this too seriously.

The thing with this stuff is that it is made from awesome stuff like hemp protein, yellow pea protein, flax seed, and brown rice protein. All very good for you. In the ingredients list, it even lists Omega-6 and -3 in it.
Here is the Nutrition Facts:

240 Calories (80 from fat, 15 from Saturated + Trans)
Total fat: 9 g
Saturated: 1.5 g
Polyunsaturdated: 6g
Omega-6: 2.5g
Omega-3: 3.5
Monounsaturated: 2g
Sodium: 230mg (10% of RDI)
Potassium: 460mg (13%)
Total Carbohydrate: 21g (7%)
Dietary fibre: 9g (36%)
Sugars: 2g
Protein: 25g


Vitamin A 40%
Vitamin C 15%
Calcium 20%
Iron 20%
Vitamin D 25%
Vitamin E 29%
Thiamine 23%
Riboflavin 25%
Niacin 26%
Vitamin B6 22%
Folate 27%
Vitamin B12 13%


Anyway, the peculiar taste is definitely worth all the good stuff that is in it. After my feel-good bike ride, it was exactly what I needed.

My nutritional to do list for this week:
~ figure out how many calories I need
~ match my calories to my meal plan
~ make a monthly meal plan starting for December

I am a scientist, so one would think that I could do this. But procrastination is a funny funny thing.

This is my own concoction that I throw together every once in a while. I made it last night and had leftovers today. I absolutely LOVE making and eating it. This is what I do:
~ Start stir-frying the onions, gardlic, carrots, and green peppers until the carrots are softish. I add the curry powder, cumin, and turmeric while it's all cooking together.
~ I then put in the chickpeas and stewed tomatoes, and add some more curry powder and cumin. And then add a little salt. Let it simmer until the rice is done.... Voila! Crystal's Chickpea Curry! So easy, nutritious, and tasty!

I usually eat it with brown rice, which I start at least 15 minutes before I start stirfrying the vegetables.

In total, I made enough for 4 servings, which would be about 12 grams of protein from the stirfry and rice together. Last night I had two servings and today I ate two servings as well.

Nutritional breakdown:
Chickpeas, 1cup:

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 119
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g	1%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 299mg	12%
Total Carboydrates 23g	7%
Dietary Fiber 4g	~
Sugars 0g	~
Protein 5g	9%
Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 6% Iron 7% Calcium 3%

Tomatoes, canned, whole, no salt added, 1 cup:

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 45
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g	0%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 24mg	1%
Total Carboydrates 10g	3%
Dietary Fiber 2g	~
Sugars 7g	~
Protein 2g	4%
Vitamin A 6% Vitamin C 56% Iron 7% Calcium 7%

Carrots, raw, chopped, 1 cup:

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 52
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 0g	0%
Saturated Fat 0g	0%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 88mg	3%
Total Carboydrates 12g	4%
Dietary Fiber 4g	~
Sugars 6g	~
Protein 1g	2%
Vitamin A 308% Vitamin C 12% Iron 2% Calcium 4%

Brown rice, long-grained, 1 cup:

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 216
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 2g	2%
Saturated Fat 0g	1%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 10mg	0%
Total Carboydrates 45g	14%
Dietary Fiber 4g	~
Sugars 1g	~
Protein 5g	10%
Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 0% Iron 4% Calcium 1%