March Pink Food Thread

I guess I will start this one up, sorry if there is already one but I couldn't find it!

Still hanging on, it's 9am and I am STARVING but I am going to try to make it to 10! Had about 10 oz coffee with 1 tbsp half&half so far.

My day today:

10am- lowfat yogurt with raspberries, 1/2 of a Matzo Pizza, 2 oz fat free ricotta with a little unsweetened cocoa and a tsp of sugar.

1pm- mushrooms sauteed in 1tsp butter, 1oz swiss cheese on whole wheat pita, more lowfat yogurt w/1 tsp raspberry jam; caprese salad: 1oz mozzarella, basil, 4 halved cherry tomatoes, balsamic vinegar. I'm cheating today and adding 1 tsp olive oil :oops:

6pm- dinner with family - making greek lentil stew (lentils, green onions, green beans, small amt. canned tomatoes, mint, oregano, broth) and melted goat cheese on pita bread ("goat cheese toast"). small salad, mixed greens and cucumber slices, dry with a little cracked pepper.

Drinking Gerolsteiner with low-cal lemonade to keep me going between meals!

Daily Totals: 1341 cals, 53g fat, 153g carb, 68g protein, 2198 calcium (I have 500mg of supps today), 852 sodium, 2895 potassium

Mmmm...the "goat cheese toast" you described above sounds SO GOOD!

Hi Ribbons,

Thanks for getting a March thread started! I know that the February one really quieted down mid-month, so a lot of ladies are probably ready to start talking food again! :)

I have been completely meat-free since Dec. 30. One of the first things I'm going to do when I get my BFP will be to make roast chicken ... yum! :) But the vegetarian component seems pretty important. Posted elsewhere on this site: "Another study, conducted at Nottingham University, found that whereas the average sex ratio of children born in Great Britain was 106 boys to every 100 girls, in vegetarian women the ratio was only 85 boys to every 100 girls." And I believe that study was in a group of 6,000 women, so that is a significant difference, statistically.

My lunch today consists of a caramel rice cake, a no-sugar-added peach applesauce, a caffeine-free Diet Coke, a 1/8-cup of Skittles (a half-serving) and this pasta concoction: My local grocery store has an egg-noodle-style pasta, but it's actually egg free. I cook up two servings of that and add in two servings of Classico-brand roasted red pepper alfredo sauce, along with some sauteed red pepper strips. I then divide the whole batch into three portions. So although the sauce, for example, has 310mg of sodium per standard serving, MY serving size only has 207mg. The applesauce has none, the rice cake only has 30 and the Diet Coke has 40, so that leaves me pretty good wiggle room for dinner tonight, sodium-wise.

Speaking of dinner, I think I will repeat what I did last night. I took a portabello mushroom cap, very lightly brushed it with olive oil (generally a no-no on the LE diet, but this was just enough to "lube" it -- ha!) and put it under the broiler for about four minutes on each side. I had already roasted a red pepper under the broiler until it was blackened, then stripped off the skin and cut the pepper "flesh" into strips. I toasted a Sara Lee hamburger bun (this particular kind has 160mg, I think) and spread it with about 1 T. of mayo. I also put one slice of pepperjack cheese (135mg sodium) onto the mushroom. I put that all together, along with a few lettuce leaves. It was yummy ... I could have easily eaten another (but I didn't! :)). I still need to do all the math to see where that puts me with calories, protein, etc., but the sodium totaled around 350-ish (plus whatever occurs naturally in the mushroom and pepper).

On many days I've also been eating a serving of Trader Joe's unsalted tortilla chips with Paul Newman's peach salsa (90mg sodium and 25 cals. per 2 T). And I've been really into ice cream the past week or two ... the sodium is quite low compared to many other sweets and I'm easily able to keep the calories and other values within my daily minimums, including calcium (I'm going low-nutrient across the board, including cal and mag). And by eating it in an ice cream cone (20 cals, 25mg sodium), I'm able to stick to the 1/2-cup serving size without feeling restricted, because it takes a lot longer to eat ice cream lick-by-lick than to gobble it out of a bowl with a spoon.

What's everybody else noshing on these days?

Great idea with the ice cream cone! I'm gonna have to pick some up next time I am at the store. I have a HUGE problem with overdoing the ice cream serving size so I generally run away screaming from it LOL

I love those TJs unsalted tortilla chips too... I also found a no-salt-added fire-roasted salsa at TJs, it's really good!

I'm too scared to limit my CalMag... SO on the fence with it.

I'm getting bored of eating the same things.. lol I usually do pasta with sauteed veggies, low sodium diced tomatoes or lower sodium pasta sauce. sandwiches with egg white, cheese and veggies or with fruit jam. veggie burger with swiss.. baked potato or baked sweet potatoes.. rice and veggies.. salads. that's about it! getting really tired of it.. haha and I've only been doing it since January 31st of this year. praying I get preggo this month :P

Me too nks... My family eats everything I cook but they complain if it's the same old thing, so I'm having to get really creative, esp with no meat!!

We usually don't socialize often but of course now that I am on the diet, all of the sudden there are a gazillion social obligations piling up and I am freaking out about it! I haven't told anyone what I am doing (not even my mom) so I am sure they will all think I am crazy when I keep turning down food. We have an event next thurs - irish music at a Mexican restaurant lol - how am I going to turn down the Guinness and the enchiladas without people thinking something is seriously wrong with me?? How do you guys deal with it?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ribbons

We have an event next thurs - irish music at a Mexican restaurant lol - how am I going to turn down the Guinness and the enchiladas without people thinking something is seriously wrong with me?? How do you guys deal with it?

---

actually, about 2 weekends ago, we went on a trip with our best friends, couples trip. anyway, we stopped at a Mexican restaurant. I kept it vegetarian as they had vegetarian options which was just a cheese enchilada, a chile relleno and a chalupa, plus rice and beans. I ate half of the plate.. I knew I was going over sodium but I kept it vegetarian. atomic always says that sodium is the best cheat.. so don't worry about it.. just keep it vegetarian!! one cheat won't hurt.

This is day 45 of the diet!

Today I am eating:

6am coffee with 2T whole milk (out of H&H)
9am 4oz LF yogurt w/ 1T low-sugar jam, 1oz FF ricotta, a clementine. I have to eat at 9 today b/c I am running errands this morning.
1pm 4oz LF yogurt w/ 2oz raspberries, some leftover squash soup from the other night.
6pm dinner: Making black bean & goat cheese quesadillas with some fruit salsa made out of canned pineapple, cherry tomatoes & canned peaches! YUMMY! Topping them with a little light sour cream and cilantro and some unsalted tortilla chips on the side.

Totals: Cals 1394, Fat 47, Protein 60, Carbs 188, Sodium 928, Potassium 3097, Calcium 2243.

Ok so today I have planned a pear an apple a low fat greek yoghurt and raspberries a vegie stirfry and a light pasta with a cooked tom 'sauce' and a home made custard for dessert.
its got me as being under my cals: 1,028 Protein 33 and fat 36

Should I try and get a little more protein in?

How does everyone work out sodium as fitness pal isnt showing me?
Found it!! 709mg of sodium

WOW those calories are really low bambinolla.. you should consider upping that, esp. if you are BFing! You need to have enough calories to ovulate... I would say no LESS than 1200, ideally 1500+. How far off is your first planned attempt?

What's your username on myfitnesspal?

Username is bellbellany

I have a LOT of weight to lose (Im about 35kgs overweight)
I do think I need to add a bit more in there, maybe top up the protien a little? A handful of nuts maybe?

oh and first attempt will be late april

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bambinolla

Username is bellbellany

I have a LOT of weight to lose (Im about 35kgs overweight)
I do think I need to add a bit more in there, maybe top up the protien a little? A handful of nuts maybe?

---

Are you a soda pop drinker? I have seriously dropped 10 lbs in a little over 5 weeks..haven't weighed myself but it's just what I'm guessing. My stomach is flattening out just from dropping my coke habit alone. I drink sprite here and there but it's nothing compared to what I was drinking. You just have to decide if you think caffeine will sway a boy or a girl. I have two boys and I WAS a major coke drinker, so for me I think it's right :)

I used to be but im trying to cut it out, I was a big soda drinker when i got preg with my boys.

were you drinking reg soda or diet?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by bambinolla

I have a LOT of weight to lose (Im about 35kgs overweight)
I do think I need to add a bit more in there, maybe top up the protien a little? A handful of nuts maybe?

---

I would stay away from the nuts.

There is a great thread stickied in TTC Girl called Complete List of 100-300cal Snacks & Meal Completers... that should give you some good ideas!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ribbons

I would stay away from the nuts.

There is a great thread stickied in TTC Girl called Complete List of 100-300cal Snacks & Meal Completers... that should give you some good ideas!

---

I agree with Ribbons, you don't want any healthy oils! if your body can tolerate sweets without gaining, I would do that.. they have little nutritional value (if any).. great way to add in more calories!

ok im looking for a seasoning i can use in the uk on my food, i love mrs dash and use it all the time but ive ran out and its so expensive to get it shipped here ?

Ribbons, I've been eating a lot of ice cream cones. It brings some calories and fat to the table, without much protein or sodium.

littlemissnaughty, I've found myself turning to diced jalapenos to make my food more interesting. When it's spicy, you can't eat it as fast, so you enjoy it longer.

On my end ... my mother inadvertently sabotaged my sway diet yesterday! :) She sent homemade food home with my DH, including peanut butter cup muffins and pumpkin bread still warm from the oven. I haven't had anything with peanut butter since the end of December and somehow three of those muffins found their way in MAH BELLY -- :) -- followed by a big chunk of the pumpkin bread. Bad, bad girl! The rest of my day's eating was fine -- pasta, applesauce and one Cadbury creme egg for lunch, a portabello/red pepper sandwich, cauliflower and apple for dinner (along with my mom's baked goods). I'm just relying on Atomic saying that one cheat here and there won't wreck a sway.

Unfortunately, we're also going out to a restaurant tomorrow as a belated birthday get-together for my DS2, so I'm trying to figure out what I can eat. We're going to a Chili's and the sodium is pretty much sky-high for nearly everything. I think I'll get the Caribbean salad (fresh pineapple, mandarin oranges, dried cherries, green onions, cilantro, sesame seeds and honey-lime dressing) and have them serve the chicken on the side and let DH eat it. With the chicken included, that dish is 610 cals, 34 g protein and 820mg sodium. I'm not sure how much sodium will be reduced by not eating the chicken, but it should drop the protein down a significant bit.

I'm going to bring dessert, rather than have us order at the restaurant, so at least I can control that (no chocolate, no peanut butter, no nuts, etc.) and try to keep myself to a small portion.

But dangit, I'm hungry. :)

And after tomorrow, since I'm probably 4 to 7 days out from ovulation, I need to be good!

Overall, I think I'm in a good place diet-wise, though. I'm on my 72nd day of the diet and I've been entirely vegetarian, have had only two meals a day (with perhaps two exceptions the entire time) and I've gone from 107 lbs. down to less than 99 (I've been fluctuating the past few weeks, as low as 97.8 and as high as 98.6). My BMI is less than 18 now.

But, BTW, the muffins and bread were RIDICULOUSLY delicious.

Ive had an awful weekend! we went away and I have been eating way too much (still skipping breakfast but think steak and pancakes and all sorts of yummies!!) I only had 2 meals a day to try and make up for the calories in them. I had still lost weight today so cant have been toooo bad!

I was probably drinking full cal soda before as I was either having lemonaide type drinks or raspberry soda. probably with diet coke every so often too. but I have been meaning to drop the drinks for ages so now is a good excuse. i might keep some diet caffeine free coke on hand for filling up between meals.

Dramabird those muffins and bread sound awesome!!!

littlemissnaughty7, i have a recipe here for home made Mrs dash im sure! would you like it?

As for me, AF showed up yesterday around 6 or 7 pm, so does that mean i actually count today as CD1? I always thought if its late in the arvo the following day is the start of your cycle. I dont know where I read that though.
But im glad now I can start a fresh cycle and get everything into place!! Counting down till we start trying in april! Really need to crack down on my diet though and stop sabotaging myself. but I have lost about 1-2kgs so far so thats a positive.

Ribbons and nks thank you both for the great diet tips!!

Bambinolla - I always consider CD1 the next day if I start in the evening... but I use a CBFM and it kinda makes me do that LOL so not sure if that is what everyone does. Regardless, if you count CD1 as the actual or second day doesn't really matter, as long as you are consistent.

We are trying in April too! End of April it looks like... my cycles are all wacky from the Vitex so I'm not really sure when it will be :/

Drama, so TRUE about the spicy - I've been really ramping it up lately - and those muffins DO sound good... and omg some of you girls are so much smaller than me :) I am happy with the 4 lbs I have lost but I am 5'4" and 130lb! eek! But then again, if I conceived today, it would still be my lowest conception weight!

Wow! That sounds amazing! I love baked goods! I have been eating this corn pasta from trader joes that has less protein and nutrients than regular pasta and is pretty good. In the sweets note, I was trying to maintain my weight at 93 so eating a bunch of candy and cake and I guess swung the other way and gained a lb. should I just keep the other calories the same and lay off the cake and candy to go back down the one lb before I hopefully O? I start the Clomid in 2 days. Thanks girls!

Oh, I always consider it just the day it starts fwiw!

amari, I saw that corn pasta the other day and was wondering what it tasted like... is it any good??

I eat the brown rice pasta right now but maybe the corn pasta would be less nutritious...

LOL sometimes I laugh at the way we talk... I am typically a health fanatic and my pre-sway self would cringe at the thought of buying something because it was LESS nutritious!

I think the corn pasta is pretty good! I know, I'm usually a health nut, aside from my sweets that is, so looking for the least nutrient rich thing is totally bizarre. My body is getting quite sick of it and I am sick of not snacking so I really hope I get pg this cycle. I'm also sick of not having a normal social life. Friends are visiting next wknd and she's talking about bring wine, snacks, ordering out good etc, and I'm thinking that sounds so fun but I can't and how am I going to get around it all at the same time? Aahhh. We put this on ourselves I know... But still.

Amari, that's how I feel. I hope and wish I get a BFP this month. Ready to eat more normal lol

Ugh me too but I don't try until late April! So 6 more weeks for me!

well a better today today, if anything I havent eaten enough though

Just snacking on some low salt rice crackers and some home made hummos.

Last night I dreamt that I went out to a restaurant with friends, and with best intentions ordered a dry salad... and then proceeded to eat my husband's steak and fries and ordered two desserts! Agh! What a nightmare LOL, I was so glad to wake up and find it wasn't real!

DH is out of town, so I don't have to cook for everyone tonight.

Today I am having:
Right Now: coffee with cinnamon and half&half (this is really tasty and cinammon helps with blood sugar, bonus)
1st Meal: 2oz FF ricotta with cocoa and brandy, 4oz LF yogurt with 1 tsp jam
2nd Meal: homemade bean burger with 1 tbsp FF sour cream and 2 tbsp homemade fruit salsa (tomatoes, peaches, cucumber, cilantro, cumin, chili powder)
Dinner: shirataki noodles (those no-cal fiber-based ones) with a rice vinegar dressing, and a salad. another 4oz yogurt

Cals: 1127 / Fat 34 / Carb 164 / Protein 40 / Sodium 888 / Potassium 2741

I am going low on my cals today b/c we are going out with friends on Thursday night... omg I hope my dream does not come true!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Ribbons

Last night I dreamt that I went out to a restaurant with friends, and with best intentions ordered a dry salad... and then proceeded to eat my husband's steak and fries and ordered two desserts! Agh! What a nightmare LOL, I was so glad to wake up and find it wasn't real!

DH is out of town, so I don't have to cook for everyone tonight.

Today I am having:
Right Now: coffee with cinnamon and half&half (this is really tasty and cinammon helps with blood sugar, bonus)
1st Meal: 2oz FF ricotta with cocoa and brandy, 4oz LF yogurt with 1 tsp jam
2nd Meal: homemade bean burger with 1 tbsp FF sour cream and 2 tbsp homemade fruit salsa (tomatoes, peaches, cucumber, cilantro, cumin, chili powder)
Dinner: shirataki noodles (those no-cal fiber-based ones) with a rice vinegar dressing, and a salad. another 4oz yogurt

Cals: 1127 / Fat 34 / Carb 164 / Protein 40 / Sodium 888 / Potassium 2741

I am going low on my cals today b/c we are going out with friends on Thursday night... omg I hope my dream does not come true!

---

Ribbons, I dreamt I ate meat one time.. and I was horrified lol oh.. would you mind sharing the rice vinegar dressing recipe that goes over your noodles??

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nks798

Ribbons, I dreamt I ate meat one time.. and I was horrified lol oh.. would you mind sharing the rice vinegar dressing recipe that goes over your noodles??

---

Sure! I haven't tried it yet though, I hope it tastes good LOL

This is supposed to make 6 servings... it looks like it will be too "watery" so I will probably add some cornstarch or something, but I will just have to experiment a little.

Vietnamese Rice Vinegar Dressing

2 tbsp fish sauce (the original called for 1/4 cup, but that sounds too intense and it is sky-high in sodium!)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar (the original recipe called for 3 tbsp)
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes
3 cloves of garlic, minced (I know that garlic is technically a no-no but I haven't had it in awhile!)
8 medium stalks green onion, finely chopped
1 oz fresh lime juice
water 1 tbsp at a time until desired strength.

I've noticed that the shirataki noodles taste best with asian-style dressings... try to put italian-type sauces on top of them and they taste nasty IMO!

thanks, Ribbons! I've got most of the stuff at home.. other than, fresh garlic - I guess I could use minced in a jar just do a tiny bit bc it's super strong. I don't have lime or green onion either.. but I can get that this weekend. please let me know how it is when you try it.. it sounds pretty yummy!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nks798

thanks, Ribbons! I've got most of the stuff at home.. other than, fresh garlic - I guess I could use minced in a jar just do a tiny bit bc it's super strong. I don't have lime or green onion either.. but I can get that this weekend. please let me know how it is when you try it.. it sounds pretty yummy!

---

I'm making it tonight, so I will be the guinea pig :D if it needs tweaking, I'll let you know!

I can't eat those shiratake noodles, I wish I could but I can't handle the texture!

I keep telling dh about all the things I'm going to eat when I'm pg!

Ribbons, how was it? :)

amari, I know.. that's how I feel.. except IDK that I will jump back in to eating all kinds of meat at first.. my body will probably act whacky doing that.. so I will slowly incorporate it back in!

It was pretty decent!

DEFINITELY too much fish sauce in the original recipe. I don't know what they were thinking - certainly not someone concerned with salt!! 1T of my fish sauce (Thai Kitchen brand) has 1360mg of sodium OMG!! So I only used 1T. You could probably reduce it even more than that. I ended up using 1/3 cup of water and 2tsp of cornstarch - that made it a really nice consistency, still a little runny but it did a good job of saturating the noodles. I just used 1/4 tsp of cayenne and that was enough. Used brown sugar instead of white. I used only 5 green onion stalks (that's all I had). I sauteed some eggplant, mushrooms and zucchini and put them on top. Served it alongside a cucumber/tomato salad that I tossed with a little vinegar as well. Not bad, especially for those noodles, which are really hard to choke down sometimes, but they are GREAT if you're trying to save calories b/c you really feel like you are getting enough food!

Not sure if you could really stretch it to 6 servings though... more like 4-5 max. I ended up using around 2 servings, but I like a lot of sauce typically. You might be able to play around with adding more water/cornstarch. I thought it was a good consistency and didn't want to mess with it.

oh and my teenager LOVED this but I served his with reg. rice noodles, not shirataki!

So here is the adjusted recipe:

Vietnamese Rice Vinegar Dressing

3 cloves garlic
5 medium stalks green onion
1/3 cup warm water
2 tsp cornstarch
1 tbsp fish sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 oz fresh lime juice

Finely chop green onion and garlic in food processor (or by hand).
In a mason jar or small mixing bowl, mix cornstarch and water until completely dissolved.
Add green onion/garlic, fish sauce, vinegar, sugar, cayenne and lime juice and shake until thoroughly combined.
Serve over hot or cold rice or shirataki noodles.

Here's the nutrition info for 1 serving (1/6 of recipe):
Cals 23, Fat 0, Carb 5, Protein 1, Sodium 230, Potassium 62

Not bad esp. when you add in no-cal noodles - that's a pretty nutrient-free dinner right there ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by amari

I keep telling dh about all the things I'm going to eat when I'm pg!

---

Totally! DH thinks I am nuts... it's like I am planning my last meal or something... I have this long list of stuff I have to eat between getting BFP and getting morning sickness LOL

That's a good idea Ribbons! I will be the same, enjoy some food before I get sick!

-'m not a huge meat eater anyways, except chicken. I just want to eat/snack when I want to really. I want a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a big fat muffin, greek yogurt with granola and walnuts and raisins, a croissant with chicken salad, ok, I'll stop fantasizing about food, I feel like some weird person that isn't me. What have I turned into?!?

Glad it turned out well! That had like zero calories! That's crazy! Enjoy! I don't know if I cooked those noodles wrong but they seemed so almost crunchy or something I actually had to dump them after one bite. Did I do something wrong?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by amari

Glad it turned out well! That had like zero calories! That's crazy! Enjoy! I don't know if I cooked those noodles wrong but they seemed so almost crunchy or something I actually had to dump them after one bite. Did I do something wrong?

---

The consistency is pretty weird - you do have to get used to it. I actually confess that I used the tofu-based ones for this recipe and they do have a whopping 20 calories per serving ;) but they are definitely better than the straight-up fiber ones. (I couldn't find the traditional ones at the store) The brand I used is called Wildwood Pasta Slim.

I've actually had shirataki noodles quite a few times over the years and I actually like them now, as long as they have some sort of vinegar-based dressing on them. Give them another try, you might like them, especially if you get the ones made with tofu!