Thanks and Food

Thanks for the supportive comments! About the protein powders: right now I am using an unflavored, unsweetened soy protein powder (I plan to switch to hemp when the I've used the soy up); I use it once or twice per day depending on if it's a workout day or not (in New Rules you are supposed to have a post-workout recovery shake on workout days so I add a scoop to that and I have been adding a scoop to my morning oatmeal as well). I am trying to shoot for about 100 grams of protein per day, so yes, the protein powder really helps. Just to give you an idea, here is what I ate on Monday (a workout day):

• 1/2 c. dry oatmeal, 1 scoop protein powder, 1 T raisins, 1 T pumpkin seeds, 200 ml soymilk (about 25 g protein)
• smoothie: 1/2 c blueberries, 1/2 banana, 200 ml soymilk, 1 scoop protein powder, 1 t cocoa powder (about 16 g protein)
• 2 small slices ezekiel bread, 4 mini tofu quiches (really good crustless recipe from Fat Free Vegan), salad w/ lettuce, carrots, cucumber, 1 t olive oil, 1 T gomasio (about 19 g protein)
• Power Bar protein bar (17 g protein) - this was an emergency situation! - I was at the store and had to pick up my son straight afterwards and I was starving and knew I wouldn't make it til I got home and had a healthier snack! I usually have fruit and nuts in the afternoon...
• Chili Mac (a yummy vegan recipe from Jenny with whole grain pasta, Boca crumbles, beans and veggies) plus steamed broccoli and raw veggies (about 15 g protein)

It came out to around 92 grams of protein total and I know, it is a bit soy-heavy! I prefer to eat soy as unprocessed as possible, which for me means tofu and soy milk or soy yogurt. I do try to get about two servings of soy each day because it really helps with perimenopausal symptoms (it really does, trust me!) but I try not to go overboard. So I will be really glad when I finish my big jug of soy protein powder and can switch to something else - hopefully hemp if I can find it here.

Yesterday was a non-workout day, and since I didn't run either, the calories and protein were lower. Here's what it looked like:

• breakfast same as Monday (about 25 g protein)
• banana with 1 T tahini (about 3 g protein)
• whole wheat couscous-broccoli salad with chickpeas, raisins, feta (great recipe from Body and Soul magazine - I usually leave the feta out but since we had some in the fridge and it added to the protein content I threw it in - 21 g protein)
• 3 small apricots, 12 almonds (about 4 g protein)
• 2 lentil tacos with 2 small whole wheat tortillas (this is a great recipe from Runner's World magazine and came out to about 18 g protein without the cheese which I didn't use)
• 1 glass red wine

Aside from the feta cheese and protein powder in my oatmeal, this is a more "normal" eating day for me (especially because of the red wine!). It came out to about 70 grams of protein, which I think is adequate on a non-lifting day or for someone who isn't doing resistance training. I actually wasn't terribly hungry all day - maybe due to the larger amount of protein on Monday?

Anyway, I am trying not to be too obsessed but keeping tabs on the protein seems to be helpful right now. And I will try to put links up for the recipes if I can find them again! (Woo-hoo! I found them all - and they are all recipes I use again and again - bon appetit!)