Friday 19 October 2012

Day 4

I failed the challenge.  I couldn't do it.  Yesterday i ate and ate, but my body still didn't feel full - so thats when i looked up some points online.  turns out i didn't have complex carbs like fibre on my diet and i wasn't getting enough protein to satisfy my hunger feeling.  A friend who graduated from culinary school in George Brown mentioned to me before the challenge - that its impossible because a person needs complex-carbs & protein to feel "full".  i have no idea on how nutrition really works but i do understand the concept that our body is a machine.  the body needs to create 9 types of amino acid and they can only be retain from outside source; we cannot produce them ourselves.  i will have a breakdown to explain everything later on, as i am getting ready for work.

i will do a recap of total protein, calorie and carbs per each day and leading upto day 3.  as well as pictures that i have taken at the start and during to record this challenge.  i will also do summary of risk management and assumptions that were not stated at the start of this challenge.  for those who are unfamiliar with such words - they are terminology used in project management.  since i'm taking class in this field, might as well put it to good use.

anyways, IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to have a balanced diet - not even diet but balanced everything.  for my weight, i would need approximately 59g of protein a day to fuel my energy - virtually impossible with that budget.  maybe if i had a nutritionist background then i could have maybe lasted another day?  i looked for bargains and everything i got "on special".  but stay tuned on my recap, there will be more information there

Thursday 18 October 2012

Day 3

Yesterday was challenging, well not really.  I had one meal (brunch) until i was notified on my calendar that i was supposed to fast in preparation for my doctors appointment.  The rest of the day i drank dilluted ice-tea (brisk iced tea filled midway then topped off with water) to help ration my supply and ate crackers that i got from a soup stand.  No - i didn't buy soup from the grocery store and took only 2 packages.

So far my supply is still plentiful, lots of potatoes left, half-way done the sizzler, 2 romaine hearts, plenty of olives, plenty of red onions, still have 1 tomatoe left, 2 cans of campbell soup, 2 cans of sardines.

Salt & pepper i got from grocery store, also got some ketchup, mayonaise, and some butter from ikea.

today, after my doctor's check-up i'll prepare the campbell soup, serve it with (wait for it..) mashed potatoes.  i think i've been watching too much "how i met your mother" episodes.  i'll chop up the next romaine heart and make my salad again and tonite, i'm thinking of slicing potatoes and make a scallop layer potatoes with mushroom soup.  i'll let you know how it turns out

Wednesday 17 October 2012

Day 2

This is when the challenge will be challenging.  Today and Thursday is my day with my daughter - yes you guessed it her mom and i are separated and i get to see my little JJ every week.  How i plan to mediate this through, because this challenge was directed to me - it's going to be really hard not to have any of her food.  and i promise i won't cheat.  yesterday i think i might have mentioned that i get free coffee at work.  but i didn't have any cup at all - well because i did mention to some colleagues and they reminded me of it.

so today i'll be preparing the same dishes as yesterday.  i'm not "bored" eating the same thing and i am prepared to whip up something new like make scallop potatoes or a variation of ratatouille.  yesterday i scored BIG buying 2 campbell mushroom condensed soup for 0.59 ea and brisk ice tea for 0.49 (it was reduced because of short-coded).

Part of me thinks that this challenge can be similar to that show "the iron chef" - where both competitors are given an ingredient to use as their base for their menu.  see the similarities?

Tuesday 16 October 2012

Day 1 signing off

Whew what a day!  First off i'm dealing with some problems at work.  While worrying about a school deadline for our project charter - just finished sending it off and waiting for sign-offs.  Times like these that i wish i could just eat anything lol!

So i was also thinking about this challenge and it's a little bit unfair.  i mean if i am to portray a person receiving welfare, then i would be allowed to ask assistance from the food bank.  i don't think i can do this challenge at all.

boiling more potatoes now and pretty much going to eat the same plate that i did for lunch (potatoe, sizzler and salad)
Day 1 (pictures)

i took pictures of what i did this morning.  also i'm thinking of buying milk today.  i do have some money left from the budget, but i'm going to weigh the option since milk is pretty pricey nowadays.

and slight variation to what i blogged earlier, i had left over julienne cuts of the breakfast sausages so instead of dicing the other on top of my potatoes  i've kept it in same slices.  you'll see the picture later on - for now im late for work!  :S
Day 1

since i'm commiting to 3 meals a day, i woke up early so i can prepare my meal and snack.

first thing im going to miss is my coffee in the morning.  i have a cupboard full of tassimo just staring at me and i cannot have one during this challenge.  i do get free coffee at work, it's a slight advantage from the challenge since i'm not supposed to take any "charity" type help.  but the coffee is part of my employment service, let's just say that i am lucky to have such.

bringing up a pot of water to a boil for my potatoes.  also going to fry up some sizzlers using the olive oil i purchased yesterday.  and make me a small Greek salad (minus the feta cheese).  For breakfast i'll eat 2 sizzlers, cut in julienne slices and serve with some vegetables (i bought a bag of frozen mixed vegetables for $1.99).  lunch will be boiled potatoes, covered with olive oil, salt&pepper and diced sizzler acting as "bacon".  salt&pepper i plan to grab a few packets from mcdonalds just right across the street from where i live.  if they don't have any, i'll try the neighbouring restaurants is my contigency plan.  For the vegetables, normally i would melt some butter over it, but this week it's olive oil.

this reminds me, i need to text a friend about the website for calorie counting, cholesterol, etc.., and i can merge that with this blog.  and time to turn the sizzlers over.

for dinner, i'll think it over and try to be creative


Monday 15 October 2012

Today i got my grocery.  I went to food basics because it was close to home and also bought a bag of potatoes from work because it was on special for $3.99.  I wanted to plan out my daily meals, but then a part of me thought it might be a bad idea.  i mean, how would i know what i want to eat 3 days from now?

anyways, today i got the basics.  bought 10lb bag of potatoes, i really wanted rice or combination of rice and pasta.  but to be cost efficient  the bag of potatoes was the way to go.  and there are many ways to prepare a potato-can boil them, fry them, bake them.  should offer variety to satisfy my taste bud and not make me feel like i'm eating the same thing day in day out - that i think will play a crucial role during this challenge.

now i do plan to make Greek salad, but unfortunately i didn't have room for feta cheese (its friginn expensive).  i got romaine hearts, cucumbers  red onions, and olives.  i used to make Greek feta salad at work and the key ingredient (well the one thats used in other salads like the Caesar salad) were romaine hearts and cucumbers.  oh i almost forgot, cherry tomatoes goes on Greek salad as well, but i bought whole tomatoes instead; i plan on chopping and using half on my salad and the other half as a side to my entreez

my entreez are: (wait for it....) sardines in a can and box of breakfast sizzlers.  i love sardines, once i had a can of sardines with rice for lunch, lasted maybe few weeks.  i'm always on the go, constantly being busy at work and i'm single so my cooking routine tend to be very quickly made or its takeout.  and when i did eat sardines and rice for a while, it was during the time where i had to be super tight on money to catch up on bills and other things.

before i go on, this is my first ever blog and i am a little bit worried (more embarassed than worried) about sharing my eating pattern.  i don't eat that well but hey i do avoid the junk food that everyone used to talk about avoiding.  for this challenge, i will try to eat 3 meals a day with snacks in between..keyword there is try.  now back to the challenge

umm, why am i doing this challenge?  well i find it interesting.  i work full time in a grocery store, i go to school in University of Toronto, and i thought that i can squeeze this challenge in.  oh and i'm also a proud father, and the 2 days that i share with her, all of my attention is on her and i try to enjoy every minute of it.  and another thing, i said i go to UofT, well i only take one class, and its an online class so it's not really a big deal.  and the full time work i do in a grocery, i help manage the store when the owner is not around.  so i get to delegate, tell others what to do, but more importantly my co-workers and i have bonded well that my work has become enjoyable.  so this challenge, i think is a great idea, to add something onto my schedule and maybe contribute in a good way for a really good cause.

so it's officially october 16 and my 7 day challenge has begun!