So, here’s my diet in a nutshell:

• I try to eat healthy 80% of the time and the remaining 20% are free-for all (gives me an opportunity to indulge in the not-as-healthy choices if I wish to). I also apply the 80/20 principle to dining out – I try to eat home-prepared foods 80% of the time, and I allow myself to eat out a few times a week (although I usually eat out much less than that).
• I make an effort to get lots of vegetables and fruits into my diet and ideally I try to get a wide variety as well. Usually I have quite a few different kinds of vegetables on a daily basis, but sometimes I’m just lazy and I prepare a big batch and just eat a lot of the same veggie. I also make an effort to include dark leafy greens (kale, spinach, broccoli) and orange vegetables (bell peppers, sweet potatoes).
• I like to get protein from different sources and I try to get most of it from plant sources (nuts, whole grains and legumes, especially soy products).
• In terms of dairy products, I am not a big fan of it so milk and dairy products don’t appear often in my diet (except yogurt). As a result, I definitely do not get enough calcium from food sources and I compensate by taking a calcium supplement (note: this is just my personal preference, I am in no way suggesting that calcium supplements are better.)
• Snacks are a key part of my diet. I tend to have one or two snacks daily, enjoying them between meal. On certain days I may have a little more or sometimes none, it just all depends on how I feel that day. I count dessert as a snack, so on days that I know I will be having dessert or want to have dessert, I will have one less snack so I can enjoy dessert after dinner.
• Portion Control. I do not believe there are any forbidden foods,  so I do not restrict myself from eating anything. However, I do believe that there are less nourishing foods that should be consumed less often and in smaller amounts. Thus, when I have cravings for those less nutritious foods, I eat them sensibly, stick to eating smaller by using smaller serving bowls and plates. In addition, when I dine out, portion control also comes into play. I am well aware that that restaurants have outrageously large serving size, so what I normally do is eat until I’m satisfied and then pack the rest to take home to enjoy later (it is a much better idea than overstuffing myself!). I do not try to clear my plate just because that is the “right” thing to do.

In addition to healthy eating, regular exercise also plays an important part in my healthy lifestyle plan. Although I do not go to the gym on a regular basis, I do try to include some sort of exercise in my daily routine. I often mix up my exercises too, doing some free weights, some cardio (brisk walks on treadmill) and, at times, even yoga / Pilates. I’m not really the type of person who can workout for a long period of time, so I often split up workout sessions into shorter ones and fit them into my day.

My ultimate wish for this project was really for you to see what I mean by “embracing a healthy lifestyle” and give you a more realistic idea of my take on healthy eating. Hopefully, by reading through these visual food logs, you were able to observe that although I do make a strong effort to be healthy in all areas of my life, it is nowhere near perfect, but it works for me and I am very pleased with the way it is (for the most parts at least)!

8:45am: Yogurt with frozen blueberries and a scant 1/4 cup of Kashi Go Lean Cereal.

10:30am: Went out for delicious dim sum. I ate 2 of the 3 steamed dumplings with mixed mushrooms, had one piece of the fried shrimp dumpling and a piece of the fried vegetarian spring roll. For my sweet treat today, I spent it on ordering this fabulous Chinese style dessert — papaya in pureed almond sweetened soup.

3:15pm: A big plate of quick kale & onion stir-fry with Chinese sesame paste and Sambal Oelek.

6:30pm: Dinner at home. The meal started with a bowl of leftover Chinese tonic soup from last night. Then I dug into the three big plates of food. The protein dish today featured halibut and I had about a serving of that. Then I gobbled up a couple servings of veggies from the vegetable side dishes: stir-fry broccoli with carrots, sugar snap peas and beef & steamed cauliflower smothered in spicy sesame sauce. The Chinese tonic soup had a lot of starchy ingredients in it today, which made it quite fulfilling so I skipped out on rice today.

8:00pm: A serving of grapes and 1/2 of a huge Ambrosia apple.

Some thoughts about today…

• Two of the four dim sum items that I ordered today are deep-fried. Although they aren’t not the healthiest options on the menu, I do not restrict myself from ordering them because I believe there are no forbidden foods in any diet — deep-fried items can have a place in my diet, just that they believe in the “choose less often” category. Hence, when I want deep-fried foods, I have them, but I make sure that I exercise portion control and complement them with other healthier items.
• The reason I chose to make a big plate of kale for my mid-afternoon snack is because I ate out for lunch today and there was definitely not enough veggies in that meal. So I decided to make myself a nourishing and delicious kale stir-fry.
• I totally had an overdose on Chinese sesame paste today (2 tablespoon in kale stir-fry and another 2 tablespoon in the cauliflower dish). Although nut butter is a good source of protein and heart-healthy unsaturated fats, the calories can really add up too, so my suggestion for you is definitely not have as much as I did today (unless you’re trying to add on some weight).
• Going grocery shopping and eating dim sum happily occupied me for the whole morning. In the afternoon, I got wrapped up in preparing veggies for my mid-day snack and also for dinner, so I didn’t manage to find time for exercise. Then, after dinner, I got distracted by TV and so…all the motivation for working out went down the drain!

That’s it, folks, the seven day of my visual food log project! Tomorrow In a few days, I’ll like to run one last post for the series: a self-reflection on how I have eaten this week, to highlight the good points and figure out which parts need improving. Stay tuned!

Has this Visual Food Log Project been helpful to you in any way? Was it interesting (or informative) to read? Would it be any good if I extend this project for another week or even extend it for a month? Leave a comment, I’ll love to hear your thoughts!

6:00am: Finished the last portion of the Spiced Red Lentil Dal with a 1/4 cup rice and a 1/4 cup corn (by now, you should notice that I love corn, I basically add it in wherever I can), garnished with a big handful of cilantro and scallions. Delicious and healthy – a great start for my morning.

11:15am: Made myself a large bowl of the Pepperpot soup that I took home from my cooking class last night. I bulked it up by adding a cup of Napa cabbage. Great flavours, very fulfilling, and very quick to make too, just perfect as my quick-fix meal right after I get home from school.

12:45pm: 1/2 cup of green seedless grapes.

2:00pm: A plate of steamed cauliflower drizzled with soy-sesame sauce (variation on my beloved Peanut sauce recipe – used Chinese sesame paste for peanut butter) served over some brown Basmati rice.

Did a quick 25-min uphill brisk walk on the treadmill while watching video podcasts on my Iphone.

5:00pm: 1 medium-sized Ambrosia apple. I am totally in love with these babies, so so good.

6:15pm: Dinner at home. Had a bowl of mom’s Chinese Tonic Soup. The main dish was soy-marinated pork with wood ear mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms. I had quite a bit of the wood ear and shiitake mushrooms, and a few slices of the pork. To round off the meal, I had a serving of rice and had a couple veggie servings from the side dishes: slow-braised fuzzy melon with dried scallops and Napa Cabbage stir-fry with BBQ Pork. We don’t always cook with BBQ Pork but somehow this week we had a big box in the fridge that needed to be finished asap, so that is why it keeps reappearing on my dinner table!

9:00pm: Tapioca Pudding in a 6oz ramekin cup — perfect portion control!

Some thoughts about today…

• Breakfast made my day! It was a very well-balanced power breakfast consisting of complex carbs (brown Basmati rice), plant protein (red lentils) and veggies (tomatoes & onion already in dal, and thrown in some frozen corn kernels). The combination lasted me until 10ish-11, pretty incredible.
• The soup that I had at 11 wasn’t very fulfilling because there was no grains in the soup so at around 2pm I got slightly hungry again and prepared myself a big plate of cauliflower and added in some whole grains to ground my meal.
• On my dinner table, we often have 3 big plates of food that we share (traditional Chinese family dinner style). Usually one of the plate will be feature a protein and the two other dishes will feature veggies and may have a little bit of meat to spike up the flavours (sometimes they won’t). So, at dinner time, there is always plenty of vegetables to choose from, making it very easy to get enough veggies for my daily needs.
• Usually I don’t have desserts on weekdays, but today has been so relaxing that it just feels like a good night for dessert. And since I didn’t really have any sweet(or savory) snacks today (veggies and fruits don’t count, right? ), I decided I would treat myself to a tapioca pudding. The idea of making one has been lingering in my mind for a while now, so I suppose today was the best night to make it and it get it out of my head.

8:30am: A small bowl of Spicy Red Lentil Dal served over brown basmati rice and a big salad with honey-Dijon vinaigrette. (Although the bowls look like they are the same size in the picture, that is actually very misleading, the bowl that holds the salad is about twice as large.)

11:00am: 1/2 cup of green seedless grapes.

12:45pm: 1/2 cup of Rotini with Sardines and Beans in Tomato Sauce and a big plate of Kale Stir-fry with Onions in Tahini and hot pepper sauce.

6:00pm: 1 medium-sized Ambrosia apple and a handful of mixed nuts.

8:30pm: Tasting at Cooking Class. I signed up for a World Cuisine Cooking class and today is the first class! We made Jamaican food. I had a bowl of Jamaican Pepperpot Soup (nice warm, peppery flavour), one piece of Jerk Chicken thigh (very high, but very addictively yummy )and about a serving of Jamaican Rice with Beans (coconut flavours goes well with nutty flavour of rice). For dessert, we made a Rum-Flamed Pineapple – I had 2 chunks of pineapple and about a 1/2 cup of vanilla ice cream to go with that. All the food tasted fabulous and I took lots of leftover home!

Some thoughts about today

• I knew I was going to be out for the whole afternoon and evening so I made sure to include as much vegetables as I could before I went out (hence, the huge salad at breakfast and the big plate of kale at lunch). By doing so, I still managed to squeeze in about 8 servings of veggies (hurray!) even though I was out for most of the afternoon and evening.
• The time frame between lunch and my “mid-afternoon” snack was too long, I should have had the apple and the nuts earlier. But I also didn’t want to have them too early or else I would have got too hungry during tasting and ended up eating too much.
• Didn’t make time for any exercise today

9:15am: Oatmeal with Mung beans and sweet potato, sweetened with a spoonful of condensed milk — creamy and delicious (and nutritious!) breakfast. While I was cooking my oatmeal, I had a Medjool date stuffed with peanut butter…yum!

11:30am: A tiny bit of vanilla ice cream (homemade!) with lots of banana slices.

12:30pm: Salad with Honey-Dijon Vinaigrette, contains diced orange bell peppers, diced bamboo shoots, corn kernels and some wheat berries.  Also had two bites from my brother’s lunch,  Spiced Red Lentil Dal served over orzo.

2:15pm: A big plate of broccoli with my favourite dip, Peanut sauce! (This is the third day in a row that I am having this, it is really good and I will never get tired of it, seriously.)

For my daily exercise today, I headed outside and did a 45-min brisk walk around my neighbourhood. It felt great!

4:15pm: 1/2 of a very BIG orange. Sweet, juicy and pulpy, just the way I like it.

5:45pm: 1 piece cheese cracker = my mini snack before going out for dinner.

6:30pm: Went out for Vietnamese noodles, shared a big bowl with my brother so I ended up having about a serving of rice noodles topped with about 1/4 cup of bean sprouts and 2 thin slices of beef brisket. Also had 1/3 of a fried shrimp appetizer and 3 pieces of the lemongrass pork chop. Overall, dinner was flavourful and I exercised good portion control, ate until I was satisfied but not stuffed.

After dinner, I decided to try out a quick yoga routine that the Boyfriend found on Youtube today. It was the Weight Loss Yoga Challenge for Beginners by Tara Stiles. The clip was only 8 mins long so I did two rounds. Although short, it was a decent yoga routine, I like that she has included different poses that targeted the trouble zones (thighs, arms, and back).

Some thoughts about today

• The salad that I had for lunch wasn’t very fulfilling (not enough whole grains, so it didn’t feel like there was enough substance to the meal), which led me to make some broccoli 2 hours later.
• I know that I was going to go out for dinner, so I made sure I had plenty of veggies before dinner time (salad + broccoli + fruits), and took special care to prepare myself a small snack to eat before going out so that I will not get too hungry at the restaurant and order too much food. (It’s a great strategy to prevent overindulging when you dine out! Starving yourself so that you can have a little bit more when you eat out is  not a good idea, because usually you will end up eating more than you should.)
• When I dine out, I try to order small portions and share the meals with my dining guests. By doing so, I get to the satisfaction of trying different items without having to eat huge portions of each food.
• On most days, I allow myself to have two snacks, and I often choose to have one sweet and one savory. For example, today I had banana slices with vanilla ice cream as my sweet treat, and the cheese cracker as the savory option.

8:30am: The main dish is leftover spinach and tomato stew with beans and barley. On the side, I also had a baked egg with a tiny bit of Parmesan cheese and topped off with some salsa.

12:00pm: Ate a small sized Pacific Rose Apple.

1:30pm: Sushi bento lunch! Some green salad with dressing on the side, a few pieces of tempura (shrimp and sweet potatoes), 4 slices of sashmi and a sushi roll (unagi with tamago). The bento box also came with a delicious miso soup. I didn’t finish the whole bento box, got a to-go box and took home 3 pieces of the sushi rolls and one tempura shrimp. Oh, and I really love pickled ginger, so I asked for extra (yum!).

4:00pm: Broccoli with Peanut Sauce. I felt like I didn’t get enough veggies at lunch, so I decided to make myself a delicious veggie dish (or maybe I was just looking for a excuse reason to have some more of that delicious peanut sauce…).

5:30pm: Vanilla Frozen Yogurt with Banana slices. So creamy and yummy, I love it!

7:00pm: Another typical Chinese dinner. To start, I had a bowl of carrot soup (leftover from the day before). I then picked out most of the daikon from the Daikon with shiitake mushrooms and BBQ pork dish, ate a few servings of veggies from the Napa Cabbage with vermicelli and had a few bites of Fish cake with celery. Along with those, I had a serving of mixed rice too. To end dinner, I made myself a piece of butter toast (because I wanted to try out the homemade bread that my mom baked today).

While I watched TV after dinner, I did some weight training. I picked out 4 moves and did 3 sets of 15 reps each. It took me about 15 minutes. Obviously it wasn’t very intense, but instead of slouching on the couch and watching TV, I decided to move a little while I watched TV, which is always better than not moving at all.

Some thoughts about today…

• In addition to doing a mini resistance training today, I did quite a bit of walking too – just from walking to and from the bus stop to various destinations, I think I got about 15 – 20 minutes worth of walking (which I will gladly count as my daily exercise )
• Sushi lunch today was a somewhat balanced meal –some veggies, some protein and not an overwhelming amount of carbs– but I so wished that the salad would have been bigger!
• Usually when I eat out, I try to order items separately so that I can have better portion control. But  the restaurant I went to today had irresistibly cheap bento box deals, so I decided to order that instead. Knowing I ordered a large amount of food, I made a conscious decision to not finish the whole bento. Instead I chose to eat about 3/4 of it and packed the rest home for later (which, unsurprisingly, went down my brother’s belly as his mid-afternoon snack).
• I LOVE pairing vanilla frozen yogurt (or ice cream) with banana slices. I think their flavours complement each other really nicely and make this sweet treat extraordinarily delicious. Plus, adding banana slices not only enhances the flavour, but it also bulks up the treat and make it a bit healthier too. I often freeze the banana slices for 30 minutes or so beforehand because I find that really helps to bring out the sweetness.

9:45am: Oatmeal with Mung beans and sweet potato chunks (sweetened with a generously scoop of condensed milk…I love this stuff!). [I didn't have school today so I slept in, hence the late breakfast ]

In between breakfast and lunch, I did a quick brisk walk on the treadmill, 25 minutes. Nice and easy, just enough to trigger my brain to produce endorphins to keep me in a happy mood for the rest of the day.

1:45pm: Broccoli and Bamboo Shoots warm salad with brown rice, drizzled with Peanut Sauce. This is the nice looking picture before I stirred in the sauce (the one I took after I added in the sauce looked like a mess, so I decided to post this picture instead, much more appetizing).

4:45pm: 1/2 Ambrosia apple. It was really big so I split it with my brother and only ate half. This apple was delicious, very crunchy, juicy and sweet.

6:45pm: Typical Chinese dinner. I had a bowl of cilantro soup with a few pieces of fish. Then a 2-3 servings of the broccoli & corn stir-fry, few bites of the Chives and Tofu with BBQ Pork and about one serving of the steamed halibut in chili black bean sauce. Along with those, I had about a serving of rice too (mix of brown, red and regular white rice).

At around9:30pm, I decided to end the day by doing 20 minutes of yoga (since I pledged to do it for my “Do What You Don’t” Challenge). I haven’t done yoga for a long time and so the routine was kind of hard, good thing it was only 20 minutes long (phew!).

Some thoughts about today…

• Fulfilled and exceed the daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. I think I had about 8 – 9 servings (This would be a good example that demonstrates that as long as you include some fruits or vegetables with each meal and between meals, it is actually not that hard to meet the daily suggested 7+ servings!)
• More than 1/2 of the grain servings were whole grain (oatmeal, brown rice)
• Excellent lean protein sources: Mung beans, peanut butter, fish and tofu

I have been in the habit of keeping a food journal for the past 1.5 years now. I think it is a great way to keep track of how I eat and what I eat and so far, it has served as a great tool to help me better self-reflect on my eating habits. It would be very easy to just copy and paste what I have written down in my food journey, but I figured that would just be plain boring, and probably all of you would just want to run away from my blog as fast as you can click the “x” button! Hence, to (hopefully) keep you all here a little longer, I’ll be posting pictures of what I have eaten and maybe include short blurbs  to explain my food choices if necessary. (Sounds way more fascinating than just a list of what I put into my mouth, right?)

At first, I thought I should start this project on Sunday since that is officially the first day of a fresh week. But then I thought, what the heck, why not start today? That’s no reason to wait!

Hence, ladies and gentlemen, I hereby present to you the visual food log for today! (Enjoy!)

6:00am: Yogurt with some frozen blueberries and a scant 1/4 cup Kashi Go Lean Cereal.

12:30pm: Spinach and tomato stew with beans and barley. Okay, I have to admit, this doesn’t look very appealing but it is actually quite tasty! Believe it or not, 3/4 of the contents in the big bowl is veggies! So veggies is a great way to bulk up your meal, keep you full for longer and give great nutritional benefits.

3:30pm: A medium sized Pacific Rose Apple.

4:30pm: 1/3 of a homemade Bacon & Cheese bun and a bowl of red & green carrot soup (Chinese-style tonic soup).

8:00pm: Tasting at my Cooking Lab. This week’s theme is Fruits and Vegetables. We started off by tasting two fruit smoothie drinks. Then, we moved into the veggie dishes. The kale stir-fry was amazing (as you can tell I went back for seconds…and thirds). The coleslaw was also light, crispy and refreshing. There was also a rutabaga slaw, a roasted vegetable soup. and a baked butternut squash dish (which I didn’t get too excited about because roasted Kabocha squash is tastes so much sweeter and better!). For a sweet finish, we tried some broiled fruits and fruit crisp (which turned out so delicious, I couldn’t resist going back for anther scoop!). Mmmm, today’s lab was amazingly delicious — I came home with a full belly and a smile of total satisfaction on my face!

Some thoughts about today…

• Lots of fruits and veggies today
• Not a lot of whole grains (or any grains really)
• Long gap before breakfast and lunch (because I was at UBC the whole morning) – should have brought a snack or a fruit to have in between the two meals
• Meatless day, not intentionally meatless – but since I had beans for lunch and had fruit and vegetable tasting for dinner, it just naturally turned out to be a meatless day
• Quite a bit of fiber (from the beans, fruits and vegetables, barley), good thing I drank a lot of water!

On the side: I also did a quick 25-min brisk walk on the treadmill today (would have been nice to go out for a walk, but Vancouver is having a super doper windy day today, not really suitable for any outdoor activities, in my opinion.)