Portion Shmortion

So forgive me if the following sounds a little teachery...

When it comes to healthy living, I usually feel like I do pretty well. I try to eat the right foods, cook my meals at home and exercise at least a few times a week. You could say I feel like I have mastered most of the healthy living objectives. However, there is one area in which I need consistent remediation: portion control.

If life was a classroom, I would be in the slow group for Portion Control 101.

The reason I mention this is because I was a little disappointed today when I got on the scale and discovered I had gained 3 pounds.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not someone who lives and breathes in accordance with a number on a scale. In fact, I rarely weigh myself unless I get bored while the shower is heating up. However, after all the desserts and yumminess I have been featuring on my blog, I knew deep down, I had been overdoing the sweet stuff just a little bit…

The amazing thing about being vegan is that it provides so much freedom. You don’t feel guilty when you indulge in an occasional brownie or cookie because you know that you cooked it yourself and the ingredients are wholesome. However, vegan or not, 2 brownies or cookies or chocolate peanut butter cups a night for weeks on end does not make thee a “skinny bitch.” Oops!

At one time in my life, I may have freaked out about a few extra pounds. In fact it could have spawned some mild starvation stints (I have only recently started to realize that I may have struggled with some disordered eating issues in my younger days). Now, I just look at it as a signal to start doing my portion control homework again. What a drag.

Basically, my goal for the next two weeks is to cut down on my dessert portions and try to check in with myself before going back for seconds at meals. I need to remember that healthy food is not so healthy for your body when you eat too much of it. As much as I wish it was the case, my little body does not need to eat 2, 500 calories a day. Bummer.

I think mindful eating is just as important as healthy eating and perhaps I have been neglecting that…


To start off my challenge, I began the day with a smoothie infused with protein powder. Now, don’t go adding Myoplex to your smoothies just cause I said the words protein powder! That stuff is terrible for your body. For real, read the ingredients sometime. In fact, I tried out some organic protein powder made from spirutien and brown rice that was not half bad. I did miss my double bagels with cream cheese and honey that I had been enjoying along with the smoothie but I figured a supersize breakfast would not be the right way to start off…


About half way through the morning I enjoyed a peach and some seltzer water. At first, I wanted to go for some PB too but I checked in with my tummy and realized I didn’t really need it. For real! I promise! I passed up peanut butter and didn’t even miss it. Strange huh?

At lunch the peanut butter reappeared (I couldn’t stay away for long). I had a wrap with peanut butter and apples. Yum! That held me over until after the kiddos left the building when I enjoyed some cut up veggies. Sorry no pics. The middle schoolers kept me quite busy today.


By the time I got home from work and got in a quick workout, I admit I was starving. Mindful eating made me very MINDFUL of the fact that my stomach was beginning to eat itself from the inside out. Vegan veggie fried rice to the rescue:

Veggie Fried Rice:

2 cups cooked brown rice
Chopped baby bok choy
½ cup broccoli florets
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons organic shoyu
¼ cup water

1. Saute rice and veggies in sesame oil. As rice heats up, it may get dry so add water slowly to keep moist (ughh I hate that word!)

2. Add shoyu and ginger. Let cook on medium until bok choy is wilted (about 8 minutes)

Patrick's portion with eggs added

I enjoyed a medium sized portion with some leftover veggies from last night and only went back for a tiny portion of seconds (couldn’t resist).

Fresh berries for dessert tonight.

I don’t even miss the chocolate peanut butter cups…

much.