So, you may have heard that NYC now requires calorie labeling – i.e. the calorie count of foods must be posted on the menu of chain restaurants. My favorite bad-day treat from Dunkin’ Donuts? A whopping 580 calories! (The coffee cake muffin, if you must know)
Having this info shoved in my face made me wonder about my normal daily calorie intake – I know that the “average person” (who does not exist… because who is “average?”) should have a 2000 calorie/day diet ; I’ve picked up from TV that people trying to lose weight should have about a 1200 cal/day (women) or 1500 cal/day (men) diet.
But what about me?
What is my diet like?
And so, I present to you, my diet. And by diet, I mean what I ate today, a normal day. Not trying to eat more or less or anything special. Just me and my food, doing our thing.
So yes, internet, take a peek in my stomach:
BREAKFAST = 185 cal
coffee = 9 cal/cup ; equivalent of, oh, 4 cups = 36 cal
hazelnut (non-dairy) creamer = 45 cal
1 red grapefruit = 52 cal/half, full fruit = 104 cal
LUNCH = 400 cal
Sandwich:
sharp cheddar cheese = 69 cal/cubic inch, guessing maybe 2??? = 138 cal
hummus = 23 cal/tbsp, 3 tbsp = 69 cal
2 slices 7-grain bread = 65 cal/slice, 2 slices = 130 cal
lettuce = 2 cal/leaf, about 1.5 leaves = 3 cal
TOTAL = 340 cal
baby carrots = 3-4 cal/carrot, about 15 carrots = 60 cal
diet pepsi = 0 cal
SNACKS = 230 cal
SoyJoy Bar = 130 cal
Handful of corn chips = 100 cal
DINNER = 638
Roll = 79 cal
Lettuce = 2 cal/leaf, 2 leaves= 4 cal
Tomato = 3 cal/slice, 2 slices = 6 cal
Onion = 4 cal/slice, 1 slice = 4 cal
Avocado = 289/fruit x 1/4 an avocado = 73
Veggie Burger = 80 cal
TOTAL = 246
Banana Bread = 196 cal/slice, 2 slices (Oh yes I did!) = 392
So, my daily total? 1453 calories
Which is a lot less than I thought it might be… I’m planning on doing this again over a couple of days, to then average them out to see what my average daily calorie consumption is.
But, I pose the question to you: what is YOUR daily intake? (No need to answer me, just think about it yourself) Looking up the values, I was surprised by how filling yet low-calorie some things are (baby carrots, anyone?) ; not so surprised to find a bunch of my calories came from my enjoyment of my baking…
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And now, answers to some questions:
Pesto – yes, I blend the pine nuts, too. It helps add to the “thickness” of this type of pesto, I think. Or at least that’s my theory… Throwing some whole or crushed pine nuts on the pasta is also a great touch, though!
Veggie Burgers – I agree, many are terrible. Or at least, the way I prepare them, they turn out that way! The ones I am using now are the Boca Grilled Vegetable burgers, and I microwave them rather than prep than any other way, since everything else I have tried ends up leaving them a bit dry…
Indoor cooking of burgers – I’ve already told you, lilsis, but for everyone else – I use a George Foreman grill. As some might know, I’m a veggie, and I have been for most of my life. Since I usually cook by taste – and tell if something is done that way as well! – this makes coking meat a BIT difficult for me… So I limit myself to chicken, turkey, and fish – three things that I can easily tell by sight when they are finished. And the Foreman grill? Makes it that much simpler…
