Day 5: Thistle Eating Plan

 Yesterday, I started to feel craving for food but then I counted my calories and realized I was under the appropriate amount of calories for me, so I had a yogurt with granola. And that really helped me. Also, I was tired and I might have confused feeling tired with being hungry. 

Today my total calories from Thistle will be about 1500, so I plan on eating some additional snacks today.

Here is my day of eating today: 

Breakfast

Black Bean & Plantain Tofu Scramble: Chipotle spiced black beans mixed with crumbled tofu, plantains, onions & peppers. 370 cal

My Thoughts: This was really good! The tofu was like scrambled eggs, and I have not had plantains before. They were sweet and good. This tasted like a scrambled eggs with veggie dish to me. 10/10

Lunch

Blueberry Sorghum Salad with 'Feta': A beautiful blueberry vinaigrette is the star of this seasonal salad and is perfectly balanced by our crunchy chickpeas and fresh sorghum pilaf. 480 calories

My Thoughts: I give this 9/10 stars. I didn't like the sorghum pilaf. I have never heard of that before. I didn't like the taste of it raw, but it might be good cooked. This is a meal that I could have heated up. I chose to eat it like a regular salad. It tasted good, but I just picked off the sorghum.

Snack:

Okinawa Sweet Potato Bar: The gorgeously pigmented, okinawan root vegetable makes a good (and good-looking) substitute for a traditional sweet potato pie. Simple ingredients, a purple hue, all on top of a cassava shortbread crust. 330 calories

My Thoughts: 10/10 I liked it! At first I wasn't sure I would. I guess I can be a picky eater. This tasted like a cake. 

Dinner:

Crunchy Thai Peanut Bowl with Sesame Pea Protein Crumbles: A veggie & shirataki noodle bowl with cabbage, carrots, baby corn & mushrooms. Served with our creamy coconut-peanut sauce. 400 calories. 

My Review: I don't like it. It just doesn't have the flavors I like. Maybe I would like it better with chicken? I'm not going to get this again. 2/10 stars.

Thanks for checking out my blog! I recommend Thistle if you haven't tried it yet. For the most part I have liked all the meals. And the ones I didn't like, I don't need to get again. They have new dishes for the summertime.

Day 4: Eating Plan w/Thistle and healthy snacks

 Here is day 4, and I am happy with myself that I've been sticking to my eating plan. The food is good, and I feel motivated. This week the meal plan from Thistle is low in calories for what is healthy for me, so I plan on having a 300 calorie snack in the evening. 

Breakfast:

Chunky Monkey Smoothie: Sweet, crunchy, chocolatey, creamy, and slightly salty. Is there anything better? It has granola on top. 490 calories.

My Review: The taste was good, but it was just ok to me. I give it 5/10 stars. I liked some of the other breakfast meals better.

Lunch:

Loaded Baked Potato Salad with Paprika Chicken: A loaded baked potato you can feel good about eating! Made extra special with hickory veggie bacon & creamy ranch dressing. 480 calories

My Review: This was 10/10. I loved it! I don't feel hungry after eating it.

Snack:

Pacific Hummus with Puffed Kelp Chips: This savory, umami-packed hummus is packed with nutrient-rich seaweed and served with crisp veggies and puffed kelp chips. 220 calories

My thoughts: I give it 2/10 stars. I didn't like it very much to be honest. I won't be getting this again.

Dinner:

Chimichurri Pasta Bowl with Herb Ground Turkey: A bright and tangy chimichurri sauce top artichoke hearts and sun dried tomatoes to give this pasta dish all the flavors of spring. 560 calories

My Review: This was 10/10! So delicious. Afterwards, I was hungry so I made myself a 300 calorie snack - tuna fish on bread. 

Overall: Today was good. I felt like I had energy all day from the meals. The food was good except I didn't really care for the snack. 

I am going to blog one more day of Thistle eating (tomorrow), and then I don't think I will eat Thistle for the whole day on Saturday because it is Memorial Day Weekend and I have plans with friends. 

Thank you for reading my blog post! I hope you have a good day. 

Day 3: Trying Thistle Meals & Meeting My Nutritionist

 Okay, so far so good. I've been eating the meals each day, and I've also been exercising. This morning I did not wake up early to exercise, so hopefully I will fit it into my day today.

Breakfast:

Sweet Potato Hash: Sweet potato hash with scrambled tofu, sauteed onions, bell peppers and longeve protein crumbles seasoned with a breakfast sausage spice blend. Served with a roasted tomato salsa: 420 calories.

My Review: This is so delicious! It is like eggs and potato except it is sweet potato, and it is a little bit spicy from the salsa and spices. I give it 10/10 stars! It is a nice size portion too. I'm also drinking a glass of milk with it.

Lunch:

Crunchy Broccoli & Creamy Poppy Seed Salad with Herb Kidney Beans: Enjoy a broccoli slaw with herb kidney beans, a smoky-sweet crunchy topping, and creamy poppy seed dressing. 460 calories

My Review: This salad is so good! Who knew salads could be this good? I'm not someone who normally gets a salad because i feel like they are so plain usually. But the Thistle salads have been the best salads I have ever eaten! 10/10 stars I give this.

Snack:

Peanut Butter Ganache Bar: These dense peanut butter bars are topped with a creamy coconut-chocolate ganache. 420 cal

My Review: This tasted like a really rich chocolate with peanut butter. I thought it was just ok. I give it 2/5 stars. It's not the type of thing I normally like, so it isn't that Thistle did a bad job making it, I just personally did not prefer it.

Dinner:

Adobo Rice & Veg Bowl with Adobo Pinto Beans: We've balanced the powerful adobo flavors with red rice, roasted veggies & a cooling chipotle ranch dressing. 750 cal

My Review: I really liked it! I have never had this before. It was very filling too. I give it 10/10 stars.

Today, was a really filling day. My total calories was 2,050 which is the amount I need for someone my size to lose weight. Yesterday, at night I felt hungry because I had eaten 1,705 calories that day. 

I met with a nutritionist today, and she said to add a 300 calorie protein snack to my day if the calories are on the low side. These are the snacks she recommended if you are curious:

1. 2 hard boiled eggs, string cheese

2. 3 turkey roll ups, string cheese, carrots and ranch

3. Yoplait with granola

4. 1/4 cup peanuts with string cheese

5. 1/2 a can of tuna with mayo on bread

6. banana with peanut butter or 2 string cheeses

Day 2: In My Week Trying Out Thistle Meals

 Yesterday, I really enjoyed trying out the new meals and writing my post about it, so I'm looking forward to doing it today.

Breakfast:

Dirty Chai Oats w/ Oat Latte Cream: Oaktown Spice Shop's chai masala tea is steeped into our rolled oats and paired with an oat latte cream for a dirty chai oatmeal. It was 325 calories. 

Ingredients: water, rolled oats, hemp seeds, chai masala, puffed quinoa, pumpkin seed, date sugar, dried blueberries, maple syrup, rice bran oil, and sea salt

My Review: This was 9/10 for me. It tasted like a really good oatmeal. It was sweet, and I liked the dried blueberries too. I thought there would be a coffee taste to it (and I don't like coffee), but it didn't taste like that. I gave it a 9 instead of a 10 because there was something in it that I didn't really care for, but not a big deal. I would have this again. I don't think I liked the pumpkin seeds.

Lunch

Caterpillar Sushi Salad with Sesame Edamame: This sushi salad unrolls all of the primary flavors of an uramaki "inside-out" caterpillar roll with crunchy red cabbage, cucumber, carrot and short-grain rice. It has chili miso dressing on the side. Total calories is 520.

My Review: I give this 10/10 stars! I loved it. I feel like my body is really craving salads and vegetables. 

Snack

24 Carrot Gold Muffin: This moist carrot muffin is loaded with applesauce, flax seeds, almonds, and plump raisins, and is spiced with cinnamon and ginger. 310 calories

My Review: I think it is 6/10 stars. It tastes like a carrot muffin, a healthy one. I would like it more if it was sweeter, but yet it is not a cake it is a muffin.

I wanted to say also the meals are really filling. I don't feel hungry. Yesterday in between breakfast and lunch i was hungry after exercising. Today I have felt good. With the muffin I had nonfat milk.

Dinner

Panang Peanut Stir-Fry Bowl with Sesame Pea Protein Crumbles: A creamy, nutty peanut sauce coats a stir-fry of fresh mushrooms, broccoli, cauliflower, bell pepper & carrots. 550 calories

My Review: 5/10 stars. It was just okay. It would taste better to me if there was chicken in it. They do offer a version of this with sesame roasted chicken. The food was fresh and everything was fine, it was just the taste to me. I'm not used to eating vegetables to be honest. So I know this is really good for my body.

Overall, today my favorites were the breakfast and the lunch was so good! I never thought I would like salads so much. The muffin and stir-fry were just ok to me, not because the food wasn't made well or anything like that, it is just my personal taste and what I am used to eating.

Day 1: First Day Trying Out Thistle

 I am excited to start my first week on Thistle! I plan on making a post each day for a week, sharing what I ate for each meal of the day. I hope this will be interesting and helpful.

Breakfast: 

Matcha Chi Smoothie: Green tea meets toasted pepitas and brown rice to create a rich and creamy smoothie reminiscent of genmaicha green tea. Served with a ginger-spiced granola. There is gingerbread granola on top. 370 calories

It has oats, mango, peaches, chia seeds, bananas, maple syrup, spinach, brown rice, pumpin seeds, vanilla extract, green tea matcha powder and sea salt.

My Review: I have never had anything like this before. It sort of tastes like a tea yogurt with granola on top. I can taste the spinach. It seems and tastes like something that is really good for me, so that is why I'm eating the whole thing. It's not terrible tasting. It's just not something I would naturally get at the grocery store. I would probably choose a blueberry yogurt with granola on top, which is also healthy but doesn't have all the vitamins that are in this smoothie. I think I will give this 4/10 stars, not because it doesn't have good things in it, that is just my honest reaction to the taste.

Lunch:

Greek Salad with Crispy Chickpeas: Our spin on a Greek salad, complete with our house made "feta," crispy Biena chickpeas, fresh red pepper and cucumber. It comes with a red wine vinaigrette. 460 calories. My Review: This was so tasty! I think it was the best salad I have ever had! 10/10 It filled me up too. The chickpeas were like croutons to me, and the "feta" tasted like real feta. 

Snack:

Spinach Artichoke Dip: Creamy, crunchy and protein-packed! Served with wholesome seed crackers and crisp veggies for an extra crunch. 360 calories. My Review: This is okay to me. I'd say it is better than the breakfast, and less than the lunch I had. I'd give it a 6/10 for how much I like it.

Dinner

Lemon Pea Pesto Pasta with Roasted Yellow Squash: Chickpea pasta tossed with roasted seasonal squash and our cashew-pea pesto for an extra creamy bite. 640 calories 

My Review: This was 10/10! So delicious! I love it. It tasted so comforting. This was so much better than anything I had on Jenny Craig.

Overall: Day 1 was really good! I loved the lunch and dinner, the snack was ok, the breakfast wasn't something I'm used to. I really am happy with Thistle so far! 

Healthy Eating and Exercise

 Hi! I'm back to make another post on my blog! It's been awhile since I have written anything here. I just wanted to share my thoughts and plans on what I want to do to lose weight and become a healthier version of me. 

For food I was doing Jenny Craig, and it has closed, so I needed to find something new. I'm trying out Thistle Meal Delivery Service and seeing how that goes. It is a Mediterranean Diet. It is mainly plant diet, but you can add meat to it if you would like. I decided I would try both all plant meals and the ones with meat. I was thinking it might be fun to every day take a picture of what I am eating and post it onto my blog. My first day is Monday, May 22, 2023. The food looks really good, but unlike the food I normally eat. I'm really hoping this works out for me. My Jenny Craig consultant is perhaps going to work as a life coach, and I can always turn to her if Thistle doesn't work out.

For exercise, I was thinking of doing yoga challenges with Adriene on Youtube. Her youtube channel is "Yoga with Adriene." I used to do yoga a long time ago when i was like 18-19 years old. I would watch Denise Austin on Lifetime and there was a show called "Fit and Lite." I learned some yoga from that show, and I had a yoga dvd by Denise Austin I would do. Then when I went to college, I remember taking a yoga class, and I loved it. It was my first time experience PE class as being fun. Then I like to take walks on nice days through my neighborhood. My Jenny Craig consultant said "After I brush my teeth, I should go for a walk!" So I thought that is something I could do. I also like doing swim aerobics. 

What do you like to do for eating healthy and exercise? Please write in the comments!