Yesterday, I made a savory veg smoothie that I intended to split over 2 meals, but I used too much ice, and it ended up being 3 meals. That left almost no dietary variety yesterday, and that sort of thing can make a meal plan seem overly restrictive.
This morning, I began thinking about that, and my brain began scanning for healthy options, but it began to reach for potentially problematic ones that could lead to bad choices, like, "Maybe I could go find a veg breakfast sandwich somewhere." I recognized that as a red flag that I needed to be proactive, so I got up and made a large salad for breakfast. Salads have enough textural variety that they can more than make up for a day of drinking smoothies.
When I designed my meal plan, it consisted of a large salad, a smoothie, and soup every day, then followed by whatever I felt like eating. But I have been able to suppress my hunger signalling effectively enough that even though my meal plan is at a steep calorie deficit (and nutrient maximum), it is just too much food. For the time being, I might just try to eat two of the three every day while I consider the situation.
I was going to take a photo of the salad, but waited too far into the salad-making process for it to be photogenic. I can at least provide the recipe:
Greens - spinach, spring mix, kale
Vegs - onion, garlic, roasted red peppers, banana peppers, garlic-stuffed olives
Other: walnuts, blueberries, flax, chia
Dressing - soy sauce, balsamic, Dijon, nooch, liquid smoke
Spice-paprika, cayenne, ginger, turmeric, black pepper.
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