Food Diary – 9/11/17.

When I first saw ‘what I eat in a day’ vlogs and blogs, I thought it was a little irritating how people boasted of how healthy their diets are. Some of us might be jealous that others seemingly ease into a plant based, Gluten-free lifestyle which we may have struggled to strive for ourselves; others may just find these postings untruthful. Why pretend to be entirely healthy, if in reality you have a prefectly suitable balanced diet? So today I’m going to be straightforward and write honestly about what I have eaten regardless if a particular food is considered as unhealthy.

A little background information: I’m not much of a meat eater. I mainly only like chicken breast, pork only in sausage form, and beef only in burger form as long as the patty is thin and well cooked. I don’t eat fish regualrly, though I will occasionally eat seafood if it is mixed in with some kind of sauce or fried. I don’t stray away from meat and fish due to being against animal cruelty (which I do highly disagree with but have come from a culture who consider ‘the usual meats’ as being acceptable to eat); it’s more so about being fussy with meat flavours and textures. As I don’t have much protein in my diet, I mainly bulk my meals with vegetables and carbohydrates. I love pasta and noodles, however for the last 3 years I have tried to cut-back on my carbohydrate intake to avoid accessive weightgain and lower the change of suffering from diet related illnesses. Most cuisines I like come from the UK (of course it’s my home country), Italy, China, Korea and Japan and of course America. I don’t think there is a person who can deny their love of American fast-food. I consider my diet to consist a good balance of all the major food groups, most of the time in their correct portions. I will still eat junk food here and there, but I think that’s acceptable as I am healthy and feeling much better about myself compared to the eating habits I had 5 or more years ago.

Breakfast: Natural yoghurt with cornflakes, persimmon slices and strawberry jam.

I find breakfast foods to be very bland. Toast, cereal and porridge kick start your morning with energy but I find the tastes to be very repeative. Some days before college I wouldn’t even be hungry and skip breakfast, which I then regretted by 10:30am. Nowadays I force myself to have breakfast to deter lethargy. Even if I can’t have a wholesome chicken salad and mayonaise sandwich or chow mein for breakfast as I want to, I have begun to settle for topping yoghurts with various granola and sweet fruits. Breakfast biscuits and bars are even more favourable. If you can get your hands on Kellogg’s Elevenses Raisin/chocolate chip bakes or Belivita you’ll be hooked and that’s absolutely fine because they are low in saturated fats and high in energy and fibre.

Lunch: Bulgogi (불고기)

This specific Bulgogi was served on rice, with white onion, spring onions, shredded carrots and sesame seeds. ‘Bulgogi’ which literally translates as ‘fire meat’ is the name given to Korean beef or pork which has been marinated in soy suace, sesame oil, sugar, spring onions and black pepper then grilled. Bulgogi can be used in several other ways, some to mention are burgers in Korean fast-food restaurants including Lotteria or used as a pizza topping. As I said above, I usually wouldn’t even touch this type of beef. It wasn’t until trying it that I realised beef can be quite delicious if it is marinated and without a chewy texture. This meal was very cheap considering the quality of meat they gave (there was extra meat on a side plate). It’s also a custom for traditional Korean resturants to provide free water, kimchi (-spicy pickled cabbage), picked radish or ginger and miso soup which they automatically give with free refils upon request or is self-served.

Dinner: Spaghetti in a tomato, cream cheese and basil sauce.

I’m not going to pretend that I made the pasta sauce: it was store brought. I stir-fried some cherry tomatoes and quarter of a white onion with a drizzle of olive oil, a dash or grounded black pepper, a pinch of sea salt and a sprinkle of dried basil. Once the spaghetti had been cooked and drained I added it to the wok containing the stir-fried onion and tomatoes, mixing in some of the premade sauce and half a teaspoon of vegetable stock powder.

Snacks:

Nothing fancy. Some cucumber sticks and a fun sized bag of peanut M&Ms (-not that there is anything ‘fun’ about having a smaller packet of sweets).

Drinks:

Water, carrot juice made by a home juicer machine and one mug of Hershey’s Caramel hot chocolate.

Vitamins:

Alike many people from cold or rainy/cloudy countries I have a Vitamin D deficiency which causes weakness if I don’t regularly take high doses of Vitamin D. I have been trying hard to remember to take vitamin D3 supplements alongside B12, Omega 3 and Iron to compensate for the loss of Iron obtained from eating red meat and oily fish.