Looking back on my meals, we should have picked another time to do the Engine 2 diet. I haven’t had the opportunity to cook much because we have been busy with friends and family visiting plus our church’s VBS was during these 28 days. It has been one busy month! On the other hand, the good news is you get to see that even with just a few minutes to prepare a meal, we can still eat a plant-strong diet.

Note: Somehow I got off a day on my last post. My June 8^th post is actually what I had on June 9^th. Therefore, I just repeated it and am back on track now. Just know that I did not cook the same thing 2 nights in a row! But, I did eat it for leftovers the next 2 nights.

June 9 – Rip’s recipe – Migas Especiales. Basically sautéed veggies with tofu and turmeric to make a breakfast burrito. Had guacamole and chips as a side. Yum!

June 10 – I was on my own tonight so I ate leftover Migas Especiales.

June 11 – Church tonight, so I ate leftover Migas Especiales when I got home.

June 12 – A friend was staying with us, so we had homemade pizza. My pizza was topped with tomato sauce (sugar-free) and mushrooms, onions, red pepper, green pepper, and tomatoes with a little nutritional yeast instead of cheese. We also had garlic bread and rosemary bread served with olive oil (oil is not E2 approved).

June 13 – My daughter had a friend spend the night, so she picked the dinner: nachos. I made cheese nachos for the kids.  My husband and I did our favorite nachos with black beans, red and green peppers, red onions, and tomatoes broiled for 7 minutes. And then topped our nachos with lettuce and guacamole.

June 14 – My husband was at a family function, so the kids had macaroni and cheese. I made myself a sweet potato with the standard of black beans, red pepper, mango, salsa, and cilantro.

June 15 – Father’s Day. My husband requested veggie quesadillas with homemade refried black beans instead of the cheese and stuffed with mushrooms, peppers, mushrooms, and zucchini. We also had chips, guacamole, salsa, and fruit. Sugar-free cupcakes for dessert.

June 16-19 – I was at our church’s VBS week every evening, so I packed hummus, Wasa light rye crackers, carrots, and nectarine for my dinner each night.

June 20 – Black bean veggie burgers with sweet potato fries. Yum!

June 21 – Had friends over for dinner, so we made tacos. I made beef for them and then had a bunch of plant-strong additions: refried beans, homemade Spanish rice, onion, tomato, pepper, lettuce, coconut (unsweetened), salsa, and guacamole. And fruit as a side.

June 22 – Light dinner because I wasn’t very hungry.  Spinach salad with chopped carrots, celery, strawberries, organic craisins, and sprinkled cinnamon.  Ate a little bit of rosemary bread as a side.

Here are the dinners I’ve made since the Engine 2 Diet Round 2 began on May 27^th.  I don’t want to bore you, so I’m not terribly specific, but just to give you an idea of how to eat this way if you’d like to try it.  One other note – this diet recommends not eating oils.  I do eat a little oil.

Note: If you read “Rip’s Recipe” then it is from Rip Esselstyn’s book The Engine 2 Diet.

May 27 – 29 – Simple meals as I ramped up for the diet.  My husband didn’t join me on the diet yet, so I made things easy on myself.  I don’t remember exact meals prepared, but I made something from my usual lunch that I didn’t eat for lunch that day. Something I could throw together in 5 minutes.

May 30 – veggie pizza with no cheese.

May 31 – McAlister’s Deli – baked potato with veggies and no cheese (never been a fan of bacon or sour cream, so I always hold those). Plus a side salad with no dressing.

June 1 – Sweeter Honey’s Lettuce Wraps, but I substituted the chicken for tofu.

June 2 – Leftover lettuce wraps.

June 3 – Grilled veggie and homemade hummus sandwiches with the veggies of mushroom, peppers, onion, and tomatoes.  Good!

June 4 – Super Veggie Tacos. Tortillas with all kinds of toppings – black beans, mushrooms, peppers, onion, cilantro, unsweetened coconut, dried cranberries and/or raisins, lettuce, salsa, guacamole, etc. You get the idea. You can be creative. I have to give props to my mom who serves tacos with all of these creative toppings. Thanks, Mom, for the super tacos!

June 5 – Pizza night with the family. Veggie pizza with no cheese. A little leftover rosemary bread with olive oil and pepper (Macaroni Grill style).

June 6 – Rip’s Recipe – Nachos from Engine 2 book – toasted organic corn tortillas with black beans, peppers, onion, tomatoes, and cilantro. Topped with guacamole and lettuce. So, so good! One of my faves!

June 7 – Sweet Potato Specialty – went to a friend’s house for some barbeque, so I took baked sweet potatoes for us and loaded them with black beans, red onion, red pepper, cilantro, mango, and salsa. Delicious!

June 8 – Rip’s recipe – Migas Especiales. Basically sautéed veggies with tofu and turmeric to make a breakfast burrito. Had guacamole and chips as a side. Yum!

I’ve noticed a trend with our meals…we like Mexican!   It is easy prep and my whole family will eat it.

Until next week…

As of May 27,  I started round 2 of the Engine 2 Diet for 2 reasons:

1. Get back to a plant-strong way of eating and stop eating foods that I know are not the best for me.  Not bad just not best.  Eating nearly vegan is best for me.  I will not continue to strictly avoid meat and dairy once the 28 days are over, but will only eat occasionally.
2. Honestly, to lose some pregnancy weight.  This time around, there is some weight loss motivation.

Last time I logged what I ate every day.  I’m not going to do that this time because I eat the same breakfast, lunch, and snacks every day.   I’ll post my dinners once a week.  So, here is what I’m eating:

Breakfast:

1. Smoothie (appx 16 oz).
2. 1 peanut butter bar square.  Occasionally 1 1/2 or 2.

Morning snack:

1. 1 handful of pistachios
2. 2 organic dried apricots (no added sugar)
3. 10 Mary Gone crackers
4. 1 energy bite (on a bad day, I’ll sneak in 1 more…really want to stick to 1 per day).

Lunch:

1. Big spinach salad with carrots, celery, red pepper, strawberries, a tablespoon of dried berry mix, and cinnamon.
2. Sweet potato with a little coconut oil and cinnamon OR homemade guacamole with baked corn chips OR sautéed veggies and rice.
3. 1 dark chocolate square for dessert

Afternoon snack:

1. An apple, nectarine, or pear.
2. 16 raw almonds

Dinner – varies.  Will post weekly.

 

 

It has been approximately 2 months since we finished the Engine 2 Diet 28 Day Challenge.  We are still eating that way 90% of the time.  In our home, we eat this way except for an occasional homemade pizza night.  There is just something about cheese on pizza and nutritional yeast doesn’t quite do it.

If I can avoid meat and diary, I do.  I hold the cheese on my sandwich or I get the veggie and/or tofu option when I can.  I still eat the occasional chicken at a restaurant.  I do my best to eat most of what someone fixes when they invite us into their home.  When I bake, I still use some butter and/or eggs.  Applesauce will sometimes work as a good alternative, but it depends on the recipe.

Bottom Line – I enjoy eating this way and feel best eating a plant-strong diet.

 

 

It seems strange not to be logging my diet every day.  It was a kind of accountability as I stopped eating animal products.  Final thoughts and results:

• It is much easier to avoid animal products than I expected.
• I lost 4-5 lbs (depending on the day) and my husband lost 14 lbs.   I lost an inch or so in my hips and waist.  My husband lost several inches.
• Food tastes good without cheese.  I think I was eating too much saturated fat which is the reason I lost weight and inches unintentionally.  I ate a lot of food and ate when I was hungry.
• I like being able to eat grains, whole grain breads, etc.  This diet never felt restrictive to me.
• A bonus: our grocery bill was reduced.

Bottom Line:  Both my husband and I enjoyed this diet.  In fact, we plan to continue eating this way.  For example, I had the option to have cheese on a sandwich yesterday and cheese in my burrito today and I avoided both.  This might very well be a new way of eating for me.  I don’t know yet when I’ll eat meat or dairy again (although Thanksgiving is 2 days away and my mom makes a delicious turkey).

The last day!  I’ll post results and final thoughts tomorrow.

Daily Diet Diary

Breakfast:  Smoothie with 1 cup of soymilk plus 1 peanut butter bar square.

Morning snack: 2 handfuls of pistachios.

Lunch: Ate my normal salad (2 cups of spinach, carrots, celery, tomatoes, with 3 organic crumbled corn chips and salsa).  Ate a leftover veggie wraps.  My husband ate a leftover veggie burger.  Kids ate the leftover veggie dog wraps.  We made guacamole to eat with the wraps.   1 dark chocolate square.

Afternoon snack: Apple, 16 raw almonds with 8 dark chocolate chips.

Dinner:   Sandwich at Which Wich.  Ordered a regular wheat “skinny” tomato and avocado sandwich.  Added onion, spinach, cucumber, mushrooms, yellow mustard, oregano, and garlic.  Ate 5 Mary Gone Crackers when I got home.  1 cocoa coconut bite for dessert.

Engine 2 Diet Day 27

I’ve been wanting to make a grilled veggie wrap this whole diet and I finally got to do it today!  It was delicious.  With the hummus in the wrap, the wrap stayed together easily and I didn’t even miss the cheese!

Daily Diet Diary

Breakfast:  Smoothie with 1 cup of soymilk plus 2 peanut butter bar squares.

Morning snack: 2 dried apricots, handful of pistachios, and 5 Mary Gone Crackers.

Lunch: Veggie wraps.  I made these with homemade whole wheat flour tortillas and spread pumpkin hummus on it.  I stuffed the tortilla with mushrooms, red and green peppers, red onion, and mushrooms.  We made guacamole to eat with the wraps.   1 suqre of dark chocolate for dessert.

Afternoon snack: Apple, 16 raw almonds with 8 dark chocolate chips.

Dinner:   Veggie pizza (using the homemade pizza crust) and topped with marinara, mushrooms, green peppers, red onion, and tomatoes.  My husband put jalapenos on his side.  In place of cheese, we used nutritional yeast.    I made the Cocoa Coconut Bites again.  Had 1 for dessert.

I tried making clean-eating and E2-approved “pigs in the blanket” tonight.  Can’t say that I’d make those again although both of my kids ate 2 of the veggie dogs with no complaints.  I made the pizza dough recipe in the bread machine and rolled out 3 pizza crusts.  The fourth crust became 8 triangles to wrap around the veggie dogs.  I spread some clean-eating bbq sauce on each triangle and sprinkled nutrional yeast on top (in place of cheese).

Daily Diet Diary

Breakfast:  Smoothie with 1 cup of soymilk plus 2 peanut butter bar squares.

Morning snack: 2 dried apricots, handful of pistachios, and 5 Mary Gone Crackers.

Lunch:  Salad of spinach, celery, cucumber, carrots, and tomatoes with 3 broken baked non-GMO corn chips, and organic salsa.   Toasted organic corn tortilla and homemade guacamole  (1/2 of an avocado with diced red onion and tomato, garlic, and a little salt).

Afternoon snack: Apple, 16 raw almonds with 8 dark chocolate chips.

Dinner:   Veggie dog wraps (made with triangles of the pizza crust recipe) and sweet potato fries (I did break the E2 rule and used olive oil on the sweet potato fries).

Movie Night Snack: 2 cups of Popcorn Indiana Cinammon Kettlecorn (a splurge!)

3 more days of the diet!  Ate some good food today!!!

Daily Diet Diary

Breakfast:  Smoothie with 1 cup of soymilk plus 1 peanut butter bar squares.

Morning snack: 2 dried apricots, handful of pistachios, and 10 Mary Gone Crackers.

Lunch:  Met a friend for lunch at Jason’s Deli.  I ate the Zucchini Grillini without the muenster cheese and olives.   Served with a side of fruit.  Sandwich was grilled 9 grain artisan bread (used olive oil…not butter), hummus, spinach, zucchini, tomatoes, and onions.  It was delicious!!!

Afternoon snack: Apple, 16 raw almonds with 8 dark chocolate chips.  2 peanut butter bars (no idea why other than I just wanted 1…and then 2).

Dinner:  New homemade bread recipe – Quick Honey Flaxseed Bread…doesn’t that sound yummy?   Ate bread with a bowl of leftover cauliflower soup.

Nothing exciting today…normal Wednesday where I don’t eat much.

Daily Diet Diary

Breakfast:  Smoothie with 1 cup of soymilk plus 1 peanut butter bar squares.

Morning snack: 2 dried apricots, handful of pistachios, and 5 Mary Gone Crackers.

Lunch:  Salad of spinach, celery, cucumber, carrots, and tomatoes with 3 broken baked non-GMO corn chips, and organic salsa.   Chips and homemade guacamole  (1/2 of an avocado with diced red onion and tomato, garlic, and a little salt).  A small bowl of leftover cauliflower soup.

Afternoon snack: Apple, 16 raw almonds with 8 dark chocolate chips.

Dinner:  Slice of whole wheat bread and ½ a peanut butter bar when I got home from church at 9pm.