2:00PM
-Green Choco-Banana Smoothie-
5 md. Banana 525 cal
3.5 Cups Mixed Greens 35 cal
1/2 Cup Water
2 1/2 Cups Ice (cubbed)
2 Tbsp. Cacao Powder 48 cal
Total 608 cal
As I said yesterday, I'm looking to get some of that "green" taste back in my smoothies, so this morning I almost doubled the normal amount of greens I put in one of these, as well as halved the cacao dosage. Although probably looking a bit more bland, this one had a great earthy, yet invigorating taste. More greens is definitely the idea from now on, at least until I run out of the 10 1/2 lbs. I bought the other night. Let's hope I hit another gold mine at the market sometime this week. Then I won't have to let up on the, usually, more expensive organic greens. This smoothie made a grand 1.5 liters and took 3 glasses to finish. One after the other, I got this down in 45 minutes.
5:00PM
-Banana Mango Strawberry Smoothie w/baby spinach-
5 md. Banana 525 cal
5 Strawberries 29 cal
1/2 Mango 67 cal
1 Cup Baby Spinach 10 cal
1/4 Cup Water
2 Cups Ice (cubed)
Total 631 cal
This is usually where I just have some fresh fruit, but considering I was staying home bound today, I opted to throw together another smoothie. I did keep this one mostly fruit, as that is where my taste buds were at, adding just 1 cup of baby spinach, which turned out to be a great tasteful addition. I haven't had much baby spinach as of late, really only when included in small quantities within the "mixed greens" I add to most smoothies. It's hard to explain the specific taste of greens when you're not used to them, but believe me, it made the smoothie! 1.25 liters here gave me the usual 3 glasses, which took an hour to finish.
7:00PM
-Avocado & Cucumber Romaine Wraps-
1/2 Hass Avocado 166 cal
1 Cucumber 34 cal
3 lg. Leaves Romain 12 cal
1 Cup Baby Spinach 10 cal
1 Tbsp. Sunflower Seeds 55 cal
Total 277 cal
Moving right along only an hour after finishing the above fruit smoothie, I wanted something crunchy and creamy at the same time. For the first time during this trial, I put together some poorly shaped romaine wraps. They did the job, but I think collards are ideal for making wraps, as they tend to be larger and wrap tighter. I wasn't too hungry though, so the size ended up being perfect. I think a trip to the store for some collards, carrots, and celery is definitely on the agenda because I was really impressed with these (even though they look haphazardly).
8:00PM
-Snack-
1/4 Cup Raisins 109 cal
Eating just an hour apart time and time again, but it seems to work for me. This filled me up to the point where I was content for a while though.
11:15PM
-Green Choco-Banana Smoothie w/banana slices and cacao nibs-
4 md. Banana 420 cal
1 lg. Banana (sliced) 120 cal
2.5 Cups Mixed Greens 25 cal
1/4 Cup Water
3 Cups Ice (cubbed)
3 Tbsp. Cacao Powder 72 cal
3 Tbsp. Cacao Nibs 98 cal
Total 735 cal
Yes, another cacao smoothie. Two in one day! This made only 1 liter, but I got 3 glasses out of it with the large banana sliced up and put into it. I finished in about 45 minutes, after which I started to think I might have an addiction...
Hopefully not! But in all seriousness, I did start to wonder why I constantly go for adding cacao into most of my smoothies instead of just drinking them green. I did a bit of research on the qualities of cacao and about the possibility of going overboard on it. I came to find that there are actually a lot of mixed results about the subject, with a lot of people claiming it can become very addicting, almost like a drug, while others advocate it to no end.
The reality is that general use of cacao has both positive and negative aspects to it, and it really is up to the consumer to decide what is too much. Do I think I am addicted? No, not at all. Do I really enjoy it? Yes. But in reality, too much of anything can be too much. You really just need to know how much is too much for you. As always, the best way to decide this is to discover it yourself and, listen to your body. I know I will probably say this over and over again during the course of the trial, but I am constantly finding it to be most certainly the definite answer whenever in question.
Now cacao does contain some chemicals, although natural and not harmful to the body in moderation, can lead to adverse effects on some people that use it in abundance. I won't get into the specifics. I urge you to self-research if interested in the idea (or you have a problem), but in all honesty, I don't feel there's much to worry about here, as long as you use that thing in your head that's called a brain.
The conclusion I have ultimately come to for myself after my research is that I am most definitely going to continue using cacao, but not to an extent that I personally feel is too much. Some people will probably consider some instances in which I use cacao to be too much, and, admittedly: 7+ Tbsp. per day may be a bit much. But thus far, for ME, I have not noticed any side effects or problems occurring from my use of cacao or, for that matter, my lack of use of cacao. On the same token, I was obviously concerned enough with the thought that I may be putting too much of it into my body, and I think the intuition warrants maybe holding back a bit on it. I mean, I most certainty don't want any possible addiction to begin, and I'm very grateful for doing the research to realize the potential problems that one might face with over-doing cacao.
1:00AM
-Snack-
1 sm. Apple 77 cal
-Exercise-
After the cacao research led me to some other interesting topics, I got really motivated to do a good varied exercise session. 40 minutes of stretching and mild strengthening got me warmed up for a very nice late night walk. The sky was beautiful, and the air, although brisk, seemed very comfortable during the roughly 1 1/2 mile walk. Coming inside, I was eager to get to work on the post as I have work orientation in the morning, so I sat right down to type it up.
3:30AM
-Snack-
1 md. Orange 62 cal
1/4 lg. Pear 30 cal
Total 92 cal
Before finishing the post, I stopped midway for a snack. That walk must have tired me out, but I was determined to get the post up before bed so I wasn't tied up in the morning. The fruit gave me just what I needed to finish up.
Approximate Daily Totals:
Calories
2529 cal
Carbs Fat Protein Total
564.2g 44.4g 47.1g 655.7g
79.33% 14.05% 6.62% 100.%
The numbers today shaped up pretty close to the desired goals. Tomorrow, cutting out the cacao, I see the protein and fat evening out. Let's see if I'm right!
I know this was a long one, and there is so much more I want to write about, but I'll save it for another post. I do want to say the energy I've been getting has really been driving me along quite well! It's been coming at odd hours, but that is most certainly due to my odd schedule. After waking up early tomorrow, I plan to get out and skateboard for a couple of hours, and if not, at least take a nice LONG afternoon walk. Maybe I'll be tired enough tomorrow night to actually get to bed a bit earlier than usual.
That concludes Day 6!
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