Out and About

These past weeks I've ventured outside my usual commons turf into the (as yet) unknown territory of downtown dining, to see how challenging it could be sticking to a special regime while going out. I've finally compiled a list that, while not exhaustive, is definitely taking shape. Of course, as I looked at the menus of the different places I visited, I couldn't help but look out for the best alternatives for each diet; be it vegan, paleo, HCLF or HFLC.

Here's a brief rundown:

Pita Cabana

Vegan-friendly options (for example, the falafel rice bowl on the left), which are also wallet-friendly and large enough to feed a family.  Or one of my friends, with no leftovers.

Given that the options are all based off rice or pita bread, it doesn't make it a good Paleo of HFLC place, but it definitely scores high in terms of carbs-- a good mix of greens and simple starches make this place a winner if you're looking for the warm comfort of soft food.








Webster's Bookstore Café (Sunday brunch)

After the Arboretum, Webster's is my favorite place in State College. It's this tucked-away used-books store and café, where you can become a lifetime member and keep a mug on the shelf.

A couple of weeks ago, while still doing the HCLF diet, I went in for Sunday brunch and had the Pumpkin Spice Pancakes (right). Although I had never before been a pancake person, I was immediately hooked: I now try to make my cheat meal a pancake breakfast on Sundays.

Apart from excellent pancakes, Webster's has some of the best vegan options around State College, from homemade hummus on bagels, to cashew cheese, to veggie noodle soup. Definitely a win for both HCLF and vegans.


Barranquero

Owned and run by a Colombian, Barranquero is definitely one of the best coffee shops in the area; with its quirky interior and superb coffee menu, it's a win for connoisseurs and students alike.

As can be seen by the picture (plantain patacones with cheese), it's a very good option for (again) HCLF, although there are no vegan options. However, the coffee list makes up for the fact, and if you can live without eating, I highly recommend it.  

Sadly, there are no paleo of HFLC options, so I'm one of the latter clients (I took this picture earlier, when doing HCLF). 







Irving's

A State College staple, I couldn't pass up Irving's Bagels. I had the hummus and veggies on everything bagel (vegan, GF) and was pleasantly surprised by both taste and texture. The bagel was everything a good one is supposed to be-- warm, toasty on the outside and soft on the inside, with chunky hummus and crunchy veggies. Sadly, that's the only vegan option apart from the garden salad with no chicken, and the bagels (which are all vegan, but there are no vegan toppings to go with).




That's it, folks! My (failed) attempt at following my diets when eating out-- I usually just tend to shrug and call it a cheat meal and move on, and not focus too much on what I'm eating. I do think it's important to keep a balance between tracking what you eat and indulging, and these have been my indulgences so far.

Paleo Party

Welcome!
Last week, I wrapped up my HFLC diet, and I just wanted to quickly share some stats and rankings about it:
HFLC
Convenience: 7/10 (if you're not too picky. I found some really good options in the dining commons, but I had to check beforehand, or dig really deeply for them)
Weight-loss potential: -2.5 pounds. This was more than with any of the past diets, but I did feel that slight sensation of not being full at any given time
Points for consideration/notes:

• Really good if you don't mind a slight feeling of constant hunger throughout the day

• Really good if you don't like desserts much

• Really good if you really like meat, cheese, and aren't a fan of carbs

Overall, I think that this diet is pretty easy to follow, as long as you adhere really closely to your nutritional guidelines (base calorie level, etc) for at least the first couple of days. There is also a transition period, in which you don't feel fully satiated after your meals, but you get used to it after a while. For me, was easier to follow than the HCLF diet, but harder to follow than being vegan, just because while I was vegan, I could still consume both vegetable fats and carbohydrates.
Overall ranking: 8/10, for convenience, no deprivation, hunger levels that aren't too extreme.

Now, without further ado....

The Paleo diet

Source: Jack Chadwick

The idea for the diet (and scientific backbone) was thought up by New York gastroenterologist Walter Voegtlin, in 1975, and was furthered by Doctor Loren Cordain, in his 2002 book "The Paleolithic Diet".  Both scientists talked about a "genetic approach" to staying lean, in shape, and healthy, by eating only foods which our Paleolithic ancestors had around. 

It's built on the premise that humans were healthier in the Paleolithic period than now: before the rise of modern agricultural practices, dairy development, and on-demand cropping. In other words, the diet limits you to eating only what our stone-age ancestors would eat: 

• Grass-fed meat 
• Eggs
• Fresh fruit and vegetables
• Fish 
• Seeds, nuts, healthy oils 

And it bans:

• Cereal grains
• Legumes
• Dairy
• Refined sugars
• Potatoes (sweet potatoes are okay)
• Candy/junk/processed food 

Basically, this:

Source: hippoquotes.com

I think this diet will be slightly harder to follow than HFLC, mainly because of the banning of dairy. I know I've said it before, but I love dairy. And this diet doesn't even let me have soy products (like tofutti vegan cheese, Daiya vegan shreds, or Silk soy yogurt), which is how I coped with not being able to eat dairy when I went vegan. I'm skeptical about this diet... And also, I think it'll be very hard to manage when eating in the dining commons, just because everything is refined, or has sugar, or some sort of dairy. However, I'm also excited for this challenge! I'm looking forward to see what I can make of it. Any thoughts, comments or advice would be greatly appreciated! 

Thank you for joining me on my quest for an appropriate diet! See you next week. 

Mastering the Art of Microwave Cooking

The number-one most important rule of cohabitation should be, “do not cook a tuna casserole from your dorm’s microwave." Yes, I speak from experience: I tried making some this week (slightly adapted from this recipe). Needless to say, the results were not the crispy, cheesy goodness that can be seen in the picture; my casserole had hot and cold patches, a soggy texture, and a watery "sauce".
My attempt at the casserole was so bad, I didn't even try to photograph it.

And I'm the sort of person who photographs almost everything they eat.

With that said, I did have some excellent microwave recipes (healthy or relatively healthy) that I could make from the comfort of my dorm room:

Banana, Oats and Peanut Butter Mugcake 
- 3 tbsp. peanut butter
- 1 overripe banana
- 1/2 c. oats
- 1 egg
- Sweetener to taste

Mix all the ingredients in a mug, microwave on high for a minute. Let cool.

Convenience: 7/10. You still have to find eggs, and there isn't a place on or near campus where they sell fewer than a dozen.
Taste: 10/10. I'm a fan of the PB+banana combination.
Texture: 6/10. Nothing on a microwave will get more than this. With that said, it was relatively good. For a microwave.
Health points: 7/10. At around 300 calories per mugcake, I found them to be much more filling than dining commons dessert.


Quesadilla
- 1 tortilla flat (I've used the ProteinUp flats too)
- Cheese

Convenience: 8/10. Have to find cheese, but cheese goes by faster than eggs do.
Taste: 5/10 - 8/10. Depends on the cheese you use, the tortilla, and if you season it well. M
Texture: 6/10. A little limp.
Health points: 10/10. Again, depending on the cheese and tortilla used, but mine were around 200 calories a serving (2 quesadillas per serving), which is very low, and I found them to be very filling.

Expectation versus reality:  





Scrambled Eggs
- 1 egg
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Milk (optional)
- Cheese (optional)
- Any add-ins

Place on a mug, whip to combine (not until peaks have formed, but definitely homogenized). Microwave on high for thirty seconds, move around, then put back for another thirty.

Convenience: 7/10. Again, the pesky issue of the eggs. If you consume more than one egg a day, however, it's very convenient.
Taste: 6/10. Not comparable to skillet eggs at all, but it does the trick on a pinch.
Texture: 4/10. Subjectively, too airy for my taste. My roommate liked them, however.
Health points: 10/10. Due to the manner of cooking, you're able to control exactly what goes in. This makes it rank very high on the health scale-- much better than the dining commons eggs.

Looks suspicious, tastes okay. Like the best things in life, but with a worse texture. 

That's all for this week, folks! I do hope you try out these recipes, and send pictures if you can! I developed the recipes on my own during the course of this semester, and with a little creativity in the dorm kitchen, I'm pretty sure you can out-recipe me!

Blessed Be The Fat

I really think I'm starting to get the hang of this HFLC diet by now: I don't get hunger pangs randomly throughout the day, I can go for more than a couple hours without snacking, and the sole mention of dessert doesn't get me salivating like Pavlov's dogs. In a nutshell, I've managed to completely change my way of eating (a literal 180 turn), without a hitch.

Ah, the young metabolism.

I've truly learnt to appreciate the massive diet changes my body can adapt to, given that I basically spent a month in a carb-heavy diet, and now I completely switched over to a fat-heavy one. That is, my carbohydrate intake in the HCLF (high carb, low fat) diet was around 200-250 grams of carbs a day, and no more than 50 grams of fat, and now I consume no more than 50 grams a day of carbs and around 100 grams of fat. Protein intake went from around 75 grams for HCLF, to around 125 grams for HFLC, but that is also taking into account that protein is usually mixed with fat (as with cheese, meat, etc.).

A regular lunch meal for me would be something like (thank you menu.hfs.psu.edu):

A grilled chicken breast (or two)



Cucumber sauce



Grilled onions and pepper strips



Provolone cheese cubes



And greek yogurt for dessert.

That's roughly 20.3 grams of fat, 7.7 grams of carbs, and 31.9 grams of protein for my lunch, which keeps me satiated for around four hours.

A huge difference that I noticed from HCLF to HFLC was the amount of food I consumed decreased in volume. This is a very strange feeling, as I'm eating less food (in terms of volume), and therefore I feel less "full", but more satisfied with what I'm having. (Does this even make sense?)

It was definitely a tricky thing to manage at first, and I found myself overeating the first week, just to feel as full as I did when I was eating a greater amount of food. I did gain a pound in the first two weeks. However, I've since lost it, and stayed at a stable weight. I do feel that for this diet I've had to snack a bit more between meals, but since the amount of pre-packed cheese and nut snacks available in the market is staggering, I've had no problem with snacking at all.

So far, even with the slight hunger problem in the beginning, this diet has been extremely manageable and convenient in terms of college student life. A quick check of the dining hall website, and I'm on my way to a happy dining experience.

That's all for this time, folks! Thank you for navigating this experience with me, and staying tuned to my travels through the dining halls.

See you next week!

High Fat High Spirits + A Disclaimer

I must admit that before starting this blog, I cheated a little: I’d already tried some of the diets I was going to try. Therefore, I decided to arrange them in order from the hardest to the ones I felt more comfortable doing.  When doing this, I also grouped them by similarity—HCLF isn’t very different to being vegan, and HFLC isn’t very different to Paleo.

I felt the need to clarify this because my teacher approached me after last post, concerned about the ecological validity of my results: she was worried they weren’t an accurate portrayal of what was truly going on in my body, given that any metabolic change happens over a longer period of time than the one I was currently giving each diet.

I decided to take her words into consideration, and instead of changing diet every two weeks, I’ll change it every month instead. While I understand that this is still very little time to see great results, I think it’s enough time to see if a diet fits in with my lifestyle. Thus, please take all my “hard data” findings with a grain of salt, for they most likely don’t reflect a causation, but are merely signposts to help me gauge my body’s reception to the particular diet I’m following.

With that being said, I want to welcome you again for the second week of HFLC (high fat, low carb)! This is one of those diets I’d tried before, and I knew I was going to like it. I’ve never had much of a sweet tooth, to be honest, and I’d much rather have a slice of pizza than dessert. This is the main reason why I didn’t like HCLF: the lack of savory, greasy, cheesy options that fit it.

This was quickly solved in these couple of weeks I tried HFLC.

I found many more options in the dining commons for HFLC, given that virtually everything in the commons has a lot of fat. The only catch then was finding only those items that were low in carbohydrates. Thankfully, this was relatively easy with the online tool (that I’ve waxed poetic about in earlier posts, so I won’t do that. But seriously, go check it out).

I also went out to Target once, to go hunting for good products to complement my diet. I must add that this was completely unnecessary, because the dining commons were pretty well stocked for this diet, but I still wanted to see what interesting products the local stores had. I found this one product that completely surpassed my expectations, and I wanted to share with you:

FlatOut Bread

ProteinUP FlatOut bread 

These flats were delicious in their Original variety (not pictured, sadly), and pretty bad in the Red Pepper Hummus version (pictured above). While the original flats were only ever-so-slightly chalky, the Red Pepper Hummus flavor was too overpowering and didn’t pair well with cheese.

Rating:

Red Pepper Hummus: 5/10

Original: 9/10

In terms of convenience, these flats were excellent—it was exceedingly easy to pick one, put cheese in it, and microwave it for a nice on-the-go breakfast before class. And at only 17g of carbs (of which 8g were fiber), it neatly fits into the diet’s goals.

P3 Portable Protein Pack

Oscar Mayer's Portable Protein Pack, $2.59, Target

I found these both in Target and The Mix, at the Pollock Dining Commons. They're 190-calorie snack packets, and they've got almonds, cheese and ham. 

Overall, these have 14g of fat and only 3g of carbs (an excellent ratio for this diet) and were incredibly filling. One pack lasted me through an entire night of cramming for exams! They were a little pricey though, compared to other snack options I'd had before. 

Rating: 

Convenience: 10/10 

Price: 6/10 

Flavor: 10/10 

 Finally, for the “hard” data:

I’ve maintained my weight since last week, within a 0.5-pound margin, which is really good. I used to have huge discrepancies every time I weighed myself before, and it looks as if my weight’s finally started to level, meaning I’m eating approximately the same amount of calories a day.

Yay for self-regulation!

Next week I’ll be exploring this diet further, talking a little more about the science behind it, as well as some “soft” factors too—how it makes me feel, my tiredness levels, hours of sleep and satiety levels. Thank you for reading!

Grace