My Traditional Diet: Day Two: Wednesday 20 August 2014

After having fun with this project yesterday, I woke up this morning excited to once again be blogging my diet.  Admittedly, I was less energetic than usual because my little one woke up a few times through the night calling for daddy.  Regardless, I knew I had enough energy and once again began preparing our breakfast, and had my wife help as 'sous chef'.

Breakfast: 8:15a-8:50a

Today's breakfast was similar to yesterday.  As previously explained, this meal is pretty much my current go-to breakfast; since it is delicious, nutritious, and easy and quick to prepare.  To add a little variety, the cheeses on the toasts were changed from yesterday, giving a different depth to the meal, as well as the bread was switched from a whole grain loaf to a local pain au levain (aka-sourdough bread, it has a slightly acidic taste- delicious!).  Regardless, breakfast variety is something I will be addressing in my self-analysis.




1 cup semi-skim organic milk
1 serving Spanish espresso
2 cups water
3 pieces of whole grain bread
1 tbl EVOO
2 slices semi-cured cheese (local)
1/4 cup mozzarella
1/2 tomato, slices of onion
1 tsp butter
2 tsp Greek wildflower and pine honey (bought locally)
1 serving melon
pepper and oregano from the community garden





Lunch 2p-2:30p

Today my schedule was pushed back to due to French conversation class and also some experiments that I had to run in the morning that took extra attention.  As I mentioned yesterday, I prefer to eat later in the day, usually between 1p-2p, following more of a Spanish-style lunch schedule.   As a result, no one was available for lunch to join me, so I decided to sit outside in the courtyard near my lab and take in a little sun (but not too much- this is Paris!)

Lab Courtyard Selfie!

1 cup of organic yogurt
1 nectarine
2 cups of pasta
1 cup ground beef
homemade sauce (1 tbl EVOO, 1/4 tomato, 1/4 green pepper, spices)
a few shreds of Parmesan cheese
(since I ate outside, I did not have any water at this meal- which is always difficult, since I love water!)

 Snacks

12:30p-1:30p During French conversation class, I had a mug of Darjeeling tea and a banana (and a cup of water after the class)








at 3p I had a coffee of 1 cup semi-skim milk and espresso (and one square of 90% cocoa chocolate) at my desk while I worked.

at 6:50p I had a medium Cortland-style apple on the walk home

at 7:30p I shared 1/3 of chocolate eclair (my favorite french pastrie) with my wife and daughter (it was a surprise- our favorite boulangerie has been closed for the month but just reopened!)

I also drank 3 additional cups of water throughout the day

Matching Workout Outfits... by accident?

Hera adding extra weight to help me reach
my goals- thanks sweetie!

Exercise  7p-7:30p
At home, before dinner I started my 30 minute workout (Wednesday is one of the days I designate to work out, having a set schedule helps me make sure to reach my goals).  This week my daughter decided to join in and help me out!





















Dinner: 9:35p-10:25p

Again following a more traditional Spanish eating style, we waited until my daughter went to sleep to start our meal tonight.  Since yesterday was lacking on green leafy veggies, today they were incorporated into the meal (in general , we prefer to have our heavier meal for lunch, and a lighter meal for dinner).  The meal itself was delicious, refreshing, and light.  The only regret was recently the cucumbers we have been buying are bitter.   It's always hit or miss with cukes, but obviously we'd prefer a more crisp clean taste to make the meal more enjoyable; but to reiterate it didn't deviate the meal enough to make it regrettable.  My wife and I decided it would be a nice night to enjoy a potent potable together, so we popped and shared a bottle of Saison Dupont- a beautiful Belgium beer that is typically enjoyed in the fall- it has a fresh blonde taste with undertones of fruit- an easy drink for a worknight.  We took the popcorn out onto our terrace with our beverages to further enjoy our time together and recount the day- it was great!




3/4 cup garbanzo beans/ chickpeas
1/2 cucumber
1/2 tomato
5 pieces of feta cheese
1 tbls. of EVOO
light salt, oregano, and pepper
1 cup loose popcorn (pot popped in 1 tbls. sunflower oil), lightly salted
2 cups water
1 goblet Saison Dupont.
1 light serving of guitar strumming on the terrace (calorie free!)





Now it's approaching the end of the night, and again I feel relaxed and refreshed from my meals today.  I did not feel a loss of energy, nor did I experience any discomfort typically associated with overeating.  The next step of this project will be to analyze the meal from a nutrition perspective, as well as a well being perspective.  I plan on taking some time over the weekend to work on the next step of this blog- please stay tuned!