HW# 6: Food Diary

                         I was surprised by my recommded daily calorie intake of 2070 to 2300 calories. This discovery was based on several websites. That seemed like more than enough calories to me. On Day 1 of recording my food, my calorie intake was as follows:

Breakfast: Raisin Bran (160 calories), almond milk (90 calories), a pear (85 calories), and coffee with almond milk and stevia (10 calories). Thus, I consumed 345 calories for breakfast.


Lunch: a banana (200 calories), pasta with marinara sauce (112 calories), and mixed vegetables (70 calories). My lunch had about 382 calories.

Snack: Trail mix and tea with honey (160 calories)

 
Later Snack: Apple with Almond Butter (265 calories)
 
Dinner: vegetable/bean soup and sweet potato with earth balance butter (380 calories)
 
            
I consumed approximately 1533 calories on Day 1. This is roughly 700 calories less than what is recommended. This is a cause for worry, because I typically eat even less than the food shown above. It follows that either I am not giving my body the nutrition it needs, or the websites from which I recieved information are faulty and innacurate. Because I ate a variety of vegetables, fruits, protein, and carbohydrates, it is confusing that a recommended amount of calories would not follow. Nutrition, to me, is not only preferable, but an absolute necessity. The effects of maintaining an healthfully unsound diet are horrid and regretful. Calories correspond to energy - which is necessary for success in academic endeavors, soccer or other physical activities, and maintaining a socially beneficial demeanor. Vitamins and nutrients in food correspond to proper growth, brain function, and overall activity. By failing to consume enough food, I might be setting myself up for failure in numerous aspects of my own life.
      
Food directly affects my physical sensations and mood. Food can be a savory, reliable friend, an unexpected enemy, or a rude encounter. Placing a forkful of warm sweet potato with butter, salt, and pepper on my tongue emotionally comforts me. In the realm of delectables, eating sweet potatoes are parallel to sharing the swaying motion of a rocking chair with a woman whose heart and lap are nurturing. I do not have sufficient knowledge of food's chemical properties and my brain chemistry to theorize upon the connections between food and moods.  However, the effect some foods have are more clear than the effects of others. For instance, coffee has caffeine, which affects the nervous system in various ways and gives us artificial, temporary energy. Chocolate and pasta make me very superficially happy (as long as they are in my mouth). Eating them feeds two monsters that are always at war with each other: the exponentially desirous creature in me that calls for more, and Guilt, the monster that tiresomely lingers in the shadows of my mind everytime I open my mouth for susteinance.

           

This meal was breakfast on Day 2. It consisted of peppers, onion, garlic, spices, and tofu sauteed together, and wrapped in a salsa-topped tortilla. The tofu had a crumbly, yet spongy texture (as do eggs). This meal was scrumptious in so many ways; the contrast of the cold salsa and hot scrambled mixture was pleasantly surprising with every bite. The cumin, coriander, and salt combination were unique compared to the flavors to which I am accustomed. It was also aesthetically pleasing due to the warm and varied colors. After sampling my breakfast, I wondered why breakfast burritos such as these are not considered comfort food, or at least eaten more often. I think that eating a meal which one has prepared heightens the pleasure they find in eating it. Despite the lack of free time in the lives of many, I think that the salubrious properties of cooking should be considered when in need of therapeutic activity.

In the past 48 hours, I've picked food based on what looked healthy and pleasing to me. I am satisfied by my overall diet because it entails eating a lot of fresh, home-made, and nutritious meals. I will try to better my diet in the future by carrying healthy snacks around with me, cooking more, and drinking water ceasingly throughout the day. I realized while reviewing the diet of the past 48 hours that I take so much for granted. It is not only food that I take for granted; it is the success, energy, potential, and happiness that food provides daily, even hourly.  The occassional fasting or invasive community service I partake in seems grossly insignificant compared to the number of people who do not have the oppurtunity to eat the way I do; to take  it for granted.