The 2600-Calorie Post
A while ago, after receiving oodles of requests, I promised to write a “Day in the Life of Me” post. One of the main reasons I’ve postponed publishing this post for so long is that I feel very, very vain in writing it! Since I’m not a celebrity or anything, I feel conceited in writing all about the mundane details of my life. Don’t get me wrong; I like reading others’ posts about their days… I just feel self-conscious writing one of my own.
But you asked for it, so here she be!
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Normally I am not a calorie-counter. But in order to write this post, I spent one full week measuring out and counting everything, so that I could give you an accurate glimpse into my chocolate-covered life. Before embarking on this endeavor, I had it in my head that it’d be fun–ooh, an experiment. Ha! Calorie-counting is anything BUT fun. What a time-consuming CHORE! I don’t know how some of y’all do this every day. (It was also pretty hard to remember to look at the clock all the time to see how long my meals were.)
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My daily totals averaged around 2600 calories (most was 2850, least was 2375). I can’t say that the following accurately sums up what I eat every day (My diet is super-varied, meaning I hardly ever have the exact same meal or snack two days in a row). But it’s a good reflection of how I eat every day. (For more info on how/what/how much I eat, see my faq page.)
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Yeah, I guess it takes a lot of food to keep me going… but I’m not complaining. While my poor, dieting friends are eating 1300-calories per day of rice cakes and Slim Fast (*gag*), I get to eat twice that much and not worry about it. And my guy friends think it’s hilarious that the vegan is the only one who doesn’t always order a salad for dinner when we go out.
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Here’s a sample day to give you an idea of what, when, and how I eat:
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A Day in the Life
Today (the day I wrote this post), I woke up at 6:45AM. My pre-workout breakfast was this:
An Amy’s Bistro Burger (I always cut them in 1/2 so that the middle will cook better) and just a few pieces of frozen honeydew. For my “first breakfasts” I usually have either a Bistro Burger or a Gardenburger black bean burger (I switch off, for the sake of variety) and a few pieces of frozen fruit– cherries, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapes… you get the idea. Once it gets colder, I might soon stop with the frozen fruit, but for now, it really does a great job waking up my taste buds.
EDIT: I don’t really do the burger-for-breakfast thing anymore. Nowadays, my mornings look more like this: My Morning Routine
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7:15- to 8:25AM: 1-hour run, plus a 5-minute warm up and a 5-minute cool-down of walking and slow jogging.
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8:40 to 9:20ish: 2nd breakfast 
Indian-style tofu scramble (recipe here), with okra, red pepper, and mushrooms/ 2 slices toast with 1 teaspoon vegan butter melted on each slice (I use Smart Balance Light. Note to vegans: regular Smart Balance has whey)/ velvety cashews/ sweet frozen peach slices
Tofu scramble is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods (after blended grains and all my crazy oatmeal concoctions, of course!). I eat it maybe 2-3 times per week. But it doesn’t get monotonous, because I change up the veggies and seasonings.
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9:45: Leave for class (about a 12-minute walk)
10-10:50: Class #1
11-11:50: Class #2
12:20 to 1ish: Lunchies! Unlike my friend, Brooke, (who also just did a “day in the life” post), my meals don’t always look gourmet. But taste is sooooo much more important! 
Today’s lunch was a ginormous (favorite word alert!) salad of mixed baby greens, kale, and red chard/ peach salsa for dipping (I like to wrap the baby greens up in the chard or kale. Voila– Lettuce wraps!)/ Lightlife chick’n strips with Westbrae ketchup/ a raspberry Nectar bar (must. have. chocolate.)/ and blended wheatberry pilaf, a.k.a. Comfort in a Bowl.
Just for you, Julie (since you asked so nicely!), here’s my wheatberry recipe: Cook up a serving of wheatberries, then drain most– but not all– of the liquid. Add some salt. Blend with a hand blender or put in the food processor until the desired consistency is reached. (Sometimes I like to leave the berries a bit chewy; at other times, they get blended to oblivion!) Transfer the wheatberries to a bowl. Meanwhile, melt a teaspoon of vegan butter in a little bowl or cup (watch out; it splatters in the microwave!). Now, pour the melted butter over the wheatberries and stir it in. Before eating, heat the bowl in the microwave for around 30 seconds to 1 minute. Creamy deliciousness. This works with other grains too.
***Insert homework here*** (yucky)
3 until 3:30ish: Snack time!
More favorite foods… actually, pretty much everything I eat is a favorite food. My food philosophy: I try to never eat anything that doesn’t excite me. Life is short, so why waste it eating foods that are “boring”? With every morsel I put in my mouth, I want to be able to say, “Gosh, I wish this would last forever.”
***5:50-6:30ish: Dinnnnnnner
The perfect comfort meal: Amazingly creamy mushroom-carrot stroganoff (anyone want to count how many times I’ve used the words “creamy” and “comfort” in this post?) alongside soft, pillowy barley, with a side of steamed Brussel’s sprouts.
But then the Brussels’ sprouts got lonely and wanted to join the Mushroom party (I swear that’s not a drug reference!).
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***More homework, as well as watching an episode of West Wing with the roommie. We’ve been watching the episodes with the Santos/Vinnick race, to set the mood for our real election. (Side note: does anyone else see a scary resemblance between the West Wing race and our real political atmosphere of the moment? There are so many similarities that it’s like the writers of West Wing were psychics!)***
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8:30 until 9ish: Nighttime snack
Banana Brulee Oat Bran
(The ingredients are simple– banana, soymilk, salt, and oat bran. But it’s the cooking method that really makes this recipe special.)
A creamy, comforting way to end the night.
(Add two more if you’re keeping count. I guess “ginormous” isn’t alone in the category entitled “CCV’s favorite words”)
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Me in a nutshell ;o)
(a pecan, to be exact)
Yummy! I love eating healthy foods because I never have to worry about calories – except sometimes I accidentally eat too few by mistake, but then I make up for it with trail mix and nuts
Yum!
I love your meals
Lots of variety. This was a great post!
Happy Tuesday!
You are too cute! I love how simple yet hearty all your meals are- you never miss a beat CCV! What a great post, thanks for the window into your day:)
-Caroline F
I am jealous that you eat that much and are still skinny
and I agree with you, CA is typically a blue state and so is MA so I basically have no say!
What a fun post!I love all your meals! I especially love the banana brulee! Would love to see the recipe soon!
love this idea!!!! so many great meals and snacks u had – i love your motto to eat food that excites you!
Wow, I think I should start counting calories. Not to lose weight and eat less but to make sure I’m eating enough!
I love this post, it shows people that you are getting enough food for your super-fast metabolism.
Mmm, I can’t wait for the bran recipe, I have a bag full and I’ve been waiting to do something with it =)
Holy crap! I’m one of the people you were talking about who eats half that much. And yet you are so skinny mini. How do you do it??? I think I’d weigh 190 pounds if I ate like you, not less than 90 pounds! I’m so jealous.
And do you know how cute you are?
hahaha I couldn’t stop laughing about your mushroom party… Sure those weren’t special mushrooms CCV?!? haha just kidding
Our great minds DO think alike and I am super pumped to see what you do with your yeast!!! (I highly recommend pizza 
)
Just found your blog and I love your upbeat attitude, plus you are giving me lots of ideas about adding more veggies to my diet which I love.
Fun post! I liked seeing a glimpse into the life of CCV… Your food choices look delicious — love the “don’t eat it if it’s boring” food philosophy! You are too cool for words and you are so not vain by posting about yourself, but I know exactly what you mean about not liking to write allll about yourself (I feel a little self-conscious in that too, esp. when I use the word “I” too many times, ugh, like right now!). Have a relaxing night!
i love all of the eats! so well balanced a delicious… makes me think i could totally be a vegan LD
ginormous is one of my fave words too!
amen on only eating exciting foods.. sometimes i’ll be eating something and then realize i don’t even like it– what a waste!
i’m thinking of using fondant for a cake this weekend… for my first time ever!! any tips from the fondant genius???
hope you have a great night!
i don’t think you could EVER be considered conceited. you’re so incredibly modest and sweet
i loved this glimpse into your chocolate covered life!!! i think it should become a monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually thing hahah. LOVE your philosophy on food. the way you eat i think you’ll live to 100++!!
you are so adorable! thanks for this post, it’s very insightful. is the calorie count you posted your net calories (after excersise was subtracted) or the amount you ate without what running burned subtracted? enjoy the rest of your day!
Great post! I love all the snacks and descriptions (esp. that mushroom party!)
. And I’m afraid I, too, am one of those people who’d weigh 200 pounds if I ate this many calories in one day! Then again, a one-hour run does burn quite a few calories!
What an adorable post, Katie! All your food is so wholesome, nutritious–and looks delicious!
I can’t comment on “The West Wing” similarities to our current political situation, because I am still on the fourth season! My boyfriend recently got me into this show (a little late, I know!), and it is FABULOUS! So funny you should mention that, though, because I saw today that the website Slate just had an article/video about this very topic today…
I couldn’t look at it, though, because I don’t want to spoil it for myself!
I definitely LOL’d at this part of your post: “But then the Brussels’ sprouts got lonely and wanted to join the Mushroom party (I swear that’s not a drug reference!).”
HAHAHA!
you are brave. and amazing.
I’m so hungry now! I wonder why…
Wow, all of that looked amazing. And I thought I was a great cook
. We definately should all meet up at one point ” We could all make a dish and bring it , or just go somwhere… but oddly I prefer making my own food. I work a crazy schedule so it would have to be planned a few weeks in advance. Oh and you def have to make the mushroom carrott stroganoff, that looks wow!.
OH and are you just a runner , or do you do any weight lifting?..
Mmmm it all looks delicious! And I’m in the jealous that you can eat so much side of the boat (although I guess I’m lucky, I don’t have to worry too much, more so as I get…..older *sigh*
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everything lookds delicious!
Gosh, you had me drooling at the chocolate pudding … and YES! nut butter are BEST when they are eaten straight up!!!!! By the way, what protein shakes brand do you use? I’m trying to find a dairy free version but I don’t know a good brand – I heard lots of them taste chalky!!
LOL! You are definitely well nourished! Hehe!
Everything looks so yummy!
the thing i love about your blog is that you show that you eat a variety of foods. i think many omnis have misconceptions about what a vegan eats-(that we don’t eat enough). i don’t count calories-(EVER), rather than i look at how much protien and fiber an item has. i try to make sure to eat at least 25-30gs of fiber per day. thanks for your comment on my last post. i’ll shoot you an e-mail later!
yay, thanks for the fun post!! I love that only eat foods you love – I’m totally in the same boat with you on that. if I force myself to eat something I’m not so into I find myself feeling verrrry unsatisfied. Adorable ending!
You have such a great outlook. Thanks for the cool post!
Mmmm, salad.
Mmmm, tofu scramble.
Mmmm, mushrooms.
Mmmmmmm.
I love this! Please don’t be so modest!
You make me want to go vegan!
I LOVED IT.
I always adore the behindthebloggerscenes (although I too would feel as you do…the selfindulging part. but we all did wanna know
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Miz.
Hey hey!!
Hah!! Now we can see WHAT AND HOW YOU EAT KATIE!!! =D
That’s cool,thx for sharing!! =DD
I’ve got the same issue..hah..people always wonders how I manage to EAT SOOO MUCH and stay skinny…. LOL!!
That’s too funny =P
Great combinations of food,LOVE it!!
In the past I used to eat SOOO MANY “strange” foods for breakfast..
like PASTA WITH SPINACH or blended grains with broccoli…the list goes on =PPP
Well…it’d be SOOOOOOO COOL to meet up in Poland with you!!!
Will you come??? I invite you!! =D
If you have time pls visit my new post =D
Enjoy the day!!
(OBAMA the President !! Elect =))
Sounds like you are exactly where you should be, calorie-wise. The average person should have between 1800-2500 calories per day. Active people can easily move into the 3000 calorie range.
Cutting calories and having a “low-calorie” diet is actually bad for your health, as your body will be starved for energy and go into survival mode (which is how the weight is lost).
Ok, probably waay more calorie information than you ever wanted to know
Aww I loved this post, thanks for doing it! ^_^
Yummy eats, Katie!
I LOVE how varied and ginormous (wink) your meals are! They put my meals to shame, lol…
That was really cool that you tracked your calorie intake.. though that must’ve been so tedious and time consuming to do! I’m glad that you don’t have to do that everyday.
Oh! And I love your comment about being the vegan who DOESN’T order salads when going out. That’ll show ppl… vegans DO eat!
Have a great week, luv!
Nice post
And wow, you really do eat varied! I could learn a thing or two from you…
Oh, to be 22 again! Enjoy every one of those calories! Of course, it would probably help out a lot of us if we ran an hour a day!
Looking forward to the banana brulee recipe……
great post! I love your creamy grains… I’ll bet the wheatberries are totally delicous..
Hahah do I EVER know the secret. And a wonderful wonderful secret it is. Pure delicacy.
I loved this post and seeing how exactly you eat in a day. I’m so impressed by your meals. They are always so fancy schmancy, at least by my standards!
Aww, do you ever look anything but adorable in your pictures?
Your meals and snacks always look like so much fun! Life really is too short to waste it eating boring food!
Alarm clocks are the work of the devil!
your food looks so tasty!
my friends get mad at me too.
isn’t it nice to be able to eat so much and stay skinny?
i LOVE you dishes! and that last picture is adorable.
Also, i am very boring. I probably wouldnt have been able to write anything more that
work
blog
workout
tv
sleep
Kelly Turner
http://www.groundedfitness.com
Lucky CCV! Even those fitness models in magazines like Oxygen eat only like 1800-2000 calories a day, and they exercise a ton! And I know a lot of other bloggers who exercise say they eat around 1800, so I’m guessing that’s normal. But thank you so much for posting this. Your blog is a huge inpiration to me because I am trying to recover from an eating disorder (at my worst, I was only eating 700-800 calories per day) and you have such a positive, healthy outlook on your diet. I never would have imagined that it would be possible to eat so much and not get fat. Not that I’ll probably be able to ever eat that much, since you are just blessed genetically, but I am really going to try now to at least get to 1800 on days I exercise because I am a young girl like you, and my body needs the calories. Honestly some of the other blogs really trigger me, with the girls bragging about how much they exercise and yet they’re always talking about diet products, calories, and not seeming to eat much. I know I shouldn’t let it get to me, since they probably have eating disorders too and just don’t want to admit it. But anyway I wanted to thank you for being different. Your blog is my absolute favorite!
this was so fun to read. i love tofu scrambles too but i usually eat mine for dinner. for some strange reason, i can only have liquid breakfasts (a bunch of stuff thrown in the blender). my body just can’t take normal foods in the morning. its so depressing!
and i definitely believe in your philosophy of only eating what tastes good! even if that means eating 4… or 5 muffins a day.
That was fun! I guess bloggers are voyeuristic by nature! You are a great time manager and one of the few busy students who makes it a priority to eat healthy. You should be nothing but proud of yourself.
A day in the life of CCV was so cool to read! It’s so interesting to hear your unique perspective – I loved the comment on how guys think it’s cool that the vegan doesn’t order the salads
) While it is envious that you are able to eat so much more, it’s also incredibly COOL that everything you eat is so healthy and fulfilling – it would be way easy to eat 2600 calories worth of chocolate bars, but you are doing what’s best for your body and I love it!
i loved, loved your post katie! you had a delicious, yet healthy day of eats! i love your lettuce wrap idea and banana brulee oat bran – recipe? also, thank you for the shout out! you are so cute!
Loved this post! So cool!
And I love, love, love this quote from you,
“More favorite foods… actually, pretty much everything I eat is a favorite food. My food philosophy: I try to never eat anything that doesn’t excite me. Life is short, so why waste it eating foods that are “boring”? With every morsel I put in my mouth, I want to be able to say, “Gosh, I wish this would last forever.” “
That was just awesome! I totally agree with your food philosophy!
OMG, 2600 Kcal?! you’re a lucky chocolate covered lady!
My family looks at me like I have 2 heads sometimes when they see me eat because I am tiny and can eat SO much food. But it’s all healthy, so it’s okay.
And I totally agree with you, I don’t know how some people can count calories every single day.
What a cute and funny post! You’re like a hobbit eating 6 meals a day…
Oh, I’m just so jealous! I wish I had your metabolism! I don’t count calories or anything, but I definitely couldn’t eat two breakfasts and two big snacks without gaining weight.
I do workout…4 times a week for 35 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on my schedule. But that’s not enough to let me eat more.
Oh and by the way, this post was super interesting…so don’t feel like you’re being conceited. Day in the Life’s are fascinating!
wow you’re so lucky to be a ble to eat that much and still be so skinny! Do you run an hour every day? How many miles do you go?
Emily E.—
Thanks for the sweet comment. It’s about 2600 calories total. Haha I would have no idea how to figure out how many I burn while running… I guess it wouldn’t be too many because smaller people don’t burn as much through exercise (errr, at least that’s what I’ve heard from people who are much smarter in these areas than me!).
Halie, Andrea, and 1st Anonymous—
) 
) 
). Andrea, I really hope I’ll live to be 100+, but only if my friends and family do too, because otherwise I’d be lonely. You need to live that long too… then we can plot how to take over the world (from our wheelchairs, of course).
Thank you!!! I love reading such nice comments
Michael—
Ooh let’s have a potluck! That sounds so much more fun than a restaurant meet-up, because everyone knows homemade food is better!
I try to do some weight-lifting around three times a week, especially to bulk up my crazy-skinny arms (not working so well at press time!), but I’m not really passionate about it like I am running. Basically I do it because I know it’s good for me.
Sarah–
You have no idea how much it means to me that my blog is your favorite. Thank you so much.
2nd Anonymous—
).
Nope, I don’t run every day. I think it’s really important to give one’s body time to rest. I love running and would be happy doing it every day, but I force myself to take recovery/rest days because I know that’s what my body wants. I run 4-5 times a week. As for mileage, I actually don’t even know! Haha I don’t have any of those fancy gadgets that track miles… if I did, I probably wouldn’t know how to work it (I’m terrible with technological contraptions. Took me ages to even understand my ipod!). But I don’t really care about mileage; I just run for fun
Oh my gosh, my tummy’s rumbling!
Also, because of you, I bought millet and barley the other day – it looks a little intimidating, so I think I’ll follow your blending suggestion!
Love what you eat and always looks so good as well.
Ah West Wing, can’t wait until we get another series (we are around two years behind you on most US series shows). I always feel the writer of the show should run for President as his thinking is so close to mine LOL.
You are too cute! I loved reading this, so very infomative. That is some metabolism you have, girly! Oh and please do share that brûlée recipe if you get a chance.
Heather
Thanks for all the great ideas. I’m vegetarian and have a tendency to get in a food rut, so your post was very inspiring. I’m so glad that I found your blog.
In all fairness you eat mostly low fat minus the odd nuts..so it could be why u dont put on weight. u eat high-fibre which pretty much burns itself off and a lot of vegetables to fill up. it would be a different story if you ate mostly avocados and nuts with high protein and fatty vegan desserts. wait didnt you used to eat a lot of cake from cafes?? what happened to that?
maybe u shouldnt call it “how to gain weight on a vegan diet” because gaining weight on a vegan diet would require high fat and high protein and high carb foods combined. this is mostly low fat.
Anonymous—
If you read the following post, it will explain why I eat the way I do:
http://howtogainweightonavegandiet.blogspot.com/2008/08/whats-with-my-blog-url-anyway.html
You might also want to check out the following post before you make any assumptions about me:
http://howtogainweightonavegandiet.blogspot.com/search?q=hello+from+CCV
And please be assured that I get a healthy amount of fat in my diet.
Thanks!
Oh, what I could do with 2600 calories
I’m one of those who has to watch how much she eats. Then again, I can’t even run for 20 minutes straight, much less an hour! Looks like a very healthy day overall.
Enjoyed reading your “day in the life” post!! Inspires me to start eating better
I recently put on a few pounds and was using Spark People to count my calories just to get an idea of how much I was eating and boy, you’re right. It is time-consuming and tedious. However, it is also enlightening.
You are such an amazing and talented person. I’ve enjoyed reading more about you!
Katie,
Thanks for sharing a day in your life. I love reading stuff like this about my favorite bloggers…gives me lots of ideas for meals.
You are too cute. I must try your wheatberry recipe. My gosh, that sounds so very creamy and comforting!
Nut butter straight-up is the best!
As a meet eater (I am sorry) I really enjoy reading your blog and finding out how the other half live. I gave up meat for about 20 days once…and did not miss it. I had a friend who was eating ‘raw’ for a month and I told her I could commit to 2 weeks of skipping meat to show her support. 2 weeks turned into almost 3 weeks.
Now I am in full weightloss mode so I am not sure how easy it would be for me to give up meat completely. But after reading your blog it seems like I could almost do it. You still eat pretty good…and healthy
I love the FAQ page…it is a great way to catch up new readers like me.
I LOVE the West Wing and I’m so sad it’s finished. I read somewhere that apparently the writers based Santos on a young Obama (got to find out if that’s true or not, because it’s pretty cool if it is!).
This is great, exactly the kind of thing I’m hoping people will start to pick up on. Eating “diet” food will not make you skinny, it will actually probably make you fat by intensifying cravings, lowering your energy levels, and too much crap and sugar!!! Eat natural foods, eat more, and look your best.
clearly
I loved this post because it’s similar to how I fuel! I’m a veggie-loving vegan runner (in college) and I have to eat a LOT to sustain myself. Sometimes it feels weird eating meals with my roommates/friends because while they’re eating small plates of chicken and potatoes, I’m eating monsterous stir-frys out of mixing bowls. I’m also the “skinny chick who gets to eat a lot” Thanks for showing the importance of QUALITY
West Wing probably one of THE GREATEST shows EVER.