Eating the Alphabet
January 26, 2007 by kate baggott
Filed under Nutrition
Here’s a challenge for everyone.
I’ve been gaining weight and I hate it. What’s worse is that I know exactly where I’ve been going wrong and I’ve been too boring to fix it. I need my 5 to 10 servings of fruit and vegetables every day to maintain a healthy weight. Filling in hunger gaps with cheese and yogurt is delicious, and convenient, but too fatty for someone whose exercise time has been taken up by blogging (the truth still hurts). The rest of the family is going to do it with me.
Inspired by the children’s book above (click on the image to go to Amazon), we are going to eat the alphabet this week in an effort to get back on the healthy diet track.
Here are the rules, every day eat at least five servings of fruit and vegetables whose names begin with 4 different letters of the alphabet (for two days, you only need 3 letters). By next Friday, you should have all 26 letters eaten. I’ll update this post daily to let you know how we’re doing. Use the comments below to update your own progress. You do not have to eat in alphabetical order! You just have to cover all the letters.
Any other families up to doing the challenge with us? Progress Report under the cut
A – apple
B – blueberries (frozen), broccoli, baby pineapple
C – carrot
D – daikon (a/k/a horse radish)
E – eggplant (a/k/a aubergine)
F – figs
G – grapes, garlic
H – herbs (various)
I – iceberg lettuce
J – Jerusalem artichokes
K – kholrabi
L – lychee, lemon (juice)
M – mango, mushrooms
N – nectarine
O – onions
P – peppers, pomegranite seeds, potatoes
Q – quince (jelly)
R – raspberries (frozen)
S - spinach
T – tomatoes (canned)
U – ugli fruit
V – vine leaves (stuffed)
W – watermelon
Y – yams
Z – zuccini
Wow, this is hard, since the closes thing I’ve had lately to a fruit or a vegetable has been twizzlers…does that count?
Kim,
Twizzlers don not count! You can, however, substitude raisins or dried cranberries for the chewy stuff.
Of course, I had to laugh b/c as I start reading this I’m eating my “healthy” breakfast of a yogurt parfait!
(Vanilla yogurt, strawberries and a little granola). Okay, it is a bit fatty, you’re right. But, hey, there’s my S!
Kerri- Is it low-fat yogurt?
I guess I should mention that I have been eating yogurt or cheese about 5 times a day.
I think so, Brain, but where are we going to find a Quince this time of night?
I’ll be cheering you on. I’m not stocked up for an A – Z eating fest, but I’ll eat my Salad with Peppers and Celery and shoot. all my favorite salad veggies are C’s — carrots, cucumbers, celery.
How about Hearts of Palm? Artichokes? Daikon, eggplant, figs grapes NOT Iceberg…
what’s an X vegetable? A free space on the eating board?
Christina – Tomorrow I am going to the Asia Supermarket to buy Qs and Xs.
Here’s my post: http://www.playlibrary.com/2007/01/26/what-vegetable-starts-with-x/
Christina, I promise I already had the title written before I saw your comment, ha! But I still haven’t thought of an X produce, either.
Yes, Kate, it was low-fat. But with the strawberries and granola, I realized that I consumed more calories than if I’d had my usual one egg, 2 pieces of turkey bacon, one piece of toast and coffee with creamer!! Though, so far, it is about as filling. And it was way yummy.
LOL Kerri! I hope Kate finds it at the Asian market and lets us know. Unfortunately, it takes two hours to get to my favorite Asian market. Grrr.
Kate this is SUCH a good idea – but it will take some serious stick-to-itness to find all thsoe things! I am amazed at your Q and X finds!
Sarah-
Quince jelly was amazingly easy. The second table at the Saturday farmers’ market had come.
I have emails out to our African friends to find a potential source of Ximenia Fruit as a visit to the Asian shop today did not turn up and Xigua!
I have one more shop to check for Jerusalem artichokes before I open the can of green jack fruit, which was such a find, I had to have it…even though I have NO IDEA what to do with it and B took one look at the picture on the can and told me he doesn’t want any jack fruit.
What a great idea. I think I might have to try that. I try to eat lots of fruits and vegetables, but sometimes convenience out weighs what I should be doing.
Lisa- For you and everyone else!