The featured image shows the usual contents of my refrigerator vegetable drawer. Lately I’ve been eating peeled, raw zucchini in my salads instead of the cucumbers I had been eating for years. Why? Lately (after noticing the rise in cucumber prices) I realized they are more filling than cucumbers, just slightly more caloric, tastier, have a richer, chewable substance, and are more nutritious.

Key Differences

• Calories & carbs: Zucchini is slightly higher (17 kcal vs 12 kcal per 100 g).
• Protein: Zucchini has about twice as much protein.
• Vitamins: Zucchini has much more Vitamin C and more potassium.
• Water content: Cucumber is a bit more water-rich (96% vs 94%).
• Fiber: Zucchini has a little more fiber.

I typically have salads 3 times a day, to start off each meal. Here is what goes into them. The basic ingredients are (1) a mixed salad (usually from 7-Eleven) that contains a variety of healthy greens, including spinach, some sliced carrots, a bit of sliced onion, lettuce, and also a few soybeans; (2) a tomato, and (3) one zucchini.

After slicing things up into a salad bowl, I’ll add 1 teaspoon of ground flax seed – as recommended by Dr. Greger’s Daily Dozen. See https://lerner.net/oh-boy-doug-food-again/ for more info on that, and what I eat every day (basically the same things every day).

I also add a teaspoon of nutritional yeast flakes. Not only is this high in protein, it contains vitamin B12, which is the one thing you need to make sure you are getting on a vegan diet. My friends’ reactions to nutritional yeast flakes varies. Some, like me, really love it. Some don’t just seem to care for it that much, or actually dislike like. I will sprinkle it on all sorts of things – my salad, potatoes (it has a cheesy sort of flavor), brown mushrooms I snack on, and more.

After that I’ll add some spices – maybe cinnamon, maybe black pepper with some ginger powder – drizzle on some soy milk for the creaminess, and stir in a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Looks pretty tasty I think!

As mentioned above, I start each meal with this kind of salad, so I have it three times a day. And each bowl only has about 125 calories!

If you read the https://lerner.net/oh-boy-doug-food-again/ article, you can see what more I eat, but it’s usually potatoes I make in the microwave. For dinner I might also heat up a 300 g bag of frozen Japanese mixed vegetables. And I usually have one or two fruits a day as well.

I’ve also continued going to the sports center and working out at the gym every even-numbered day since the beginning of April. I think I might be seeing what looks possibly like an ab. 🙂