Food Journal: Monday, March 31

Breakfast:

Child 1 - 2 eggs scrambled, melted cheese on top; yogurt w/ granola

Child 2 - 2 eggs scrambled, melted cheese on top; yogurt w/ granola

Adult 1 - coffee & half-n-half

Adult 2 - coffee & whole milk

Lunch:

Child 1 - almonds, raisins, banana, thai drunkin noodles (leftovers from restaurant)

Child 2 - reheated mashed potatoes & barbecued pork country ribs

Adult 1 - reheated black beans & barbecued pork country ribs

Adult 2 - reheated mashed potatoes, sauteed kale, beef chuck roast

Dinner:

All - Beef short ribs, twice baked potato wedges, green beans w/ salt & butter

Child 1 - 1 TBSP PS & 1 TSP ground psyllium husk both in water

Child 2 - 1 TBSP PS in water

Adult 1 - 4 TBSP PS in water

Adult 2 - 2 TBSP PS in Nancy's Peach kefir

Evening snack:

Adult 1 - couple handfuls granola w/ milk

Food Journal: Sunday, March 30

Breakfast:

All - Scottish style oatmeal w/ walnuts, raisins, honey and milk, and the usual coffees for the adults (yes, same as Sat.)

Lunch:

All: Cheese quesadillas on corn tortillas and a hard boiled egg.

Dinner:

All - Hamburgers (homemade patties, no bun), baked polenta, sauteed kale

Child 1 - 1 TBSP PS & 1 TSP ground psyllium husk both in water

Child 2 - 1 TBSP PS in water

Adult 1 - 4 TBSP PS in water

Adult 2 - 2 TBSP PS in Nancy's Peach kefir

Evening snack:

Adult 1 - 1/5 bar 85% dk. chocolate & milk

Food Journal: Sat, March 29

Breakfast:

All - Scottish style oatmeal w/ walnuts, raisins, honey and milk, and the usual coffees for the adults

Lunch:

All - Reheated black-eyed peas, topped w/ left-over enchilada (cubed chuck, sweet peppers, cheese, flour tortilla)

Adult 1 - 2 TBSP PS in water

Dinner:

All - chicken sausages (grocery's meat counter); sautéed kale & red cabbage topped w/ raw sauerkraut; re-baked potato wedges

Child 1 - 1 TBSP PS & 1 TSP ground psyllium husk both in water

Child 2 - 1 TBSP PS in water

Adult 1 - 2 TBSP PS in water

Adult 2 - 2 TBSP PS in Nancy's Peach kefir

Evening snack:

None. Well, none yet. It's only about 8:30 as I type this. ;)

Food Journal: Friday, March 28

Breakfast:

Child 1 - 2 eggs scrambled, melted cheese on top; yogurt w/ granola

Child 2 - 2 eggs scrambled, melted cheese on top; yogurt w/ granola

Adult 1 - coffee & half-n-half

Adult 2 - coffee & whole milk

Lunch:

Child 1 - tomato soup w/ saltines (from can)

Child 2 - tomato soup w/ saltines

Adult 1 - tomato soup w/ saltines; 2 TBSP PS in water

Adult 2 - cheese/carrot/broccoli soup (from can)

Dinner:

All - Polenta (butter, no cheese); sautéed kale & red cabbage topped w/ raw sauerkraut; fresh oysters (1-2 ea); Chocolate mousse (homemade)

Child 1 - 1 TBSP PS & 1 TSP ground psyllium husk both in water

Child 2 - 1 TBSP PS in water

Adult 1 - 2 TBSP PS in water

Adult 2 - 2 TBSP PS in Nancy's Peach kefir

Evening snack:

none

Food Journal: Thursday, March 27

Breakfast:

Child 1 - 2 eggs scrambled, melted cheese on top; yogurt w/ granola

Child 2 - ditto

Adult 1 - coffee & half-n-half; 2 TBSP PS in water

Adult 2 - coffee & whole milk

Lunch:

Child 1 - spaghetti sauce over pasta noodles

Child 2 - don't know (ate at friend's house)

Adult 1 - reheated black-eyed peas, few forkfuls of raw sauerkraut (Farmhouse Culture brand), barbecued pork country ribs

Adult 2 - spaghetti sauce over pasta noodles

Dinner:

All - braised chuck roast, mushroom sauce/gravy, cheesy polenta, green beans

Child 1 - 1 TBSP PS & 1 TSP ground psyllium husk both in water

Child 2 - 1 TBSP PS in water

Adult 1 - 2 TBSP PS in water

Adult 2 - 2 TBSP PS in Nancy's Peach kefir

Evening snack:

None

Food Journal: Wed, March 26

First I want to report that we won't be doing 7 weeks of science project after all. My wife has a trip planned the first weekend of April. That would have her gone for a couple days right before taking the end samples. That completely defeats the purpose of my big, long explanation for extending the project a week in order to have a more homogenous diet among us all.

So, like Solomon, I am splitting the baby. (Yeah, yeah, he didn't really split the baby.) We'll run the experiment an extra half week instead. We'll sample mid-week next week.

That means today I must restart our food journals. Enjoy.

Breakfast:

Child 1 - 2 eggs scrambled, melted cheese on top; yogurt w/ granola

Child 2 - ditto

Adult 1 - coffee & half-n-half; 2 TBSP PS in water

Adult 2 - coffee & whole milk

Lunch:

Child 1 - don't know (ate at friend's house)

Child 2 - mac-n-cheese (Annie's from a box); 4-6 cocktail pickles

Adult 1 - 2 eggs over reheated black-eyed peas and few forkfuls of raw sauerkraut (Farmhouse Culture brand); yogurt w/ granola

Adult 2 - ditto

Dinner:

All - braised chuck roast, mushroom sauce, baked potato w/ sour cream, green beans

Child 1 - 1 TBSP PS & 1 TSP ground psyllium husk both in water

Child 2 - 1 TBSP PS in water

Adult 1 - 2 TBSP PS in water

Adult 2 - 2 TBSP PS in Nancy's Peach kefir

Evening snack:

Adult 1 - vanilla ice cream

Adult 2 - vanilla ice cream

Kits have arrived

Woo-hoo. The kits arrived here over the weekend. I've created a profile for each of us, completed the questionnaires, taken the samples, and posted them back to Boulder as of yesterday.

For those curious, our macronutrient composition was 45-35-20% fat-carb-protein respectively. Our plant/animal protein split was approximately 35/65%. Our fiber intake over the 7 days prior to sampling was 105 g for the adults and 80-85 g for the children.

For those really curious, below is the summary of our meals over the last week and a half. It covers more than the seven days that the Am Gut project is interested in because I started keeping track a little ahead of time in anticipation of the kits' arrival. You may notice a lot of repeats. Those are not copy and paste errors on my part. :) Rather, we have a tendency to eat the same things over and over and to have left-overs the next day. I like to think it uncomplicates life by not having to worry about what to eat today, akin to Steve Jobs wearing his uniform of turtle neck shirt and blue denim pants. It's the engineer in me. I'm sharing this amount of detail so that when our "before" results arrive people will have an idea of what kind of diet created them.

Also, as a reminder the yogurt is cultured by me using the viili starter from Cultures for Health. It does NOT contain bifido bacteria. As that is the strain that most favors resistant starch, it will be interesting to see if bifido "spontaneously" populates our gut just from consuming it's preferred food source.

Dinners:

Monday - Baked chicken drumsticks, Sauteed cabbage & beet greens, Au gratin potatoes (yep, exact same two days in a row)

Sunday - Baked chicken drumsticks, Sauteed cabbage & beet greens, Au gratin potatoes

Saturday - Steak, side salad, & ciabata bread from bakery

Friday - Black-eyed peas w/ bacon "ends" and rice, Sauteed cabbage, rainbow chard, and onion on the side

Thursday - Fish tacos w/ rice & sauteed onions, red cabbage, carrots, & kale

Wed - Chicken & dumplings

Tuesday - Chicken & dumplings

Monday - Beef teriyaki kabobs w/ polenta and kale & red cabbage

Sunday - Chicken meatballs in spaghetti sauce over polenta w/ moz cheese

Sat - Pizza (homemade, sausage & cheese)

Lunches:

Monday - Tomato Soup w/ Cheese, Peanut Butter, and Crackers

Sunday - skipped, snacked on peanut butter & apple slices

Saturday - Yogurt & granola

Friday - Eggs over black-eye peas w/ bacon & yogurt w/ granola (adults)

Thursday - Eggs over black-eye peas w/ bacon & yogurt w/ granola (adults)

Wed - Chicken meatballs, spaghetti sauce & polenta left-overs (adults)

Tuesday - Eggs over black beans & yogurt w/ granola (adults)

Monday - Eggs w/ rice & crab meat & yogurt w/ granola (adults)

Sunday - Leftover pizza

Sat - skipped, had only a small snack

Breakfast:

Monday - Eggs & yogurt w/ granola & flax meal (kids only, adults had coffee w/ half-n-half)

Sunday - Eggs over pancakes w/ sausage

Saturday - Eggs over pancakes w/ sausage

Friday -  Eggs & yogurt w/ granola & flax meal (kids only, adults had coffee w/ half-n-half)

Thursday - Eggs & yogurt w/ granola & flax meal (kids only, adults had coffee w/ half-n-half)

Wed - Eggs & yogurt w/ granola & flax meal (kids only, adults had coffee w/ half-n-half)

Tuesday - Eggs & yogurt w/ granola & flax meal (kids only, adults had coffee w/ half-n-half)

Monday - Eggs & yogurt w/ granola & flax meal (kids only, adults had coffee w/ half-n-half)

Sunday - Oatmeal & yogurt w/ honey & pecans

Sat - Eggs over black beans, bacon on the side

Food Journal: Wed, Dec 18

Adult 2 and Child 2 left town early for Christmas. This week the boy and I are living like bachelors, which is to say subsisting on left-overs as we work the fridge into shape to be left unattended for a couple weeks.

Breakfast:
Child 1 - white beans, 2 eggs over easy, shot of sriracha sauce; yogurt & granola
Adult 1 - coffee & half-n-half

Lunch:
Child 1 - the hot lunch at school (S.A.D.)
Adult 1 - white beans, 2 eggs over easy, double-shot of sriracha sauce; yogurt & granola

Dinner:
Child 1 - beef-barley-cabbage-potato-carrot-kelp soup; on the side, a couple slices of fresh bakery french bread w/ butter; dried mango strips for dessert
Adult 1 - ditto

Evening snack:
Adult 1 - few squares of the 85% dark chocolate & milk

Food Journal: Thurs, Dec 12

Breakfast:

Child 1 - 2 eggs scrambled, melted cheese on top; yogurt w/ granola

Child 2 - ditto

Adult 1 - coffee & half-n-half

Adult 2 - coffee & half-n-half

Lunch:

Child 1 - don't know

Child 2 - don't know

Adult 1 - yogurt w/ granola; 2 egg omelet w/ deli ham; 1 corn tortilla

Adult 2 - ditto

Dinner:

All - roasted pork loin; brown rice, cabbage, onion, etc; sliced up fresh pineapple on the side

Evening snack:

1 c Milk & 6 squares (~0.7oz) 85% dk chocolate

Food Journal: Tuesday, Dec 10

Breakfast:

Child 1 - 2 eggs scrambled, melted cheese on top; yogurt w/ granola

Child 2 - ditto

Adult 1 - coffee & half-n-half

Adult 2 - coffee & half-n-half

Lunch:

Child 1 - tortellini and pork-tomato sauce 

Child 2 - not sure -- play date at friend's house

Adult 1 - left-over turkey breast & bread stuffing (all gone now, stuffing not the turkey ;) )

Adult 2 - cheese quesadilla on small corn shells

Dinner:

All - meatloaf, broccoli (steamed), sweet potatoes (reheated w/ microwave from fridge)

Evening Snack:

Adult 1 - 2x3 in. slice of persimmon pudding w/ whip cream

Food Journal: Monday, Dec 9

Breakfast:

Child 1 - 2 eggs scrambled, melted cheese on top

Child 2 - ditto

Adult 1 - coffee & half-n-half

Adult 2 - coffee & half-n-half

Lunch:

Child 1 - hot lunch at school: chicken & rice w/ pears 

Child 2 - cheese quesadilla on small corn shells, peanut butter on gluten-free crackers

Adult 1 - left-over beans & rice reheated in skillet w/ 2 eggs mixed in; served w/ corn tortilla

Adult 2 - ditto

Dinner:

All - Ground pork & pasta sauce (jar), over cheese tortellini (refrigerator case)

Food Journal: Sunday, Dec 8

Breakfast:

Child 1 - 2 eggs over-easy, 2 sausage patties, small corn tortilla to sop up yolks; square of home-made persimmon pudding (about the size of a brownie) w/ whip cream on top

Child 2 - ditto

Adult 1 - ditto plus coffee & half-n-half

Adult 2 - ditto plus coffee & half-n-half

All - ~1 TSP fermented cod liver oil plus 6-12k IU Vit D drops.

Lunch:

Child 1 - take-out pizza and small slice of chocolate cake

Child 2 - pizza only, no cake

Adult 1 - none

Adult 2 - none

Dinner:

All - roasted turkey breast w/ braised potatoes and home-made stuffing (yes, they're Thanksgiving left-overs; and yes, this is like the third day without much in the way of leafy greens -- so embarrassing I never thought of this aspect when I decided to food journal)

Food Journal: Sat, Dec 7

Allow us all to pause for the Day of Infamy. Thank you.

By the way, my grandfather served in the Pacific on a wood-hulled mine sweeper. I can't remember if he made it to Japan, but I'm pretty sure he docked once in mainland China. He's still with us, which is nice.

But I digress. Food journal. I'm going to try and hit a few days in a row so that people can get a feel for what's typical for us, though I must say this is two days in a row that's not really typical. It's not totally unusual, but it's kind of at the end our normal range. Also, unlike M-F, this breakfast is quite a bit different for all of us.

Again, there may have been a little snacking I missed, but this is the main parts.

Breakfast:

Child 1 - 1 over-easy egg; 4 3-4" pancakes w/ real maple syrup; 2 strips bacon

Child 2 - ditto

Adult 1 - ditto plus coffee & half-n-half

Adult 2 - ditto plus coffee & half-n-half

All - ~1 TSP fermented cod liver oil plus 1 drop Thorne vitamin K2

Lunch:

No one ate lunch. Kids were pretty grumpy by dinner time, which we had an hour early. :)

Dinner:

All - split pea (AKA green lentils) & ham soup (onion, celery, carrot, parsely); age goat cheddar on the side, no crackers

Evening snack:

Adult 1 - 3 cookies (homemade -> butter & coconut oil, no trans fat or veg oils) & hot tea, herbal

Adult 2 - ditto

Food Journal: Friday, Dec 6

I won't attempt to do these everyday, or include the amounts every time, but I'll try to hit a few of these in a row early on to give a sense for what our diet looks like. Today was a fairly typical day for a day that I'd consider in the "light" range for us. It was "light" except for breakfast, which almost never varies on weekdays. These lighter days happen from time to time for no obvious reason, I reckon, other than being busy. Or you could say we made up for it with the cookies, since we don't typically do desserts. Today we did. Yin & Yang, perhaps.

Also, there may have been a little snacking I missed, but this has all the main parts.

Breakfast:
Child 1 - 2 scrambled eggs w/ melted cheddar on top; 1/2 cup of plain yogurt w/ couple TBSP granola
Child 2 - ditto
Adult 1 - 2 c coffee w/ ~1/4 c Half-n-half between them
Adult 2 - 2 c coffee & half-n-half

Lunch:
Child 1 - not sure :)
Child 2 - small plate with hard salami, green olives, & pretzel sticks
Adult 1 - 1/2 c yogurt & granola; 5-10 triscuit crackers w/ spread from a cream cheese/chevre-cheese cheeseball; handful of pistachios
Adult 2 - small plate of hard salami, green olives, & pretzel sticks, handful of pistachio nuts

Dinner:
All - white beans & ham over white rice (about 2/3 of the rice was straight out of the cooker, other 1/3 was leftovers from the fridge and thrown into the cooker right after the new rice was finished, but before it had cooled any -- I have no idea what that means for RS); a couple homemade short-bread cookies for dessert

Before bed snack:
Adult 1 - about 6 squares of dark chocolate and a 1/2 c whole milk