When I published my first “What I Eat In A Day” post a few months ago, I had no idea what to expect.
So I was happily surprised when the post received such an outpouring of positive reader feedback, with many people writing in to say they loved seeing the example of how a vegan day in the life might look.
As I mention in the first post, there’s no typical day for me, but the amount of food stays pretty constant. I’ve also never been one of those people who can go even a day without dessert!
If you missed it, here’s the first post: Everything I Eat in a Day – Part 1
What I Eat In A Day
I wake up hungry and usually snack on a handful of nuts as I check emails, maybe post to @Chocolatecoveredkatie on Instagram, and make breakfast.
Today I also ate a few strawberries that needed to be used up. If I’m going running in the morning, I’ll make a cup of coffee and have a more substantial first breakfast.
That’s about 1-3 times per week, depending on whether or not I feel like running.
I’ll never again force myself to exercise if I don’t feel like it, after being an obsessive exerciser for years.
Anyways, no running or coffee today.
Breakfast
Lately, I’ve been craving savory food for breakfast.
Today was two Homemade English Muffins–one of my favorite recipes in my new cookbook–toasted in the oven with organic vegan buttery spread, kale sautéed with olive oil and garlic, and caramelized cherry tomatoes.
It looks fancy, but honestly the tomatoes took under a minute to prepare, and all I did for the kale was throw it into the cast-iron skillet the day before and let it cook as I put my groceries away.
Lunch
Lunch was even easier to prepare.
Heat up some leftover Buffalo Chickpea Chili from the freezer, dice an avocado and throw it on top, and finish the meal by breaking off a piece of extra-dark (95%) chocolate.
My blog title really is a good name for me.
Snack 1
I always get hungry in the afternoon, and—surprise—it’s usually for chocolate.
Today was homemade cashewmilk and a Chocolate Brownie Paleo Bar.
Dinner
Dinner was this Broccoli Cheesy Rice, also from the cookbook.
I added extra broccoli and served it with sautéed mushrooms on the side.
I could eat this meal every single day – it is the epitome of creamy comfort food.
Snack 2
Nighttime snack: Chocolate Peanut Butter Nice Cream
More creamy comfort food. And also more chocolate. Katies are simple creatures, and we know what we like.
That’s usually it for the day in terms of eating, but on this particular night I went out later and had a glass of red wine as well.
Daily Total: 3,003 calories
(As a vegan, I also take Vitamin B12 and Omega 3s each day.)
By Popular Request: Link to the Full Nutrition Facts
How do you counculate your nutritional inntak, what program do you use?
Calorie Count
How do you eat so many calories in a day and not get fat?
Yes! That is what I want to know!!
I am a 185 pound male who works out almost daily (weights mostly) as well as working most days on my farm. I eat around 2000 calories a day. She would not be able to eat this many calories and not gain weight unless she has an incredible metabolism or works out daily. I am assuming this is not a regular day of food or the calorie count is wrong? But by the looks of it except for the breakfast every meal is high in fat which has the most calories. Did she really throw on a whole avocado to her chili? But besides all that I do agree with her philosophy of not being strict with regards to working out or what you eat. Let your own body guide you.
I have to pipe in here – I am a young woman in my 20s and and I weigh about 125 lbs, I’m very athletic but not as slim as Katie. I’ve been working as an athletic trainer for 5+ years, so while I’m not a doctor or expert, I do have a ton of education and experience on this topic. I’m in an extremely intensive professional training program that involves 1.5-2 hours of HIIT and running 6 days a week. I eat 2200 calories per day to maintain my weight. When I took 2 weeks off training for a minor injury, my doctor dropped that number down to 1500 calories per day in order to not gain fat. If I ate 3000 calories per day on my current intense training plan, I would gain nearly 7 lbs per month (80 lbs per year). I don’t care how fast her metabolism is, there is NO WAY she can eat nearly TWICE what is likely her TDEE and not gain weight. Something is off, either she is grossly overestimating her calories, this a very atypical day, or she completely misrepresented what she eats for the purpose of this blog (which I hope is not the case).
People are built differently, have different metabolisms based on genetics, age, gender, and lifestyle, and therefore have different energy needs. What might cause one person to gain weight will not necessarily be the same for someone else. That’s why some people thrive on a particular diet that doesn’t work at all for others. What I can say is that I know Katie personally and she absolutely does eat like this on a daily basis.
Jason (media relations)
OK I think something people are missing is that when you eat vegan, you have to eat extra calories to maintain your weight. I am a 28 year old PhD in molecular biology (just saying that so people don’t hit back saying that I’m crazy or uneducated) and I started eating vegan/mostly vegan about 4 years ago. When I ate a lot of meat and dairy, I would probably eat about 1200-1500 calories per day or gain weight (I’m naturally small around 110lb, but I would easily gain weight to 125lb when I ate meat/dairy). Once I started eating vegan, I would eat 2500-3000 calories per day depending on my activity level (basically if I was on my feet at work all day vs sitting at a computer or if I went for a 3 mile run etc). You’d be surprised how quickly calories add up, and I never gained any weight. Now I eat some dairy products like yogurt and also seafood and I notice that I don’t need as many calories on days that I eat dairy or seafood. Katie is not lying, being able to eat more calories is just byproduct of her plant based diet. For people who doubt this, you should try it out a whole-plant based diet and I really think you’ll see (as long as you’re eating healthily and not eating junky) that you can eat far more calories without gaining weight.
RE: Emily, I think you’re misconstruing VOLUME for calories. While it is true that vegans need to consume a larger volume of food to meet their TDEE, that doesn’t change how many calories a person needs to gain or lose weight. The caloric value of meat, dairy, and processed foods is much higher than most fruits and vegetables, which is why vegans need to consume more volume of these items to meet their needs. Vegans don’t magically need to eat more calories to maintain their weight, they simply need to eat more volume to reach their caloric needs. As an extremely petite female, I highly doubt she can eat over 3000 calories a day, every day, and maintain her figure.
There are studies that indicate vegans do need to eat more calories, because their bodies are more efficient at digesting and also because not all calories are created equal. The amount of calories needed by an individual will also vary greatly depending on age, gender, genetics, metabolism, activity level, etc. as Mary and Emily note here. It’s not unheard of for people to need 3000 calories, especially if they’re younger and if they are runners as Katie is. Think of the girl who won the hot dog eating contest and is all of 100 pounds. It really depends on so many factors.
I don’t really understand why everyone is having a fat cow over what this woman is eating, like it’s an obscene amount. Most of you must have a very skewed idea of what’s considered healthy. If you’re active enough and eat REAL food, I don’t think there’s much to worry about. It seems to me like she ate decent portioned meals, and had one healthy snack during the day. My meals aren’t vegan, but are about the same portion sizes and I lost 38lbs with my current “diet” and exercise. I’ll have a piece of whole grain toast w/ 1/2 of an avocado, a hb egg, and salt and pepper for breakfast with a protein shake. Then for lunch I’ll usually eat a salad with quinoa, spinach, cucumber, carrots, nuts, a vinaigrette, goat cheese, and tuna or chicken. Dinner is generally some kind of protein, veggies, and a complex carb (brown rice or quinoa)…some nights it’s grilled and others it’s smothered in cheese. I’ll also have greek yogurt and/or fruit for snacks and some dark chocolate of some sort. Some days I’m hungrier than normal, so I’ll eat more of something I know will be good for me…half of an english muffin with some all natural, organic peanut butter is one of my favorite snacks (*gasp* so much fat!). Life is too short to worry about your calorie intake, day in and day out. Eat real food in moderate portions and exercise. It’s not that hard.
Our bodies absorb different types of foods in a different way. People eating meat or highly processed foods cannot eat as many calories as eating Whole Foods without gaining weight. I have friends that are raw foodists that have to eat a lot of calories each day in their plant based diet just to maintain their weight and not become too lean. This is even without exercising. So, unless you know the molecular structure of food and the way in which our bodies breakdown and absorb those foods, we cannot really judge.
She’s lying,that’s how.
I am a registered dietician and there is no way she eats that much everyday.
verified eating disorder in the past
Hi Donna, please read this post before making inaccurate assumptions about Katie’s past or present attitude towards food. https://lett-trim.today/chocolate-covered-katie-anorexic/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
She’s already responded to this way down the thread. She has a very high metabolism and is constantly moving. Downside, she doesn’t sleep well or take enough time to rest.
She lies…
Oh my STARS, does anyone have decent manners any more? You cannot just write “she lies” and an oh-so important ellipses (as if you have more info, but just can’t trust us with the big deep secret! LOL) If you think Katie is fibbing, you’d better be able to back that up. It would also have been polite to write to her personally if you have questions. If this were a newspaper, not a Blog, she could use you for libel. Now it’s defamation of character. You’re very lucky that Katie is nicer than I am.
If you can’t write something nice that is also true? Sit on your hands.
Stop being gross.
Do you know her?
Katie, I am Judy a 71 yr old who is on a very strict eating program as I have a candida/fungus issue going on in my body and it has been there for a very long time. Gastric bypass 1998 and this has been an issue big time with processing carbs, fats and proteins. I cannot eat beans, spinach, kale, collards, and yeast breads.
I am a Southern gal and it has been a short journey to learn how to cook so I can have some kinds of food that I really enjoy. I am not to eat gluten free, however, I bake with almond and some coconut flours. It is the sugar that I have to deal with in baking and the carbs. I saw your brownie recipe but didn’t get to look at the full recipe to see what is in it. So my question is. If I wanted to bake a brownie recipe that called for refined sugar, would it work with using mashed banana/ dates for the sugar content? I am trying to loose 40 lbs. of weight also and I am finding I feel guilty if I bake a desert and eat it for I am afraid I will gain weight and don’t know how to count it in my daily food diary. If you could give me some suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated. Staying faithful to me and looking forward to seeing good results. Judy in VA
Hi Judy! It normally would not work to replace sugar (a dry ingredient) with mashed banana or something else wet, but you could use date sugar! They should sell date sugar at health food stores, or also online: https://amzn.to/2TnHoeA
Hope that helps!!
Jason
Judy, you could use Stevia drops, and sweeten to taste. I often use banana or dates or maple syrup or honey. You just have to play with your recipe because some are sweeter or wetter than you want.
Ive had candida yeast overgrowth from refined sugar n artificial sweeteners n finally got rid of them on a no sugar, no bread, i use stevia as my sweetener its all natural. Wishing you well.
You need to cut out all sugars for a while including most carbs and root veg. I’d recommend doing that under a programme such as Wildfit which really helped me. Just so you do it safely.
I need to chime in here!
Every single day I struggle to not loose wweight. I am now 38 and bearly ever work out but what Katie eats in a day would barely be enough for me to maintain my weight. I’m not sure why I have such a fast metabolism but I do. I always blamed it on being tall. I am 5′ 9″ and currently 142. I always try to keep my weight closer to 155 or even 165 because that feels healthier. This is my struggle and it’s a really difficulty for me just as I imagine keeping weight off for other people is. I could certainly eat what Katie listed but I would have to add at least 1 more avocado and a portion of meat for dinner. Trust me I know I’ve had this struggle all my life. Katie is not exaggerating her metabolism some of us have it even worse!
Hi Mary, I completely agree with your comment. I’m in the exact same boat, I’m 5’9 and loved staying around 150 or even 145. I’m down to 137, I don’t like it but I can’t necessarily eat more. I know this comment is old. I hope you are doing well
Hmmm Is it just me, or do you look waaay skinnier in this post than you do in the post you linked to at the top from a year ago? Just wondering ?
Please don’t try and diagnose someone on the internet that you don’t know. That is not helpful to anyone. Everyone needs to worry about their own health and well being.
ESPECIALLY someone with a history in that area. Not. Good. It can be really damaging to bring these things up for someone who has previously suffered from disordered eating (I speak from experience). So what if she’s skinny? If she wasn’t, you would say “hmm, Katie you look a little bigger in this photo than the last one”.
Agree. 100%
she isn’t skinny by a good bit
Agree wholeheartedly
amen. for all we know she could be ill or have a severe case of hyperthyroidism. or both. it’s fascinating how people just go off and judge with hardly any facts.
she could still stand to lose a little weight in her legs
I don’t know if you’re trolling or not, but that was completely 100% unnecessary to say. Go spend your energy elsewhere..
She looks beautiful and is confident in what she does.Let her lead by example.
I love how all of the negative comments have no real name attached to them lol. Pretty petty eh?
Says the person without a profile picture! ???
Seriously?? She’s perfect. You wish you looked like Katie. Damn.
Are you insane?!? She looks perfect. What is wrong with you???
You have git to be joking and crazy!!!!
This is the most ignorant,triggering,troll,weak,hide behind your computer statement you could ever make. The reason you say this crap is because your not happy within yourself and have some severe needed counseling issues. Your actually jealous of her that she can be healthy at a very slim weight and you wish you had her thighs! I’m crying fir your troll ignorance. Go read a book! Get educated. If you are, go back to school again and hit repeat, troll! ???
Leigh. trolls don’t believe what they say, they say things just so that people like you will get hysterical, which you have done. They are now in their bedrooms, laughing. At you. Hopefully I’ve helped you “get educated” on the subject of trolling.
As a former anorexic, I can tell you that a very good way to both get adulation for your thinness AND cover up your tracks would be to post on the internet about all the avocados and chocolate cakes you eat. Who know what’s really going on with Katie, it’s the business of her and her family, but “I’m not anorexic I eat all the things” is pretty much exactly what an anorexic would say so it doesn’t mean much.
Yup ? ???
Since you are anonymous, I guess it makes it OK to be unkind?
If course someone who was so rude didn’t use their name! That was insane! Lose weight in her WHAT?
Grief. I miss life before comment sections. These used to largely be kind. I’m sad that things have changed but glad about everyone standing up for Katie. She doesn’t owe us anything, I sure wish the trolls would find something else to do.
You are shamefully hideous for even thinking, let alone posting this
agreed
Hey, The girl looks healthy. Hell, I wish I had her energy – I get cold and tired after eating too much protein or too much starch. My metabolism needs help!
Love seeing a full day of vegan eats. I’m wondering the same as the commenter above, do you typically calculate calories per day to make sure it’s fitting your needs, and do you have any recommendations when doing so? Thanks!
Except for these “what I eat in a day” posts, I don’t count calories or carbs/protein/fat so just go by how I feel. Other than that, I will make changes if any labwork comes back abnormal. (For example, a few years ago the labwork found I was deficient in b12, so I added a supplement to my diet… which I honestly should have been doing anyway…)
Cronometer is wonderful free app you can use to calculate your calorie & nutrient intake in a day, and compare to what you need.
How many SmartPoints do you eat every day? I assume you are still with WW since your recipes usually have the SP. Your posts are so appetizing. Yum.
Thank you! I’m actually not on Weight Watchers; I just include points for the recipes because I know so many of my readers find it to be helpful 🙂
Oh ok. Thank you for your answer! 🙂
I saw above that you go by feeling and you do not count macros and stuff. If I follow my feeling I will be eating way more donuts. Hehe.
I love you…but hate the WIAD posts. They are fuel for people with eating disorders.
I wish you wouldn’t do them. It makes it hard to come to your site.
I’m in recovery (mostly recovered) from anorexia and have to disagree with you here, although normally I would agree with you on many of the WIAD posts around the internet that show the blogger eating a shockingly low amount of food riddled with low calorie substitutes like zoodles and pb2. Those are triggering for me even still, but this post and Katie’s previous WIAD post which talks more specifically about what you mention in your comment do the opposite of trigger me. They show a healthy amount of food and someone who is not afraid of eating real foods, not shying away from fat or dessert, and it inspires me to take better care of myself and also reassures me that it IS possible to eat a normal amount of food and not get “fat”. Anyway I know you didn’t ask for my two cents but I wanted to give a different perspective from someone who is helped by these kinds of posts as well as watching what other “normal” intuitive eaters around her eat.
Then be a big girl, take responsibility for yourself, and click off her site.
Hi Monika, and thank you for the honesty. In my initial “day in the life” post, I went more in-depth into my reasons for wanting to do these. I hope that it can help people, not trigger them. Most of the feedback I’ve gotten from people struggling with eating disorders has been positive, but I know everyone is different. Please absolutely feel free to skip over these posts in the future; I don’t expect to do more than two or three a year, if even that.
You have to click on it to read it. Be an adult and take responsibility for yourself.
I am currently in treatment for ED. There needs to be some personal responsibility here. The title informed you what type of post it was….up to you to read it. If you thought it would be triggering for you than maybe not a good idea to read. However you can’t vouch for everyone…esp people without ED. That’s not fair….
What are you talking about? Eating disoder? She ate 3,000 calories worth of healthy food from all vegan food groups. Tip for you…do not watch them. That way your day is not damaged in anyway watching someone eat a normal amount of food and vegan nonetheless.
Think before you type.
Maybe you should actually read the comments and think before you type. Nothing you are saying makes sense.
3000 calories a day is not normal for a woman unless she is seriously training for a sport
It can be a practice of discipline and recoveryW
Monica, I need to eat after two days of raging tummy badness. That comment made me feel like I’m going to barf AGAIN!
Disordered eating is a problem some people have, sure. A woman who eats like Katie? She doesn’t. Everyone get that plank out of your eyes, then you can “help” Katie with any speck she may have in hers.
Seriously, people! This is so gross!
Your dinner looks amazing! My latest obsession is risotto- comfort for sure!
Wow, so much hate for one post…
I like these posts, they show that even high calorie natural foods are good for you, such as nuts!
Love, love, love this post. Thanks CCK for showing that you can have your cake and eat it, too. I want to make all of these.
I love these kinds of posts! I’m a new vegan 4 months in and often get stuck in a food rut resorting to my usual throw everything in a bowl salad or something from the prepared food section at Whole Foods. But that can get expensive so I try not to do it very often. I love that there aren’t processed meats or soy included here.
Personally, I don’t mind these posts. I like seeing a little into your life, without posting tons of personal information, and it DOES show a great picture of a healthy (and lovely) young woman with a healthy relationship with food/exercise/body image. And I think you look fantastic, Katie. You don’t look unhealthy at all, just cute a heck! Thank you again for all that you do on this site. You’ve made college a much more bearable experience for me.
Oh, and I wanted to add: it’s thanks to you, I’ve been having your nice cream recipe at the end of the post for breakfast or lunch almost everyday, recently, but not always chocolate (gotta experiment with flavors, right?). Strangely, I’ve found it’s particularly good on top of toast with nut butter (ahem, healthy CCK Nutella!). Talk about an ice cream sandwich!
Nutella nice cream sandwich… sounds delicious 🙂