oooOOO! Donated blood AND voted!?!? Awesome, but no serving on flight crew for at least 24 hours. Hypoxia is bad for you, umkay?

And, um, I'll just be taking that plate of food. nom nom nom.

The coolest thing about this time donating, was finding out my hemoglobin was the highest it had ever been ~ after a month of veganism.

That restriction is in our manual, yes. :^)

Spaghetti squash is the easiest thing to make! And the 35 minutes that it's in the oven is the right amount of time to prepare whatever you're having it with.

mmmm. I love spaghetti squash.

That's awesome on the heme... Probably all of the leafy greens. SO GOOD FOR US HUMANZ.

*sigh* I should probably try to go at least vegetarian, because meat seems to just make me more hungry.

Do it! I'll happily pile unsolicited advice upon you!

So, the first question is, do you ever get that food sickness where you feel soggy brained when you haven't eaten in a while?

If so, what do you find is the best meatless way to make that go away? And is it possible to keep it away for more than 2 hours?

Other than that, I do like that actual veggies (not starches) can be consumed in huge quantities without many calories. :)

That's actually a really good question.

The thing I've experienced, I'd describe differently. It's more like an aggressive grumpiness. And I've known for a long time (having vascillated between vegetarianism and omnivorism a few times in the last fifteen years) that it really only happens when I'm eating meat. I attribute this more to my own body type and body chemistry than to an impenetrable argument for vegetarianism.

I know I have a totally different metabolism from yours. You can tell by looking at us. I have a fast metabolism, and I can forget to eat. But the blood sugar regulation thing works much better when I'm veg. I've known this since I lived in Denton.

The other thing I get is that when I've really forgotten to eat, and I'm hungry, I start craving a Big Mac. Very specifically, that. A bowl of cereal or something kills it. If I'm still craving one when I'm not running on reserves, I'll mimic one, or have something really savory. Don and I used to make 'little Macs' with Boca, sliced cheese, pickles, minced onion, toasted buns, and homemade special sauce.

To answer your question, how I attack that feeling is something that changes all the time. Lately, I'm into blending things. I don't like eating salads (fruit or veg), but plain fruit in a blender, or vegetables with some Tabasco and lemon juice and tomato juice, gives me a ton of energy. I used to think smoothies needed yogurt or bananas or oats, or something to add calories, but those take effort, and I get tired of them. The light ones, drinky salads, I wake up craving. The one that gets me out of bed in the morning is all vegetables, no fruit.

I agree, it's nice to be able to eat five or six meals a day. :^)