All Done

The time has come. This blog was very short-lived. I am still using this cookbook, but I'm using it so loosely that I no longer see the point in analyzing every meal. I use the book for suggestions and to see how to put together different components of a meal. I am still eating around 1200 calories per day, and I am still eating massive amounts of fruits, vegetables, and salads. I am even still trying at least 1 new food or recipe per week. My latest few posts have gotten repetitive. I don't have anything new to add in my comments, which has made me not want to post. This has been a great help in keeping me motivated and accountable, but it's time to move on and do this on my own. Thanks for reading!

Tuesday, June 15 -- Week 24, Day 3

Today went pretty close to how I expected it to. We were home for a nice relaxing breakfast. I almost changed my breakfast menu because I didn't feel like cooking cream of wheat, but it only takes a minute or so, so I made it anyway.

Breakfast:

• cream of wheat (.75 oz uncooked), with Splenda and cinnamon
• 1 peach, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup skim milk

I just can't get used to the feel of fuzzy peach skin in my mouth. It only takes a minute to peel, and it's pretty nice and neat to just pop a slice into my mouth, instead of gnawing on a juicy, drippy, messy one.

Lunch was supposed to be ricotta/tomatoes/garlic baked in a pita pocket. The ricotta had mold on it, so I had to come up with a quick change of plans. I ended up having pizza bagels. We didn't eat at home, so I don't have a picture.

Lunch:

• 3 pizza bagels (3 bagels halves, 3 T. pizza sauce, 2 oz mozzarella, 6 slices pepperoni)
• 1/2 cup vanilla yogurt

Dinner:

• 2 oz pork chops simmered in cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup no yolk egg noodles
• 1/2 acorn squash with brown sugar and margarine
• 1/2 cup carrots

This was good. Delicious pork chops! Acorn squash is an acquired taste. I'm getting there... I was NOT in the mood for another salad. I need a salad break for a few days...

Snack tonight was a baked apple in the crock pot. Mmm! Quick and easy.

I was starting to fall a little behind in my triathlon training, and I don't have the time to spare for falling behind. So this evening after dinner, I went for a 6-mile bike ride. Any bike ride around here is a super-aggressive one. The hills!! After my bike ride, I came home, changed my clothes, grabbed a drink and my Nike+ band, and headed back out for a 2-mile run. It was my first back-to-back workout, and it went really well!

I ended today at about 1400 calories, but I burned about 400 of them off during my workout tonight! It was another good day :-)

I haven't weighed myself in a few days, so maybe I'll try to remember to do that tomorrow. I've had several successful days in a row, and that usually shows up on the scale.

Monday, June 14 -- Week 24, Day 2

Today was another good day. We are keeping so busy so far this summer! I like taking the kids swimming, but I'm going to have to cut back on other running around if we're going to keep doing that. I'm exhausted.

Breakfast:

• 1 slice cantaloupe
• 1 egg, over-easy
• 1 slice homemade wheat toast
• 1 tsp. reduced-calorie margarine
• 1/2 cup skim milk

Lunch (swimming and picnic at the park):

• 2 oz deli ham
• 3 slices tomato
• 1 tsp. light mayonnaise
• 2 oz. deli ham
• 1/2 cup homemade applesauce
• 1/2 of one of the kids' PBJs that was going to be wasted

Dinner:

• 3 oz cod coated in cornmeal, salt, and pepper and cooked in a little olive oil
• 1/2 cup white rice (we're out of brown - need to find a bulk source)
• 1/2 cup wax beans
• 1/2 cup zucchini-tomato mixture
• romaine lettuce with creamy caesar dressing
• 1/2 cup skim milk

The fish was ok. I think I've mentioned before that fish is far from my favorite food. I just mixed my zucchini/tomatoes, rice, and fish together. That was very helpful. Fish and rice isn't a very filling meal though...

For snacks today, I had 1 1/2 graham crackers, 1 small piece of pizza that was just laying there, and a slice of cantaloupe. I came in at 1445, a little high for this particular diet, but still well within a healthy range. I also swam about 200 yards today, which was good for just under 200 calories.

Tomorrow we'll be home for all of our meals. That's always nice :-)

Sunday, June 13 -- Week 24, Day 1

Today was a really good day! I did oversleep a bit this morning, so instead of homemade wheat pancakes, Mark got some thin, flat, flavorless white ones from a bottle. I told him I wouldn't do that again, and I promised to throw away the rest of the bottles that we still have. I suspect they've expired and the baking powder is no good anymore. Not that they were very good pancakes to begin with, but I do remember them being at least a little fluffier in the past.

Anyway ... breakfast was a bowl of oatmeal squares, some apple juice, and some skim milk. I didn't take a picture, because #1) I was running very late, and #2) how many times have I posted a picture of a bowl of dry cereal on this blog?? I think you can picture it...

Lunch:

• curried meat hash
• cucumbers on romaine lettuce with Light Italian Vinaigrette
• 1/2 cup green beans
• 1/2 cup carrots
• 1 oz whole wheat pita
• 1/2 cup sugar-free jello with bananas

I was unsure about the hash. It has apples and raisins in it, and I'm not a fan of fruit in my meat, but I thought I'd try it anyway. It was pretty good. It didn't call for potatoes, but I diced one up and put it in there too. I cooked it in the crockpot, so the raisins became grapes again. They were pretty weird to bite into.

After naps, we went for a bike ride. We're borrowing a kid trailer that you pull behind a bike, so we all got to go except Ellie, who is still travelling. I think it was about 7.5 - 8 miles, but it was very flat, so it was a super-easy ride. By the end of our ride, it was 7:30. Everyone was hungry. I had planned to try salmon chowder for dinner. It looks pretty quick and easy - should be ready in 30 minutes or less. But we were all hungry NOW and didn't want to wait 30 minutes. So we went to McDonald's.

BUT ... I got a grilled chicken caesar salad. Yes, I had a few of the kids fries (by "a few," I mean about 5 - no harm done). I had ranch dressing and croutons. But really, I was very pleased with my choice. I don't need a greasy burger. I certainly don't need greasy fries. I was able to enjoy my salad and not feel like I'd messed up again!

Then we came home and I had a half cup of vanilla yogurt to ward off my sweet tooth that was hollering for ice cream. I am pleased to report that it worked! I ended my day at about 1250 calories, minus whatever I burned riding bikes at a very leisurely pace.

It was a nice day. Good weather, good times. Everyone got along (well, except the hair-pulling incident in the bike kid cart...), food was good, company was good. We ended the day happy :-) Now if only Ellie would get home, then life would be just right...

Friday, June 11 -- Week 24, Day 6

Much to my delight, I woke up this morning to a minus 2 on the scale since Tuesday!!

Breakfast:

• 1 over-easy egg
• 1 slice homemade wheat toast with 1 tsp. light margarine
• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup skim milk

What did I just say about a stock photo?? Nothing much to say about this meal anymore. I don't eat the whites. I tried once and just can't do it again.

Lunch:

• romaine lettuce with 1.5 oz leftover grilled steak
• 1 small carrot
• 2 green pepper rings
• 2 oz. light ranch dressing (for both salad and veggie sticks)
• 1/2 cup strawberry slices with Splenda

I can't decide how I feel about romaine lettuce. It's a very solid lettuce. I have a ton of it, so that's what I'll be eating all of next week too. I think I'll go back to regular head lettuce for a week after that. Maybe I'll just alternate the two.

I haven't had ranch dressing in awhile (well, except date night). It was ok, but I really prefer my Italian Romano.

Dinner:

• 3 oz grilled chicken leg quarter (quite crispy! flame-broiled - literally, but not intentionally)
• 3 oz yam with spray butter
• 1/4 cup peas
• 1/2 cup sliced sautéed zucchini
• romaine lettuce with Italian romano
• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 4 oz red wine

This was some seriously delicious chicken! I may never go back to boneless skinless breasts. Thighs are so juicy!

At this point in the day, I was at a grand total of 942 calories. So we got ice cream. I had a small strawberry daiquiri frozen yogurt cone, which was delicious! I estimate that a small frozen yogurt cone is around 250 calories. So I'm calling this a 1200 calorie day. A success! And it's so nice to be able to ENJOY ice cream, within the calorie limits of my day, rather than regretting that I blew it yet again. lol.

I ran 1.5 miles this morning, burning 225 calories. I also had a 6 mile vigorous bike ride this evening, burning another 180.

It was a good diet AND fitness day! I love those days the best. I go to bed feeling very good about myself, and usually pretty exhausted too! I'm sure I'll sleep well tonight.

Another Catch-Up Post

I'm such a bad blogger. I apparently didn't take any pictures on Tuesday, because that was date night. I know I said I'd try my best, but I didn't try. I didn't try at all. We started with a buffalo chicken cheese dip and crusty baguette. Then we had a nice tasty salad. I really enjoyed it! I chose regular ranch though. Their only light option was a non-fat raspberry vinaigrette. I don't think fruit belongs in a salad dressing. Then I had a monstrous piece of chicken cordon bleu in a creamy dijon sauce. Naturally, I ate every bite of it. Also with the chicken were seasoned fries and a lot of broccoli. I gave the broccoli away. My only chance at redemption, and I gave it away. To drink, a white wine strawberry sangria. I was disappointed. It was mostly wine, very little strawberry. We were so ridiculously stuffed that we couldn't even contemplate the idea of dessert. We mentioned going out for ice cream, but then we kind of gagged, so we decided to skip it.

I think this was Wednesday's dinner. Very dry pork shoulder roast with some homemade chicken gravy, 1/2 cup white rice (we were out of brown) with a little gravy, 1/2 cup wax beans, 1/4 cup mixed veggies, salad with cherry tomatoes, 1/3 cup apple carrot juice:



Thursday breakfast - homemade wheat toast, 1 tsp. reduced-calorie margarine, 1 over-easy egg, 1/4 cup skim milk, 1/3 cup orange juice. I think I'll just use this as a stock photo. I have this breakfast often. To think, I used to eat 3 eggs and 2 pieces of toast. Plus bacon or fried potatoes or both! I've come to terms with the fact that I'll just be eating smaller portions from now on...

Thursday's lunch - 3 oz deli ham and spinach in 1/2 a whole wheat pita with 1 tsp. mayo, 1 slice cantaloupe, 1 cup skim milk:

Thursday's dinner - 3 oz. grilled rib eye steak marinated in Catalina dressing, 4 oz baked potato with spray butter, 1/2 cup wax beans (again. I ran out of green beans.), romaine lettuce with light Italian romano red pepper dressing, 4 oz red wine (grimy kid fingers crudded up my camera lens):

I was saddened to find that just that one over-indulgent meal out totally undid 2 weeks' progress. But that won't stop me from doing it again. We get a night out so rarely that I'm not going to waste it on salad and water!

Monday, June 7 -- Week 23, Day 2

Today was a good day! I got lots done. My eating was great. My exercise was fabulous. I was in a good mood all day. Everything was in balance! (Well, except my computer use, but that's just taking things a little too far - hahaha)

BREAKFAST:
Original:

• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 oz. colby cheese
• 1 slice toasted whole wheat bread
• 1 tsp. reduced-calorie margarine
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• coffee or tea

My version:

• exactly the same thing, minus the coffee or tea

LUNCH:

Original (I swapped the book's lunch and dinner today, so this is actually their dinner menu):

• Bean Curd Soup
• Spinach salad with 1 1/2 tsp. vegetable oil plus wine vinegar
• 6 saltines
• 2 medium apricots

My version:

• 1/2 cup tomato soup, made with water
• lettuce, spinach, feta, cherry tomato salad with lite Italian Romano Pepper dressing
• 6 wheat saltines
• peach

That was a really big lunch. It took me forever to eat it. I'm LOVING the color that cherry tomatoes add to my food!

DINNER:

Original (the book's lunch menu):

• fillet of sole florentine
• 1/2 cup cooked green beans
• tomato-cucumber raito
• root beer froth

My version:

• lemon pepper chicken and cherry tomato kebabs on the grill
• 1/2 cup brown rice
• 1/2 cup cooked green beans
• salad with lite 3-cheese ranch dressing
• 1/2 cup fruit salad

I had originally changed the Sole Florentine to a chicken spinach roll-up, but I forgot to put it in the microwave. Then I was reading a blog that mentioned chicken kebabs, and I remembered that we had Jacob's new skewers, so I decided to go with kebabs instead. Not at all close to Sole Florentine, but the chain of thought is identifiable.

The tomatoes were good. I enjoyed the sweetness of the tomato and the smokiness of the grilled black parts. mmm.

Jacob made the fruit salad. He enjoys the process, and he's good at it. I'm certainly not going to tell him no. Tonight's included canned peaches and pineapple, diced fresh apples, diced fresh pears, diced kiwi, strawberries, grapes, and a sliced banana. It's always different, depending on what we have that needs used up. But it's always good.

Snacks today consisted of 1/2 cup canned fruit (which I counted as my fruit salad with dinner) and 1 cup of vegetable juice (apple carrot). I switched the root beer froth and the fruit salad. Had the root beer froth after my bike ride this evening. It's just a cup of diet root beer and a half cup of milk in the blender. Then add 3 ice cubes, one at a time until it's smooth. It was ok, but could definitely benefit from Splenda or some other sweetener. For 43 calories, though, it was fine. I also had 3 bites of leftover birthday cake, which is now gone, thank goodness.

I ended my day around 1050 calories. I ran just a hair over 1.5 miles this afternoon (burning 225 calories) and biked 5 miles this evening (burning 150 calories). That would have only left me 600 calories for the rest of my day, so I had a leftover frostingless cupcake, estimating about 150 calories for that. So 1200 minus my exercise.

It was a good day. I'm exhausted.

Random Catch-Up Post

Quick and dirty catch-up. Diet has been going acceptably. I've lost another pound, so I'm 9 from my goal. These last few are being stubborn. Makes me wonder if I'm where my body thinks is best... Menu is planned for this coming week. I'm determined to make it a successful one, except dinner out Tuesday. First date night in months. I won't be ordering salad and water!

Just uploaded pics from my camera. I found a LOT of food photos that I hadn't uploaded. I don't remember what these meals were supposed to be, so I'll just identify what they are with no commentary. Some of the pictures came out kind of weird. Enjoy.

-Greek Burger (beef, feta, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper; spinach leaves; mustard; bun)
-steamed carrots
-very small baked potato with spray butter

I totally forgot to make a salad!


-3/4 oz. oatmeal squares
-1 cup skim milk
-1 peach

This meal always looks pathetic, but I really like this cereal! And I've come to really enjoy a good fresh peach too!

-Curried chicken pasta with gingered peas

-Nasty green bean/peas/carrots cold salad leftovers that I cooked. Cooked version was just as nasty.

-Lettuce and green pepper strips with lite Italian vinaigrette

-1 cup strawberries with Splenda

-Taco salad

-carrot sticks

-1/2 cup skim milk

-peanut butter/raisin/dried apricot/prune balls rolled in graham crackers

-2 rosemary/olive oil melba toasts

-1 fresh pear

-1 oz colby cheese

-1/4 cup skim milk

-3 oz Texas BBQ grilled pork sirloin

-1/2 cup steamed carrots

-lettuce with light 3-cheese ranch dressing

-1/2 cup mashed potatoes

-Splenda lemonade

-Brown rice and cheddar stuffed green pepper (this was HUGE - I only ate half of it)

-salad with cherry tomatoes and lite Italian with romano and red pepper dressing

-1/4 cup peas

-1 peach

-Curry chicken salad (this was a huge amount! definitely only half of it next time)

-carrot sticks

-cherry tomatoes

-wheat tortilla

-10 cherries

-peony from my mother-in-law's flower garden - it made me smile :-)

-over easy egg

-1 slice cantaloupe

-1 slice homemade wheat toast with spray butter

-1/4 cup skim milk

-1 slice homemade wheat toast

-1/4 cup ricotta cheese with Splenda and cinnamon

-1/4 cup skim milk

-1/3 cup apple carrot juice (that's as close as I'm going to get to tomato juice!)

-marinated grilled pork sirloin

-rice and veggies in a bag

-1/2 cup peach slices with Splenda

(I think we were out of lettuce for this meal)

-spinach and carrot stuffed chicken

-1/2 cup brown rice

-salad with cucumber slices and lite Italian vinaigrette

-1 slice homemade wheat bread

-1 tsp. margarine

-strawberry yogurt

-3 oz. turkey kielbasa

-fried potatoes :-\

-1/2 cup green beans

-1 pear half with Splenda

-1 slice homemade wheat toast

-1/4 cup ricotta cheese with Splenda and cinnamon

-1/2 cup orange juice

-1/4 cup skim milk

Ok, that's enough for tonight. Diet photo overload! Check back tomorrow. I'll post no matter how it goes!

darnit!

Shoot!No-post-tonight.Space-bar-mal-function.No-one-wants-to-read-an-entire-post-with-no-spaces-in-it.Ugh!Hopefully-will-have-it-fixed-by-tomorrow.

I-was-successful-today-by-the-way.Ended-at-just-under-1100-calories!

Still Here...

I'm still here. Things kind of fell apart over the weekend, and I'm really struggling to get back on track. Today, for example ... after dinner, I was on target to finish my day properly, and then for some reason I ate a hamburger. I wasn't hungry. There was absolutely NO reason to eat it, except it was there and I didn't want to see it get wasted. Spending so much more on groceries each week really causes me to be super aware of what gets wasted. But then again, spending more on good foods for a diet that I ruin by eating non-diet foods seems pretty counter-productive, doesn't it? Hopefully back on tomorrow...

Bacon Egg Burritos

Can we talk pure, unadulterated non-diet for a bit? If you are only here for diet talk, this might be a good time for you to go away and come back tomorrow. No offense! :-)

A great way to save on convenience store on-the-run breakfasts is to make them yourself. I made bacon egg burritos pretty often. This is the first time I've made them like this. Usually I throw all the ingredients into a 9x13 and bake it. Then let it cool, cut it into bars, then wrap in tortillas. But our oven ... you know ...

So here's what I did, and I took pictures to share! Chop up a pound of bacon and put it in a large skillet over medium heat. You don't want it real hot, because you don't want to burn the bacon or even get it too crisp. Just chewy-crisp. I also added in a chopped onion and a handful of diced hot peppers I had in the freezer. Let this stuff cook for awhile. The super-hot bacon grease will kind of caramelize the veggies. That's ok - just extra flavor! You will probably have to drain off the grease once or twice. Just don't think about how much grease it is that you're pouring off...

While you're cooking the bacon, crack 18 eggs into a large bowl. I used 15, because more of mine were double-yolk. That's a lot of eggs.

Back to the bacon... At this point, my face was getting greasy just from cooking it!

Scramble your eggs, adding salt and pepper to taste, and 2 cups of shredded cheddar.

Put your bacon on a paper towel to drain, and use the same pan to start cooking your eggs. Stir them often, because the cheese will make it stick to the pan if you don't.

Before the egg is completely done, add in the bacon. You don't want the egg to be completely done, because you want it to bind to the bacon as it finishes cooking.

Here it is, completely finished.

Plop about 1/2 cup of the egg mixture into the center of a tortilla, roll it up good, and wrap it in saran wrap. I got 18 burritos. When you're done, put the wrapped burritos back into the original tortilla bags and pop them in the freezer.

To eat them, unwrap it, place it on a paper towel and microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes (if frozen) or 1 minute (if thawed in the refrigerator).

Friday, May 28 -- Week 21, Day 6

Today was a little cooler, thank goodness! The heating and air guy came today to try to figure out what's wrong with our air. He left here having fixed the heat, but not the air. ?:-\

We were able to stay home all day today too, which is always nice. Today was the last day of book school. We'll have a game day tomorrow, and an "educational field trip" next week to Nevada, but other than that, we are done!

BREAKFAST:

• 1 egg, fried in non-stick cooking spray
• 1 slice homemade wheat toast with spray butter
• 1 Breyers light vanilla bean yogurt

The egg and toast are old news. I have gone back to eating just the yolk though. I know, I know. The unhealthy part. I tried the white. Meh...

The yogurt.... I vaguely remember eating a yogurt about 2 years ago. It was a Yoplait white chocolate raspberry one. It was ok, but by the end of it, I was kind of gagging. So I wasn't really looking forward to this, but I figured as many strange new foods as I've endured over the last 4 1/2 weeks, that perhaps the yogurt will be more tolerably. But by golly, I actually liked it! I wonder if it was the difference in texture between Yoplait and Breyers.

LUNCH:

• tomato soup
• 3 oz. ham + 1 tsp. mayo in a wheat tortilla
• sugar-free chocolate pudding

I was eating this while the AC guy was here, so I was a little distracted. I have come to enjoy eating my meals more slowly, because they are smaller. The only way to make a smaller meal last is to eat little bites and put the rest on my plate in between bites. The soup was good. It was just normal canned Campbell's, but I sprinkled it with some pepper and Italian seasoning to make it have some flavor. Nothing else to say about the rest.

DINNER:

• about 3/4 cup SmartTaste Ronzoni spaghetti
• about 1/2 cup meat sauce made with ground turkey and fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1/2 cup green beans
• salad
• 1 pear half with Splenda
• half an onion pita toasted in a skillet with garlic butter and some mozzarella

This was all very good. The bread was kind of an accident. I was thinking I was allowed a bread with dinner, but after I ate it, I realized I wasn't supposed to. But oh well. Calorie count came out just fine. I just sprayed a skillet, spread the pita with minced garlic + butter spread + salt + Italian seasoning. Then sprinkled it with mozzarella and covered it until the cheese melted. It would have been better broiled, I suspect, but we STILL have no oven, and now we're coming up on a long holiday weekend. Sigh...

I will still have a small glass of skim milk later this evening, but then I'm done. That's fine with me, because dinner was a pretty big plateful of food. After the milk, I'll end my day at about 1125 calories.

I really need to go for a run. Maybe I'll try to do that before it gets too dark. Now that my stomach is full. :-\

Thursday, May 27 -- Week 21, Day 5

Oh, today didn't go well at all. I forgot to take pictures, and I forgot to stop eating at the end of the day. We spent the day out for homeschool Track & Field Day. I had packed a nice, diet-friendly lunch, but we were in such a hurry in the morning that I just dumped a bunch of cereal into a Ziploc. :-\

BREAKFAST:

• too many Oatmeal Squares

Seriously, I think it was about 3 or 4 times what I was supposed to have.

LUNCH:

• 2 T. peanut butter + 2 tsp. jelly on 1 slice homemade wheat bread
• carrot sticks
• peach

This was a good meal. It was enough, but I didn't want it to be. A half a sandwich just doesn't feed a grown-up well. Maybe if I drink MORE water with my meals, I'll feel fuller. No doubt.

DINNER:

• middle-eastern burgers
• 1/2 a baked yam
• 1/2 cup steamed carrots
• salad

These burgers were absolutely amazing! It was supposed to be 8 oz ground beef + 4 oz ground lamb, but I didn't find ground lamb, so I used all beef. It was 90% lean though. So mix together a pound of burger, some minced garlic, some salt, parsley, and oregano. Lamb if you've got it. I also tossed in a handful of feta cheese because I had it. Trust me - the feta MADE the burger! Shape them into a patty that will fit nicely into a half a pita pocket, because that's where you're gonna put it when it's done. Don't make it round. It won't fit.

While they are grilling (yes, grilling - that only added to their fabulousness), sauté red pepper strips, a sliced onion, and a diced tomato in a bit of olive oil until the peppers are blackened a bit. I did the peppers first for about 8 or 10 minutes, then tossed in the other stuff for about another 5 minutes.

To eat them, put one in a half a pita shell, pile as many veggies as you can on top, then squirt it with mustard. Mmm. I wasn't sure about the veggies, BUT... they were fabulous. Really. The entire burger was good. And oh ... the treat of finding a bite with a big ol' chunk of feta. Mmm-mmm.

Confession time: I ate two of them. And a hot dog. (The hamburger was better, obviously) And I skipped the salad. And then I had a milkshake.

It wasn't a good diet day. Tomorrow is a new day. Ground turkey spaghetti for dinner. I just couldn't bring myself to make calamari spaghetti. Blech.

Wednesday, May 26 -- Week 21, Day 4

It was soooo hot today. I almost didn't even want to eat anything, but my stomach always wins. I ended today at about 1260 calories, and I had a quick 2 mile bike ride. Wish I could've gone further, but I messed around until twilight, so I had to make it quick.

BREAKFAST:

• 1/2 wheat bagel
• 1/3 cup ricotta cheese
• splenda & cinnamon
• 1 cup apple carrot juice
• 1/4 cup skim milk

I was very surprised by this. I never would have thought to put ricotta on a bagel. Actually, it called for cottage cheese. I've never been a fan of the texture of cottage cheese, so I thought I'd give ricotta a try. And you know, with the Splenda, it was just a nicely sweet breakfast. It was definitely too much ricotta, as you can tell in the photo, so I'd cut that amount in half next time. But it was a nice, refreshing, new idea!

LUNCH:

• deli meat salad with 2 oz. deli ham, cucumber, green pepper, tomato, lettuce, and Sheetz fat-free Italian dressing
• carrot sticks
• 1 peach
  

I've come to really enjoy salads. I'm gradually adding new ingredients to them. Eventually I hope to be built up to real-live salads! This wooden bowl is actually huge. It's easily 7 or 8 inches across, not a normal sized cereal bowl.

I don't recall having ever eaten a fresh peach before. I absolutely did NOT like the feel of the fuzzy skin in my mouth, but that was easily solved. This peach was super-ripe, so it peeled off very easily. I liked it!

Apparently, someone else had my camera during lunch, because here is what I found when I uploaded my pics today. Remember that old drug-prevention commercial from the late 80's where the dad asks the son where he learned about this stuff, and the boy finally shrieks, "I learned it from watching YOU, alright?!?!" That's what this feels like. My kids think it's perfectly normal to take a picture of their lunch before they eat it...

DINNER:

• 1 grilled chicken thigh
• 1/2 cup sautéed zucchini and tomato
• salad with ranch
• 1/2 cup fruit salad

I have always preferred chicken breasts to thighs, but since starting this diet, I try to cut costs where I can, so I've been buying leg quarters. I didn't realize what I was missing out on when a thigh is properly cooked. This was absolutely delicious! I marinated it all day in an herb-garlic-wine marinade. Yum!

The zucchini dish was just thick-sliced zucchini that I cut into chunks and a tomato. I cooked them in some olive oil, garlic, and pepper. I did have to add a little water to get enough steam to cook the zucchini until they were crisp-tender. Very good, actually!

The fruit salad was made by Jacob. He made a huge bowl of it by himself for lunch today. It was very good! I did give him my maraschino cherry, because that seemed like an odd addition, but overall, he is a fruit master!

Snacks today consisted of an apple and 2 whole graham crackers. I was supposed to have another peach this evening, but Jacob proudly made a pitcher of Kool-Aid and presented me with a cup of it. Rather than say, "Sorry, can't drink it - it's not in my diet," I just smiled and thanked him and drank it. A cup of Kool-Aid has 90 calories in it. It was borderline sickeningly sweet, so I suspect he used more sugar than it calls for. But he was so proud to make me a drink, I couldn't bear to turn it down. So I skipped the peach.

Tomorrow, we'll be away all day, so I'll be packing lunches again. Fortunately, the plan tomorrow originally called for sandwiches, so that works nicely. I'll be taking a half a PBJ on homemade wheat (baking in the machine as I write this), a peach, and some carrot sticks. And lots of water. We'll be outside all day. Hopefully it won't be as hot as it was today. I think it hit 90° today. Ugh.

Tuesday, May 25 -- Week 21, Day 3

This was another busy day. We were gone from 11:30 until 3:45 getting replacement glasses. I had planned ahead and packed lunches for everyone. The last thing we need is another excuse to spend money and eat bad food at the Food Court! I'm so glad we did. The kids even enjoyed it, because it was like a picnic.

BREAKFAST:

• 1 1/2 oz. Oatmeal Squares
• 1/2 cup apple-carrot juice

1/2 cup skim milk

Nothing remarkable here. We've seen this meal quite a few times.

*********

LUNCH:

• Greek salad
• 3 pieces melba toast
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 2 Auntie Anne's pretzel sticks

I didn't get a picture, because I didn't bother taking the camera to the mall with me. I've posted several pictures of Greek salads before though. The pretzel sticks were a delicious treat.

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DINNER:

• 3 oz. roast beef
• 4 oz. baked potato with spray butter
• 1/2 cup wax beans
• lettuce with 1 T. asiago peppercorn dressing
• 1/4 cup homemade gravy

A beef meal is always a treat! This was no exception. And a baked potato!! Mmm. Would've been great with bacon, butter, and cheese, but I was content with spray butter, and I dipped it in my gravy. Very good!

I ended the day with a slice of cantaloupe (also a new food I've come to love!) and a glass of milk. Total for the day: around 1250.

I think I've found a good middle-ground here. I'm still having plenty of variety, LOTS of fruits and veggies, trying new foods. I'll continue to use the current menu in the WW book for inspiration and see how it goes.