First Day

Breakfast

Breakfast was NOT a big hit. The name of the entree is "Carrot Cake Oatmeal." Doesn't that sound good? It really wasn't. I don't mind oatmeal if I can smother it in a lot of goodies, but this just wasn't very good. It called for grated carrots, no surprise, cinnamon, and maple syrup. To be honest, this was my first time to sample real maple syrup (I've led a sheltered life), but I couldn't taste the small amount called for because it also called for a lot of cinnamon. It's only a half cup of oatmeal and it called for a 1/2 a teaspoon of cinnamon. I know, next time don't include so much cinnamon, but I don't think there will be a next time for this specific dish.

On the positive side, I discovered that yes, I could make oatmeal in my little rice cooker. This is so much easier than standing there waiting for it to cook on the stove. I'll definitely be doing that again in the future.

Breakfast also called for half a grapefruit. I'm not a big fan of grapefruit and I'm really not supposed to eat it because of my blood pressure medication. I substituted a half an orange. I know it doesn't have the same calories, but I'm not going to eat the snack today.

The real hardship was my daily cappuccino. The meal called for a half a cup of milk. I don't drink plain milk, so I figured the milk I frothed for my cappuccino counted for that. But I have plenty of sugar in my morning mug. I tried to cut back on the sugar, and the first couple of sips were very disappointing, but now that I'm finishing the cup, it's not so bad. I may just have to switch back to drinking coffee made in my French press, and save cappuccinos for special occasions.

Here I am, the first meal, and I already realize that sugar is the culprit...ok, I knew that even before I began, but damn, it's a disappointment. But this whole thing isn't just about cutting back on sugar. It's about discovering new ways to eat and be satisfied without all that sugar. It's about establishing new eating habits, following what I believe to be the healthiest way to eat, and having fun cooking new meals. I can't wait to see what lunch brings, but in the meantime, it's dishwashing time!

Lunch

I'm happy to say that lunch made up for breakfast. It was "Mediterranean Salad with Salmon." It included Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber slices, feta cheese, kalamata olives, and balsamic vinaigrette, and of course salmon. I'd never broiled salmon before, so once again something new. I've never been a big salmon fan. I can only think of one time I've had it that I didn't think it was dry. Given the expense, I haven't thought it was worth it. Well, I screwed up the first effort broiling it. I obviously put it too close to the flame. It caught fire. Fortunately, I had enough salmon that I could give it another go. I re-positioned the rack and gave it another shot. I watched it very carefully this time, and when I got it out, it was exactly the right temperature, but I still found it a bit dry. Apparently, salmon just isn't my thing. However, the salad itself was marvelous. I would have liked to include a lot more kalamata olives and feta cheese though. They really made it special. I'm looking forward to tomorrow's lunch. It's much the same, but with chicken.

Supper

Tonight for supper...it's early. I've grown accustomed to going to bed really early so that I can get up ridiculously early and get papers graded. So, yes I've already had my supper and it's not even 6:00 with daylight savings time...so again, tonight for supper, I had Lemon-Honey chicken thighs with sides of asparagus sauteed with shallots and zucchini noodles. The chicken thighs were excellent. There was only the slightest hint of lemon and honey. By the way, when the recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice, there's no freaking way I'm going to squeeze a lemon for it. Bottled Real Lemon worked just fine. The menu actually called for broccoli, which I thought I had, but it turned out I had eaten the last of it. Asparagus has even fewer calories, and I had plenty of it on hand. It worked beautifully with the shallots. The disappointment of the meal was the zucchini noodles. Actually, the store didn't have zucchini when I went shopping, so I bought summer squash. I think they taste just the same, and the yellow seemed to brighten the plate up a bit. However, I don't really like zucchini noodles anyway. A year ago, I did the Whole 30 diet and had zucchini noodles a lot. No they don't satisfy my desire for pasta. They just piss me off. So, I'm going to see what vegetable I can come up with that might have a similar calorie count whenever it turns up on the menu.

I know I've already made quite a few changes and it's only the first day; however, I've really tried to keep those changes within the calorie requirements and the type of foods. In other words, I haven't used whipped cream as a substitute for lettuce. One of the things I screwed up on was the shopping. I didn't want to purchase a full week's worth in a single trip, and in sorting out the ingredients for the recipes, I missed the sides. I already know that for tomorrow, I'll have to come up with a substitute for sweet potatoes. I'd run to the store, but I'm pretty sure I'll be snowed in. It's been coming down pretty steady today, and it doesn't look as if it's going to let up. To be honest, I think this is more of an adventure than I realized, but I'm really enjoying it.