Week 1, Saturday (Day 6)

Breakfast: Smoothie and a handful of almonds

Smoothie again?  I still don't have any yogurt.  And I still don't like smoothies.  

Replacement breakfast:  Week 2's Monday breakfast: 1 whole wheat English muffin, 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter, 1 banana

Yum!  This was a personal favorite breakfast of mine from even before I started this meal plan.  I think this was a fair substitution for today's smoothie.  But who's really going to tell me I'm doing this wrong, right?

Snack 1: 4 dried apricots, 1/2 cup cottage cheese, 1/2 cup granola

Naw.  I don't do dried fruit.  And cottage cheese?  I only bought one portion that I ate already, so that's a no.  Replacement: low fat string cheese.  Yum.  I also ate my granola, which tasted good and lasted a while.  Almost like eating a bowl of M&Ms.  Almost.  

Lunch: Whole wheat wrap with tofu, low sodium black beans, low sodium salsa, 1/2 oz jalapeno cheese

This was a pretty good lunch.  I couldn't find jalapeno cheese in the store, so I made the smart decision to get a single, 1 ounce pepperjack cheese stick.  Hooray for not having extra food rotting away in the fridge!  One small victory for mankind this week.

I made a major upgrade to this dish though.  I have no idea how to purchase, cook, or eat tofu, so I made the executive decision to nix the tofu and replace it with mushrooms (3 calories per ounce) and 2 slices of cooked eggplant (left over from lunch earlier this week).  

Snack 2: skipped

I skipped this afternoon's snack because we are having some friends over tonight and I know I will be snacking later and consuming alcoholic calories.  I was trying to make a proactive good decision before my impending bad decision.

Dinner: Easy and Elegant Salmon with fennel, carrots, and 1 pear

Easy and Elegant?  Come on.  Here are 4 reasons why I can't make this dinner:

1) That salmon you made me buy on Sunday?  Well now it's been 6 days and that salmon has gone bad.  Thanks for wasting my money.

2) Fennel?  I don't know what that is.  I don't really want to go to the store again.  Please don't make me

3) I'm supposed to make this on parchment paper?  When was I supposed to get that?  That wasn't on my shopping list.  Jerk.

4) A pear?  You want me to eat that pear I threw out yesterday because it was rotting?  No dice.

So no go on the salmon.  It does sound really good and I do plan on trying it, but instead we ate leftover "fried" rice.  My boyfriend added the left over beef to make his meal twice as yummy and filling as mine.  

Bonus Snack: Guacamole and home made pita chips

I decided to serve homemade guacamole - made from avocados, onions, tomatoes, and lime juice.  I love guacamole, and it's made from all natural ingredients, which has to be better for me than eating cookies.  I served chips with them, and also made my own chips.  We cut up some whole wheat pita and  baked them for a few minutes in the oven.  Instant, yummy, healthier chip.  

My boyfriend also wanted to serve cookies, but I asked him not to buy them, knowing that I would be unable to resist and we'd then have them sitting around the house, taunting me.  Calling my name.  Demanding that I eat them all immediately.  

I only had sangria to drink, and I really don't know if it was healthy or sugary at all.  This is probably the biggest "cheating" I have done.  But it's only cheating if this were a diet, which it isn't.  So there.

Week 2 Preview:

This next week is going to be challenging.  I will not be home for dinner until next Friday, and will be traveling as well.  Hopefully I can try to eat my healthy snacks and meals as much as possible.  I'm not upset about this glitch in my meal plan because I want to be able to live my usual life.  I want this type of life style to work for me - it's not a crash course diet like some other people try and then can't realistically follow because they can only eat oatmeal.  That could never work for me.

Wish me luck.