Optifaster With An Apron

I may be on the Optifast program, and drink only shakes and a soup every day, but I have not retired my apron. No such luck. My beloved husband needs his meal every night, and after years of having my gourmet creations he wants the culinary celebration to continue. Who can blame him? He's spoiled and I am the cause. So how do I handle this?

Initially, I was quite nervous. Could I handle and prepare solid food without wanting to devour it? Would I come to resent him for making me cook? What if my "heart" wasn't in my cooking anymore? What would I do?

I have since come to find that I can follow my program and cook for him. I do not resent him for anything. My creativity, however, has diminished. And I'm sad about that. Cooking for one is quite different than cooking for a pair. I'm finding it challenging to invest much thought into whipping up a masterpiece. His meals lately have descended into pork chop, apple sauce, rice, green beans; hamburger, slaw, German potato salad and corn; meatloaf, mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts. A far cry from the Coq au Vin he enjoyed in the past.

So far, he hasn't complained. But I can't help but wonder how long it will take before he tires of these basic dinners. In my haste to sign up for Optifast, I didn't think entirely through the impact this would have on my husband. I overlooked the fact that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach -- one filled with excellent food gets you a whole lot of lovin'!

The more I learn at the clinic, the more I am coming to the conclusion that many of the meals I prepared prior to Optifast do not ever belong in a healthy diet needed for long-term maintenance. And sadly, these are meals that my husband and I enjoy the most. I think I may have to throw out 3/4 of my recipes and just start all over again, building up a new collection. I feel rather misty eyed, as I labored over these recipes and was so proud when they turned out so well. But all it takes is a look in the mirror ... to know that things must change.

I have now decided that I am going to use my husband as a "test subject" for some new, healthier dishes. No, I'm not going to use tofu. In my opinion, that's taking things too far. I've been reading up on things and it appears that utilizing excellent cuts of lean meat, exotic spices, and fresh vegetables in your dishes can result in something very tasty. Butter is out -- use olive oil where possible and cooking spray. Cooking Light is the go-to magazine for me now.

This is going to be a challenge for me. But I think I can run a good test kitchen. We'll see over the following months how everything goes.