Apron On!

Well, I'm moving forward with one of my new maintenance strategies: Curbing the dinners out until I get back to my Optifasting goal weight (now 8 lbs. to go). I have decided to have Saturday as our "date night" where I cook a special, higher calorie meal and join my husband in eating it. This way I can control the salt, fat and if I'm using it, sugar, as well as incorporate some fiber in a creative way.

I decided on a Middle Eastern meal, and I spent a wonderful day in the kitchen making baba ganoush (eggplant dip) with whole wheat pita; lamb kibbeh (a torpedo-shaped lamb and bulgur "meatball") with a no-fat yogurt and garlic dip; and a whole wheat quinoa and lentil salad with scallions, cilantro, lime zest and mint, tossed in a Dijon mustard vinaigrette. I watched my portion size but did have problems eating slowly. It's nuts, you know, spending hours preparing everything only to gobble it down at breakneck speed. Definitely need to keep working on this!

My kibbeh, ready to go in the oven

For dessert, I am having my Fiber One/no fat yogurt/peaches concoction, and instead of lower calorie sliced almonds, I am going to have some crumbled pecans. This makes it "special" and I'm looking forward to it. I'll sprinkle Splenda on it -- that enhances the flavor of the peaches. I have also been drinking Pellegrino (sparkling mineral water) with a lime wedge all day, and I love that. It's my no-calorie "cocktail" that Millie recommended to our class and it's now a staple in our home!

I'll be back to my normal diet tomorrow and all week, until next Saturday. My clinic weigh in "looms" on Wednesday, but I'm not sweating bullets at all. I feel solid with my plan, I've got my "OptiFamily" support on Facebook, and of course Millie who gets repeated emails from me and always gets back to me with wonderful advice and guidance.

Special Fiber One concoction addition: Pecans! 

So things are good tonight. Of course, who the heck knows what tomorrow will bring, but I try to live in the "now" these days. And now, I'm happy. Which is nice! Sleep well, all.