Day 5 - first weekend...

I had a relaxing Saturday... tea with a friend, a quick client meeting, then  I walked home from the meeting - some yay-me reward shopping downtown on the way (for me, this was a pair of shoes.  OK, two pair.  They were on sale, obvs.), which was cold but that only kept my pace brisk.  I stayed home in the evening (me, home on a Saturday night?!?!?).  Had a yummy chicken dinner...  Similar to Friday's, but I dosed everything up with a bit hit of garlic for extra flavour.

I recently hooked up my internet connection at home again, so I dug into a night of Netflix and went to bed early.  Jim Gaffigan's jokes about working out and being overweight were even funnier, if not at least poignant.

Today is Sunday.  I work up and had a shake before running out to have a coffee with Jason (friend of mine who lives a few blocks away).  His gf is coming into town tomorrow, so he needed groceries, and I needed to stock up for the week.

I loaded up my basket with at least the basics I'll need to get through the week.  Grocery bill $55.  Not bad, considering I spent close to $300 a week going out... yikes.

My grocery list today was:

Spring Mix and Spinach
Zucchini
Cauliflower
Mushrooms
Radishes
Swiss Chard
Cucumber
Parsnips
Poultry Mix Fresh Herbs
Mint

Omega 3 Eggs

Sirloin Steak medallions
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Pork Loin Chops (bone-in)

Upon my return home, I opened the fridge and realized I really hadn't cleaned out the fridge in preparation for this whole new diet, so I got a bucket and a garbage bag and ruthlessly threw out anything that didn't fit the new plan.  I then restocked with all my nice fresh groceries.  I then did the same with my pantry cupboard... the results were very satisfying.  Nothing there that shouldn't be.  All sorted and ready for preparation and a new week of creative recipes.

Week two.  Admittedly, I wish it was week 10 or 14 or further in.  I am looking forward to my weekly weight-in to see the results of my first week, for sure.  But, I've never been known for my patience.

 So, I wanted to make a few things clear about me, personally.

I am single.  I have no kids, no boyfriend, no husband.  This simplifies my diet considerably   I'm not cooking for anyone else, and I fully understand how this would make it so much easier and achievable than a person who is cooking for a whole family, and, god forbid, picky eaters.

The biggest adjustment this past week has been eating three times a day.  Even now, I have finished half my omelette, and as much as it's extremely tasty, I'm full.  So I can spread my 4 cups of veg over the day, but I have to ingest this much food.

Also, I have to say I have NEVER in my life had this many vegetables in my diet.  Evereverever.  I was always a meat and potatoes girl.  Vegetables might enter in to the picture if they happened to be next to the potatoes and accidentally got on my fork.  Salads were nice, but rare.  Not only is eating a lot of veg a new thing, but cooking them is pretty new, too.

Having been in the food industry, I know how to cook, maybe more than average.  I understand seasoning and different cooking methods.  I just rarely used them.  Here are a few things I have used this past week that might help you out if you're new to veggies, too...  I also highly recommend The Joy of Cooking - it has all the basics and more, from cooking methods to substitutions.  It's really the best basic.  Most chefs I know have this in their own home kitchens.

Blanching your veggies makes all the difference in the world, especially if you like crunchy vegetables.  By blanching for 30 secs and immediately submerging in ice water to stop the cooking process, you will always have brightly coloured, clean and ready to eat veg.  However you wind up cooking the vegetables - roasted in the oven, sauteed stove-top, baked in parchment (which is amazing done with fish, by the way), blanching is a great first step.  Yes, you can eat veg raw and washed, and you can cook them from that same state, but you will lose a lot of the nutrient value from those 4 cups of veg, and on a low-caloric intake diet, that doesn't make much sense, does it?

My favourite veggies always have either garlic and/or ginger infused into them, depending on what I'm doing with my protein - Asian style foods either both or ginger, anything Continental (French, Italian, Greek, etc), garlic.  Olive oil will give you a nice saute instead of butter (I'm a huge butter fan, truct me, but for now...)

Because today is Sunday and I have the day to do laundry and putter around my house, I am roasting off two heads of garlic in foil and storing in a clean jar for the week.  Roasted garlic is much milder than raw, and you can add it near the end of the cooking process and still get lots of flavour with out fear of burning raw garlic (which becomes bitter and can turn any vegetable dish into ruin.).  I am also making a larger portion of a basic salad dressing to have on hand.  I can add fresh herbs or other seasoning at a whim.  My basic dressing is Dijon, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper.  I have discovered that using an electric milk frother (for lattes or what have you) is awesome at emulsifying dressings.  They come out looking creamy and perfectly blended.  I got mine at London Drugs for 7.99.

Now that I feel set up for the week, I think it will be easier to maintain what will be a very busy work week, along with a lunch for work.  I foresee salads for the week  - which is fine.  Just need to be sure to get the protein from IP in there as well.

I'm off to a friend's place for dinner - she's doing a cleanse, which makes our meal requirements pretty much even.  She and I normally would dive in to at least one bottle of fantastic wine, but at least we can commiserate over kale and tea.

Til tomorrow.