I have a hard time with all this cooking. I like to cook, but not almost every meal, every day. Then you add cooking for the rest of the family, and I’m in the kitchen for a few hours a day. I don't know how to get away from it. The 17 Day Diet calls for foods cooked without a lot of oils. Then, there are all those very specific fruits and vegetables. I think it’s harder when you first start the diet. I need time to accumulate extras. I’ll make some soup this week and put most of it in the freezer. I made a breakfast frittata the other morning and managed to have two pieces left over for lunches the next day. I roasted a chicken last night for salads, tacos, etc., but my husband and kids managed to eat nearly half, “picking” at it. I don’t mind that they eat it, it’s much better than “flaming hot” snacks, but I do wish they’d help with the cooking.
I don’t know how someone could do this diet without all the cooking. Breakfast is limited in choices. I know I can’t make it through the morning on blueberries in Greek yogurt. I’m hungry in half an hour. So my other option is egg whites and veggies. Most mornings I have an egg white scramble with a variety of onions, mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes or salsa. I boiled a bunch of eggs on Tuesday. So I don’t necessarily have to cook every morning, but for some reason, I can’t eat hard boiled eggs very often.
I’ve debated about supermarket roast chickens. I don’t know exactly how they cook them, but sometimes they’re very greasy. They must slather them in some oil before roasting. Sometimes they’re not cooked all the way through and I have to put them into the oven for another 15-20 minutes. I may as well roast one of my own. I still have to wash the roasting pan. While I’m being “good” on the diet, I don’t want to eat oil saturated chicken.
I eat a salad for lunch nearly every day. I love salads. I pile them with shredded carrots, strips of peppers, green onions, two types of lettuce or cabbage. And chicken, I love chicken on my salads. I’ll poach or sauté the chicken in broth, or grill it on a hot pan with a spray of oil. I chop extra vegetables for dinner or lunch the next day, but I like things to be fresh, so I can’t chop for more than a day or two in advance. I also end up eating more vegetables than I plan, or someone else in the household who said they didn’t want a salad, ends up wanting one after they smell or see what’s going on.
Yesterday was my youngest’s birthday. He wanted homemade spaghetti and garlic bread for his birthday dinner. He also wanted mini pudding pies. My mom makes a simple, yet great pudding pie for every holiday. My youngest wanted to make big ones for his family birthday later this month, but wanted to practice making little ones. So we made yummy little pies. I’ll admit I had three bites. They were great. He was happy. It was easier ignoring the spaghetti. I heated up a jar of his favorite sauce and boiled the angel hair pasta. That was easy. The garlic bread was a little tougher. It’s one of my favorites. I put fresh garlic in butter, then slather that through a loaf of fresh French bread. We put it in the oven covered in foil, with only part of the top showing. That makes the middle soft and garlicky, while the outside forms a nice crust. Ahhhhh, heaven--but I stayed away from it. I figured the three bites of pie were enough cheating. He had his favorites, and since I get to eat as much protein as I like, along with great vegetables, I didn’t feel too cheated.
All in all, it’s pretty easy sticking to the foods I have to eat, but I need to figure out how to get out of the kitchen more often.
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