Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Cheese

Did you know that cheeses can be put into the category of either "Hard" or "Soft"? I guess it makes sense the more I think about it. Some cheeses are really soft, and some are not. Some come in bricks, in fact. I guess I overlooked this because, until recently, I've only really tossed them all under the category "YUM".

So, another day another steak.

I ate this last night at the Olive Garden:

That is the mixed grill and it's pretty fantastic. I had chicken only on mine and only got through 1/2 of it before I knew I was d-o-n-e. I also had some of their salad (sans the little crunchy bread squares) with the italian dressing already mixed in.

So I expected a gain today. I just had to.

I don't much care for being tricked, but that's the restaurant business for you. They are full of things they have hidden up their cooking sleeves that they love to slip into your meal when you're not looking. So I almost expected the need for another steak day today. I went up about 2.5lbs because of the hidden sugar that I know was floating around somewhere in the Olive Garden's air filters.

I had a fun time with a good friend, though. And - score one for Car here - I also found a new, much healthier dish that I like at the OG. I used to consume multiple breadsticks and get the 3 cheese ravioli with alfredo sauce every time I ate there. I think no breadsticks, a plate of salad, and 1/2 of this grilled chicken&veggie meal is an improvement and a victory for life, no matter what the numbers say. Go me.

My yesterday went well. I had a normal-for-me-now egg, mushroom, and cheese scramble for breakfast. Still no coffee, though I did pick up some half and half so the reunion won't be long, me thinks.


I visited my besties, Trader Joe and Henry, after work. I really think those two are in cahoots about not carrying a lot of the same stuff. I'm being totally serious right now, too. They make you go to both to get what you need for all of this "no sugar, no starch business." It's got to be an alliance of some sort. So far, I know this:

Almond meal - TJ only

Brand names in the TJ cookbook - TJ only

Flax meal - Henry's only

Coconut oil - Henry's only

Flavored Stevia - Henry's only

Agave sweetner - (if you don't look hard enough at TJ's then you think it's) Henry's only

There might be a slight chance that Henry's is just larger than TJ's. And that I may need to look for a Henry's Cookbook for the future, to condense shopping trips. Or that perhaps I should buck up and actually ask a sales associate for assistance everytime I cannot find something I need. But I'm trying to be independent here. I'm trying to be a real lady that knows her way around a store.

I'm also apparently trying to waste an extra 45 minutes everytime I hit the health food scene.

Anyway, I picked up some stuff I needed for more calorie intake (an odd thing to be aware of on a diet) and a strawberry cream pie I really wanted to make. Always a woman of my word, I ended up getting a reusable shopping bag from Joe's.

My mom didn't quite understand why I wanted this one when she had already informed me that we had some at the house I could use... but the other side of this pretty number has a ship on it. So, come on. I knew I needed it. Also, the Kitten figured out how to make it work for her as well.

So we're all good.

While the kitty claimed her new fort I had myself my new favorite meal. This lovely salad made with Annie's Organic Goddess dressing. My only big problem with steak days is that I cannot have this salad for lunch.

Mmhmm. I totally got a piece of that. Be jealous. Eating this salad is like the equivalent of this salad being, like, the popular girl of all the salads, and she just confirmed that her and I are "in a relationship" on Facebook. That's how jealous you should be that you haven't been having this for lunch and I have.

Later that afternoon I really did a good, though. I made a strawberry cream pie. I got it off of the forum I go on for support on this diet. It obviously has no sugar or starch in it. What it does have is a whole lot of awesome. I am so glad I started cooking. It's fun, and fulfilling, and when you produce something healthy that tastes this good you just can't help but feel like it's a good day.

That piece missing is from when my parents tried it while I was out to the dreaded Dinner of Tricks at the OG. It finished "chilling and setting" while I was gone, so I told the parentals to dive in if they so wished. That resulted in me getting a text from my mother around 8:30 that said: It's so damn good.

When I got home later that night I pulled it out and had a few bites myself. My mother is no liar, people. This thing is my new favorite dessert, and I don't even like pie. I only made it because I'm trying to make new things and expand my new found love for cooking. I honestly wasn't expecting to love it. The plan is to now keep this as a default dessert for parties and holidays.

So today is another day of waiting to see what will  happen tomorrow. The good news is that I'm still excited on this journey and not discouraged. I'm having more fun learning about being healthier than I really thought I ever could or would. It's like a challenge that I'm living up to for once. These steak days are really not tough at all. It's actually comforting to know that there's a solution out there for the days when you allow yourself to be tricked by chain restaurants.

It's tough to be social and healthy in this world. That's just the truth, and I don't think there's an easy solution to it except for being carefull and being aware of what your body needs each separate day. Just like that guy that James Franco played in that movie about the time he got stuck in a cliff for 127 years (that's what the movie felt like), sometimes you need to cut off something you thought you needed when you get too stuck to get out of the situation any other way.

That movie really was the best thing I never want to see again.