Who's counting? Well I am, for starters. Yes, I feel pretty good. I'm never starving, and my energy levels are certainly more consistent than they were during the Sugar Haze that was the first twenty-four years of my life. But I don't feel as though my stomach has been magically cured of ever feeling sick, or even that this is a completely sustainable way of eating. I'll give it 19 more days of committing 100% to convince me, but damn, this ain't easy . . .

Could my brother's enormous cookie cake staring me in the face have something to do with my particularly bitter opening paragraph? Perhaps. Or the fact that I am missing out on Clayton's Restaurant Week (it starts tomorrow) and the foodie in me is whining like a little baby? Also a possibility. But I've never been one to focus on the negatives, so let's move on, shall we?

A much more interesting topic is, of course, what I am eating. Which is, in short, plenty. Here's a recap of some of the week's mouthwatering meals:

Garlic-Herb Marinated Flank Steak with Cucumber-Avocado Salad, Roasted Tomatoes, and Steamed Broccoli

Lunch the following day: Leftover steak, tomatoes, and broccoli, stir-fried together with spaghetti squash and pine nuts.

Out to eat at Whole Foods: Salad bar with plenty of veggies (spinach, kale, cauliflower, mushrooms), protein (turkey, eggs, and nuts), and dressing (balsamic vinegar and olive oil). Plain black tea rounded out the meal.

Delicious breakfast courtesy of my mom: Sauteed spinach, onions and tomatoes topped with fried eggs and served with a sliced pear.

And we finally used the Soup-Blender my mom got for Christmas (you know, the one where you can actually cook in the blender?!) to make a very flavorful Curried Butternut Squash Soup.

Obviously, I can't complain of a food shortage. But the weekend was full of not-so-fun temptations (Ghiradelli brownies, the aforementioned cookie cake, and the desire to drink away a particularly painful Friday night), which temporarily had me in a dark mood. But I know that when Monday morning rolls around in a mere twelve hours, I will feel proud of myself for sticking with my plan and doing this the right way. I know I have much more to learn from this experience and (dear God) I'm not even at the half-way point!

(Uh-oh. That last realization brought back the dark mood. Time to sign off and go read a book or something. Sigh.)

I may post recipes for some of the dishes I posted above at a later date. I didn't actually cook any of those all by myself (a perk of living at home . . . Thanks, Mom) so I will need to go back and review what we actually did if I'm going to share recipes. If you see something you'd like to try, let me know and I'll try to get on it faster!