Dinner, Day Seven

• black bean and carrot pate (made with 1/2 cup black beans, 1 onion & 4 carrots, seasoned with cumin
• 1 whole wheat pita, cut into chips and lightly salted
• 2 cups salad greens with 2 tbsp fat-free Italian dressing
• 1.5 oz box of raisins

I had a different meal scheduled, but as I've mentioned, I had switched things around to avoid going to the store (still a little annoyed at myself for that) and make preparation easier.

I chose this black bean pate because I'd enjoyed it so much earlier this week, and I was particularly looking forward to the tortilla chips. Little did I know until preparation was well under way that my boyfriend had eaten the last of the chips already. Whoops.

I realized that it is a challenge to live with another person and try to control your diet. In the past both of us have eaten ingredients that the other intended in a dish and when faced with modifying the dish or ordering take-out, we'd go for the take-out. This time around, I'm really glad for his support and I can tell he's enjoying this mutual self-control that comes with me no longer asking if he'd walk to the store and pick up some Dulce de Leche ice cream or cookies or mumbling "Wanna order pizza?" when I don't feel like cooking.

The bright side was that this gave me the chance to figure out how to make pita chips, which are much healthier than the tortilla chips I had anyway, so that was good. Now when I host a party, I'll have no problem supplying healthy alternatives to greasy potato chips. ;-)

When I finished this meal I realized that it was the last of the week. I've meticulously stuck to my diet plan, following all the instructions in preparing healthful foods. I'm getting more and more used to cooking and beginning to understand the common things I did that made my dishes too fatty or salty or just grotesquely unhealthy in the past. By making simple changes, I can feel a huge difference in my energy and I don't have the sick bloated feeling of a diet loaded with preservatives and sodium, nor the guilt of absolutely pigging out on delivery food. That in and of itself is a huge accomplishment, and I have to admit, I'm proud of myself - I wasn't even tempted to stray from the diet.

I'm looking forward to my first weigh-in tomorrow morning - let's hope I've made good progress!