Day Fifteen

Today I decided that without fail, I would stay on the diet all day and do everything in my power to get my act together.

Breakfast

• Mediterranean tuna on toast with sliced tomato
• cantaloupe

We didn't have a lot of ingredients on hand and we argued about whose turn it was to go to the grocery.

I rummaged the cupboards and decided I should try a meal I wouldn't ordinarily go for. Sadly, this didn't meet expectations. "Mediterranean" apparently just means tuna mixed with olive oil. I added some salt and pepper to keep myself from shuddering, but uff, it was nasty. At least the tomatoes were flavorful, but I felt like I was choking down the rest.

Snack

• reduced fat Triscuits
• baby carrots
• hummus Masbacha

This is one of my favorite snacks, and I can't imagine ever getting sick of it. Yum.

Lunch

• beef and pepper sauté
• rice pilaf
• honey tangerine

Since I woke up late, I actually made this meal fairly late in the day (having eventually succumbed and gone to the grocery myself). I made several servings because this is a rather preparation-intense meal.

Both my boyfriend and I absolutely loved this. It was insanely good and so flavorful. The pilaf was made with garlic, onions, mushrooms, parsley, chicken broth, and white rice. I finally got the recipe right and it was tender, moist, and just perfect. I enjoyed it so much that I would make this for friends, if we ever entertained.

I'm glad I have several servings left!

Dinner

• whole wheat fusili with garlic, tofu, green pepper, tomatoes, green onions, spices, and low-fat ricotta cheese
• green grapes

I've made this recipe before, but never enjoyed it so much. The scallions were in my fridge threatening to go bad, so I figured they might add a nice kick. Because so many of these ingredients had fairly bland natural flavors, I added salt, black pepper, red pepper, oregano, basil, and parsley. All of that gave it a nice zing.

I made several batches of this meal as well, which I'm hoping to do more frequently so that I don't have to cook so much every day. Now I'm actually looking forward to eating the leftovers!

I am really happy I made it the whole day sticking on the plan. I don't even dare hope tomorrow's weigh-in will go well, but at least I can start improving from here forward.