Being away from home for a week gives one an appreciation of the simple foods of daily life. I am craving fresh veggies - as simple as possible, fresh fruit & lots of water.

I went to the market today and stocked up. Yesterday I didn’t have the courage to face shopping so we made due with what was in the house, which was basically carbs and meat - my husband is rather predictable!

But today, crisp apples, juicy pears and succulent clementines joined the lineup, as did brussel sprouts, leeks and carrots. I also bought the closest thing I could find to pinto beans at the market and some split peas, and I have a split pea soup simmering on the stove as I write this. I found a recipe online that used bacon instead of a ham hock, because I don’t have any idea how to say ham hock in French, and the idea of a big bone thing in my soup is not appealing - the bacon comes pre-chopped in little packages here, so no touching is involved… I’m a real wimp when it comes to handling meat.

I’m hoping to get it together to go for a walk later today… no promises however, I’m pretty tired and my husband booked a massage for us in the late afternoon.

This week it’s back to a normal routine. The goal is to walk at least 3 times this week, and keep up with the paying attention while I eat, leaving something uneaten at each meal, and keeping the food diary. We are going away for the weekend on Friday morning, and I expect the weekend to be a pretty indulgent affair, food-wise. I’m going to try to really heavy-up the veggies all week in anticipation.