Round

The New Blog :

I have been pretty consistent about keeping the daily food log here on my blog these past few weeks.  It’s been helpful for me to write it down, and it’s turned out to be a pretty convenient format.

My only regret is that it’s often overtaken any thoughtful blogging.  It’s hard to write a post about the mundane and then be thoughtful too. While I am one of the people who do enjoy reading other people’s food diaries on their blogs, I admit it’s never the food diary postings that inspire me or give me something good to think about on someone else’s blog, so I’m sure it’s the same for people visiting here.  In fact my blogging is really more for me than for any of you (although I do love knowing others read, and I appreciate your comments immensely).  So since just keeping a food diary here on Round is not why I’m blogging, I want to make sure I keep making myself THINK about my posts.  The food diary can be a cop-out from thinking.

So after some reflection I’ve decided to start a second blog here on 3FC just for the daily food diary (you can see it in the sidebar on this blog, or visit it at the link on the right).  This way I have the accountability to put the log out there, a place to record it, but I also keep it from being the only thing I write each day.

I’m hoping this won’t take too much more time, as usually just writing down my food is a quick exercise.

The Protein Festival :

Yesterday I think my days of light eating caught up with me - I was craving protein.  I felt like an Atkins disciple (except I also ate carbs).

My DH had made homemade mayonaise on New Year’s Eve and for once I caught him before he threw the egg whites away and I managed to keep them.  So I made an eggwhite scramble with some leftover steak for breakfast.

Later I had some leftover crab, which was just yummy and indulgent even though I had it plain and I normally eat it with lemon butter.

For dinner my husband did a steak tasting (well, just 2 cuts) because we’ve recently been debating which cut of steak is best and him being him, he bought both at the butcher’s.  (Did you know how beef is cut depends on what country/region you are in?  It’s the same animal, but some countries will cut it one way, others differently.  Between France and the US, some remain the same (loin, filet) but some do not.)  So I ate steak, followed by some heavenly cheese we bought for New Year’s Eve (including an amazing truffle-filled brie).

I am in no danger of joining the Atkins crowd - I love fruit and veggies too much (although I probably should cut back a bit on the bread and other starches). And I definitely think my arteries will need a break today.

We had a lovely lovely day yesterday.

Started by a visit to an art exhibition, followed by going to lunch out at a nice brasserie, where I wasn’t too hungry but was very in touch with what I wanted, so I had soup (which turned out to be probably the best soup of my life - cream of scallops with truffles.  To die for.  Not light, but it’s all I had, so it’s fine).  Ate it ALL on purpose.  Also ordered a rice pudding w caramel sauce, but didn’t enjoy it so ate very little of it.

Then we went to the gym, a quick shower and ran to catch a movie.  Brought really good chocolate from home instead of eating movie theatre junk, but then my DH wanted to stay and watch a SECOND movie and that time I ordered popcorn (which is WAY less good in France, probably because it’s never popped fresh), and we also bought candy which was not very good and I wish I hadn’t eaten (to my credit I didn’t eat much, but even what I did eat I regretted).

I wasn’t hungry for dinner when we came home, although I did nibble on some fantastic truffle-stuffed brie we’d bought for New Year’s Eve (but hadn’t eaten).

Breakfast : 2 peices of bread w butter and jam (on one side, made into a sandwich)

Lunch : scallop cream soup with truffles, one peice french bread w butter, 1/3 cup rice pudding w caramel sauce

Exercise : 45 min elliptical

Snack : chocolate, popcorn, gummy candies at movies

Snack : 1 oz brie w truffles

I’ve never been what I would call a binge eater, but I have been capable of eating large quantities of food when I indulge, often in a social context, or when things are particularly yummy to me.

These past few weeks I’ve really been trying to pay attention to being satisfied and the point of diminishing returns when eating - and the goal of always leaving something leftover has really helped me stop with the autopilot method of just shoving it in until it’s gone.

Still, New Year’s Eve for us is usually just me and my husband, cooking and indulging for the evening.  We buy favorites that are expensive and not for everyday - caviar for him, Alsaskan King Crab for me, often scallops, a decadent dessert (or two) and whatever else catches our fancy at the market.  This year was starting out similar, although an early sign it was going to be different was when at the market we loaded up on Victoria pineapple and berries, both of us saying it would be a refreshing way to end our meal.  I still thought maybe I’d stop by a bakery for a fancy dessert, but knew I didn’t need it and was kind of feeling like I didn’t want it (and I didn’t end up going out for it in the end).

Last night’s meal was great, as usual.  My husband prepared a really amazing salad to start with, which even though it was dripping with coconut milk (not light) was still a salad and therefore not completely sinful.  When crab time came I happily ate one giant leg but then didn’t want more (and we’d bought a TON).  I was full, no longer desiring to eat, having no desire to move from comfortably full to that horrible stuffed-to-the-gills feeling that comes with overdoing it.  So I stopped eating.  The scallops will wait for another meal, the leftover crab will be used up in other things.  Even the berries and special mini pineapple didn’t get their visit to my tummy last night - and will be happy perks for the next few days.

The champagne was divine, the evening very sweet and romantic, the time alone with my husband precious.  It was a great night, with great food.  Just not too much of it consumed.

Exercise : 40 min elliptical

Brunch (woke up late) : oatmeal w milk, apple

Dinner : Thai salad w green curry coconut dressing with crawfish, pinenuts and mango (my husband made it - very good, not very light).  Steamed Alaskan king crab w lemon butter. French bread w butter. Champagne.  Grapes at midnight.