"unremarkable"

It seems I turned a page in my No S journey sometime this past week.

Unbeleiveably I have been doing No S for ten weeks.
Somewhere between last Monday and Today, something remarkable happened.

Doing No S became incredibly "unremarkable".
That is a good thing.

It became unremarkable in that very little conscious time or effort was put forth into maintaining my No S habits for the week.

I just kind of did it.
Cause that's now just kind of what I do.

I enjoyed my chai tea latte and ONE DONUT this morning. THOROUGHLY.
But there weren't the original fireworks that occurred when I first let my poor abused mistreated "sugar animal" out of its cage.

Abused and mistreated by either complete and total deprivation or torrential floods. Nothing mildy resembling "in between" ever occurring.

Hmmmmmm....

I enjoyed my vegan nachos later in the day. Thoroughly.

That was about it. I really didn't WANT anymore sweets or treats so I just really didn't HAVE anymore sweets or treats.

I'll have my donut and chai tomorrow.

I am learning to trust myself.

Photo: Vegan Nachos

It's Just Been a Really Good Week

I have to say that this was my "easiest" week on NO S.

I say that because I probably thought less about upcoming S days through the week.
I was focussed on my work.
I had a lot of appointments and was able to keep them all.
I had a good report at the dentist.

IT was just "easier".
There was not really any of that "struggle" to not eat between meals for emotional reasons.
I suppose as I am developing NO S habit I am unconsciously also developing subconscious ways to deal with "stuff" other than eating.

I tend to find myself thinking more,
"How am I going to handle this" than
"What am I going to eat."

For the first time I was glad to not "have to" drink my chai tea lattes during the week. It was like yay, back to my nice simple N day meals.

My workouts are going well.

I am looking forward to S days tomorrow but it is all not so intense.

It's just been a really good week.

Photo: Amy's No Chicken Noodle Soup, Peanut Butter on whole grain crackers, mixed greens salad with cucumber and EVOO

Life is a Bowl of Cherries

Life is a bowl of cherries ... especially when they are in season.

This week has FLOWN by.

It has actually been really wonderful.

It is interesting to notice the subtle and not so subtle change in my relationship with food as time goes on in the NO S diet.

The first month all of the changes were BIG. FAST. INEXPLICABLE.

The next month it was kind of like ... yeah, I am grooving and finding my rhythm now.

SO FAR, for this month it is kind of like, LIVING is front and center and food and eating is yes, exiting center stage.

As I unwind and emotionally detach from my food and eating, as I start to gain some distance,

I start to get an idea of exactly HOW MUCH emotion time energy expense were all tied up in food and eating.

Suffice it to say. A LOT.

So the changes are slowing down.

I am less aware on a daily basis.

I suppose I am more in habit.

This is a very good thing.

Photo: tofu sausage, peas, and cherries

The Dentist

from page 48 of the No S Diet Book:

Snacking is Bad For Your Teeth! ... snacking also increases your risk for tooth decay... According to the American Dental association: Not only what you eat but when you eat makes a big difference in your dental health. Eat a balanced diet and limit between-meal snacks ... Foods that are part of a meal cause less harm. More saliva is released during a meal, which helps wash foods from the mouth and helps lesen the effects of acids."

I went to the dentist today.

I cannot tell you how much I dislike going to the dentist.

I hate it.

IMMENSELY!

Over the past two years I have had a lot of old dental work redone and plenty of new work done.

My dentist has done a beautiful job.

No more mercury in my mouth!

I still don't like to go though!

BUT TODAY ...

drum roll please!

NO DECAY

AND

I was told my oral hygeine was great!

The only difference in the last two months - I have been doing NO S and basically not snacking.

THIS IS VERY GOOD!

Photo: PBJ, mixed greens salad with cucumber and EVOO

Pizza and Chocolate

I have to say it was a lovely Memorial Day Weekend!

Really needed the slower pace and some downtime. Enjoyed lot's of good food.

Yesterday we had dinner at P.F. Chang's China Bistro http://www.pfchangs.com/.

I took my camera but did not even think about taking pictures until we were sitting there looking at the leftovers.

The meal was beautiful. Crispy Fried Green Beans, Vegetarian Ma Po Tofu, and Sichuan Style Asparagus with Brown Rice.

The gym was packed this morning.

Tonight we had vegan pizza and arugula salad from Z Pizza http://www.zpizza.com/ the only restaurant that is not at least twenty miles away that has vegan options.

Finished off my three day weekend with some Godiva chocolates... Hazelnut Truffle, Dark Chocolate Truffle, Cappucino Truffle and an Open Oyster.


Yes I delighted in eating each one of them.

Photos: Z Pizza Create Your Own Vegan Pizza with Jalepenos and Godiva Chocolates

Frozen Mini Peanut Butter Cups

It's late.

I am tired.

Today my evening treat was frozen mini peanut butter cups!

There were delicious.

Tomorrow ....

photo: frozen mini peanut butter cups

Sixty Day Results

I have been on the No S Diet for sixty days and faced the scale monster today! And I must say with results that I am very pleased with!

Well I couldn't get a chart going in this here blog so let me try to get the results up without one as clearly as possibly.

Today I weight 126.3 pounds and my BMI is 22.4

In the past thirty days, I have lost 3.1 pounds, 2.4% of my total body weight and my BMI has dropped by 0.5.

Since I have been on NO S, I have lost 8.3 pounds, 6.2% of my total body weight and my BMI has dropped by 1.4.

As I blogged last week I started working with a personal trainer at my gym, as I do check-ins I will include my measurments and body fat percentage. As of last Friday, May 16 my body fat was 26.4%.

It seems like No S is going to be a critical factor in helping me acheive a stable and desirable body weight. My percantage of body fat goal is 20% within about six months.

WHEW! Glad that's over!

Everyone have a great day and remember, NO SNACKS, SWEETS, AND NO SECONDS until TOMORROW!

photo: me on the scale monster this morning!

Lindsay's Orchard

About two years ago I read a book called THE WORLD PEACE DIET. I have read different books through the years promoting a vegan and/or vegetarian diet but I had to say that this particular book had the most dramatic impact on me.

I immediately stopped eating all animal products because I did not want to "vote with my dollars" to support the horrendous, unbeleivable, mistreatment that occurs in the animal farm industry these days.

After being vegan for twenty-two months I felt like I needed to supplement my diet. I began eating organic yogurt and free range chicken eggs.

The eggs I buy are very special.

I do not buy them at any store.

I only buy them at the Farmer's Market form Lindsay's Orchard.

I only buy eggs there because often even though eggs at stores are marketed as free range the poor chickens still have very little chance to move around and are raised in less than ideal conditions.

Since I beleive eating an animal that has been tortured and tormented from the moment it has been born and has not known a day of joy on this planet is a needless thing to do I am happy that Lindsay's Orchard exists.

Earlier this month chicks were born.

Aren't they adorable?
They will have a chance to scratch in the dirt, eat insects and worms and feel the sun upon their little faces. They won't be debeaked and stuffed into cages that are so small they cannot even turn around. Stacked one on top of the other so feces drops on their heads. They will not be forced to abnormally produce eggs year round with artificial lighting.

These things are so important not only for our bodies, but also for our consicousness and our souls!

In honor of the curried egg salad sandwich that I ate for lunch today, I am sharing the joy of these cuties with you on my blog today!

Photo: Newborn chicks courtesy of Lindsay's Orchard

"Emotional Hunger"

The thing about No S is that it really makes my "emotional hunger" stand out. When I am engaged and focussed with whatever and/or whoever I am doing it with, emotional hunger is simply a non issue.

But whenever, I am faced with:

something I don't want to do
something I am afraid to do
someone I don't like
feeling uncomfortable about setting boundaries with someone

BUT MOSTLY
something I don't want to do

I get emotionally hungry. Apparently I just HATE to do things I don't want to do!

I.e. I would just rather eat or drink one of my drinky things instead of just walk through the uncomfortable stressful feelings.

I had a great morning. But the afternoon started slipping away quickly and it was looking like I had more to do than time to do it in.
It's not what happened, but along the way I thought A LOT more about my S day treat things than I have in the past two-and-half days,
because, well,
I have hardly thought about them at all the past two-and-a-half days.

It was a bit unnerving.
At the same time this is natural.
I have been using eating to deal with uncomfortable moments and uncomfortable emotions for more than forty years.

The beauty of No S is that I didn't do that today.
I acknowledged what was going on, what was stressing me out and just kept getting done the things that needed to get done.

At the end of the day, everything did get done and I still got to get a green square on my habitcal.

Nice!

Photo: Tofu sausage and steamed peas with salt, pepper and EVOO

What wasTHAT? Oh, it was Tuesday!

Wow! This day just BLEW BY. I was pretty much busy from the moment I got up until, well, the moment that I finish this blog.

This is what can happen when you start being highly productive.

This is where life starts to change and then

people start EXPECTING things from you ....

One of the weight loss programs I did was The Solution by Laurel Mellin.

There is a section in the program ... "WHAT IS YOUR EXCESS WEIGHT SAYING?"

I became VERY clear that my excess weight was saying, "I'm a loser, don't expect too much from me."

So you see I get VERY nervous when people start EXPECTING things from me ...

it is time to call for the "the girl in the closet"

now THAT is a long story, suffice it to say,

that these are the times to SLOW down and integrate all that is going on and not get

TOO far ahead of myself, or well, history tells me,

much food, usually much too much food will follow.

We will see if this particular pattern unscrews itself on NO S.

Hope so.

Possibly so.

Probably so.

In the meantime, What was THAT? Oh, it was Tuesday!

Photo: Chargrilled Veggie Salad with Tofu www.sipz.com

Best Monday

This has possibly been my "best Monday" since starting No S.

Monday's, as I have blogged in the past, have been a tad difficult. My inner two year old likes the weekends. Hmmm... so does my inner adult.

Maybe that's why they're such a big problem.

But today, not so bad.
I am working on a PROJECT that I have started tracking in Reinhard Engel's habit tracking tool on the web: HABITCAL.
I have been doing this about ... exactly eleven days now?
Something like that.

The thing is this.
It has completely shifted my focus.
Especially on N Days. I am really not thinking so much about what I should or should not be eating. I am mostly focussing my thoughts on this PROJECT and what I need to do to mark off another green square on my HABITCAL.

But as with the rest of NO S ...
mysterious inner shifts and changes occur and life feels completely different today than it was, say,
two months ago.

Need I say I am liking it much better today?

SO basically, what I am saying that engrossed in my PROJECT,
this particular Monday ... much, much, much better.

photo: ezekiel cereal, organic plain yogurt, blueberries

Monster Toll House Cookies

Well I am definitely not a "one cookie girl" yet!

Today was Monster Toll House cookie day, so I baked guess what?

Monster Toll House Cookies.

It seems impossible to eat just one when they are fresh out of the oven, warm and the chocolate chips are all gooey!
I don't know if that would even be a goal to try for.

Not to worry ... NOT EVEN THERE YET!
But let me tell you this,

I thouroughly enjoyed them!

Monster Toll House Cookie Recipe
(this is the Original Nestle Toll House Cookie Recipe with minor adustments)

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 cup Earth Balance, softened (the softened part is important so make sure to take this out of the fridge a little while before you start baking. Also you can use butter here, it is what the unmodified recipe calls for but since I don't really LIKE butter, I use my Earth Balance. It works great!)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large free range (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) egss
2 cups (which is basically one package) Nestles Semi-Sweet Chocolate morsels
1 cup chopped walnuts (don't bother with the pecans and WHO would want to put almonds in chocolate chip cookies!!!!!!! hahahhahhaha I know I know some of you jokesters will want to use macademia nuts or pistachios!)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Combine flour, soda, and salt in a small bowl.
Beat sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large mixer bowl until creamy.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating to creamy each time.
Gradually beat in flour mixture.
Stir in chocolate morsels and nuts

For MONSTER COOKIES mold into three ounce balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.
In our oven I start watching after 20 minutes.


ENJOY!

photo: freshly baked monster toll house cookies

Sweet Dreams Not Sweet Treats

Today was a truly incredible jam packed day.

Sometimes you just can't explain it when wonderful things happen in your life. You

just need to savor it.

I got home from a wonderful dinner out with my husband tonight at about 8:30 pm. I had been going non-stop since I got up at 5:00 this morning.

It was all good.

But on the way home I stopped at Von's and looked at the slices of cake.

I really wanted to want one.

But not one looked appealing.

I am making monster toll house cookies tomorrow but too tired to make them tonight.

Too late to get some Godiva.

Only treats left in the freezer are peanut butter cups.

Not quite right for tonight.

Then I realized I was just silly exhausted wasted tired and needed to go to bed.

I was tired.

I need sweet dreams.

Not sweet treats.

Good night.

Photo: Insalate al Balsimico and Lahanelle con Lenticchie

Functioning at a High(er) Level

I feel like because of the No S diet I am functioning at a high(er) level.

What does this mean besides the fact that I am simply being more productive, even-tempered, social and feeling good about myself and my life.

How does this relate to No S?

Well I just have to keep going to the point that intermittent binging is time-consuming, generally interrupting, and shame producing. It might seem obvious that engaging in fairly frequent, once or twice a week, intermittent binging ... would NOT lead to functioning at a high(er) level. In fact it might actually lead one to function at a lower level, no parantheses needed.

Last week I started a new Habitcal for my PROJECT. I was green this week and darn, I just feel good for doing the work this week. I signed up for my personal trainer and showed up for my appointment this afternoon. He ran me through a tough workout. I cuddled with my husband for our friday night at home date night.

Tomorrw I will go to a day conference, attend a birthday and have a special dinner with my husband. Before No S I would be struggling to meet my commitments, ashamed because of weight I had gained, and resenting that I was even invited ... to anything.

It is just so different.

There was also a real shift in my focus on food this week. It was much less. I was so busy focussing on getting my work on my PROJECT done so I could get my green on my Habitcal that food shifted down the ladder.

Then after about ten days of using Habitcal for my PROJECT I noticed I am starting to find my groove. I make the effort to meet my minimal goals and then ... I suppose something else takes over. Suffice it to say the end of this week was much better than the beginning.

I am really excited. THIS IS GREAT!

photo: Amy's Tofu and Brown Rice Bowl www.amys.com with Wyldwood Savory Baked Tofu

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

I am very excited.

I am going to start working with a personal trainer at my gym! YAY!

Our first six month goal is to take me from approximately 129 pounds with 27.7 % body fat to 124 pounds with 20% body fat. That will be a "fat loss" of approximately 11 pounds, with a muscle gain of approximately 6 pounds.

I sat there and looked at that piece of paper and it became crystal clear ... this is why at a certain point, scales become almost completely meaningless.

They do not tell you your body compostion.

For a female my age I currently fall into the Acceptable, Fair (almost Good), Healthy ... Eyew! even Overfat on one chart, range of body fat. If I can go to 20% in the next six months, I will move to LEAN.

I like the sound of that ... LEAN.

I think I will just forget my "ideal body weight" and go for LEAN!

That would create incredible Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes! in my body appearance ... with a pretty minmal, 4 pound, weight loss.

I officially start tomorrow, so wish me luck!

Also, I am using the money I am saving from our reduced grocery bills since I have been on No S to cover the expense. I think that is pretty darn cool!

Photo: Amy's Blackeyed Pea Bowl http://www.amys.com/ and cashews

Supporting Role ... not the Star

I think this No S thing is becoming more of a habit.

Its showing up in my being a bit less concerned about where I am at, i.e. an N day or an S day.

Now I said "a bit", which means that it is not that there is no concern at all, it is just that it does not seem so much front and center these days.

Of course, starting to use Habitcal for my PROJECT has shifted my focus.

This is a good thing. When eating, dieting, binging, restricting, feeling stuffed, feeling starved, becomes the center of your life, much falls by the wayside.

It seems that is what is happening. Yes.
With NO S food and eating seem to be falling into their appropriate place in my life,
a SUPPORTING ROLE ... not the STAR.

I think that this is a very, very, very good thing.

Photo: pbj on sprouted wheat bread with homemade bean and vegetable soup with EVOO drizzles

PBJs and Green Squares

I have been working on a PROJECT. I started to use the nosdiet.com HabitCal to start tracking my "work habits" and its working.

But now I don't have much time to do much else. LOL.

This is good. The down side is that the thought of cooking this past two days as I am easing into my routine has basically been,

"I don't wanna."

Yesterday I had leftovers and salad.

Today I took a leap and went for the PBJ. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
It's been a long time.
Dare I say, I heaped on the crunchy peanut butter.
It was melt in my mouth delicious.
I savored each bite.

When I first started No S, I decided to keep my "wheat" with my "sweets" on S Day.

Why oh why would I do such a thing?

Well let me tell you ...
wheaty things were as triggery of foods for me as sweets and I just wanted to get my habits down.

IT WORKED.

The last two weeks I experimented with adding a sprouted wheat cereal, Ezekiel cereal to my weekly breakfasts. After a couple of weeks and not going for the entire box, I stepped out last week with one of Amy's Indian Samosa Wraps and I believe it was Friday, some peanut butter and crackers.

Yes, I LOVE peanut butter. IT IS SO TRUE!

SO today, for lunch, having NO TIME TO COOK and besides "I don't wanna", about all that I could settle on was PBJ.

With a nice little romaine, cucumber, celtic sea salt, EVOO side salad.
It was scrumptious.
Just might have it again tomorrow.

IN addition, I got to work and get to mark another nice little green square on my PROJECT habitcal today.

And that felt REALLY nice!

photo: Crunchy peanut butter and blueberry fruit spread on sprouted wheat toast, with a side salad of romaine lettuce, cucumber, celtic sea salt and EVOO

Chai Tea Lattes

Well it was pretty much one of THOSE mondays today.

And pretty much by about 11:00 am all I wanted was about 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ... OKAY THEN

maybe SIX chai tea lattes.

I really got in touch with how much BINGING is just like getting drunk this morning.

I pretty much just wanted to guzzle, snarf and ingest just about anything I could get my hands on. But I didn't.

I just TALKED myself through it, as I have had to do many times before in the past FIFTY days!

Yes because today was day FIFTY on the No S Diet.

And it took ALL of that HABIT that I have built in the past 5-0 days

to recognize, HEY ...

this is just something I want to do so I can say ...

hey CAN'T WORK ... TOO BUSY EATING!

photo: starbuck's chai tea lattes with soymilk

Black Olive & Cream Dim Sum

I blogged a few days ago about my experience of going "raw" for about four months. Although I could not subsist forever on a raw food diet, I enjoyed some great new taste sensations along the way.

Now when summer is on its way and the farmer's market is overflowing with fresh fruits and vegetables I will on occasion pull out some of my favorite "raw" recipes and enjoy them.

This weekend I was fortunate to buy several ready and ripe avocados, PERFECT for Juliano's Black Olive and Cream Dim Sum. For those of you who are not familiar with the RAW world Juliano is to Raw Food as Emeril Lagasse is to Pork Fat ... Bam! Bam! Bam!

Okay for those of you who have absolutely idea what on earth I am talking about ... not to worry! We'll just move on....

Juliano's RAW: Uncook Book is one of the great tomes of the Raw Food World. His recipes are incredible and his sense of taste, seasoning, and unique perspective on ingredients ... just put a little bit of fresh chopped jalapeno in ... well, just about EVERYTHING make his Uncook Book one of the best alternative cook books to have around!

SO from Juliano's RAW with a few truly minor and modest adjustments the recipe for:

Black Olive & Cream Dim Sum

2 cups avocado
1/2 cup black olives pitted
1 1/2 teaspoons Celtic Sea Salt (the salt of choice for raw fooders and all other picky types)
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons cumin
the juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
2 teaspoons garlic, microplaned and/or finely chopped
2 teaspoons ginger, microplaned and/or finely chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons minced jalapeno

Red Lettuce Leaves

In a bowl combine the avocado, olives, Celtic sea salt, cilantro, lime juice, cumin, red onion, garlic, ginger and jalapeno. Spoon the mixture evenly into lettuce leaves. Seal (by rolling the leaf around the mixture) and serve.

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

photo: Black Olive & Cream Dim Sum

The Day Before Mother's Day

Today was a REALLY nice day.

I woke up and did my yoga and then went to the Farmer's Market. There were strawberries, blueberries, incredible kinds of lettuce and salad greens. The arugula was, dare I say, gorgeous. Ripe avocadoes, which often can't be found. And the lady who sells eggs has four new chicks. The squash blossoms are in season and there were the smallest cutest first of the season patty pan squash. And it's May and the cherries are coming.

When I got home we walked over to our neighborhood donut and coffee shop. I got two donuts. The first was FABULOUS ... the second not so much. If I could only have one treat for the rest of my life it would be CHAI TEA LATTE. Forget chocolate, those things make me swoon!

Most S days I have just one. EXCEPT for last weekend when we were out of town and I threw most of my first one on the floor. Accidentally of course!

Goal: To just eat one donut. I am certain that I am close.

Then it was a lazy afternoon at home with my husband and kitty, off to the gym and then we cooked dinner together. It was DELICIOUS.

Finish it off with a few episodes of Boston Legal and some frozen peanut butter cups.

Right now life is good and I am grateful.

No S works.

photo: Browned Tempeh, squash and squash blossoms sauteed in EVOO, salad with mixed greens, carrot, tomato, black olives and EVOO

Delightful, But Baffling

One of the things I love about No S is the "pay as you go" quality.

Many diets set out a particular volume or quantity of food to eat at a particular meal or for a particular day. Regardless ... of pretty much anything.

However, with three one plate meals a day, there is quite a bit of latitude in how much ...
and how little ...
one can eat each meal ... and each day.

I find that there are days, that for whatever reason I need to eat more, just as there are days that for whatever reason, I need to eat less. No S gives me total latitude to make adjustments along the way.

Some might find the lack of specificity annoying, frustrating and even burdensome.

Myself I find it liberating ... maturing.

Any structure that allows me to assume more responsibility within myself for myself is an empowering one.

I was particularly hungry at lunch today and chose to add some peanutbutter crackers to my meal. As you can see on the photo, it all fit quite nicely on my plate.

Curiously, I did not finish my dinner.
Even more curiously, I stopped when I was full.

Can ANYONE help me to understand why years of TRYING to not finish every last bite on my plate has been effortlessly acheived in seven short weeks by faithfully and consistently following the No S Diet?

I find it baffling myself.
Delightful, but baffling.

photo: moong dal with brown rice and fresh cilantro, peanut butter on whole grain crackers

The Power of Being ON HABIT

No S is about creating habits.

In particular the No S Diet is about creating habits around food that "optimize" our limited will power.

I like that. The acknowledgement that our will power has limits and the idea that we can optimize it.

Since the No S Diet is ALL ABOUT no snacks, no sweets and no seconds except on S days, for me ...

the No S Diet is ALL ABOUT adhering religiously to those three one plate meals each day on N days.

After doing this with consistency and regularity ... unbelieveably,

tomorrow will be my seventh week ....

I have gained quite a bit.

None of it expected,

all of it pretty much effortless.

That is outside of the effort that has been required by me to stick to the simple rule of three one plate meals a day on N Days.

I have gained:

• slowing down when I eat
• being aware of my portion sizes without counting calories or anything else
• enjoying my food
• reducing my treats on S days
• did i say ENJOYING my food?
• being organized in other areas of my life
• being more socially available for events that involve food and eating
• no longer being a member of the clean your plate club

I beleive this is the power of being ON HABIT and I think its pretty darn wonderful!

photo: farmer's market fresh veggies, with avocado-spinach dip, and wyldwood savory baked tofu

Happy Wednesday

Well it's Wednesday. I am not sure that I have a whole lot more to say than that.

It does seem like No S makes it easy to move in and out of routines in life.

This is a neat secondary advantage ...

aiding in organizing your entire life.

Curiously, as I continue on with my No S lifestyle I find that it becomes apparent how much

our eating affects the daily rhythms of our life.

When meals, food, treats have their place ... and ... ahem, have A place, it is ... curious ....

how other things in our lives also fall in line.

I like that.

I like that weekends are even moreso like weekends as accentuated by treats and that special days become even more special days ... and that all this weekendiness and specialness is ... guilt free ... ENJOYABLE ... and manageable.

I also like N days. More sparse and specific, they provide nourishment and ample space for work, productivity ... getting things done.

So today is Wednesday, and back off a little vacation and back into the middle of N days, it is easier to ease back into daily living with my three "plates" a day.

And it is not interminable. Ever. Because there's always the weekend.
And S days ...

never too too far away.

It is Wednesday.

And for me, I would say, it has been a happy Wednesday.

Photo: Amy's www.amys.com Indian Samosa Wrap and urid dal soup with fresh cilantro

No S on the Road

Well we had a lovely time taking No S on the Road! We started out on Saturday evening with a delcious dinner at Native Foods Restaurant. www.nativefoods.com

My husband had the Scorpion Burger ... "Where Scorpion Bay meets Bali... enjoy the slightly spicy ride! Our Bali Burger gets blackened with a veggie chipotle sauce, lettuce, carrot, onion."

While I definetely enjoyed Mina's Macro Bowl ... "Macrobiotics in a bowl. Brown rice, quinoa, tempeh, steamed veggies, sea veggies, sauerkraut & sesame salt garnishes. Served with Mighty Miso sauce. " Chocolate Chip cookies for dessert in our room.

Sunday morning I indulged in a piece of Von's carrot cake and a Starbucks chai tea latte with a water chaser.

That evening we had a special meal at Two Bunch Palms www.twobunchpalms.com Casino Restaurant. We shared the Butter Lettuce Salad ..."tender butter lettuce with poached pear, maytag blue cheese, grapes, toasted walnuts and honey balsalmic dressing."

That was followed by the Oven Baked Portabella Mushroom ... "topped with wilted spinach, garlic and fontina cheese" ... that was so delish it started disappearing before I could get out my camera!

For a main dish my husband enjoyed Vegetarian Penne Pasta ... with sauteed spinach, broccoli, tomatoes and kalamata olives".

While I gnoshed on thoroughly delightful vegan dish especially prepared for moi by the chef. It was tofu, tons of veggies, brown rice and crunchy onion things! WHAT A TREAT!

The next morning was breakfast in the room ... organic yogurt, ezekiel cereal and fresh blueberries topped off with another chai tea latte from Starbucks.

For our final meal on Monday evening we returned to Native Foods and my husband had a Bali Surf Burger ... "What we're famous for! Tanya's sauteed and grilled tempeh, lettuce, carrot, red onion, vegan mayo" with Chile Cheese Fries ... "Native Seasoned Fries covered in Native Chili, Native Cheese and chopped red onions" (sorry those were pretty much demolished before I remembered my camera!)

And I thoroughly enjoyed my Very Voluptuous Veggie Pizza ... "Creamy pesto, grilled veggies, steamed greens, roasted pumpkin seeds, a balsamic drizzle and blackened tempeh "

YUM YUM! That was topped off with a few pieces of Godiva Chocolate and then we were home ... and we woke up and it was Tuesday morning.

Kind of gray and cloudy, outside and in ... it is true, we had so much fun, we were a bit sad to be home.

Raw Food

About four years ago we went RAW.

For about four months. It was actually quite fun.

Another one of our food adventures. It started in the summer, in July.

A very sensible time to go RAW because their are so many great fruits and avocados.

Pretty much both are essential, in my opinion when one goes RAW.

We got a dehydrator, high powered blender, and spiral slicer. We got a very sharp set of knives.

An absolute MUST for raw.

We got raw food cookbooks and went to raw food seminars.

We surfed raw food websites and went to Juliano's in Santa Monica, Ca.

We felt good ... until ... the day came ...

it was November. And more than anything what we wanted was some ...

COOKED FOOD!

Well we kept our dehydrator, our high-powered blender, the spiral slicer, and sharp set of knives and followed a very circuitous route to veganism.

A few months of being RAW will dramatically change your palette.

What used to be scrumptious just is not anymore.

I still use the dehydrator on occassion and make flax seed crackers.

We still use the blender and set of knives.

I couldn't find that darn spiral slicer if my life depended on it although I still make raw "spaghetti" and raw "fettucine alfredo" on occasion.

In the summer I still love some kale salad with Reed avocados and luscious beefsteak tomatoes and I would never give up my scrumptious avocado dips with fresh veggies .

And on occasion I still like to drop in on my favorite raw food restaraunt www.cilantrolive.com

That is where I went for lunch today and had their yummy Spicy Thai Salad.

It IS made of julienne cabbage, carrots, zucchini, green apples, red bell peppers, coconuts and red onions tossed in a sweet almond sauce, topped with spicy cashews.

WHAT A TREAT!

Well I will be hitting the road tomorrow ...

and I will be back on Monday with pictures of my gastronomical one plate expereinces ...

OOPS maybe not!

S DAYS!

Well I WILL be back on Monday with pictures of my gastronomical experiences WHATEVER they turn out to be!!!!

Photo: Spicy Thai Salad from Cilantro Live! restaurant

Short and Sweet

I had a really busy day! It seemed like I just got up and started going and did not stop. Like a top ... all wound up and now I am completely wound down.

I spent a lot of the time at the mall ... wow ... food and eating did not even cross my mind.

I saw a lady with a Starbucks thing and thought ... what is she doing with THAT? It is not an S day!

We had beans and greens for dinner.

I am spent.

Photo: pinto beans, sauted swiss chard and kale, cute little blue corn muffin