Food Reset, Day 28
I had a cheat day, and it was glorious. Actually, it was two cheat meals on two different days. This was even better for me because it wasn't like I was running around for 24 straight hours inhaling buttercream icing. The first cheat was on Carey's birthday.
I had my usual breakfast of tea with coconut milk and a protein shake, but I brought Carey breakfast in bed: a pumpkin muffin and two donut holes, Starbucks coffee frappachino, and a peach mango coconut water. After work, I gave Carey his presents (a few things I knew he wanted or had seen him checking out in stores, and which I'd been secretly buying up for the past month). He was very happy and appreciative. Our evening plans were his: We rode our bikes a little over four miles to Tribes Alehouse: http://www.tribesalehouse.com/alehouse-fare
I avoided the temptation of cider or beer and had an unsweetened ice tea. Carey and I split the BBQ poutine: hand-cut fries, pulled pork, cole slaw, Wisconsin cheese curds. [DROOL] Although that was my first day of having meat and dairy back, and I am allowed potatoes, I'm sure there was sugar in the BBQ pulled pork, and fries are not *quite* the same as potatoes, so I considered that a cheat. I told Carey to go all out, so he had the 10 oz. filet mignon au poivre with mac & cheese and sauteed spinach:
I was slightly more conservative and ordered grilled salmon with pancetta, wilted spinach and a lemon-caper vinaigrette:
You can see by the amount of pancetta and the accompanying tots, though, that I'm no angel. We did forgo dessert, but since I had mentioned that it was Carey's birthday, our waitress brought us complimentary apple pie shots (which were DELICIOUS). It was perfect to be able to bike the 4+ miles back after eating all of that food, and then spend some bonus time together at home. Carey felt that his birthday was completely delightful from start to finish, and I have to say that spoiling him is one of my absolute favorite things in the world.
On Friday morning my work friend AnnMarie came by to drop off her dog, Asher. We watched him all weekend while AM and her fiance Alyse were on a family trip. Greta and Asher get along famously, though he is a 5 year old mini schnauzer, and has quite a bit more get-up-and-go than our little couch potato. They always manage to find some common ground:
On Saturday night I had my second cheat meal. Carey and I took our bikes onto the Metra train to travel to my work friend Julie's culinary extravaganza: Porktoberfest. We got off at the 111th street stop and biked a little over 2 miles to the glory of the porkiest spread ever. I brought my own bacon-infused vodka (Julie industriously tuned it into Bloody Porkies), which paled in comparison to the other offerings:
Pulled Pork Sandwiches/Tacos with blueberry BBQ or smoked onion sauces
Roasted Potatoes, Onions and Mushrooms
A Stupid Salad
Bacon and Sausage Johnny Cakes
Chorizo Sliders
Bacon Jam and Beer Bread
Choco Toffee Bacon
Tequila Fruit Kabobs
A special"Mystery Dessert" which turned out to be butterscotch bacon donut holes
I know that is a veritable porgy, but I would like to take a slightly defensive stance and let you know that I had small samples of everything and only one piece of bacon choco toffee and one donut hole (despite wanting to mainline them). It was my first time having beer (homemade bacon brau) and dessert since July and it all tasted MIGHTY fine, though once again I was glad for the post-feast bike-ride.
Carey did some recording on Sunday and I did some work on the house before devoting some time to make flashcards for my upcoming BCBA exam (sort of like the bar exam for behavior analysts- I can't even refer to myself as a behavior analyst in the state of Illinois until I pass the boards). I also made spaghetti squash for the first time and it was excellent!!! I served it with a herb-crusted salmon. It really does have the taste and some physical properties of spaghetti, and it's a vegetable. How cool is that!?
Things are cycling back to the positive and manageable after last week's glass case of emotion, and I'm so thankful for my friends, family, job, life....all of it.
I had my usual breakfast of tea with coconut milk and a protein shake, but I brought Carey breakfast in bed: a pumpkin muffin and two donut holes, Starbucks coffee frappachino, and a peach mango coconut water. After work, I gave Carey his presents (a few things I knew he wanted or had seen him checking out in stores, and which I'd been secretly buying up for the past month). He was very happy and appreciative. Our evening plans were his: We rode our bikes a little over four miles to Tribes Alehouse: http://www.tribesalehouse.com/alehouse-fare
I avoided the temptation of cider or beer and had an unsweetened ice tea. Carey and I split the BBQ poutine: hand-cut fries, pulled pork, cole slaw, Wisconsin cheese curds. [DROOL] Although that was my first day of having meat and dairy back, and I am allowed potatoes, I'm sure there was sugar in the BBQ pulled pork, and fries are not *quite* the same as potatoes, so I considered that a cheat. I told Carey to go all out, so he had the 10 oz. filet mignon au poivre with mac & cheese and sauteed spinach:
I was slightly more conservative and ordered grilled salmon with pancetta, wilted spinach and a lemon-caper vinaigrette:
You can see by the amount of pancetta and the accompanying tots, though, that I'm no angel. We did forgo dessert, but since I had mentioned that it was Carey's birthday, our waitress brought us complimentary apple pie shots (which were DELICIOUS). It was perfect to be able to bike the 4+ miles back after eating all of that food, and then spend some bonus time together at home. Carey felt that his birthday was completely delightful from start to finish, and I have to say that spoiling him is one of my absolute favorite things in the world.
On Friday morning my work friend AnnMarie came by to drop off her dog, Asher. We watched him all weekend while AM and her fiance Alyse were on a family trip. Greta and Asher get along famously, though he is a 5 year old mini schnauzer, and has quite a bit more get-up-and-go than our little couch potato. They always manage to find some common ground:
On Saturday night I had my second cheat meal. Carey and I took our bikes onto the Metra train to travel to my work friend Julie's culinary extravaganza: Porktoberfest. We got off at the 111th street stop and biked a little over 2 miles to the glory of the porkiest spread ever. I brought my own bacon-infused vodka (Julie industriously tuned it into Bloody Porkies), which paled in comparison to the other offerings:
Pulled Pork Sandwiches/Tacos with blueberry BBQ or smoked onion sauces
Roasted Potatoes, Onions and Mushrooms
A Stupid Salad
Bacon and Sausage Johnny Cakes
Chorizo Sliders
Bacon Jam and Beer Bread
Choco Toffee Bacon
Tequila Fruit Kabobs
A special"Mystery Dessert" which turned out to be butterscotch bacon donut holes
I know that is a veritable porgy, but I would like to take a slightly defensive stance and let you know that I had small samples of everything and only one piece of bacon choco toffee and one donut hole (despite wanting to mainline them). It was my first time having beer (homemade bacon brau) and dessert since July and it all tasted MIGHTY fine, though once again I was glad for the post-feast bike-ride.
Carey did some recording on Sunday and I did some work on the house before devoting some time to make flashcards for my upcoming BCBA exam (sort of like the bar exam for behavior analysts- I can't even refer to myself as a behavior analyst in the state of Illinois until I pass the boards). I also made spaghetti squash for the first time and it was excellent!!! I served it with a herb-crusted salmon. It really does have the taste and some physical properties of spaghetti, and it's a vegetable. How cool is that!?
Things are cycling back to the positive and manageable after last week's glass case of emotion, and I'm so thankful for my friends, family, job, life....all of it.