Cutting the carbs + getting on track: Recent eats

It all started innocently enough with an Easter egg. It was a small, plastic purple egg filled with a raffle ticket and a small chocolate candy.

The egg, along with four others, was hidden the office as part of a building-wide morale initiative. You fill out the raffle ticket for a chance to win weekly prizes (Starbucks, Kroger and gas cards) and to be put in the pot for the cash grand prize. Every day, the eggs are hidden again and there's a new chance to get a raffle ticket ... and candy.

I declared that I was going to start eating more consciously to see whether it improved my mental health but then there was that egg. One small piece of chocolate wouldn't hurt me, I told myself. One turned into two and soon eating for improved mental health was a fleeting thought.

As was my good mood. Was it eating better that was improving it? I am not sure. The frustration was more that I was all gun-ho to do something better and when it didn't happen, I couldn't cope (it's a theme). Or, to better say it, it was a throat-punch to my self esteem. I was eating in a way that didn't make me feel good and it led me to start nit-picking and criticizing my body.

Friday, as I planned meals, I had enough. I got my shit together, planned things that were good and made me excited to eat and just went with it.

And I think it's going well. Or better, at least. I even found an egg and turned in my raffle ticket - along with the candy.

Breakfast

Sourdough Banana Pancakes (from the freezer) with pecans, fruit and sugar-free syrup

Morning snacks

Post (God awful) stroller run, I gobbled up one of my Nutty Fruit bites.

On the way to work, I had a frittata sandwich because, yeah, that's a thing. I tried to re-create the kale frittata I had in Athens and failed miserably. It tasted better on homemade sourdough, though!

Lunch

I love little sampler lunches like this. It's Red Curry Cauliflower Soup, tabbouleh (made with farro instead of bulgur) and curry chicken salad (made with yogurt).

I ended up accompanying a friend to the hospital who was picking up lunch and I grabbed a salad and fruit. It was sort of a snack, sort of an extension for lunch.

Snacks

I was super hungry (or needed to drink more water), and I felt like I was snacking after my 2:30 meeting until I went home. I had some popcorn, sliced cucumbers and walnuts. It was definitely a sign that I need to restock with the snack drawer with something more interesting and make some hummus to pair with the veg.

Dinner

I was ravenous - still - when I got home so I had some sourdough while I made dinner.

The ugliest dinner of all time. We had pan-cooked flounder, whole wheat couscous and frozen broccoli. The filets were smaller than I had anticipated and I kept my couscous portion smaller since I had the bread.

Treat

After my first boot camp session - shout out to reader Rachel who came with her friend! - I had some banana fro yo. I have been on the Martha Stewart train and making my own yogurt. I then used that yogurt and made a very low sugar fro yo. It's OK but not great. Actually, it's more that it's not stupid sweet like my beloved Menchie's and I haven't adjusted.

Final thoughts: I probably still need to replace some of the carbs with protein but I'm doing better. It's just funny that this is the better - my carb consumption must have been nuts.