B Double E Double R U N

After a month and a half of doing this diet the fella and I have finally started to get comfortable eating out. Of course we've only gone out all of three times, but still it's progress. The temptation to eat out lessens when you're spending such massive amounts on fresh produce every week and when you realize what a battle it is to find something on a menu that has no sugar and no carbs. All that work and its easier to make something at home. However when we just can't handle cooking one more dinner we have figured out how to eat Indian at our favorite place in town.

The fella orders the tandoori platter which is a low carb dream, just grilled meats and veggies. I get a savory lamb dish with a creamy sauce free of sweeteners which is a little weird without the rice but it works regardless of the looks we get from the waiters. It's a testament to the fact I was raised in the mid west that I feel insanely rude and guilty not eating everything on the table. It's hard to get over the eat everything on your plate ethos that is so ingrained into so many of us and is a problem with being on this sort of diet, it makes you kind of a pain in the butt patron. However I always make sure to tip a little extra for being difficult not because I have to but because I'm constantly annoyed by the picky customers at work and want to but a little good karma into the world. And the dog benefits from the rice situation since we bring it home for her and she gets a little treat for the next couple days. Everyone wins and no food goes to waste.

After dinner we went to see Todd Snider, one of my favorite folk singers. He's always a good time, telling funny stories and singing touching, relevant yet often funny songs. It was the best night out I've had in a long time but it involved out of the strangest moments in my recent memory. Beer isn't allowed on this diet so in order to have a drink I had to order extremely bad wine in tiny bottles, the things you see in grocery store and run in the other direction from. Not only that I was drinking ghetto wine while singing along with the guy who it most famous for writing Beer Run. This diet keeps making my life more and more interesting.

Night on the Town

Saturday was the last day of diet cheating, all the forbidden foods are out of the house so there are no more excuses. For our last semi care fee evening of eating out I wrangled a couple of sushi lovers into a delicious double date at Sushi Morimoto for green tea, a plateful of nigiri, and a heaping serving of puns (that had nothing to do with the restaurant choice, it happens naturally when the fella is near.) It was my last chance for sushi for a long time and I enjoyed every second, even the super spicy wasabi that almost made me cry in pleasure-pain. The fella had an amazing rib eye steak with zucchini and mushrooms completely eschewing the rice and managed to stick to the diet and have a really tasty meal. I'm so proud of him.

I spent the rest of the evening watching a lesbian vampire play called Vamp that my friend and long time wine shop co-worker, Lindsay was reviewing for her sweet gig at 77 Square, one of the arts papers in town. It was a good time, I really need to have more fun time money to do that more often. But with my wine and organic food habit I don't see that happening any time soon. Which is just one more reason to keep Lindsay around (I'm not just using you for your theater tickets I promise.)

Not surprisingly we took our wine snob selves to a near by upscale bar for post show nibbles. We split a cheese plate and I had a fairly decent Malbec while catching up with each other. Eventually our boys joined the table and we were silly pleasantly drunk folks into the wee hours.

I love my friends and that they are interested in what I'm doing here but having a super social evening gave me my first glimpse of what this year probably has in store for me. Explaining the why I'm doing the French diet and what the GI is will get old fast so I'm going to have to get used to it. That or stop telling people I go out with why I won't eat anything but cheese and wine, it's not that interesting and most people don't really want or need to know about my eating habits anyway.

Going out is going to get more and more interesting. I'm up for the challenge.