Towards the New Normal

There were intentions on biking today, but I think I might have slightly over did it yesterday. I mostly was kinda tired today until I hit the point where I was flat out exhausted and had to sleep. I think that's because I failed to eat lunch. Shouldn't do that again. But even having had a positively fabulous dinner, I haven't quite perked up and still feel kinda sluggish.

Even my mom, who I Skyped with this morning for Easter mentioned that I look like I've lost quite a bit of weight. Hit 17 pounds lost this morning with yet another pound gone and I am in awe.

Dinner though was I think one of the best things we've done since we started on this diet. And I mentioned that with the dinner we made, I feel like we're finally heading back into the realm of Normal with our food choices. Just healthier.

We had grilled chicken that was brushed with an olive oil/agave nectar/fresh poultry seasonings blend. And he grilled them to perfection, even the little bit of charring was *tasty*. Grilled asparagus too.

And then because we're testing the tree nuts at this point, I made a pilaf for the side. A pilaf is sorta like a risotto and sorta not. Whereas with a risotto you *must* stir it and you add the liquid a little at a time, a pilaf you *must not* stir it. But otherwise it is the same. You take the things that will be in the pilaf, you saute them up, you saute the rice in the oil with them, and then you add the liquid all at once and ignore it until the liquid is absorbed like a regular rice.

Our pilaf had onions, the rest of the poultry seasonings, whole skinned toasted hazelnuts, and chicken broth for the liquid for our medium grained brown rice. OMG it had been a long time since I'd done a pilaf and this was incredible. Maybe it's not as classic as some, but it certainly worked for our tastes.

I think one of the best things about this elimination diet is that it's forcing us to think of new ways to use our food as they are available. The nuts is what made me think pilaf, especially when I decided I didn't want the hassle of doing hazelnut encrusted chicken as had been my original thought for tonight. This seemed easier.

But also, tonight was the first time that I felt like we were back to "normal" food. I don't really know what it is that switched in my head with the nuts. I think in part because with each thing we add so many OPTIONS are coming up as possibilities. While there are certainly things that I miss, tonight, I didn't want for any of it.

And that feels really cool.