Alright! I'm back!

Today was:
b - mexicn hot chocolate and the head of a gingerbread man
l - half a sub
d - pizza (the boy bought it) and rootbeer floats.

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!

Uggh...I've been very not detailed

haven't I? Alright, I'm sure there were lots of restaurants this past week... BUT I'm back on track. I should flog myself by extending this adventure another 2 weeks, and well, I will.

So...without further adiu:
b- toast and orange juice
l - leftover Chinese food
d - ham and scalloped potatoes and what ever veggies i can find in the fridge and freezer.

Sunday

b - sourdough toast with grandma's apricot jam
l - stuffed pork chops (if I can figure out how to make them)
d - steak, mashed potatoes, green salad

Oops! Didn't post yesterday....

b - chocolate chip muffins (don't you love baking?)
l - pizza at a party and I bought a cup of noodle soup (I was freezing my ass off at the skating rink)
d - leftover pasta

A rather unhealthy day. I'm ashamed!

Friday

b - egg and toast
l - black bean burger and salsa, fruit
d - meatballs and parmsean pasta with fresh herbs

1/2 a cup of the Egg Nog. And life is good.

Thursday

Breakfast - a freshly baked pretzel, a baby pickle and a slice of cheese and chocolate milk. (I know, I know - not really a meal and disgusting sounding to boot).
Lunch - spicy black bean patty and a tortilla and salsa, fresh fruit.
Dinner - flank steak, broccoli and a baked potato

Last night was so much fun - instead of rice, the girl and I sauteed up onions and pepper and I threw some marinated beef on the grill. I've never been able to light up my charcoal Weber grill and so this summer I bought a portable table top gas grill - it is the easiest thing to use and I may get the big propane tank attachment (this uses little bottles) for home use.

Wednesday

b - finished the girl's oatmeal, half a pear
l - turkey and Gouda on a tortilla
d - Mexican leftovers - beef, tomatoes, onions, peppers and Mexican rice.

Last night was a treat - the boy made dinner. I gave simple instructions, and he made it. He is quite self sufficient.

Tuesday

I almost skipped bringing lunch. I was thinking I would just grab something at the mall since I have errands to run anyway. At the last second I threw a tortilla roll up (just a tortilla, longhorn cheddar and mesquite turkey) together with a couple tangerines, yogurt and crackers. The girl's lunch is salami and turkey rolled on little plastic cocktail things that normally hold martini's and olives. She also got fruit, juice, and crackers. For her snack she has a yogurt.

b-two bites of the girl's tortilla with salsa and an egg and 1/2 cup of chocolate milk. Oh Nestle rabbit, how I love you for making milk drinkable.

l - see above

d - fish taco's - these were insanely popular last week. Hopefully I'll avoid a burn this time. I have a nasty burn about 2 inches long and almost an inch wide from last week. How I suffer in the name of a homemade dinner.

In case you're wondering about the little cocktail things, I'm out of bread. I have to throw a batch together tonight and bake it before work.

Back to Basics

B - oatmeal with pecans
l - half a turkey and gouda sandwich, tangerine, apple, berry cirtus Fresca, crackers and cheese
d - mexican meat. I have no idea but it's beef... there's a little ethnic grocery store that sells fresh marinated meat. I'm going to cook it in a hot skillet with onions, peppers, and tomatoes and serve it with some Mexican rice (my grandmother's recipe).

If anyone has ideas on what to do with a skirt steak and a flank steak...please share. They were impulse purchases.

Failure Saturday and Sunday

Friday night there was rain and the girl was in a leo so I gave up and did drive through - Hello Wendy's.

Saturday we left the house before 9 and didn't get home until late so the girl and I went to El Pollo and the three of us went to Tacone for dinner.

Sunday
B - I baked a batch of blueberry muffins
L - my friend treated the girl and I to pizza (yes out. at a restaurant. See the post is titled FAILURE.
d - leftovers

But tomorrow I'm back on track.

As "punishment", I am turning in $35.00 of my fun money toward charity.

today...

First, Happy Friday!

b- hard boiled egg. I was going to have toast, however, homemade bread doesn't do well in the toaster and I charred it. I had grapefruit juice and spilled. :(
l - have to make a grocerystore run after the gym(probably will grab a salad but I need a granola bar for the girl)
d- I still have no idea. If the event is cancelled we will eat at home. If not, does getting a sandwich at the grocery store count as eating out????

NYE plans

New Year's Eve just happens to be the the first day I'll be done with my 30 day restaurant fast. In the past, NYE has always involved eating at home with the kids and boxes and boxes of poppers and streamers. And after a decade of F&B, I do know that staying home is the best bet. So I think on New Year's Day, I'll take the kids to the best Chinese restaurant in the OC and we will have lots and lots of noodles and check out the duck and pig heads in the window. I feel better having a plan.

Dinner Dilema

b - half a pb & j
l - beef noodle soup, orange, apple
d - left over stew for me and I'm making a pizza for the kids. There's a drawer full of carrots and celery for them to snack on as dinner cooks.

So help me with tomorrow's dinner please?

It either needs to be consumed in the car or carried 3/4 of a mile along with 2 folding chairs (remember it's just me and the girl - the boy is "busy").

Last year, we grabbed a take out dinner at a restaurant and bought hot chocolate from people on the street.

Of course, if it rains we are staying home, and dinner is easy.

Dinner

was a hit. I shouldn't be surprised...I did learn from the best.

Miss ya, mom!

December 5th

Breakfast - A tangerine, panettone, milk
Lunch - Chinese
Dinner - the famous stew - I have a loaf of freshly baked French bread to go with it.

This was my first sit down restaurant in weeks! I have to say, it was fun, but restaurant food is much saltier than home food and I've been drinking tons of water and I still don't feel right. Is restaurant food not as good as I thought it was?

Believe it or Not...

I finally made the stew. It is done. Complete. Fin!

But it won't be served until manana.

*sigh*

I'm tired all the way through.

Next week...

I know I limited myself to one lunch out per week, but next week I have a lunch function almost daily.

I will go, but I won't like it!

Okay, I probably will like it. Especially considering I got to choose one of the restaurants.

Feeling like a restaurant lunch ho.

Early Post for December 4

B - egg and toast. Did I mention the wheat bread I made is fantastic? The other loaves were okay, but this one is amazing. I think I am going to use the bread machine for just making dough and then baking it in the oven. It just seems to work better.

L - yesterday's lunch was so pleasant, I think I will make it again. Half a roast beef sandwich, a cheese, strawberries, tangerines, and half an apple for a snack.

D - soup

I promise to make the stew tomorrow. I'm getting ready for bed - I have not been sleeping for the past two nights. I lay down and my heart starts to feel like I swallowed a baby bird - all fluttery. I'm trying to see if it goes away. Part of me thinks it's panic attacks again. The only way I could fight them in the past was to just let them take over. It's a strange sensation. I really thought I was over them. The holidays bring my mind closer to missing my mom, and it triggers fear in my heart.

Update- skipped the toast and opted for a little corn tortilla with fab salsa.

December 3

b - panettone lightly toasted, milk (I didn't have time to make tea)

l - half a roast beef sandwich, 2 tangerines, 2 strawberries (can you believe they are from a farm here in Cali? This winter has been unseasonably warm), cheese (wow a red brick!). I rarely buy fruit from outside of the state.

d - fish taco's

You may be thinking...I thought she was making stew! I didn't. I'm having a mental block. I always think of my mom when I make it, and I'm avoiding the unavoidable sadness of making this dish once again without her. One year, about 10 years ago, my mom and I went to the store and got the supplies and make a HUGE pot of stew. We laughed and talked while it simmered and she spent the night. It was just so much fun cooking with her. I regret I didn't do it more often growing up. I miss her so much. It hurts my heart to know my son also hurts for her and that my daughter will never remember her voice or the soft way about her.

On another note, I thought I'd write about some foods I really do not like and the first one that came to mind is the persimmon. I really wanted to like this fruit. I've tried it several times and each time I think "It tastes like licking a powdered and perfumed old woman's neck". The scent is just overpowering.

B - scrambled egg on a tortilla
L - half a blt (split with the girl)
D - Caspers - so sad - these were the last in the pack, fresh local strawberries and Spumoni ice cream for dessert.

I baked a loaf of whole wheat bread for the week, started beef stew for tomorrow and grocery shopped for the week.

Saturday

b - half an apple

s - ginger chews

l - sandwich

d ???

Ginger chews are my favorite candy and we were shopping for a card and panettone (breakfast tomorrow), so I picked up a tiny box and the girl and I snacked before lunch. These are fun - they make your mouth warm and there is something perfect about the spicy and sweetness.

Day 6

b - homemade bread and jam, strawberry milk. I know the milk is just chemicals, but I really hate drinking milk in general so it's a compromise.

l - salmon leftovers and salad, fruit

d - beef and noodle soup. I have to still figure out how to get rid of the bean soup. I watch it watching me every time I open the fridge. *shudder*

'Tis a long, long, long day. I went to the gym and didn't even bother to check the miles I racked up on the machines. I just went and worked out mindlessly. Maybe it's safer for me to do things in the gym, I tend to sort of get into a meditative state and stop paying attention.

(crosses off Christmas list -> get a bike)

A Jump Start on Day 5

b - hot cereal - oatmeal

l - I'm going to have the same lunch as the kids - sandwich, fruit, cheese, and a muffin. I am tired of the frozen things. Food shouldn't taste like that...

d - I'm going to order a salad. Salads at places other than home always taste better.

evening snack - coffee from the machine - it's one of those automatic coffee things. It's a dollar and lasts me an hour. It's my longest day of the week, I need the kick and it gives me something to do with my hands.

*update* The dinner was nice for what it was - and 15% goes back to the school. It is one of the most generous offers. I had the salad, some bread, and a Diet Coke. I skipped the coffee - I am wired I think for caffeine already and it has been a long time between Diet Cokes.

I almost forgot - I did cheat and have ice cream. I made a friend cry and we decided since we were already skipping the gym in pursuit of Absinthe, we should be triply naughty and have ice cream. For the record, Absinthe was sold out and I had Jamocha Almond Fudge. But in all honesty - the two dollars spent on ice cream did cheer up both up as much as ice cream cones with a best friend possibly can cheer one up.

Day 4

This meal planning thing gets old really quick....

b - yogurt with strawberry preserves my grandmother made (ha ha you all have to buy the store stuff) :P

l - another stupid frozen thing with tangerines and apples. I forgot a cheese so I only have two wax bricks to humor myself. the kids have sandwiches, tangerines, a mini iced lemon poppy seed muffin and the strawberry yogurt.

d - pizza and salad for the kids (regular old frozen pizza - I am tired of thinking about food). I think I just want an egg and toast. I'll cut some carrots and celery for everyone to eat while the pizza cooks. I also have to prepare dinner for tomorrow (beef stew). I might make macaroni salad for Friday night. Too much kitchen time! I think I may need an apron if I'm going to be so....domestic.

*update* The boy is not coming home for dinner. I'm really sad about it - he's good company. And this is the sort of thing that happens that makes me want to go out. It's not really fun to cook for one person (the girl is a person too - it's just that she doesn't really eat much). And, in my hazy behavior I just realized, I'm not preparing stew tonight for tomorrow. Tomorrow is the dang dinner. Maybe I'll just make a berry fruit salad and French toast. I already miss the boy. It would be helpful if I knew what I really wanted. FINAL - the pizza, salad and vegetables. To feel better I'll call the veggies "crudites".

Pizza wasn't very good - there is 3/4 of it left. We had a lot of celery and salad. What saved us was some gingerbread ice cream for me and a chocolate brownie for her. I LOVE ginger. I even like the crystallized kind for baking. I love strong flavors - anise, black licorice, and ginger.

Day 3

I unpacked the girl's backpack and noticed a reminder to attend a fundraiser later this week at...you guessed it...a restaurant. So I'll skip the business lunch this week and go there with the kids for dinner. The school gets a huge percentage of the sales, so I'll count this towards a charity. I still feel guilty.

b - half a bagel with vegetable cream cheese, half an apple

l - the kids: sandwich, half an apple filled with peanut butter and golden raisins, a little cookie, and another cheese. Me: another frozen lunch, fruit and cheese

d - We just returned from the Bay Area and it's a tradition to buy a package of Casper's and bring it home. Tonight is a salad and Casper's. This is the only time I feel hot dogs are guilt-free.

*update* There is a new frozen yogurt place that everyone is loving...and I have not been yet. And suddenly I want it. There's also a new ice cream place I have not visited. It's not a chain - just real ice cream made fresh... I hate cravings. Because of the fundraiser dinner I will NOT BOW down to frozen yogurt or ice cream at an establishment. I'm stronger than that. Right?!?

Day Two

I'm cleaning out the pantry and found...da da da DA! Cocoa pebbles. I can't remember when my normally granola self bought these. Before I bring anymore food into the house I need to purge the freezer and pantry of overflow.

b-Cocoa Pebbles, organic milk
l-Butternut Squash ravioli (thanks Lean Cuisine for being in the freezer) and an assortment of fresh fruits (gala apples and tangerines)
d-15 bean soup with homemade bread

snack - Bonbel...it's the little yellow cheese round thing...

The kids had sandwiches on fresh bread, brownies, fruit and yogurt for lunch, for a snack they have apples and cheese.

*an aside* The girl told me that her assistant teacher said you can make lots of things out of the wax that covers the cheese. So I googled and found someone made a wax bear out of their cheese wax. I'm not creative, so I think I will just mold bricks. Then when I'm bored, I can build things. So, right now, I have one yellow brick. Hummmm.

*follow up* Bean soup is kind of gross. This is harder than I thought it would be. I feel sorry for the kids. The girl refused to even try it. The boy ate two bowls. But he's a teen. It could have been Spam and he would have had two bowls. Then again, as much as I hate mystery meat, Spam may have been an improvement.

bean soup=bad

The highlight was a little scoop of eggnog ice cream and the girl had gingerbread ice cream. Normally, I'm a "you didn't try dinner, you don't get to try dessert" kind of mom. Not tonight. That's just cruel.

Day One

This involved seeing what was left in the fridge and pantry after being gone for a week....

(b) steel cut oatmeal with brown sugar and hazelnuts
(l) A party! And yes, everything is homemade - she's talented like that!
(d) toasted homemade whole wheat bread with eggs and fruit (tangerines, blueberries and apples) salad (it is just the girl and I tonight - and I doubt either of us will want to even bother eating)