Please Pass (on) the Cheese

I love to cook.

I've always enjoyed trying new recipes and creating new dishes. On top of that, I've always loved to entertain. I wanted my friends and family to enjoy the food I prepared.

What better way to make something tasty than by adding cream or cheese or extra butter or sugar ... I'd prepare something - let's say roasted vegetables -- and then to make it 'delicious' I'd mix in grated cheese. Or perhaps I'd be making a curry - and then add a few dollops of cream to thicken the sauce. It had to be done. That was the only way my food would come out delicious.

How things have changed.

As I've been taking the time to pay more attention to what I'm eating, I've also been taking a look at how I'm preparing my food. Buying fresh ingredients is definitely a start, but even then, once you add cheese or cream, it negates all the freshness and deliciousness of the food in the first place. I really didn't think food could be tasty otherwise.

As I said, things have changed.

Now I'm letting the ingredients speak for themselves. Olive oil, garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper are my staples now. I add in other spices as necessary, but I found that these are all that I really need.


Last night I hosted a dinner for some of the CrossFit girls. It was the first time I was having them over so of course I wanted everything to go smoothly (though I'll want that whenever someone comes over!). Cooking healthy wouldn't be a problem because I know we're all being conscious of what we eat ... but would I be able to make it Whole Life Challenge compliant? No dairy, no grains, no sugar, no preservatives ... that's a lot of restrictions. Should I impose those restrictions on my guests?

At the same time I thought - how great would it be for me to be able to pull this off; to have a dinner table covered with food that was healthy and delicious - and of course Whole Life Challenge compliant - so I wouldn't have to think twice about what I was having.

So I went for it, and I must say it came out really well. I focused on fish and vegetables (the entire menu is here). For dessert, the girls bought me a bouquet of fruit and I made tiny peanut butter and date bites. One of the girls had made paleo sweet potato brownies -- but I didn't have any because it had honey in the ingredients. Still, the other girls enjoyed it, and it looked delicious.


I'm glad things have changed. I'm eating well; I'm enjoying my food ... and I'm still seeing my weight drop bit by bit. I'm determined to keep this up.

Day 6 of the Whole Life Challenge - definitely a success!

dinner

dessert