My First Victory of 2010

Besides celebrating a brand new day, week, month, year, decade AND the first day of my 2010 adventure today, tonight I am celebrating my very first victory of 2010!! Woohoo, I am excited about this!!

Ok, here’s what happened. Hubs and I spent the day with Mom Sweeney at her place in Hutchinson, Minnesota, a remote, sweet little country town about 80 miles west of the twin cities. We celebrated a belated Christmas, Mom Sweeney’s 82nd birthday (yesterday!), AND New Year’s, all in one fell swoop. And going to Mom Sweeney’s always involves food.

The meal before us was Stouffer’s Italiano Lasagna, Salad, Olives, Coconut Cream Pie, Cake, Ice Cream. Seriously? Are you freakin’ kidding me? Yeah, no, I’m not. Lasagna, a favorite of mine since high school, served on the very first day of the rest of my life . . . one of those meals that I find it incredibly easy, almost natural if you will, to gorge on.

But, today isn’t like in high school or any other day in my past where it was almost second nature to eat without thinking. No, today is a brand new day and I’ve begun a journey. And, gorging myself on lasagna . . .  well, it is just no longer an option. I decided to look at it as an opportunity to try out a simple strategy for healthy eating.

I recalled a book I read a few months ago about the composition of a healthy meal, you know, ratios. The author suggested we fill our plates ½ full of veggies, ¼ with meat and the other ¼ with starch/carb. So, that’s what I did.

Half the plate was a chopped salad (mmmmm, lettuce, sweet grape tomatoes, carrots, orange bell pepper, cucumber, red onion), ¼ was a small piece of lasagna, and about 10 black olives (I love my olives and they are actually good for me!) sat bopping each other in the other ¼.   I topped my salad with an amazing all-natural dressing I found at the grocery store in Hutchinson – Briannas’ Home Style Poppy Seed Dressing.

Can you see what the sticker above the label says? Yes, “Delicious on Peaches”. Now, that intrigued me! I’ll warn you, this dressing was not cheap, but as I perused the ingredients on the back I decided the cost was worth it. Completely and thoroughly natural. No bad oils, no high fructose corn syrup, no preservatives. I had to get me this dressing. And, I am telling you, it was worth every penny. Very subtle yet so flavorful, a tiny bit goes a long way. I felt like I was eating a gourmet salad at a fine eating establishment.  And, I will definitely try it on peaches in the summer.

After I finished the food on my plate, I realized I wanted more salad. Pretty amazing for a girl who just isn’t that into salads! So, again, I filled my plate half full with that yummy mixture of fresh veggies and a shy tablespoon of my new dressing. And, two more bites of lasagna.

And, then? I was full. Not stuffed. Pleasantly and comfortably full. And so very proud of myself!

So, victory #1 is under my belt. And I sit here tonight feeling really, really, REALLY good.

Cheers to an AMAZING 2010!
Cheryl

P.S.  I failed to tell you guys about the dessert part (thanks hubby for catching that!) . . . I DID have a very small piece of cake, like 1" x 2", but I passed on both the coconut cream pie and the ice cream.  Another victory. smile. smile. smile. smile.