Last Hurrahs and Obstacles

I'm fairly sure this whole 30 thing is going to be way more mental than physical. I first read it about it in early summer and thought of lots of reasons not to do it "just yet." There's never going to be a good or easy time to do it.

But it is good for me to have some ramp-up time. For one, I've been working on my "before" picture, as they say. Eating my favorites this week. That goes to show what kind of psychological hold food has on me. "Just one last pizza...just one last cheeseburger..." It's only 30 days! And...it's 30 whole days, y'all!

Not actual food I ate, but I'm not opposed to it, either.

My main obstacle is time. 

I don't carve out a lot of time for meal planning and prep as it is. When I ever do, life is so much easier. But it's something I hate. I can never think of good things and when I try to do some new pinterest recipe, I usually end up with a "pinstrosity."

The plan: 
I hope to counteract this with some pre-planning and menu-gathering. I'll share that in my first few days of the program. I'm trying to find as many crock-pot recipes as I can. If there's something already cooked when I get home, I'm a LOT less likely to reach for the chips. And I'm sooo hoping that my insatiable carb cravings get ousted. Also, I'm going to hunt in EarthFare for some approved frozen meals, and have a few stand-by options for desperation.
The good news is, EarthFare is about 1/4 mile from my office. If I really get in a pinch, I can go there for a fresh salad. And pretend I don't see the pasta. STARING. AT. ME.

My next obstacle is feeding Shepard. 

While I don't think this is a bad eating plan for a pre-schooler (maybe we'll try some fun new veggies together!), I also know that this child love him some rice, tortillas, chex mix, etc. So, those things will be in the house.

The plan:
My menu planning thus far is attempting to make something we can both eat, then let Jerod and Shepard have the noodles, rice, crackers or whatever would go with it. I'm also trying to make week 1 have some fairly common foods, so it doesn't feel so drastic.

My last and maybe most daunting obstacle is stuff I just don't like. 

Mushrooms, olives, seafood, brussel sprouts, cooked greens, most raw vegetables...seriously. Jerod is soo on board with this, but he is begging me not to eat green beans and broccoli every night.

The plan:
My goal is to try lots of new things once I get the hang of it all, so by week 2 start adding in some options (with back-ups in case they're gag-a-rific). I really don't think I'll ever be able to eat a mushroom, but I'm trying hard to keep options open.

Last night's dinner was a last hurrah combined with a so-so salad. The salad was fantastic, but the dressing will have to go (has some sugar) and the feta cheese will have to go. I can have strawberries and walnuts though! And I'm pretty sure the homemade macaroni and cheese "that I made for Shepard," wink wink is way off-limits. By the way, Shepard would not eat any of the mac-n-cheese. ?? But he had some turkey pepperoni, sweet potato chips and two bananas. Whatever!

So thanking God I gave up sodas in January. We're not talking yet about how I'll get my coffee fix in the morning, but at least I don't have to battle soda addiction as well. Black coffee? I put enough stuff in my coffee that you wouldn't know it's coffee anymore. Sigh.

I won't lie. I did not eat the raw carrots. Gack. But I am going to see what I can "hide" them in for the course of this challenge.