Hump Day Observation

Midday today marks the end of our first half-week of good old Engine 2 Diet. We're currently preparing for the day by sitting with our computers (my old HP laptop, LG's new-fangled IPad) on opposing couches, well-stuffed with a myriad of cooked grains, nuts and fruit, topped with a new find - almond/cashew "cream". It's one of those rare, delicious and wonderful low-fat, low-sugar, low calorie vegan surprises and - like most such surprises - is available at limited locations for a prince's ransom. But, with our senses of culinary delight still partially oriented toward our old diet goodies, the cost of rich additions becomes less relevant.

The sky has suddenly darkened to the color of brown miso paste while the tofu-white blossoms of the plum tree sag under their burden of radioactive rain arriving from Japan. Another soggy, cold spring day in the shadow of Mt. Rainier (aptly named because this place is rainier than anywhere else.)

In today's blog, I will share ten revelations of our first half-week to mark this semi-anniversary:

1. I am rarely hungry, and when I am I can eat "authorized food items" relatively free of guilt...I'm keeping a straight face. It's mostly true, though.

2. It takes a while, after consuming an "authorized food" meal, to begin to feel like I've actually eaten. I think my old bod is so used to simple-carb-fueled, jet-like surges in blood sugar that it doesn't recognize a healthy, moderate trend when it sees it.

3. I will try not to write about Maker's Mark and red wine any more because after previously mentioning those delicacies, they were all I thought about last evening. No, I didn't, but I was thinking, aren't both vegan liquids...? Tell me "NO...bad Mac! Drink some rice milk!!" [Damn...I just wrote about Maker's Mark and red wine again, didn't I?]

4. If you cook and eat this way, the endless hours you spend preparing vegetables is neutralized to some degree by reduced time washing dishes. I know! But it's true. When we cook without any oils, fats, meats and cheeses, a saute pan can be washed in cold water with a soapy sponge in a few seconds. I am inclined to feel as though my alimentary canal must be squeaky clean by now too. TMI?

5. "Cheese" made from vegetable sources neither melts nor tastes like real cheese...but it does enhance the texture and mouth-feel of some of the other stuff. I'm reaching, aren't I...

6. The more I think about food, the hungrier I tend to feel. The more I write about food, the more I think about it. Is a food blog in association with a diet a good idea? And if a westbound train leaves Chicago at 50 miles per hour while a tree falls in the...never mind.

7. Visually pondering and palpating one's midsection-deposited energy storage site tends to reinforce diet dedication.

8. LG is now my only dessert tray - sweet, delicious and very satisfying [Awwww...so cute!]

9. People think we're a little whacko (true) because we're embarking on this drastic diet (yeah, but we're whacko for many other reasons too.)

10. I know already that my post-28 day diet will never be what it was before this adventure. I will still use deodorant and dress like a decades-behind-the-current-fashion-trends, middle aged guy, but I KNOW this experience is changing me...no joke.

I just received a message from the World Hyphen and Dash Bank and they say I have overdrawn my account. So now I'll close, dehyphenated but happy.