Day # 11

  Doing well.  My smoothie this morning was something else.  LOL - I'm still getting used to the taste of green smoothies, on some mornings, they seem pretty tough to choke down, this morning's went down well and didn't taste too bad.  Strawberries, papaya (with seeds), kale, cucumber, carrot, cilantro and chia... made for a filling breakfast.  I didn't start getting hungry until about 12:30, and lunch was a salad with some hummus and baba ganoush.  I have to say, my very favorite dressing of all time is shitake vinaigrette - just so darned tasty!  Salad dressings are keeping things interesting - raspberry poppyseed, roasted tomato, greek - all vinaigrette style dressings - have changed things up a little bit and made salads tasty and prevent the mounds of greens and veggies from getting boring.

  Doing well on the cravings front.  I thought I was getting to the point of being very mindful about food and yesterday popped a piece of chicken into my mouth.  It is funny - I am not craving the chicken (steak, meat in general), but am still, merely by habit, having to check myself to not eat it.  I did have the thought, though, that if I am craving something (I grilled steaks the other day for the family, I was very good and didn't have any!), but if I am craving it, it is probably better for me to just take a bite of it, satisfy the craving and move on with life.  I've found, through the last year and a half (of being dairy and grain-free), that I'm really not craving things that my body rejects.  I react violently to dairy (non-cultured dairy, I seemed to do OK with yogurt and kefir) and grains and never (outside of the initial elimination of these foods, where I was desperately wanting cheese!) craved them.  Just talking around things, figuring it all out.  I don't miss cheese any longer (unless I think about it for too long... the stuff is like crack to me!), so don't crave it.  I stand on the fact that I do not miss being ill.  I'm looking forward to a weekend away with my family for a travel baseball tournament coming up this weekend.  I'm mentally preparing myself for being away from home and what foods I'll need to bring and thinking I need to get a mini-blender for the road so I can keep up my smoothie habit.

   So that's that.  I don't think I will miss not having meat at BBQ this Fourth of July... at least, I hope I won't.  If we grill, I might put a meatless "burger" on the grill for myself...who knows.  I don't foresee a problem... but being on top of it prevents a problem, right?

  Have a great 4th, Friends.  Be safe!