Day 13---Yummies can be distracting

More and more am I starting to notice just how social an activity dining out is. And not only that, how completely self conscious people are when they learn that I will not be eating with them.

Everyone has said, "But I don't want to eat by myself!"

Is that why we dine out together? So that during our gluttonous ravishing we can feel that we aren't being judged?

My friends seem to think that somehow now that I am not eating out that I wield the power to judge their eating styles and habits....as if I were oblivious to them before because I was too distracted with an equally over-sized burger in my face.  This is definitely not the case and if I can be honest I feel like I am a tad more focused on our conversations simply because I do not have food as a distraction between us.

Even the waitstaff at restaurants are baffled by my polite rebuff of ordering. I can see the confusion in their face: Well why the hell are you here if you're not going to eat?

I've asked myself the same but being the socialite that I am, I still want to go out with my friends and enjoy the atmosphere that dining out has to offer. My trick so far has been to eat prior to going out and then I'm full when everyone else is eating. I made the mistake of forgetting this last week and thinking I would be okay going out to an italian restaurant. It was fine until food started coming and my tummy was growling. Luckily the place served free bread so I noshed on that and felt guilt-free knowing no tip was needed.

I'm surprised I'm not jonesing as much as I was in the beginning. Honestly I haven't craved much this past week but that could be due to my re-newed interest in some half finished projects.

Could eating out have been taking up so much of my time that I shelved other hobbies?


New recipe of the week: 60-Second Maple Brussel Sprouts (Courtesy of This Week For Dinner)

Day 10---I just typed in "Food"...honestly

See that purple dot?

That's me.

See all those red dots?

That's all the foods I want to eat.

Any questions?

Day 5---Distance makes the stomach grow fonder

Five days...really? That's all it's been?!

Last night I was laying in bed thinking of all my favorite foods and was mentally patting myself on the back. It's been like 2 weeks now, you're doing great!

Negative. It's been five days... hardly even 120 hours.

My roommate is taking the new challenge almost as hard as myself. Him and I routinely dine out together and try new places (we're addicted to Yelp) and it's a always a nice change to get out for us.

"What about if I order something but don't eat it all while you're out with me?" he asked with a slight twinge of hope in his voice.

I shook my head.

"Okay what if it's something that you can make at home, like sushi?" he asked again hopeful.

I shook my head.

"What if I pay for you, that way you don't spend your own money out?"

This I had not thought of. He was doing exactly what I was doing---trying to find a loophole in this crazy idea of mine. I kindly explained that my intention was to save money, not transfer my food debt to another helpless foodie and that in the end, he would be paying a tip for me.

Even this seemed to bum him out. He likes the atmosphere of eating out. As do I. The clink-clanking of silverware, the smell of someone else's food when you arrive, the way you are waited on hand and foot for the short duration of your meal...for me eating out is an experience not just an in-and-out food grab.

I've decided that once a week, we will try one new meal.

New recipe of the week: Grilled cajun chicken, with feta and spinach pierogies, and sauteed snap peas.

It's no Jack-In-The-Box but that doesn't sound so bad right?

Day 1---This is crazy!

I consider the above picture my last meal. I've been toying with this idea for about 2 weeks on whether or not to give it a go and have gotten the support of my boyfriend. He really only eats out when I eat out so he might be okay in the long run...but me, not so much, I will come short of taste-bud induced death.

So at 10pm I frantically ordered the most decadent pizza I could think of: Meat Lover's. Ran to McDonald's and grabbed some fries and nuggets (oh how I will miss those damn nuggets of perfect chicken goodness) and my bf got a McDouble and two cherry pies.

That's it. My last meal out for a year.

It's scary just typing those words...and even scarier that I contemplated freezing the nuggets for weak moments in my journey.

The leftovers aren't even as good as it is fresh and hardly worth eating now. Maybe I'll lose a taste for all these things I crave. I'll forget what a McNugget taste like, how a Wendy's vanilla frosty feels in my hand on a summer day, or the crispiness of Arby's curly fries.

Ahh...I shall miss these old friends of mine.