Day 51---My achilles heel

I really thought it was going to be the actual dining out that made me feel as if I was teetering on the edge of a Krispy Kreme doughnut. But, much to my surprise it's the fast food that has been feeling this way.

This week alone I've eaten from four, count em' four different fast food chains! Now before you get in a huff and start teasing me with the "Na na na na na" song know that all of it was bought for me--legitimately as leftovers. I sit here noshing on semi-cold Wendy's new natural cut french fries in clear view of what my 2am fast food cravings felt like.

It's sad but true that it feels good to eat this bad. And it seems to be the more I can't have something, the more I crave that very thing...

No recipe this week as I'm living eating in the past

Day 34---Food goggles

I passed the one month mark!

*Does happy dance*

I swear there has been an increase of dining out since I started this little challenge. Last week alone I was out four days nights for drinks. Also, my influx of leftovers has been a blessing in disguise.

Applebees
Chili's
BBQ
TGI Fridays

Even days old it still fills the dining out void.

I was trying to pin-point how I got here? How I got to this place where eating out is second nature and I feel an apparent emptiness when I don't.

It boggles me most because I didn't encounter fast food until I was 10 years old. Up until that point we had a chef and only consumed homemade meals.

I went from one end of the spectrum to the other and now I can't see the way back.

This week's recipe was the delicious Frozen Yogurt Bowl (Courtesy of Dishing Out the Good Stuff). I highly recommend it, especially with the summer weather!

Day 21---Mind over munchies

So last week there were no cravings, this week they were all over me like ants at a picnic (mental note: a picnic will not count as eating out, even though it is technically outside). Every restaurant I've passed has been harder and harder to actually drive past. I know I know, I should be use to this by now. I've probably got another three entries of ranting before it sinks in: Food junkie can no longer fill her body with junk.

For what it's worth, I have been really sticking to my guns with my friends...who are trying their damnedest to be oh-so-persuasive. If I had known my friends were so gracious I would've thought about doing this earlier haha. In other news my bf is out of the challenge. He caved at Chili's while we were there with some friends having drinks. I can't blame him...his cheap nature coupled with their happy hour specials...it was disaster waiting to happen.

I have gotten lots of stuff done...

I've taken to decorating my nails

Practicing layering cocktails

Shopping on Amazon

And spending time at Whole Foods

Not to mention the conundrum I've encountered this week...delivery. What should I do for delivery? What if I pay for the food but do not tip (someone else would instead tip for me) or what if someone buys me delivery food and I don't pay at all? Do you think that should be against the rules?

I leave it up to you dear readers...cast your vote this week at the poll listed to your right.

Oh and this week I tried: Roasted tomatoes, black olives, and feta cheese as a side dish. It was quite yummy!

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.