It is 10:10pm, meaning ten minutes past my "bedtime", and yet I am waiting for the pot of water on the stove behind me to begin to boil. No, I am not in need of a late dinner, nor do I need a late night snack. Rather, I am preparing a lunch for my husband for tomorrow.
So far, this whole not eating out thing has not been too difficult. Rarely do we go out to eat during the weekdays as I create The List every week and am ready to make a home cooked dinner every night. Since this 30 day challenge started on Monday and today is Thursday, I have only encountered week nights so far. So I have to say no to a parfait in the afternoon when I am bored and have a few minutes to run down the street to grab one, whatever. Not too bad.
Yet.
And then we came to tonight. I made delicious chicken thighs cooked in BBQ sauce with onions, a good sized salad, and some garlic bread. Fantastic. But what I thought would be enough for dinner and leftovers, well, let's just say I underestimated. The conversation that followed went something like this:
Paulo: "Can I have seconds? Do you have enough?"
Tiffany: "Sure, but don't eat too much, you need some for your lunch tomorrow."
P: "There is no way that is going to feed me tomorrow. I will just eat it now."
T: "What? That's enough, for sure."
P: "No, Babe, it's not. Maybe enough for you, but I am bigger than you. I need more food."
T: "But I don't have any more food..."
P: "That's OK, I will just grab a sandwich."
T: "NOOOOOO! You can't do that!"
P: "Why not? What else am I supposed to do?"
T: "But the 30-day challenge... we will break it... it has only been four days..."
P: "Babe, it's only once."
T: "NO! That's how it all starts! You do it once and then you want more!"
My neighbors are probably saying a prayer right now asking for intervention on what they most likely (and understandably so) assume to be a potential drug addiction. The poor man asked for a sandwich, yet by my response you would have guessed he asked for a joint.
But I still stand by it: JUST SAY NO.
Running through options in my head, I came up with a plan. Trader Joe's, oh-so-conveniently located next to our gym which we were headed to anyway, carries fresh packs of tortellini for $1.99. I have left over red sauce in the fridge. Hence, I am now cooking pasta at 10 o'clock at night. A sandwich costs about $5, right? So really, what are we saving? Three bucks? It's not that much, but $3 is $3, and if I can save that much ten nights, that is $30. So, yes, that is some motivation right there. But the bigger motivation? I don't want to have to come to you, eyes downcast and voice low, admitting defeat this early on. No leftovers for lunch? I will make it happen!
I have a feeling Paulo will be sick of tortellini at the end of this month...
haha I love you Tiffany!! You are my hero!
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