I’ve decided that I’m going back on my diet. I was on a diet last year and I lost 20 pounds. Since then I’ve stayed about the same. I can fluctuate 5 pounds up or down depending on the day.

I’ve discovered what makes me gain weight. Pasta and popcorn. Do I even need to add that I absolutely adore pasta and popcorn? Of course not. Couldn’t bulk up at the sight of brussel sprouts or broccoli or anything else that I’d have no problem giving up.

So, over the past week I’ve eaten all the pasta in the house so it won’t be a temptation on my diet. Throwing it out would have just been wasteful and wrong. I went shopping with a plan of healthy food to make. I’ve been doing well for 2 days. But there was one more bag of microwave extra butter popcorn in the cupboard. It was calling me. So I went out, put it in the microwave, and marched with a purpose to the computer room.

Me: I’m eating the last bag of popcorn so I don’t want to hear any of your lip.
Husband: (slightly befuddled) I wouldn’t have said anything to you.
Me: Well, why not? I’m your wife and you are supposed to support me on my diet.
Husband: Oh, ok.

And I wonder why he doesn’t pay attention when I talk to him most of the time.

The thing is once I get the pasta and popcorn out of my system they don’t even taste good anymore. I think that is sort of sad. I miss liking them. I didn’t enjoy my popcorn today. But Ozzie got his last fix of popcorm for a while. That bird was actually weaned onto popcorn as a baby. It is his all time favorite birdy comfort food. He loves pasta too. He gets that from me.

I made Hot Spring Vegetable Salad with Miso Vinagrette from the latest Vegetarian Times magazine last night. It was good poured over veggie burgers and it sounds super impressive. But it was disgusting as a left-over. I had couscous (yeah, ok it is technically pasta but I had serious portion control going on) with salsa today. In my cooking world there is nothing that is not improved by a liberal coating of salsa. Easy, tasty, and it counts as lots of veggies. Does it get any better than that?

Tonight I’m eating a quesadilla salad adapted from an old Cooking Light recipe. I actually sort of like being on a diet because I eat so much better than I normally would. Now, if I could just get past the urge to celebrate my goodness with large bowls of ice cream…