Sorry, waiter.

Another week down, folks! We did it! We have actually been feeling pretty good this week. I am still generally hungry a lot, mostly because I don't think I picked very filling foods. Jake did a better job at that.

Story o' the Week:
We went out to eat with friends on Saturday to Longhorn Steakhouse (oh the smells!), and that was kind of hilarious. I felt bad for the waiter. Sorry sir. Here's how we each ordered our meals:

Waiter: For you, sir?
Jake: Can I get the Napa Grilled Chicken, but without any seasonings or toppings?
Waiter: [Does a double take from his little book and back to Jake] So, you just want plain chicken?
Jake: Yes. And a side of rice and a side of broccoli. Thanks.
Waiter: Alright. And you?
Me: Hi. First off, let me apologize in advance. I'm so sorry.
Waiter: No, no it's fine (before he realizes I will be a total pain). What can I get you?
Me: Can I get the grilled chicken and strawberry salad, but ONLY with the greens and the strawberries? I know, I know.
Waiter: So just greens and strawberries? That's it? How about the raspberry vinaigrette?
Me: Can I just get olive oil and balsamic vinegar?
Waiter: OK.
Me: Can I also get a side of broccoli?

Imagine this salad minus everything awesome (i.e. only lettuce and strawberries).
Sorry delicious looking chicken! Go away now!

Ugh. We devoured us plenty of bread though. And I even think they were wheat loaves???  Well done Longhorn! I think my favorite part of the whole meal was when our food was delivered, and one of my friends across the table had ordered the same salad as mine, but with all that was supposed to be on it (see above). Super depressing, yet super funny comparison!!! ***P.S. Even though I am only supposed to have spinach, I decided eating mixed greens was an O.K. substitution. It's not like I substituted sugar-crusted bacon or something like that.

We also had some "realizations" for this week:

1. We are loving that we know EXACTLY what we are eating. I mean that in two ways. First, that we don't really have to think about what to cook for our next meal. It's pretty simple. Only 7 choices. Second, we are eating whole foods! Sure, the bread has a few more ingredients, but we are trying to buy whole wheat bread from that awesome bakery (Great Harvest Bread Company- Go here to find a location near you). That bread has 5 ingredients. Even before reading this chapter of "7" and focusing on only 7 foods, I had been dilly-dallying in the whole food "movement." Wasn't very good at it, but was learning about it. I found a great blog called "100 Days of Real Food" (go here). She gives some great ideas for creating meals using only whole foods, as well as the reasons behind it (i.e. did you know that some other countries such as the U.K. ban certain artificial coloring in food, but the U.S. doesn't? It's interesting). Anyhoo, we hope to continue eating lots of "real food" long after this month is over. But I may have to sneak a Coke and some Cheetos every now and then. Oh, and MEGA-BONUS of eating whole foods? Continued weight loss! Nice to see you again, pants-that-I-haven't-worn-in-a-year. Holla!

2. We SOOOOOO need to be on a food budget. We did some calculating, and in the first 2 weeks of February, we have spent 30ish% of the amount we spent on groceries/eating out in January. So we are on track to spend about 60% of what we spent in January on food. Wowza. Unreal!!! We were buying and eating way too much. Buying food we didn't eat (i.e. a whole bag of apples and eating a few, and the rest sit in the fridge for weeks, spoiling) and eating out way too often (and generally making unhealthy choices).  We realize that once Feb is over, we'll probably eat out more often, but we definitely have an idea of a budget now. We are going to allot ourselves a certain amount of money each month for eating out, and a certain amount for groceries. We've talked about trying to share meals, like giant Chipotle burritos and Chinese food. Buuuuuut, I'm going to need my own egg roll. Sorry.