Planning to fail

I find this menu planning to be the hardest part of this whole system. I'm somewhat...frenetically organized. I wanted to do the entire week's shopping and planning in one fell swoop this morning. It took me about an hour, but it felt like a thousand years. I had Excel fired up to do the planning, and then my menu planning software to plug in all the recipes to generate a shopping list. Yes, it would have been faster if I had simply written the list on the back of the envelope. But then I wouldn't have been able to whip myself up into a frenzied state of control. And that, my friends, is what I do. Procrastination by organization. See, it looks like I'm doing something (planning the menu), but I'm actually just perfecting the tools to plan the menu instead of planning the menu. It's all smoke and mirrors.

Finally, after much frustration, I got the planning done. All I can say is, man, that is a LOT of meat I'm supposed to be eating. Plus for my alleged body type E (Ironically, a thin person trapped inside a slowly thickening large person), I can have no pasta or bread. Let the whimpering begin.

The good news is that I found a wicked deal on an All-clad grill pan on Amazon. $50!! It came in yesterday, and so I was able to haul out the Charlie Trotter cookbook to imagine all the smart, whimsical, charming dinner parties I would be having. "Oh this? I just whipped this up. Do you know that not only is it simply delicious, it is completely healthy for you?" Throw back head, laugh, and pass the paired wine.

It could happen.

I didn't start the food diet today. I knew I would be completely grumpy trying to plan the menu, while eating the menu. It starts tomorrow. So today I had my own private Fat Saturday, before my own private Lent. I dallied with the butter. Chatted aimably with the coconut empanada. Canoodled with the ravioli. Stayed out past bedtime with the tiramisu.

Also my favorite pair of Gap Body pants that go with everything are tight, too. The pants that I wear when I feel puffy and unloved, and immediately make me feel better. Are.too.tight.

Tomorrow is not coming fast enough.