Day 14 - Back in Cleveland

Yesterday I drove back today from my parents house, eating several small meals, all leftovers. I get irritable and testy when I get hungry now, and one way to combat that is to eat more meals, all smaller, and space them out. This is where having leftovers is clutch. I like grilling on the foreman (or the real grill at my parents), but more than twice a day starts to feel annoying. Two ounces of meat is some sort of tipping point now, where my body acts and accepts that it's eaten, but is just so few calories that it barely registers.

Before I left detroit, my mom treated me to a trip to some stores to pick up some spices and other supplies. The logistical support I've recieved from my family has been huge: right now I have a freezer and fridge full of meat from my parents, a stack of spices to cook them with, and nearly $100 in supplements paid for by my uncle. You can't buy weight loss, but even a program as cheap as mine has costs that add up.

Two spice blends my parents bought me for christmas, long before my diet, were by a company called Detroit Spice Company they bought at an high end dry goods shop at the Eastern Market. The mexicantown and steak seasonings were a big part of many meals, so when I went home, my Mom suprised me with a seceond Mexicantown, and their jerk, middle eastern, and bbq rib blends. The jerk is particularly good on chicken, while the middle eastern made lamb come alive. We ended up able to get one of each of those for my parents to keep, while I picked up a few new spice blends on the chili side of things.

An all meat diet sounds great, until you realize you can't have any sauces, gravies, or condiments. Even the tablespoon of ketchup I'm allowed per day doesn't go very far, and that's where the rubs and spices really come into play. They help keep meat not only flavorful, but different. Looking at the calorie count for BBQ sauce was a shock: it's probably nearly as high as the piece of meat it goes on!



Last night's dinner was a classic "wait, I still have that in my fridge?" meals. I came home laden with fresh and frozen meat, as well as new leftovers. However, I still had roasted pork loin from before I left. Not wanting anything to go to waste (and more than a little burnt out on red meat), I hacked off about 7oz, tore it into smaller pieces, and threw it in a pan with a little water. I tossed on some of my new chili-lime blend, which added some heat and flavor. Pan steaming (or whatever this method of cooking is) helped to add a little moisture, as well as cook the meat through a bit quicker. I served the whole thing with some carrots, and enjoyed a nice hot meal.