Eating on my new diet

My new low fat diet gallstone diet places a lot of restrictions on our typical lifestyle - we like to eat out a lot. Not all of our favorite restaurants are high fat, but you do have to think about it. We've also imposed a 'no tomato' diet since all of my gallstone attacks seem to occur after I've eaten tomatoes (though I've eaten tomatoes a lot without getting sick as well - we're just being cautious because we don't like hospitals). So that rule restricts us even more on our choices. But this weekend I managed to eat out three times without cramping our style, eating food that I love and would normally eat anyway. Not bad.

Saturday I spent the day with A & C while K stayed home getting our carpets were getting cleaned (We thought it was good for me to avoid the chemicals if possible, even though the chemicals are supposed to be safe). We went out for Ethiopian and shared the veggie combo, which is basically vegetables and sauce over bread. Nice and tasty and probably low in fat.

Saturday evening K and I went to AC Moore for some decorations for our baby room and some iron on transfers to jazz up baby clothes and while we were out we went to California Tortilla, where I enjoyed the tasty Mexican Garden Salad, my favorite meal there. Very large, very filling, and all vegetables and black beans.

Sunday we spent the day shopping at Home Depot, Lowe's, and Ikea, buying shelving for our kitchen, bedroom, and nursery, and buying paint for the crib, and spending a lot of money. While out we stopped at Olive Garden for lunch, where I enjoyed the soup, salad, and bread stick combo. All vegetables, beans, and bread, all tasty, and all fairly healthy.

This diet doesn't seem to cramp our lifestyle at all. We did make a list of restaurants that are out for now - pizza, Chinese (typically very oily), probably Thai, burgers & fries, pupusas. Sad because these are some of our favorite foods. We just discovered half price burger night at a local tavern where we can get veggie burgers and tator tots for just $3 - a deal we will have to enjoy again in a few months. We have a lot of coupons for pizza at a local organic pizza chain that will expire by the end of this month - a shame for sure. Pupusas are always a delicious and cheap meal (we once had dinner for 2 for only $10!). Thai is one of our favorite go to foods, with our favorite restaurant just across the street - we'll have to walk by but not stop in for a few months. But we'll still be able to eat out and have fun.

At home the diet is easier. We typically eat healthy at home so it's not a major change. The no tomato rule is the hardest because I typically buy a jar of pasta sauce to keep around for any night we don't have something to eat - an easy and healthy meal. Our freezer is full of frozen ravioli and lasagna for easy meals. I need to rethink our easy meals. Last night for our anniversary celebration I made a big pan of low fat macaroni & cheese for us to eat all week. So this week is covered at least.