In need of warmth.

It's been snowing, literally, all weekend. And with all this snow, I have been wanting all the things that I need to be taking out of my diet: Hot cocoa, mashed potatoes, coffee, warm brownies.

I drank the rest of my apple cider this morning for a quick wake me up. Apple cider is totally the new coffee. It gives me a warm feeling in the cold morning, some natural sugar for waking up, and it's tasty but still sugary - which keeps me happy with one or two mugfuls. I always drank coffee and tea plain, so I could drink 4-6 cups easily. Obviously, this was not good for me.

I had picked up some small organic steaks from the local co-op before the storm, and defrosted and cooked them for dinner tonight. Because I had the time, I made a nice marinade with canola oil, red wine vinegar, fresh garlic, black pepper, a touch of rosemary and a hunk of raw honey. I threw it in the pan with the steaks and it gave a sweet, spicy edge to them. Yum!

I'm really not too hungry today (I blame sedentary life!), but I wanted a bit of fruit after the steak, so I picked up one of my organic apples, cut it up and threw it in a pan with some soy milk, nutmeg and cinnamon and baked it for about 30 minutes. The perfect yummy treat to warm me up on this bitterly cold night.

I fell of the paleo-wagon last night (just a bit!). The chef made a chicken curry with white rice and no salad.... and I was counting on baked chicken or meatloaf with a salad. (That's what it usually is...) I didn't have any options; I ate what was in front of me. And someone brought Oreos, so I had a few of those too. Ooops.

I suppose it's not the end of the world to have a meal every now and then that's not in strict accordance with this new nutritional regime, though I want to be careful about rationalizing any "slips". My major concern while eating the food wasn't really straying from my new diet, it was that my digestive system was going to go crazy and I would spend my entire night waiting tables while dashing in and out of the bathroom. I mean, you never know. You get your body used to plain food... and then you feed it curry. If that's not playing with fire, I don't know what is. The good news is, I was perfectly fine.

I've never really been on a true diet, so I can't say that I know what the cringe of guilt the morning after you eat something you are not supposed to is like. But really, I was fine this morning. I was even happy that I had still managed to enjoy foods that wouldn't necessarily fit in with my normal routine without the pangs of guilt.

But back to reality this morning. Apple cider, and fiber based cereal... and I didn't eat again until my steak tonight. I'm not sure what the deal is - why am I not hungry? I need to keep my caloric intake up; I can't go losing too much weight here.

Especially - not when it's 20 degrees outside with 10 inches of snow and ice to get through!