A good, super skinny friend of mine—who has birthed multiple children, remains a stick and causes me great amounts of friend jealousy that I get over each day because I’m funnier than her—were talking about my New Year’s Nine challenge and exactly how CHALLENGING it has been to eat that many fruits and vegetables on any given day.  I was also sharing my frustration related to the fact that my stomach wasn’t shriveling up like all of those prunes I’m now eating and that I’m also bitter on the days when visits to the restroom are not “enjoyable.”  I guess I am feeling a bit entitled these days.

My friend immediately told me that I was over complicating things and the real secret to being skinny was this:  If it tastes good, spit it out!  I asked her where the heck she got that goofy advice and I guess I was not surprised it came from her super-skinny, sometimes-goofy mother.

Our conversation continued and caused me to ask her if it wasn’t really the same as bulimia—except you are not officially barfing.   Luckily, she put my mind at ease.  She said no—it really was just about enjoying your food, but not over doing it with the pleasure thing.  I told her that my problem is how much I enjoy food.

The real gist behind her eating habits is what I have continued to discover over the past 20+ days—the dreaded portion size dilemma.  My friend has basically been conditioned over the years to enjoy just a taste of the finer things in life.  And, I suppose that is right-on.  Anything in excess causes excess—my belly is jiggling right now in agreement.

So, I’m going to continue down the good food path and I’d have to say that I’m excited because I’m almost to the “30 days are a habit” moment.  I’m excited to discover if that is really true when it comes to a change in diet.

As usual on the weekend—I will be doing some cooking because I don’t have much time Monday-Friday.  Below is my veggie-packed experiment, which I will make massive amounts of to last me until next weekend.  I’m “SOUPER SICK” of salads (and, soup) this week—so, I’m going for a strata.  I guess if I spit it out, it’s delicious.  I’ll let you know on Monday.

And, if you know me and are wondering who my friend is—I have been asked not to use her name for she fears people will think she is weird.  Well, she is weird. . .but, that is a blog for another day.  Of course, she was a bit eased by the fact that she agrees with me that there is nobody weirder than I.  And—I took that as a compliment because that is about all I have over her.

Veggie-Packed Strata
(Source: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Veggie-Packed-Strata)

Ingredients

* 2 medium sweet red peppers, julienned
* 1 medium sweet yellow pepper, julienned
* 1 large red onion, sliced
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 3 tablespoons Olive Oil, divided
* 2 medium yellow summer squash, thinly sliced
* 2 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
* 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
* 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
* 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 1 teaspoon pepper
* 6 eggs
* 8 slices bread, cubed, divided
* 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese

Directions

* In a large skillet, sauté the peppers, onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon oil until tender. Drain; pat dry and set aside. In the same skillet, sauté the yellow squash, zucchini and mushrooms in remaining oil until tender. Drain; pat dry and set aside.
* In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, cream, salt and pepper until smooth. Beat in eggs. Stir in vegetables, half of the bread cubes and Swiss cheese. Arrange the remaining bread cubes in a greased 10-in. springform pan. Place on a baking sheet. Pour egg mixture into pan.
* Bake, uncovered, at 325° for 60-70 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; remove sides. Cut into wedges. Yield: 8-10 servings.

Nutrition Facts: 1 serving (1 piece) equals 351 calories, 24 g fat (12 g saturated fat), 181 mg cholesterol, 747 mg sodium, 20 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 16 g protein.

Photo Source:  Taste of Home