Small Gems

Now that I am on a restricted diet, I get very excited about delicious anti-inflammatory meals that may come my way.  Trust me, on this diet, there are some massive misses (for example, a spinach salad topped with sardines and chick peas--yuck).  As promised, I hope to share recipes that are downright tasty and healthy.  Tonight, we made Mushroom and Pea Quinoa Risotto and I enjoyed this thoroughly!  I think it's tastier than the traditional arborio rice variety because there's lot of texture in the whole grains.  We made this with a mixture of cremini and button mushrooms, as well as spinach cous cous for added nutrition and a nice punch of color.  The flavors are not only rich but also very clean and light.  I felt full but not heavy.  Best of all, this dish took significantly less time to prepare than traditional risotto.  I also benefit from the the lower glycemic indexes of quinoa and cous cous vs. the arborio rice...

In other news, I went to the optometrist today for new glasses.  It has been almost two years, so my glasses were long overdue.  I failed my depth perception test, which was kind of disheartening and funny at the same time.  When I couldn't tell which circle was "popping out" more than the others, I thought the woman was giving me a trick question.  Whoops. I mean, I can't say this was all that surprising given my difficulty with stairs and pouring water.  

While my diet may not be doing miracles for my eyesight, I think there have been some noticeable benefits.  1) I lost five pounds.  This is out of control for someone as small as I am.  Meanwhile, the boy has lost four pounds since pseudo-following this plan with me.  2) I used to have a persistently oily patch near my brow/forehead.  That is now gone.  In fact, I haven't used face wash since going on this diet, but my skin is just great.  3) This is not about me, but I'm convinced of the miracles of this diet.  The boy used to have this noticeable cyst on his hand.  GONE.  Totally decreased in size.  Coincidence?  I think (maybe) not!

What can this diet do for others?  I have no idea.  All I know is, I think I found something good.  Though I may hate it sometimes and cheat (sssssh...I had lots of fatty, creamy, and delicious cheese on V-Day), I think this plan is quite good and healthful.