Somebody cares what I had for lunch

There's a book on blogging called "No One Cares What You Had for Lunch." I'll be honest - I haven't read it, and I'm sure it's a very informative book on blogging. Still, it seems (or at least the title seems) a bit presumptive. Sometimes people are interested in what you had for lunch, or dinner, or at least some are. I know this for a fact.

See, when you're a working mom, especially a working single mom, coming up with nutritious, economical meals that you can put together when you just got home from work and are dead tired and just want to sit down and take a nap... well, it's not that easy. It's not easy even if you're not a mom, but put in a long day and just want to relax. So, the easiest solution is to do the drive-thru thing, order out, or just stock up with convenience foods you can nuke in a few minutes.

The problem with that, is that it's not nutritious, it's expensive, and it'll pack on the pounds faster than you can say, "I'll take that to go." So now, along with quitting smoking some years back, I'm struggling with losing the extra pounds and getting back to a healthy way of eating.

A couple of years ago, I did Atkins Diet, and did manage to lose some, but found it too restrictive, especially as I was feeding boys. It didn't seem well-rounded enough to me, so I ended up doing what I called "modified Atkins." Then, we did some moving around, and things were unsettled for a bit. I got out of that way of eating, and the losing stopped.

I recently read about the South Beach Diet, and realized that what I was calling "modified Atkins" was in fact very close to South Beach. Things are more settled now, so I bought the book, and set in to continue my battle back to normal weight (or as close as I can get).

However, after reading the book, with it's recipes and menu plans, I realized that I was going to have to do some extreme menu makeovers. Apparently, the doctor who wrote the South Beach Diet book was used to dealing with patients with South Beach pocketbooks. I don't live in South Beach. Not even close.

The breakfasts called for things like quiche, fancy omelets, eggs florentine, frittatas and things like that (on Phase One). The other meal suggestions were equally unrealistic (at least for us). Not that I wouldn't like that kind of food, if the cook prepared it. But, when the cook is the person in the mirror, sorry, not happening. Not at 6:00 a.m., anyway.

So, I had to sit down, and figure out what I was willing to prepare, what my family was willing to eat, what I could afford, and still have it within diet guidelines.

If I'm having this issue with realistic South Beach menus, then perhaps others are, too. I don't claim to have all the answers. But, I do think there might be others who could benefit from the menus, recipes, and other suggestions I've found to be helpful.

I'll start with my suggestions for Phase One. I'm past that now, so I'll pass along what I did to get through it. I won't tell my starting weight (I'm far too vain for that), but will pass along my progress. Let's just say, I have to lose less than 100 pounds, but more than 10. Perhaps, when my poor, damaged ego allows, I'll post some pictures.

Feel free to add your own suggestions.