Day 6: Going out to eat can be tough

Day 6 (yesterday, June 29th, I know my postings never coincide with my actual whole30) was Ben's 21st birthday! Since I am still 20 and can't take him out, the temptation to drink was not there, and no, I didn't even have a sip of his beer. Even that act of choice felt empowering, not because I was bound by a set of rules, but because I could say NO and be fine!

Breakfast

• Cantaloupe
• 3 scrambled eggs with ground turkey, mushrooms, tomato, onion
• coffee

Lunch

I went out to Misty's Steakhouse & Brewery downtown (none of us had ever been) with Ben and his dad! I researched ahead of time (with smartphone's now, I promise, it's really not that much work), and got the Blackened Salmon Salad - just without the dressing!

• 4 oz grilled salmon 
• spring mix 
• roasted grape tomatoes
• red onions

That's another thing I'm finding with all of this...that I really don't need dressing. I used to think this was impossible, and it is when you settle for less than flavorful, but if you add plenty of tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, or any other veggie/meat combo, the salad can truly stand alone!

Mid afternoon snack

• Handful of dates
• Handful of roasted, unsalted sunflower nuts
• Carrots

I was still hungry after the salad since it wasn't as much food as I'm typically used to at a meal. Still a decent sized portion, but not quite as filling. I think next time I'll know to eat a banana or an apple before to help fill me up!

Dinner

I took Ben to Thai Garden because it's where we went on our first official "date." It's an adorable little thai place that does a great job blending a mix of sweet and spicy flavors in whatever dish you order. I had a plate consisting of eggplant, pork, broccoli, and a whole slew of other veggies! I just asked for it without the rice, and again, like with Huhot, I didn't need the grains to feel satisfied with the dish, or full! I was great without it. I thought I took a picture...looks like I didn't!

It did end up being a great day, though! I brought Ben a pain au chocolate from our favorite bakery which was RIDICULOUSLY hard to resist! Bread and pastries...I tell you, they can have their way with me anytime, except the next 23 days! More self-control practice though!

Then I went to his place and brought over phase one: pastry, coffee, and Downton Abbey! We finally caved and are tackling our summer TV shows! I just had to brag about my pinterest-worthy wrapping job. In the spirit of food awareness, I thought I'd incorporate my leftover Trader Joe's bag in wrapping Ben's present!

Manly, right?

Okay, okay, it was because it was all I had. But still, I don't do crafty things. I just don't. So this felt monumental.

Anyway, phase two was dinner and walking around to some of our "spots" around campus (but not being too sentimental, that's just not our style). Then I took him to an on-campus bathroom to change clothes (I informed him to bring a t-shirt, shorts, and flip flops) and watched as he fruitlessly guessed what I had planned (muahahaaaa, channeling evil laugh à la any of these laughs.

We then returned to my house and I made him wait outside for a minute while I ran inside. Then his instructions were to count to 20 and walk inside. I set up an end table with a spotlight on it (the rest of the house was dark and a few pieces of furniture overturned) and it looked something like this:

I also had "Zombieland" in the basket with a note attached informing him that if he's alive after the war, we could watch it.

Then, since we were being mature 20-21 year olds, I obviously thought this elicited fort building!

He ate popcorn, I ate cantaloupe and celery.
It's the seemingly insignificant food choices that matter, people.