Judging by yesterday’s comments, y’all think it’s a lot of hard work, this diet I’m on. Well, guess what. You’re right. I’m not discouraged yet, but I’m thinking about modifications so that I don’t spend so much time in the supermarket looking for obscure grocery items, so much time in the kitchen chopping vegetables for hours on end, and so much time washing and putting away dishes, simply so that there’s room in the drainer for more. And then more after that.

But I’m not discouraged. (Did I say that already?) I’m not discouraged, just tired, way too much of the time. The good part is that it all turns out to be worth it. I eat food that I really like (mostly, with occasional notable exceptions), and I’m convinced I’m sending my cholesterol levels in the right direction. I might never know, because I haven’t been tested and don’t plan to be. But I can still say it.

What I’ve been doing is laying out a daily menu plan a week in advance, then looking at the recipes. I make note of the ingredients I already have and make a list of the ones I don’t have. Once a week I do all the shopping. And then a few days later I go back and pick up the things I forgot, because with a list that long, by the time you’ve been in two or three stores, you might not remember whether you’ve bought everything or not.

The new plan will include more leftovers, for sure. That harkens back to the olden days (a month ago), when I ate leftovers more often than I cooked. I probably won’t do that again, but I definitely don’t need to start from scratch every single night, night after night, until I’m worn out with the cooking and not enjoying it as much any more.

The other thing the new plan will do is eliminate the recipes that didn’t work the first time through. No more Mushroom Stroganoff, and if I try the Pad Thai again, it won’t be with those rice noodles that clumped together so disgustingly. But none of this has been a failure, because I’m learning something every time. Tonight, for example, I learned how to make chalupas that are so good I ate more than I should have. It’s a good thing this diet isn’t about losing weight.