New Tastes

The Bet has really opened some doors for me, and I don't only mean the weight loss. Eating out has been minimized since February 1, which means I've had to get creative cooking at home again. Thanks to Giraffe's help, I've been eating different meats and vegetables in an effort to get healthy. I've been eating a lot of tilapia, ground beef, steak, and chicken. Surprisingly though, it's not been boring so I don't feel like I used to with "I don't want the same old thing. Let's go out! (again)"

My favorite meal during this diet has been Giraffe's chopped steak, which I added sauteed onions to the top and recently, mushrooms. I used to not be the biggest fan of mushrooms, but I find that I love certain types now. There are these burgundy mushrooms at Chop House that are amazing! Which leads me to my next point: it seems that since I've completely altered the way I eat, my taste buds are playing tricks on me. I've been eating things that I never ate before (and for those who know me are about to be as shocked as I still am). For example:

- mushrooms
- fruit smoothies (Giraffe made me one that I loved and it even had banana in it)
- eggs (I know! But they have to be made a certain way)
- chili (I've only had a few bites of Chop House's and Texas Roadhouse's and I liked them both, but not sure if I'd order one for myself yet)

The eggs thing has completely thrown me for a loop since now breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I whip up 2 large eggs, about a 1/4 cup of grated cheddar, and a heaping tablespoon of Pioneer Woman's pico de gallo. Then I fry it up in a skillet with some leftover bacon grease from the 2 pieces of bacon I've had in the oven while the skillet heats up. If I have the time and inclination, I crumble up one of the slices of bacon into the omelet as it cooks, but sometimes I just do it after the fact on my plate. It's wonderful!

I figure this is definitely the time to try new things to see what I like now. I'm wondering if because I eliminated such a large staple from my diet, my body is trying to find the same thing in other places, which means opening up to new flavors and tastes in things that I possibly didn't like before. It's all very bizarre and been a fascinating discovery to see how the body works.