The stuff I eat now, and the stuff I ate then.

I suppose a collection of the foods I now eat is in order, as well as what changed.

Before, I would actually typically eat a sandwich for breakfast, due to the fact that cereal really didn't appeal to me, and neither did eggs. I ended up eating either a lunch or dinner food for breakfast. Honestly I didn't eat potatoes very often because I wasn't a huge fan of fries or potato chips, thank God. Another odd thing was I was never a big cereal or toast eater. Probably because Mom brought home such appetizing delights as "Shredded wheat and bran, unfrosted" and "Grape nuts flakes." Eugh. Although I must say, large bowls of the sugary carb bomb that is "Maple frosted mini wheats" Did end up being a few breakfasts here and there.

I LOVED sandwiches. Soft bread, juicy tomatoes, crisp lettuce, creamy mayonnaise, zesty mustard... meaty meat and cheesey cheese! I mean do we really need adjectives to describe how good meat and cheese are anyway? I don't think so. The only food that really was the bane of my existence was..... pasta. I, could eat, pasta, all, day, long. And not just some dinky little cupful. The bowls of pasta I would eat could fit a basketball inside of them. And here's the kicker, I somehow felt like snacking shortly after my endorphins were throughly extorted through pounds of white flour, tomato sauce, and cheese. Mmmmm.

Pasta still is pretty tempting for me when I'm asked to make it for dinner. Along with bread, cake, canned soup, and sweet, sweet cans of corn. I'd just drain and heat the whole can and eat it plain. But now that I can happily include more fatty meats and dairy into my diet, I'm learning to be thankful for that and saying no to the foods that just make me hungry again.

Now I'm actually using the skillet most everyday, if not multiple times a day. Everything is either fried with olive or coconut oil, or butter.

Often times for dinner I throw frozen vegetables, chicken or steak meat, and a few eggs in a wok.

I've actually learned how to make eggs appetizing without drowning them in ketchup or salsa.

I also have adopted the fried burger patty, along with turkey or beef sausages and turkey bacon. If I can find them, I buy lunch meat with the fat still in it. It's a rare find.

As far as cheese, I try to find the realest cheese walmart can offer me, since 90% of the family's groceries are bought there. Cheese with actual names, like cheddar, provolone, and monterey jack.

I still sometimes enjoy a very large salad, this time with slices of turkey or a few chunks of chicken breast, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and maybe some parmesan.

I still enjoy canned vegetables, as well as frozen, but they're green now, such as peas, asparagus, spinach, and green beans, all with a good amount of butter.

Avocados are amazing on just about everything, and I'm learning how to incorporate sweet potatoes into my diet as well.

As far as vitamin D milk, it's something I've almost always had ever since I was a kid. Skim milk was only a phase to me and I thank low-carb for giving me back my milk. Not only that, I also dribble some heavy cream into my milk now, so it almost feels like a snack instead of a beverage. I now like to sip off the half n half, as well.

Sometimes I'll try to replace bread in a food with a vegetable. Salami snack crackers? Cucumber slices with salami. Crackers scooping cream cheese? Carrots scooping cream cheese. Sandwich? Lettuce wrap.

As far as fruits, there isn't a lot of variety. I'll have to begin buying more berries to pour heavy cream over, because the typical fruits here are bananas, apples, maybe peaches and pears. I'll have one of these every day or so. After low-carbing strictly for about a week, an apple tastes that much more amazing.

As far as beverages, I was never a big soda drinker. With how much diet soda my family buys, you'd think it was a staple. I do have those every so often, along with hot cups of tea, Maxwell house international sugar free decaf, and no sugar added hot chocolate. If anything is sweetened, it's typically done with organic stevia extract.

And that's just about everything. The most important thing for me now though, is that I don't see whole wheat bread, fibrous cereal, corn, potatoes, or whole wheat pasta as "healthy" anymore. If I indulge in these foods, as I'm almost 17 now and not on a strict diet, I know now that they aren't doing anything healthful for me now.