GREEK YOGURT IS PASTE!

     Remember when you were in first grade and you'd take out the Elmer's paste?  That stuff would stick to the stick (ironic!) for hours.  You'd be trying to spread it on the turkey you just made with your hand, and there'd be like one huge clump.  That clump could hold a house together.  It was the stickiest substance known to man.
      Greek yogurt is paste!  If left in a bowl, I'm pretty sure the protective surface that would form could protect us from nuclear war.
      Makes a great breakfast though!  Add some raisins, some oats and a few nuts - yummmmmmy!
     That was just something I noticed this morning, but the real point of this story is to talk about how this Daniel Plan may have ruined Easter!  Yesterday, I drove one of the greatest high school basketball coaches to the airport.  Then, I went to meet another guy at the United Center for the McDonalds All-American game.  I left at 2:45 and wasn't going to be home until like 11.  Sure, I could have brought some carrots along or maybe packed some pine nuts.
      But, it was the McDonalds All-American game!  I would be spitting in Ronald's face if I didn't grab a McChicken (or two, with fries and a Coke).  So, I ate that.  And then, the aforementioned coach, paid me for driving him with 2 liters of Coke.  I poured one of those into my cup from McDonalds (no free refills) for the drive. 
        That is the most junk I've had in one sitting since I've started the Daniel Plan......AND IT WASN'T GOOD.  The first sandwich, yes!  The fries, yes!  The first Coke, yes!  But, as I gulped down the second Coke, I thought, "This is not good!"  And as I sat down in my chair, I thought, "This is not good." 
        My body felt strange and the nightmare hit me - Easter is ruined!  Easter was going to be Speedway for breakfast, all the candy I could shove down for brunch.   Pizza for lunch, and then the most Coke a human could drink at our family Easter party.
        Not only do I not think I could do that, I don't want to do that.  I may be at the point where a little junk = good.  Lot of junk = recipe for disaster.
         I'm not complaining.  I think this bolds well for the future.  90-10 works a lot better if the 10 isn't filled with more calories than Jabba the Hut would injest!  So, my Easter plans are busted, but the Daniel Plan has Greek Yogurted my life all together (see how I brought it all full circle?).

I ATE THE FRIES!

      We were at the Rock and Roll McDonalds downtown.  It was my first time there.  I was caught up in the moment (and we had just spent $30 on what would have cost us $20 in Lombard), SO I ATE THEM.  The kids were through, there were fries left over.  I ATE THEM.  And I ate half a cheeseburger too.  And I drank some of Grace's fruit punch (while we were at the Anti-Cruelty Society - which by the way, everyone should adopt a dog!  Now!  Go do it!).
       One of the hardest things about this Daniel Plan is seeing good food get thrown away.  This past week, we had five sandwiches left over from the homeless shelter.  Ham and Cheese, PB and J - good sandwiches.  After a couple days in the fridge, my wife asked what to do with them.
       "Throw them away!"  I said with a pain in my stomach similar to the one that Anthony Rizzo put there on Opening Day.
       Again, after Easter, I won't do that.  I won't throw stuff away just because it's on the plan.  I know that is not a recipe for success, but it just kills me.  And, after my fries, cheeseburger and fruit punch extravaganza, still weighed in at 167 this morning.  Still down 24 pounds.  Still looking good in the mirror at the gym - that's right, I was checking my own self out!  (And today was really the first day I thought, "Man, I am getting skinny!")
        Now, I'm going to Wisconsin for a couple days.  Do I bring my own food?  Eat what they give me?  Just go crazy since it's Spring Break.  What I have found in the last couple times I got off for a meal or two.  It doesn't really hurt if you just jump right back on.
        So, I ate those fries, and might even drink a Coke today.  But, as they say on the basketball court, "Next Play."  What I do next is the big thing!