Lemonade

Today marks the third day of my 30 day challenge, and I admit... I kind of went a little overboard on the eating today :/ But I'm not going to beat myself up for it! An important thing to note about this journey is that it's not going to be easy, so tomorrow I'm going to get back on track and try even harder to restrain myself from eating unhealthy, over processed foods! :)

So why the title, "Lemonade"? Well... I'll begin with the day's events first.

I FINALLY MOVED INTO MY NEW APARTMENT. WOOOOOH. I am SOO excited for the apartment life, it's crazy. I'm living with five other girls (I know... Seems like a dangerous situation...), but I know each girl very well, and we're all part of the same campus ministry :) One thing I'm most excited about with moving to the apartments is that I FINALLY get to cook for myself. No more dorm food!!! Yes, UCLA has been ranked #1/2 for best dorm food in the past years, but for me personally, eating at the dorms every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner gets really boring... And sickening... So you can imagine the excitement I'm feeling toward cooking :D 

After setting up the desk, bed, and all other appliances, my mom took me to a restaurant called Lemonade in Brentwood.  Let me tell you... This is one of my all time favorite restaurants.  It serves healthy food that tastes OH SO DELICIOUS!! It's like a cafeteria setting where you can choose from platters, and they also have a variety of soups, poultry, seafood, and sandwiches! It's so freaking good, and I know I don't like hyping things, but this place has GOT to be hyped. And it will meet your expectations, I guarantee you!! Even my MOM was pleasantly surprised at how scrumptious the food was, and my mom's a pretty good food critic. Hence the title of this post, Lemonade.  I didn't feel bad eating food from here because it's all organic, freshly made, and delicious!! (Sorry... I keep having to say delicious because the food is just that good hehe). I ordered a four course with tomatoes and avocados mixed with pine nuts in lime juice, watermelon radish with snap peas and cut pieces of seared tuna ahi, brussels sprouts marinated in this really yummy sauce with golden raisins, and couscous with mushrooms! I shared that platter with my mom, who ordered an avocado topped with smoked salmon from the seafood section, tandoori chicken with chopped mangoes, and an arugula salad mixed with feta cheese and figs.

Ahhhhh, my stomach was so satisfied after that meal. But then here's where the bad part happened... My mom ended up buying a chocolate chip cookie and an oatmeal raisin cookie afterward (oatmeal cookies.. My weakness!). I'm not saying these delicious treats are bad, but for me, I need to learn self-restraint because when I start eating cookies, or any kind of processed foods (ESPECIALLY sweets filled with tons of sugar), I go into mindless eating monster mode and eat MORE than just that cookie (like Nutella, ice cream sandwiches, ice cream, chocolate bars, the list goes on...). But I gave into my sweet tooth and ate the cookie... Sigh. It's okay though! I've learned my diet should be about moderation and consistency, so next time I'm just going to learn to restrain myself! I'm keeping an optimistic mindset rather than beating myself up for indulging in a cookie :) And I've got to admit... That cookie was just so. Freaking. Yummy.

Here's the plate that I bought (or rather, my mom bought):

Yum yum yum :)

I probably sounded like a freak typing this entry... But whatever! I'm motivated to continue on this clean eating journey and see the transformations both inside and outside :)