By Julie Preble, Assistant Editor

Check out the introduction and my first week on the diet here.

November 14, 2011

I’ve decided that pasta is on the chopping block this week. I will be using spinach spaghetti instead, and I’m hoping to find other pasta noodles made with spinach. I haven’t much luck finding this type of pasta at the big box stores, but places like Whole Foods have it. There are also other varieties of non-grain-based pastas available.

I am extremely (and pleasantly) surprised at the taste of the new spaghetti. Though it does look funny at first (with marinara sauce, it looks like Christmas in a bowl), the taste is very similar to that of regular spaghetti.

The texture and consistency were also the same. Again, I think this will be an extremely easy substitution for me to maintain. So far I’ve only found one downside: The cost of spinach spaghetti was about 3-4 times the cost of regular pasta.

As I mentioned before, there may be a few times where I have to cheat (because of what was already in my pantry when I started). This week will be one of those weeks.

On my last cheat day I made hamburger helper with 1 c. of regular milk and pasta that came with the meal. I cooked it al dente (the best of the worst choices of pasta according to Rogers), and it should only be one meal for me this week.

I also have a couple of Lean Cuisines in the refrigerator at work. These will also have some of the “forbidden” items, but as they are Lean Cuisines, I don’t feel they will have a huge impact on my results.

These should be my only cheats outside of my actual cheat day.

I often keep snacks at work, so I bought pumpkin and sunflower seeds and various fruits as healthier choices.

Weight lost: 1 pound