Late in the week, the most *challenging* element of my challenge became abundantly clear: it was time. I thought that frontloading the effort of mapping out meals per day according to the Food Plate, and having those ingredients on hand, would (mostly) ensure I could stick to the meal plan.

But, to be honest, I simply haven’t had time to think about the component portions of meals in the detailed way that strictly following the Food Plate would have entailed. I work part-time, and between grad school, work, and responsibilities at home, remembering to use the Food Plate just became less of a priority (and I don’t even have kids yet…).

Having said that, I did eat a few lunches and dinners from my spreadsheet. Wednesday, I had pinto beans and pork sausage with a cabbage slaw for dinner. Thursday for lunch I had a huevos rancheros kind of meal. I’ll save final reflections for my last post, but suffice it to say that I have not managed to abide very strictly to the specific rules of my challenge…