Day 21 Spawn of SoDDDY Challenge: All is Calm Appetite-Wise and All is Bright Mood-wise, but I'm COLD! And pondering the special New Year's Food traditions that will come a-tempting, notably "empanadillas" Cuban-style...

It's chilly in Miami, folks. For those of us not used to it, teeth-chatteringly so (overnight, this am). But the day was bright and beautiful, so it fit my mood.

Weight held at 236.

I had a mild moment of food-yearning after Pilates, but that calmed down. Breakfast was 440 and lunch was 320 calories, and my fluids are up to 12 glasses. So, I have from 420 (for the 1200 calorie lower level) to 1000 calories (for the goal-calorie weight level) left for the day. I've been eating mostly a bit under 1760 (goal weight level), with the occasional close to 1200 day if my appetite is really low. Today, it's feeling middling-low, so I might end up around 1300 to 1400.

Had a lovely muilt0color salad for lunch that had spinach, sliced strawberries, some almonds, some cranberries, yellow/orange/red sweet peppers, part of a chopped boiled egg, a bit of shredded cheese, and some honey mustard dressing. The combo of flavors was very satisfying. I had three strawberries with a shot of fat free whipped topping for dessert. The strawberries were surprisingly numsy. I expected them to be more sour, but they were sweet and delicious.

I have a  yen for those very low-cal vegetarian fresh Vietnamese rolls (no shrimp or chicken, just carrots and lettuce and celery in a steamed rice paper sheet). I love the combo of the glutinous steamed low-cal wrapper with the crunchy lettuce and veggies and a hint of the sweet dipping sauce. I sometimes add some peanut butter or crushed peanuts for added flavor and protein/fat. It's one of my fave things lately.

My brother is making the family's traditional meat pies for New Year (my mom used to painstakingly make them from total scratch and the family would help with all the grinding of the ingredients), so I'm gonna find a way to make room for one of those fried babies. It's one of those things he only makes once a year, always for New Year, and they go fast (since the relatives crave them). He tends to save one for each of the siblings (since I'm often sick on holidays and have missed NYE events from time to time). No one made them as good as mom--the particular crunch of the shell, the savory quality of the meat's spicing--but she took no shortcuts. It was a lot of work and worth it in taste and calories, frankly. Hers were bigger than brother's, so maybe calorically, that's a good thing. I figure one is probably easily a minimum of 400 cals. Maybe even 500. I am not really sure. Guesstimating. I did bake one of mine a few years ago to cut down on calories, but it just isn't the same experience. Ah, well.

What would be REALLY dangerous is if while my bro makes the empanadillas, my P.R. born SIL makes pasteles. Oh man. Another rare, home-made treat for our family. Since my SIL's mom passed on, I don't think I've had any. But those are great, too... starchy with bits of pork inside and great with ketchup or hot sauce. No clue about the calories on those, but I'm sure there's some Puerto Rican cuisine site online with the facts.  Although they both get boiled and are wrapped in leaves and string like Cuban tamales, and both have pork bits inside,  the texture and taste aren't the same. One is plantain-based, and one is corn-based.  I like them both, though. They are foods that are rarely seen/eaten by us and so are special and say, "celebrate!" with every bite.

I'll take ONE of either over any ubiquitous holiday treat. Something about the home-made taste of tradition that you only get maybe once a year.

So, I guess just like Christmas, I'll have to plan and stay watchful of what goes in the mouth. I want another week of losses despite the temptations.

And I hope you can maneuver through the landmines of food, too, whatever it is that YOUR family does for New Year's Eve and Day!