A fine line

What with it being Wednesday and my having missed last week after making such a big deal about my new initiative and all, I really, truly should have a wonderfully weird food to share today. Unfortunately, the only thing I have to say is that my eating for the next few days is going to take a turn for the dull: I'm going on a diet. 

Roll your eyes if you will, but trust me, it's time for a detox. I've lived the past month in a sort of vacation/last day on earth frenzy, marked by several infamous In & Out visits and concluded last weekend with a trip to Vancouver. 

Smattered amidst shining memories of walks on Canadian beaches and foothills, games of pass-the-baby and merciless teasing as I reconnected with relatives are flashes of deep-fried gyoza and Korean barbecue; lychee martinis and black cherry mojitos; peanut butter popcicles and sesame gelato; fried chicken and crab legs with garlic butter; lattes, Vietnamese salad rolls and a linzer tart... 

The list goes on, as I have pictures of plenty more (the copper pot is apparently used to make fudge!), but in all honesty I'm hard-pressed to remember it all clearly. Yea, I have walked in the valley of too much eating, and now all the delicious fun is catching up with me. And since the thought of living on nothing but a cocktail of maple syrup and cayenne pepper makes me die a little inside, a limited eating plan seems to be the only way to go. 

Now, I've never been good with diets. The best part, for me, was always cheating. (Broken cookies and melted ice cream and singed french fries don't count, right?) But that, umm, kind of defeats the purpose. 

That being said, I embarked yesterday on a little something called the 3-Day Diet, choosing for some reason to ignore the glaring "worst of the bunch" advice and thinking instead, Three days is doable; easy peasy. And yesterday went well enough; I overate only slightly, and a handful of plain baby carrots at that. 

I'm trying to mix up what could be a monotonous menu of gray - canned tuna, toast and bananas - with purple cauliflower and bright orange melon that's making the whole kitchen smell like an orchard, but still, I'm having doubts. It's a fine line between tweaking and cheating, and with giant nectarines bouncing around in the crisper next to the baby carrots, I'm not sure I can hold out until Friday before indulging a little. 

Though I guess there are worse breakfasts than this:

Far more exciting than the canned tuna with saltines that I have to look forward to for lunch. 

***

Faux-fried egg

Day 2 of the 3-Day Diet calls for a breakfast of black tea or coffee, one-half of a banana, one egg and a piece of toast. The loveliest part of the diet is that there are no specifications as far as I can tell regarding preparation. So I made a "fried" egg, using no oil or butter. (I promise it still tastes good.) 

1 large egg

Spray oil, such as Pam

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 slice bread

Heat a small non-stick pan on high. When hot, reduce heat to medium-low and coat lightly with spray oil. Crack egg into pan. As the egg sets, add a little salt and pepper. I like my egg with the white firm and the yolk barely set, still runny on the inside. When cooked according to preference, transfer to a piece of your favorite bread, and enjoy!

Note: This isn't much food so, if you're dieting, eat slowly, and if you're not, you may want to make seconds and/or accompany the eggs with something like sausage, salsa or a veggie stir fry. The options are endless, but this is a great way to get fried eggs without all the extra fat.