Mike has joined a weight loss contest at work. There's a cash prize at the end, so I'm determined that he will win. Within the first five days of this new diet, he had lost an astonishing 9 pounds! Yesterday he told me that because of his scaled down meals he starts to get hungry for a snack around 2 o'clock in the afternoon. As I was suggesting something sort of protein-filled like cheese or nuts to tide him over, I had the thought. Bento! Snack bento!
"I'm going to make you a little bento!" I exclaimed, bouncing in excitement.
"Um. Okay." Mike said.
So I went to the store, gathered up some yummy stuff, and spent an hour making this (I had to devil the eggs):

Cute!
I made Mike wait until this afternoon to open his bento, I wanted it to be a surprise. He loved it! The pepper valentine made him say "awww..." and he said the eggs were really good, even without the mayo.
This diet is also making me try out new cooking methods using more whole foods, like fresh vegetables, beans, and whole grains. We are eating more fish and salads and eating less beef and potatoes. It pains me to say it but we really cannot live on the beer/bacon/banana bread diet forever. Well, we could...but that would mean that forever wouldn't be all that long a time, you know?