I didn’t go crazy…but I had a few sips of Coke and Sprite, a half of a slice of Swiss and some chips yesterday.

The chips were presented with dip and Lent ended so I was all approved.

Oh potato chips, how I have missed you. But only in moderation.

Yes, I did it! I may have increased my consumption of Better Cheddars and Cheez Its but I did it!

• No potato chips, not even Baked Lays. I did have Sun Chips, but those were not potato…
• No cheese as a stand alone item. This was the hardest habit to break.
• And with the exception of one hangover (ginger ale), and one soda drink at a wedding (vodka and Sprite), I did not have soda.

Am going to stick to this. Not so rigidly, but I think this is a better, and healthier, way to eat.

As tonight is the first night of Passover, I was reminded of my ‘sample menu’ I sent to a Catholic friend a few years ago, who was going to her first Passover seder. Here’s the heads up, I mean, sample menu.

1 – Gefilte fish 
My dad wont even let it near him at the table yet I love it. Comes in a nasty gooey jelly. Just shove the goo aside and load it up with horseradish (purple stuff). I’m not going to tell you what’s in it because you don’t want to know.

2 – Chopped liver
I think it looks like diarrhea and smells almost as bad. I cannot eat it.

3 – Matzo ball soup
This is always the best. Don’t eat too much because you will get full and bloated because it is loaded with salt. This is usually served in the beginning.

4- Brisket, turkey, some kind of meat
Is normal and should be ok. Personally, I am not a big meat-eater so I usually skip this.

5 – Anything baked
It is made with matzah – SMALL portions are key to your success. The dishes are called kugels – some good, some bad. If there are raisins it’s usually good because it’s something sweet. Potato kugels are good too. Be warned: the result is the same. You WILL have to go to the bathroom, well, you’ll want to, you just may not be able to 😉

6 – Yams. Fill up. Even better if there are marshmallows in it.

7 – Some kind of carrot and raisin concoction. My mom has made this since I can remember. I think its called simmus or sirrus. Not bad.
But I don’t like cooked carrots.

8 – Dessert is usually chocolate covered matzah, some flourless cakes or macaroons. Tread carefully and be wary of dessert kugels (made with matzah).  Your belly may not love you anymore – refer to point  five above if you need this to be reiterated. 

9 – Not sure how religious they are but if there are kosher wines, you are better off with grape juice. If you don’t like sweet wines (I don’t) you are screwed! Kosher wines are sweet and nasty. If they aren’t that religious, you can bring a bottle of normal wine – so you can
down that and the food.

10 – Towards the end of the meal, they will open the door for Elijah. This is for real. They aren’t drunk!

GOOD LUCK!!!

Today is Lent. I have decided to participate and give some things up.

I have had friends give up gossip magazines, cheese, alcohol, dessert and Facebook.

If they can do it, so can I. Here goes:

1. Cheese — Cannot be eaten alone. Meaning I can eat it on pizza or in a sandwich, but not a slice out of the fridge here and there.

2. Soda — I don’t drink it a lot, so why not eliminate

3. Potato chips — I have added the caveat that I cannot eat full-fat potato chips but I can eat Baked Lays if the mood hits.

My hope is that making this public will encourage me to stick with it for the duration. Wish me luck.

Readers (if there are any), what are you giving up?

UPDATE: At lunchtime I attended a professional speaker session whose company will remain nameless but they make soda and a form of chips – both of which were served at the meeting.

I refrained from the soda, but did eat the ‘chips.’ On the package it did say 30% less fat than regular potato chips’ – so these are not POTATO chips.

There were also halfed sandwiches – the first half I chose was ham and tomato. The second half – mozzarella and tomato. I ate the bread, and not the tomato, so this does follow the rules. Pathetic that it’s lunchtime on the first day of Lent and I come so close to a fail. I am going to give me a bye on this. I have never observed Lent before so I need a learning curve.

Don’t judge. Please.