Half chocolate half maple bar with buttercream filling from Tulip Pastry Shop in St. John’s neighborhood of Portland, Oregon.

I’ve had 2 of these in the past three days. But I walk 3 blocks to the bakery to get them. I think that evens it out. Plus, I have to walk 3 blocks back to my house. So after a few more donuts, I’ll probably be super buff and fit and practically a bodybuilder. I think that’s how it works. Shut up.

In my defense, this isn’t all I had for breakfast… I also got a slice of brandied pear & dark chocolate pie with candied ginger streusel from Random Order Coffeehouse & Bakery. It has… fruit… and… ginger, which as everyone knows, is much ballyhooed for its countless health benefits. Shut up.

Chocolate mousse topped with strawberries; Raspberry mousse with whipped cream, Lemon mousse topped with blueberries; Triple chocolate brownie a la mode, Apple cinnamon crisp a la mode, Bread pudding with raisins & vanilla, with buttery whiskey sauce:

Done.

(Actually, there’s still some left in the photo above, but it really was completely finished before we left. I wouldn’t lie to you.)

After eating nothing but americanos, eggs and apples for several days, I’ve been indulging in all the foods I was craving the past few weeks:

• Turkey burger with bacon & onion rings
• Chicken fried steak and eggs. I haven’t had this in years.
• Crab-cake benedicts. Yes, plural.
• Chicken tenders. What the hell is a “tender” anyway?
• Espresso almond brownie, Chocolate chip cookies, Oreo cream cake, Bostom cream pie, Princess cake. Probably some other terrible desserts that I have no recollection of eating.

All I’m missing is the pizza and ice cream. (Together.)

I rarely eat breakfast food in the morning, but whenever I pull an all-nighter with work, I get the craving for it. So today, I made scrambled eggs with crème fraîche, topped with fresh chives and black truffle salt. Along with a ham croissant, that I mainly made to test out my new bread knife.

I’ll write about my latest kitchen gadget acquisitions later. Right now, I must get back to work… See you soon, World.

• chorizo breakfast burrito from Adelita’s Taqueria
• two pieces of See’s Candies chocolate
• four crackers with Nutella
• lots of cranberry flavored Ricola cough drops

I’m making my way around the South Bay, trying every breakfast burrito I can get my hands on. Adelita’s is the only place I’ve tried that cooks green peppers and onions along with the usual mix of egg & chorizo. I thought the flavors worked well together, but I could take it or leave it. Adelita’s gets extra points for having whole wheat tortillas available on request.

And yes, while I do my weight loss experiment I still try to satiate my fondness for chocolate! No point in depriving yourself.

I had some with salami and I had some with cheese, but mostly I just kept taking bites out of the loaf.

See for yourself. Hmm… I guess it was more than half a loaf.

• Sample of Hennings cranberry cheddar from Whole Foods
• All natural bone-in rib eye steak, seasoned with garlic, rosemary, butter, salt & pepper
• Green beans with chopped almonds and butter. They were good, but next time I’ll throw in some cayenne pepper or something to spice it up.
• Grilled vegetables. I lazily bought these from Sonoma Chicken Coop at the last minute.
• 337 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
• Pineapple
• Kashi GOLEAN crunchy chocolate peanut bar. I’m tempted to stop mentioning this, since I have one almost every day.

The steak was cooked using a method that I believe Cook’s Illustrated gets credit for. I usually pan-sear first and then transfer to an oven that’s also cooking the vegetables/sides. But I read about people cooking steak in a 250 degree oven first and then searing it. This allows the steak to cook evenly at a low temperature in the oven, while still getting that nice texture by blasting it with high heat to finish it off.

The steak was super tender and I think as I use this method more, I’ll only get better results. But I’m all steak-ed out for the moment, so it may be a while before I get to try this again.

I had yellow curry with potatoes, carrots, and chicken over rice, and sticky rice with mango. I was so eager to eat that I forgot to take a photo of the curry until I only had two bites left. Oops!

If you haven’t tried a hamburger with avocado or prosciutto with fresh mozzarella, you’re missing out.

• Pepper cheesesteak with white american cheese from Amato’s
• 4 toffee crunch cookies from Whole Foods (Don’t judge me.)
• Fiberful natural dried fruit from Trader Joe’s

After my trip to Whole Foods at 9:45pm, I decided to see if Amato’s Cheesesteaks was still open.

Luckily, I got there a few minutes before they closed up shop. A girl was sweeping the floors and cleaning the tables. I hate to be That Guy, who comes in right when you think you’re done working, but I was craving a good cheesesteak after a day of running errands around the entire city.

Some reviewers on Yelp have said the girl who works at Amato’s has a bad attitude, but I’ve always found her pleasant. Even this night, when I’m coming in as she’s trying to leave, she says I have plenty of time before they close. Judging by the lack of customers and chairs on top of the tables, I’d say she was lying to make me feel comfortable.

I got my order to-go (chickening out at the last second and ordering White American cheese instead of Whiz). When my food was ready, I got up, pushed in the chair I was sitting in and headed for the door. As I left, the girl said, “Thanks for coming in, man. And thanks for pushing in that chair — nobody does that!”

I live to please… My selfless act of kindness that will no-doubt encourage further betterment in the world, is surely deserving of a handful of cookies.

And that is how I gained a pound overnight.

1. three bowls of Chinese cabbage soup (I finally finished the huge tub of soup my mom gave me)
2. one plate of salad with goma dressing
3. half of a See’s milk chocolate bar with toffee
4. one slice of hawaiian pizza
5. two servings of sour cream and onion chips
6. some strawberries
7. two small cubes of cheese
8. some grapes
9. 1/8 of a piece of sausage
10. two baby carrots
11. one bit of chocolate cake

okay, I guess when I list it all out, it doesn’t seem blasé. but I don’t really like hawaiian pizza, chocolate, or cake.

• Kashi GOLEAN crunchy chocolate peanut bar
• mix 1 tangerine protein & antioxidant drink
• Organic sliced apples from Trader Joe’s

Now that we got that out the way…

• Shrimp with cocktail sauce from Whole Foods. I ate it while cooking dinner, forgetting for the thousandth time that Annie doesn’t like shrimp (Who doesn’t like shrimp?! Nobody, that’s who.)
• All natural rib-eye steak (lots of marbling!), pan-fried with butter and chopped garlic, seasoned with truffle salt & black pepper
• Sauteed & broiled organic russet potatoes with extra virgin olive oil, butter, rosemary, garlic, Lawry’s seasoning salt and black pepper
• Sauteed organic California-grown green beans, wrapped in prosciutto
• Sauteed organic asparagus, wrapped in bacon
• 337 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon

In my defense

As you can see above, I ate sliced apples, a protein+fiber bar and a protein+antioxidant drink before cooking. What you don’t see, is that Annie had two espresso chocolate chip cookies and garlic+herb baked veggie chips before dinner. [Brushes dirt off his shoulder.]

• Sample of 9-month aged Murray Bridge Australian sharp cheddar from Whole Foods. Recommended — I actually buy this cheese on a regular basis.
• Jjamppong (a spicy noodle soup with seafood and vegetables)
• Fortune cookie
• Espresso chocolate chip cookie from Whole Foods
• Cold slice of combination pizza
• Organic California-grown red seedless grapes

I reviewed my past food logs and it looks like I need to sneak more fruit into my daily diet. I’ll work on that this week.

1. One slice of honey smoked turkey deli meat
2. Sandwich: blackened catfish filet, two strips of uncured apple smoked bacon & romaine lettuce on whole grain bread from La Brea Bakery
3. Sample of pumpkin pie from Trader Joe’s
4. Trader Joe’s apples & cinnamon oatmeal
5. 12oz coffee from Starbucks with non-fat milk
6. Kashi GOLEAN crunchy chocolate peanut bar
7. Strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry mix from Whole Foods

When I buy the single serving, pre-washed/cut berry mix from Whole Foods, I know I’m paying a premium. But if I purchase fruit in bulk and it’s not ready to eat at a moments notice, I’m more likely to let it rot in the fridge — a terrible habit that I can’t seem to shake.

So for now, I guilt myself into eating the prepared fruit from Whole Foods, while it’s fresh and ripe, since I paid more for it than any sane person would. Worst diet idea ever — but it works.

1. Made-to-order burrito from Whole Foods. Wheat tortilla, carne asada, brown rice, pinto beans, salsa fresca, hot sauce.
2. Two espresso chocolate chip cookies from Whole Foods

Every time a worker at Whole Foods starts to wrap a burrito, it seems like there’s no way it can be done: there’s just too much food. A mere mortal can’t possibly cram that much filling into a tortilla without defying the laws of physics (or whatever egghead term makes sense here).

But every time — like cramming a month’s worth of luggage into a tiny suitcase — they manage to pull it off. Just barely. And you’re left with a burrito that can last all day. And for me, usually does.