Shades of gray

Thinking more about sugar-cravings today. Can they be rerouted with complex carbs? Had a big portion of sofrito brown rice & beans this evening, but really, is the lack of something proof that it was suppressed by an action I took?

I'm also thinking about the difficulty of looking at a diet in absolutes. I made olive oil granola this evening, and it's full of whole grains (oatmeal) and nuts (pistachios, almonds and, uh, pumpkin seeds) but it also has brown sugar and maple syrup. I used a total of .75 cups of sweetener in what is about 8 cups of food, about 1/2 what the original recipe calls for. It's on the 'sweet' side, but would it count as dessert because it has added sugar? Is it a whole grain or a dessert? Both? I added sugar to the boiling water of the collard greens, but I doubt anyone would think of that for dessert.

BREAKFAST: 8:30am, toasted pumpernickel bagel with babaganoush and sablefish, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

LUNCH: 1pm, small green salad, slice of streetza, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5

PM SNACK: 2:30pm, 1 small homemade black & white cookie
At playdate dropin. Resisted a second.

DINNER: 6:30pm, small cube of Swiss cheese, chicken sausage over braised collard greens and sofrito brown rice & black beans, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5
Took two heads of collards, cut out the spines and chiffonaded, boiled for an hour in water spiked with vinegar, sugar and salt. Made sofrito in the morning -- caramelized onions, then softened red bell peppers and a bit of tomato paste with them. Blended that mixture with a bunch of fresh cilantro and a full bulb of roasted garlic. Put that in the rice cooker with brown rice, chicken stock and black beans.

The collards were surprisingly good, though the rice was underseasoned. I was expecting a much bigger flavor for the effort but it was just ok. Next time, half the amount of rice for the amount of sofrito and beans and more salt.

EVENING SNACK: 9:15pm, small bowl of freshly baked granola, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5