Yea, though I walked though the valley of the shadow of carbs...

Cait's parents did the big family birthday dinner tonight, her mom and our two oldest all in one combined blowout. They took us to an Italian restaurant which specializes in "family style" portions; orders are for four or more servings in a huge platter which is shared.

Garlic bread rounds the size of wagon wheels.

Pizza served overlapping the edges of a one-foot-by-2-foot board.

Pasta piled high enough to require effort to lift the platter.

It was an interesting choice of venue, with two Atkins eaters, a lactose-free person and a strict vegetarian, not to mention a crowd of children and their accompanying gustatorial opinions. At an Italian joint. It made for an interesting order.

Yet everyone ate within their boundaries, and we all enjoyed it. Cait and I had the "chicken with lemon" which is pretty close to the chicken piccata recipe I fix for my family. We were able to order it without flour, and I figure the small amount of cornstarch in the sauce was probably too small to be significant. For a side dish I asked for the sauteed escarole with tons of garlic.

I'll even take the chance to boast a little about my ability to resist; one of those wagon wheels ended up at my place, where I was tasked with portioning it out to the children. The smell of the melted cheese and roasted garlic as I handed out thick wedges of toasted bread was nearly impossible to get past. (OK, I admit to picking the slices of whole garlic off the wheel...hey, the kids weren't going to eat them! )

I had been dreading the trip to this restaurant for days; in my pre-LC experience it was one of my favorite places to eat. It helped to strengthen my resolve to know that I could sit in the middle of a crowd eating all the things I miss most at this place, and still have a hearty and filling meal.

It was all quite tasty! I wasn't even tempted when I had to serve up dessert with extra chocolate for all the kids. I even looked for a napkin because I didn't want to lick the chocolate off of my fingers!

Good job, you two! Goes to show the folks who don't want to try LC because they "could never give up" things. I try to tell them, no, but you don't really want them anymore... no one believes me. You guys are living proof.

Who wants the agony of carbs in that system anyway?

Great job!!!! I always feel better if I stick to my guns insted of caving in to the carb pressure.

And my belly feels better as too many carbs has started to have a nasty effect on the ol tummy!!!

Congratulations!!!!! I'm sure your proud of yourself too!!!