Day #2: No Refined or Processed Carbohydrates

Day 2: Success (I think)
Success Rate: 99.99999%

Day 2 was a bit tougher for me, just because I had a lack of energy toward the end of the day. I was up early, and fell back asleep (I haven't done that in weeks, ever since I started Steve Pavlina's trick for waking up to your alarm  right away) and then when I woke up at 7:20, I had to prepare a bit for an 8:00 meeting, rush in to the bathroom, take a shower, get ready, and I came out of the bathroom at...7:59 - Perfect!

Finish that meeting, and get called in for another one, then get an e-mail that says "call me", so that was another 2 minutes, then, amazingly, I got called just seconds after I hung up from that call. I was not able to leave my hotel room to get to the office until 11am. Here's the kicker: I had a meeting at 12:00 noon - 1:00, 1:00-2:00, 2:00-3:00, and then an informal meeting after that. So I was tired. Tired hates will power.

Anyway, on my walk over to the office, I had to pass by this place, which is the most heavenly smelling place on earth! (See them make fudge!)

This place is so good, it was featured on the Food Network, and is a favorite stop of mine (and my co-workers) on the way back from Lunch. The worst part - you can't NOT walk by this place. Well, the smell was a treat, at least.

Brunch:

I got to the office, and I was quite hungry (I hadn't eaten yet), so I went to the cafe, and got:

• Brown rice and lentil salad - a complete protein, and good fiber. Just what I needed after Fogo de Chao
• Curried sweet potatoes - I grilled the guy who makes this food, and he swore there wasn't a single added sugar in sight
• Edamamme salad - This is SO good. It's edamamme with cranberries, feta, and tossed in a bit of vinegar. To die for.

So I was pretty full from that, and I survived the next 4 hours of meetings.

Dinner:

Okay, so I left the office, and it was time for dinner. It's my last night in Kansas City, so I thought "Barbecue" of course. I called up "Jack Stack" and asked them if I could get their beef ribs without sauce - they checked, and yes, you can. Turns out they are dry smoked, then sauced. Easy enough.

I went down there (thank god for the "Link" which connects the hotel to Union station, and Union station to the stairs right behind Jack Stack.) I jogged over to the restaurant to avoid the rain (hence the "thank god for the 'Link'" comment) and walked on in. Table for one, right in the middle of the restaurant (strange), and it was time to order. 

Now I know from experience, that their Burnt End stew is fantastic, so I got a cup of that. Then, I went big (literally) and got the "Crown Prime Beef Ribs" which came with 2 sides. I got the seasonal vegetables, and the baked potato (with trimmings on the side, just in case they tried to surprise me with "brown sugar butter" or some such nonsense.

Food came, and it looked amazing. I took a bite, then snapped this photo:

They are bigger than the picture makes them look. Each one is about the size of a $10,000 stack of $100 bills - and that's just the meat!

Side note: after I snapped this photo, the ladies at the table next to mine asked if I was a food critic (which gave me another idea for a 30 day challenge, but that will have to wait). I played around with them, "shhh, we don't like the restaurants to know we're here", "you can read about it in about 3 days". That was fun :)

The ribs were delicious! But the star of the show? The seasonal vegetables. Green beans grilled with red pepper, served in an onion ring, drizzled with aged balsamic vinegar (I skipped the onion ring). They were delectable - I almost considered taking an order home. 

So, I am stuffed, and I almost hate myself more than after Fogo last night, but damnit, the challenge is continuing. 

P.S. The reason I said "I think" on the success portion, is that I'm not sure if there was starch in the Burnt End stew - it was quite thick, and I fear a roux may have come in to play, though the color of the sauce (ok, it's broth, but really, it's like sauce) suggests long simmering, with perhaps some demi-glace (yes, I'm a food guy)

P.P.S. I just realized in re-reading this post prior to publishing, that I only ate twice today - no snack, no breakfast, no late night snacks (I assume - I'm writing this at 7:30pm) That's probably good considering the foods which I ate this evening are probably competing with the foods I ate last night to clog my arteries.