Yes, you read that right. Today is Day 0 of our new Sonoma Diet routine.

As I mentioned in my last post, I love to bake. Sometimes, I bake way too much and run out of people I know and can’t seem to give it all away. So… guess where it winds up? In my house where each of us has the ability to nosh on a regular basis. That’s great for the taste buds. Not so great for the waistline.

So… before things get out of control, we decided, as a family, to get back into shape. We sit a lot – daughter with her schoolwork, me with my writing and hubster with his photography (digital editing, etc). We need to exercise, yes, but we also need to change the way we dine.

The Sonoma Diet is about a lifestyle, not about ‘dieting’, per se. It incorporates the sun-kissed freshness of the Sonoma Valley with the exotic, healthy and sinfully flavorful herbs, spices and recipes of the Mediterranean.

What is Day 0?

Cleaning crap from the cupboards. No cakes, cookies, white flours or processed foods. It means filling the cupboards and fridge with new ingredients – whole wheat bread and bread crumbs, sun-dried tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, brown or basmati rice, fresh and frozen berries, lean meats, spinach, broccoli, feta cheese, goat cheese, mozzarella, nuts, nut butter, dark chocolate, whole grain pasta and more.

The main point of the Sonoma Diet, as I can see, is retraining your body to enjoy more natural foods and less processed food. It’s about enjoying the meal – dining instead of eating. Connecting with family and friends over a meal rather than scoffing down food while sitting in front of the TV. It’s about enjoying a glass of wine, feeding your sweet tooth, filling every craving without over indulging. It’s about portion control as well.

That might be the biggest hurdle for us since we are food whores and will try almost any type of food from any region in any part of the world. Notice, I said “almost”. But, we’ll be trading in our 12″, American-sized dinner plates for 9″ plates so lunch and dinner are not about gluttony but about enjoying the flavors and textures of our meal in a slow but satisfying way.

HA! That’s the goal. Let’s see how it actually pans out as we stomach-growl our way through Wave 1 – which is the most ‘restrictive’ (though it really isn’t) and lasts 10 days. Wave 2 follows and that allows for more food and flavoring options.  Wave 3 comes next and that, ideally, will last a lifetime since it’s about applying all the common sense attitudes and cooking all the phenomenal-looking Sonoma Diet recipes on a regular basis without obsessing.

Goal? We’re each shooting for about 12 pounds.

I will keep you posted!