Intermittent fasting seems to be working.

I think about food most of the time, but, after all, I am a food writer and it would be a bit odd if I didn’t think about food a good part of the time. But even with parties and cookies and candy and ice cream in the house, I have not gained an ounce since before the holidays.

I am also choosing my daily menus a few days ahead. Saturday I made a big tuna salad and am eating that for lunch, with lettuce and lots of those grape tomatoes. I roasted a chicken yesterday, and I will eat a good amount of that for a few dinners, with lots of green vegetables and maybe some risotto.

I just made two salad dressings, one the Latitude 38 I like so much, and the other Caesar.

For dinner last night I made a packet of leftover swordfish with potatoes and dark green kale. This is a recipe I found in the new issue of “Eating Well” magazine. It called for fresh tuna, and next time I will get the tuna.

Because the swordfish was already cooked, it was a little dry, but the packet included mayonnaise and Dijon, two of my favorite sauce ingredients, so it was really good. I also think it would be fine with thinly sliced chicken cutlets, too.

Parchment-Packet Baked Tuna with Creamy Dijon Turmeric Sauce

From “Eating Well,” January-February, 2020

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

2 cups 1/8-inch-thick Yukon Gold potatoes

1/2 teaspoon salt, divided

1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus another 1/4 teaspoon, divided

4 cups chopped kale

1 1/4 pounds tuna (about 1 inch thick), cut into 4 pieces

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut 4 large sheets of parchment paper, each about 16 by 12 inches.

Combine mayonnaise, parsley, mustard, honey and turmeric in a small bowl.

To make packets: lay the parchment sheets on a work surface with the long sides closest to you. Fold each in half, bringing the short sides together, then open. Place 1/2 cup potatoes on one side of each piece of parchment and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper. Top each with 1 cup kale and a piece of tuna. Sprinkle the tuna with remaining salt and pepper. Brush with mayonnaise mixture. Close packets and seal with edges with small, tight folds. Place packets on a large baking sheet.

Bake until the fish is just cooked through, 10 to 15 minutes. (Carefully open one packet to check for doneness, and be cautious of the steam.) Set each packet on its own plate. Let stand for 3 minutes. Cut an X on the top of the packet with scissors and carefully fold open to serve.

On the Side

This is the time of year, pretty cold and dark in the afternoon, that I crave pasta. By the time the water boils and the pasta goes into the pot, I will have a marinara sauce ready. And because I buy a case of whole tomatoes at a time, I could be binging on pasta many times a week. But I really shouldn't, so I do not. Instead, I buy spaghetti squash at the market.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, and scrape out the seeds. Coat both sides with olive oil, salt and pepper and place the squash cut sides down on a glass pan or baking sheet. In 40 minutes to an hour, it will be done.

Using a fork, scrape the squash into long strands; probably half of it is enough for dinner. That's your pasta! Top with any sauce and a little grind of parmesan. Just about no carbs at all.

Lee White lives in Groton. She can be reached at leeawhite@aol.com.