I need help

One of the best things about doing things about doing the Dukan is trying lots of different food. Well, trying to come up with different ways of eating the same food really! I've never been much of a fish eater. I always think the hype is better than what you end up with. My repertoire extends as far as salmon, tuna, swordfish and maybe mackerel on the barbie, so not very far at all really. So this week I decided to be a bit more adventurous and try sea bass. Everyone is always going on about how lovely it is and as I shelled out almost £5 at the fresh fish counter in Sainsbury's I hoped it would live up to its reputation. I did a bit of research on the internet about how to cook it and came to the conclusion that simply does it. I seasoned it, added a few herbs and a squeeze of lime juice and set about pan frying it. The recipe said it would only take a few minutes and that the skin would be lovely and crisp. Well, most if the skin came off in my not-very-non-stick pan and when I started eating it, I discovered that it needed a bit more than a few minutes, as most of it was still raw. Luckily it was a protein and veg day, so I had spinach, carrots and French beans to fill me up, but I was very disappointed. I know it was probably down to my poor cooking, but it didn't actually taste of anything!

I had another disaster earlier on in the week when I attempted to cook some homemade fish cakes (salmon and tuna, naturally) on my lean, mean, grilling machine. I bought it years ago at a sale at work and up until starting the Dukan it had laid dormant in the back of a cupboard. It has really come into its own over the last few weeks, but not with these fish cakes. Bearing in mind I can't use any breadcrumbs or flour to coat these cakes, they ended up sticking to both the top and bottom and produced what I can only describe as a fish mush – quite a tasty fish mush though.

One bright note was Friday when I tried a pickled egg for the first time. They were serving them in the staff canteen with the regular fish and chip lunch. It transpired that no-one in the office had ever eaten them, so we sent poor Yasamin up to buy a few (and a gerkin for me). After assuring a few people that she wasn't some mad pregnant lady with weird cravings, she appeared with the eggs. I was pleasantly surprised - it was a tasty vinegary egg and finished off my smoked salmon and galettes lunch off perfectly, as you can see.

Oh and by the way, I've lost another 2lb this week!