Hey Cookie,
I'm a big foodie as well so let's swap some recipes. :-)
I am 11 days sober and before I made the decision to start for good, I had put myself on a rather strict diet in order to lose the 20 pounds I've gained in the last several years of heavy drinking. I would literally factor in all the calories from how ever much liquor I knew I was going to have and then back the rest out in food calories to total less than 1200 calories a day (which is what I needed to lose weight). It was pathetic to put liquor in a higher priority than food, but that's what I did.
And it was a struggle. I would very rarely stay under 1200 and that was eating like a bird. I was sometimes drinking 1200 calories in booze. So there was no room left.
Anyway, since I stopped drinking I've lost a little weight without trying and now I can eat like a normal person and enjoy food again. Yay! Although I do still have to watch the food calories in order to un-do the damage from drinking. I'm giving myself 2 months to lose the 15-20 pounds I want to lose.
Happy New Year!