There are certain routines in our lives that are so ingrained that it’s easy to forget about them. These habits may be good or bad, but they often get in the way of the best made plans.

Take, for instance, my morning routine. This includes a cleansing process of 1/2 squeezed lemon in hot water. I have been engaging in this a.m. ritual for as many years as I can remember (more than five, probably less than 10). It was founding based on both medical and practical reasons. And it’s not a habit I will give up without great compulsion (e.g. I am somewhere that has no access to lemons). Thus it is that my first day of the 30-day challenge has already presented a hurdle over which I will not even attempt to climb. C’est la vie.

That said, I do think you can become a “food Nazi” if you get too carried away with any regimen. While I could give up lemons for a month, I do not want to. Had I known about the NOFA-NY challenge earlier, I might have found a substitute (a friend recommended a particular citrusy plant from the Philippines, which I could grow in my apartment). However, since I neither have such a plant nor do I want to upset my body by eschewing my lemons, I will consider this my one exception.

I will try to make up for it by following the challenge calendar, eating the food of the day and participating in the challenge of the day. Lemons may be part of my make-up (as are daily vitamins… probably not a local “food” of any sort), but I hope I can be 99.9 percent on track even with my “wake up call” each morning.