Week 3 Wrap-Up

Well, our 3rd weekend of our first Whole30 went pretty well.  We ate at Red Lobster Friday night and both really enjoyed our meals.  So much so that we were still talking about it Saturday afternoon.  He had NY Strip and Lobster with broccoli.  I had a ribeye with crab legs.  We both had salads with no cheese or croutons and we both skipped the butter with our seafood.  

On Saturday we had a house guest from Wisconsin!  For dinner we enjoyed grilled ribeyes, sauteed-shrimp (mine didn't look anything like that picture!), sweet potato fries, sauteed onions & peppers, tomato/cucumber salad and creamed cucumbers.  Our steaks were a little charred so we smothered them in delicious homemade mayo, which our house guest raved about!  Husband did give in and drink 2 beers on Saturday and he felt like crap after it and the next day (no surprise).

Left: w/blueberries
Right: without blueberries 

Before our guest arrived on Saturday, Husband and I had a little bit of banana ice cream with some blueberries added.  I put the rest in the freezer to see if it would be good after being frozen.  We all had a little of it on Sunday.  It was good, but was frozen too solid, we had to defrost in in the micro for just a few seconds and then it was perfect!  We also had Turkey Pizza Burgers:

1lb of lean ground turkey mixed with:

chopped green bell pepper, chopped onion, 

garlic powder, Italian seasoning, marinara sauce.  

Grilled and then topped with more

 marinara sauce.  Yum!

On Sunday, keeping true to the tradition of the past few weeks, we cooked and cooked and now have a fridge full of meals to eat for the week including:

Pork Roast (with saurkraut)
Beef Stew (Husband made it up as he went, so I have no recipe)
Buffalo Chicken Salad (I really love this stuff!)
Chicken Salad (chicken breasts, mayo, grapes, s&p)

After Week 1, we  just make a list of the meals we want for the next week, buy the ingredients and then cook or pre-cook everything on Sunday.  It's worked out really well!  I only end up cooking one or two nights a week now and there are always healthy meals in the fridge for either of us to grab at any time!

Whole30 Days 15 - 18

THIS WILL BE MY LAST FOOD JOURNAL.  IT'S STRESSING ME OUT A LITTLE.  I JUST WANT TO FINISH MY WHOLE30 WITHOUT HAVING TO THINK ABOUT KEEPING TRACK.  I WILL STILL POST PHOTOS AND RECIPES WHEN WE TRY NEW STUFF THOUGH.
Day 15 ~ Monday, July 23
Up at 5:00am.
8:00 - leftover sweet potato fritter, 2 HB eggs, Tazo Black Tea
11:30 - raw veggies w/ranch dip
1:30 - pork loin cooked w/apples, larabar
6:30 - Cabbage roll (beef), pistachios



Day 16 ~ Tuesday, July 24
Laid in bed until almost 6:00!  Did a 10 min. ab workout.

7:00 - Egg/Sausage Scramble, Sweet Potato Fritter, Zucchini & Squash sauteed in coconut oil
This was probably the best breakfast I've had on Whole30, both in terms of taste/pleasure and in terms of being what a Whole30 breakfast should be.
10:00 - pistachios
12:00 - Pulled pork w/horsetooth sauce, lettuce, tomato, ranch
3:00 - pistachios
5:00 - apple
7:00 - stuffed peppers



Day 17 ~ Wednesday, July 25
Up at 5:30.  7 minute pilates/strength workout.

7:00 - Egg/Sausage Scramble,  Zucchini & Squash sauteed in coconut oil, 1/2C apple juice
11:00 - fresh figs from the farmer's market!
12:30 - pork loin cooked w/apples, sweet potato, raw veggies w/ranch
5:00 - hand full of almonds
6:30 - chicken soup and chicken thigh



Day 18 ~ Thursday, July 26
Up at 5:30.  300 Ab workout.
7:00 - spinach cooked in ghee, 2 eggs cooked in coconut oil
9:00 - iced coffee w/coconut milk
12:00 - Cabbage roll, veggies w/ranch
6:30 - Chicken soup, homemade sweet potato chips (these gave me a terrible stomach ache!  That's what I get for making a healthy junk food, I guess)

First Time Eating Out on Whole30

I've been craving crab legs ever since Nikki started talking about them earlier this week.  We even cruised around the Red Lobster website until we were drooling.  Then I found this nifty
coupon for $10 off of two entrees!  So... I've convinced Husband to go there for dinner tonight.  I think it will be awesome to test our abilities to stay on track while at a resturaunt like this.  He wants steak and I want crablegs.  We'll order water and salads and be go to go!

It Starts With Food!

If you haven't read this book yet, WHY NOT?!  If I haven't convinced you to read it yet, perhaps this short, well written book review will! 

Stuffed Peppers!

I made stuffed peppers!  First I made the marinara sauce in the The Paleo Recipe Book.  Then I fried 1lb of grassfed ground beef with about 1/2lb of grass fed pork sausage.  I mixed just enough of the marinara sauce into the meat to make it stick together.  I actually made the sauce on Sunday, the meat mix on Monday and then the peppers on Tuesday night.  I cut the tops off of the peppers and took the seeds out.  Then I boiled them for about 10 minutes.  I took them out of the boiling water and then stuffed them with the meat mix and poured more marinara sauce over the top.  Then I baked them for about 45 minutes at 350.  They were delicious!  I still have marinara sauce left, so come back later in the week to see how my turkey "pizza" burgers turn out!

Before baking

Perfect Paleo Ranch Dressing/Dip (and Mayo!)

First you must start with a delicious paleo mayo! There are several recipes out there, but this is by far my favorite. I have used 2 methods for making mayo. One is using an immersion blender (or stick blender) similar to the one pictured below. The other is by using a food processor. My immersion blender seemed to work just fine for a while, until it just didn't anymore. It seems great for making single batches (but if it's not a quality blender, it seems like it doesn't have enough power after a while and your mayo may start coming out runny). Here's a recipe for a double batch.  You can split the batch and make a small batch of ranch or keep it doubled for a larger batch of mayo or ranch.

image courtesy of theexcellentwife.com

What you need:
2 eggs
2 tsp of fresh lemon juice
2 tsp of yellow mustard
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
2 cups light tasting olive oil (don't use extra virgin!)

Everything needs to be room temperature before you mix, so either set the egg, lemon & mustard out on the counter for 30 minutes, or just put everything except the oil in the food processor and walk away for 30 minutes.

STICK BLENDER METHOD:

Put all of the ingredients (including the oil) in a tall container. Stick the blender in and just start pulsing it until it starts to turn creamy and white, once the majority of it is mixed, go ahead and let the blender run for a few seconds while moving it around to mix the last bit of oil in and thicken the mixture.

FOOD PROCESSOR METHOD:
After the eggs, lemon juice & mustard have come to room temp in the processor (about 30 minutes) add the sea salt & white pepper (I actually put it all in at the same time because I've been known to forget the S&P otherwise!). Now measure out 2 cups of oil in a measuring cup that you can pour neatly from.  Pour about 1/4 cup of the oil into the processor and then put the lid on and take the food pusher out. Turn the processor on and begin pouring the oil in VERY SLOWLY!  It should take you 2-3 minutes to finish, so be patient! The mayo will start to thicken and will barely be moving when you finish.  Now you have a choice. Put that amazing stuff in the fridge and let the flavor come together OR... make ranch dressing with it!

RANCH DRESSING:

Put the following ingredients in a bowl:

2C of the that amazing mayo you just made (there won't be much left, if any)

1/2 to1C of canned full-fat coconut milk (less for thicker "dip", more for a thinner "dressing")

2t apple cider vinegar

Whisk the ingredients together and then add:

2-3 cloves of garlic (you can add more or less per your preference)

1 or 2 shakes of paprika

2T fresh (or dried) Dill

2tsp fresh (or dried) Chives

S&P to taste

Now enjoy!  I put it on my salads or use it to dip my raw veggies.

Halfway!!!

It's Day 15!  And today was BLT day at work.  There was over 70lbs of bacon on the premises and I couldn't eat one. single. piece.  Between that today and Saturday night's wine tasting fundraiser event that I volunteered for, I've had a pretty tempting few days over here!  I made through both events without cheating though.  I think it will be all downhill from here!

I asked Husband yesterday if he was feeling hungry and/or deprived at all.  His response "No, not at all.  In fact, I don't even think about food like I used to.  But, I do miss my beer".  I told him that if he had such an emotional attachment to his beer, these 30 days might do him some good in that department :)  Everyone keeps asking is if it's hard, and we both agree that it's not hard.

Here's what I've been eating:


Day 12 ~ Friday, July 20
Up at 5:00, 30 minutes of kickboxing
SKIPPED COFFEE (again)!!!
6:00 - Smoothie: 1C. fresh spinach, 1/2 frozen banana, hand full of frozen blueberries, 1/2 can of coconut milk, splash of vanilla, 1 raw egg
8:00 - Tazo Awake Black Tea
11:30 - Salad w/oil&vinegar, melons, shrimp & scallops on hibachi grill
We were running errands for work and my co-worker wanted to eat at the hibachi grill.  I couldn't get the man at the grill to tell me what is in the garlic sauce and I needed my protein, so I just went with it.  Sure hope there wasn't anything nasty in there!  I didn't eat much... 
2:00 - pistachios
7:30 - Chicken Salad
8:30 - Almonds (We went to see the Dark Knight Rises)



Day 13 ~ Saturday, July 21
Up at 6:00
Coffee w/ coconut Milk
8:30 - 2 eggs fried in coconut oil w/ Wholly Salsa
2:30 - Chicken & Veggies
4:00 - Banana Ice Cream w/Blueberries added!
8:30 - 2 mini burger patties, grapes, melons (This was the only thing served at the wine tasting that I could eat!)



Day 14 ~ Sunday, July 22

Up at 7:30 (long night Saturday night!)
9:30 - Sweet Potato Fritters with 2 fried eggs, grapes, sausage
11:30 - Veggies & Ranch, Baked Chicken Thigh
5:45 - Pistachios, 1/2 apple pie larabar
7:30 - Pork Loin Slowcooked w/ apples, veggies & dip

Whole30 Journal Day 9 -11

Day 9 ~ Tuesday, July 17
Up at 6:00 am.  Coffee with coconut milk and cinnamon.
7:00 - raw veggies with ranch dip, 2 eggs fried in coconut oil
12:30 - Buffalo Chicken Salad
6:00 - cucumbers w/ranch dressing
6:45 - grilled ribeye steak w/sweet potato fries

Day 10 ~ Wednesday, July 18
Up at 5:30, did a 10 minute ab workout.
6:00 - coffee w/coconut milk, egg & sausage scramble, fried eggplant, glass of water
I literally had to choke my breakfast down again.  WTH?  I was hungry, but once I started eating, it just wouldn't go down.  I am thinking it could be the coffee?  Coffee tends to mess with my stomach a little (natural diuretic), so I am thinking of skipping coffee for a few days, or maybe not drinking any until AFTER my breakfast is down.
11:45 - Chicken and Veggies from Crockpot, 1/2 Chocolate Coconut Larabar, Fresh Cherries
6:30 - Beef Brisket, Sweet Potato with ghee, raw veggies w/ranch



Day 11 ~ Thursday, July 19
Up at 5:20, did 300 ab workout.
SKIPPED COFFEE!!!
6:30 - 2 eggs fried in coconut oil, sweet potato with ghee
Breakfast was a little easier to swallow today, but still was difficult.
8:00 - Green tea
It's 10:30 and I feel hungry, I think?
12:00 - Ground Beef & Cabbage, veggies & ranch, fresh cherries
4:00 - pistachios & cherries
6:30 - taco salad: romaine lettuce, ground beef w/homemade seasoning, onions, tomatoes, wholly guacamole, wholly salsa

Staying Strong

They are popping popcorn in my office again.  I was already feeling a little hungry and didn't bring any snacks (because I'm trying not to snack!).  Thank God for Nikki.  She brought snacks :)  She had pistachios.  Which I have never eaten.  I know, I know... how did I get through 31 years of life without EVER trying pistachios.  They're green, I'm picky.  Anyway, I had a handful of them and they were actually very satisfying.  Take THAT, popcorn! ;)

I still haven't decided what to bring on BLT day to make us feel like we aren't missing out on the most awesome lunch that only comes around once a year.  I'm open to suggestions!

Whole30 Day 10

It's Day 10!  After today, I will be 1/3 of the way through it!  I have to say, our meals have been pretty exciting.  Husband says he could eat like this forever, but he wants his beer back ;)  I've been thinking about what foods I will add back in and what foods I won't (it's a little early for that, I know).  I could really live without grains in my life.  But I want my raw honey back, along with maybe a little cheese and ice cream.  I quit drinking dairy milk and eating yogurt a while ago, but just a little cheese now and then would be alright (I think).  We leave for Wisconsin 3 days after our Day 30, so I am afraid we will end up adding too much back in at once.  But, we'll cross that bridge a little later.  First, we have 20 more days to enjoy!

TWO people have asked me how much weight I've lost!  My answer is: "I don't know, I haven't been weighing myself".  I know the Whole30 is not about weight loss.  I have a formal event coming up this weekend and I was trying on dresses for it.  Just for fun,  I put my old prom dress on.  It actually FIT! So, that goes to show that my body has changed (no matter what the scale would say).  

I feel pretty energetic lately.  Still have some occasional afternoon slumps, but not at all as bad as they used to be!  

I do feel like I am not eating enough.  I am hungry, but when I sit down to eat, I just can't get through my whole plate.  I'm not sure what's up this, but I am hoping that it's just my body adjusting to reading REAL hunger signals and know how much food it REALLY needs.  I'm trying not to worry about.

Eating Real Food Rocks! & Whole30 Day 5- 8 Journal

"Eating real food rocks!" is part of a text I sent to my fellow Whole30ers last night while eating my version of the amazing Buffalo Chicken Salad from this Whole9 blog post.  I used a different mayo base for my ranch, left the onions off the salad and opted for fresh romaine lettuce rather than iceberg.  Also, fyi I used Franks Red Hot Sauce.  The ingredients list looked fine to me and I absolutely love the love the flavor of Franks!  I totally forgot to take a picture, but trust me, it was AH-mazing and I'll be making it again.  It was really easy to make too!  

So here's my food/mood diary for days 5-8:


Day 5 ~ Friday, July 13


Up at 6am.  Went to bed at 6:30pm last night!  Was in a lot of pain and didn't sleep real well until after 11:00, but woke feeling pretty well rested.

7:15 - 2 Eggs scrambled and fried in coconut oil, sauteed (in clarified butter) cabbage, peppermint tea
8:15 - Chai Tea
12:30 - chicken breast with mayo, Salad w/lettuce, tomato, green pepper, onion, banana peppers & ranch dressing
I tried to eat more at lunch (I only ate half of my chicken and about 2/3 of my salad), but I just couldn't!  Judging by comments on the forum and Husband's experience this week, this is pretty normal.  I'm just trying to be sure that I have a healthy balance of carbs/fat/protein.  
7:00 - Shrimp stir fried in ghee with onion & peppers, sweet potato fries (with EVOO)

Day 6 ~ Saturday, July 14
Up at 6:00.  Enjoyed the amazing homemade cappuccino from the Whole9 Forum with 2 eggs fried in coconut oil and sauteed cabbage.
11:30 - took a nap
2:30 - had another cappuccino.  I realize this is an odd schedule, but Husband works 3rd shift and I work 1st, so we tend to blend our schedules together on the weekends.
3:40 - Chili & half a banana
6:00 - Chef Salad w/ ranch dressing & HB eggs
7:00 - Almonds & Water @ movie theater
10:00 - banana ice cream


Day 7 ~ Sunday, July 15
Up at 6:00.  35 min Cross training workout at 6:30.
7:20 - Cappuccino
8:15 - Eggs fried in clarified butter, eggplant fried in coconut oil, sausage
I was in the kitchen cooking and prepping until 9:00am and then again from 10am until 1pm and again later in the evening.  I "tasted" and snacked here and there while I was cooking.
4:00 - took dogs for 20 minute walk
5:00 - Chicken and veggies from crockpot


Day 8 ~ Monday, July 16
Up at 5:00 am, feeling like a million bucks! :)

6:00am - "Cappuccino", 2 deviled egg halves, steamed carrots, grapes, citrus water
only ate about half of the food on my plate despite being very hungry when I sat down to eat
7:20 - 20 minute power walk
9:30 - Chai Tea on ice
11:00 - chicken salad
12:00 - Apple Pie Larabar
I know I should have had veggies at lunch, but I just didn't.  Lame excuse: I had no ranch dressing to dip the raw veggies that brought to work in.  Still feeling pretty good after noon, but my energy isn't as high as it was this morning.
6:00 - 2 deviled egg halves
6:45 - Buffalo Chicken Salad
Craved and thought about making the banana ice cream before bed, but thought better of it.  Sugar dragon speaking?

Holy Crap! It's Day 8 Already!

Saturday morning Husband woke up craving cappuccino.  So, I did what any great wife would do and and starting searching the Whole9 Forum for ideas.  That's when I found this!  I beat full fat coconut milk with vanilla, cinnamon & nutmeg until it was thick and creamy.  Then I put a giant glob of it on top of our coffee.  ZOMG!  Delicious!!!!!!!!!  I stored the leftover flavored cream in a container in the fridge and used it the next day (even better!)  

Saturday night we went to the movie theater to see Brave.  I took my big purse and carried in 2 bottles of water and some plain almonds (please don't call the police).  I had never eaten plain almonds before and I didn't realize that are actually sweet.  I am really proud that both of us made it past the concession stand without popcorn or Pepsi!!!!

We did have banana "ice cream" at 10:00 Saturday night as a treat.  I realize that probably wasn't a brilliant idea at 10:00pm, but at least it was W30 compliant and had plenty of fat in it to go with the sugar of the bananas!  ps.  I added a little vanilla to the "ice cream" mix.

I spent a total of about 6 hours in the kitchen on Sunday.  I cut up tons of fresh veggies and I made boiled eggs, deviled eggs, chicken in the crockpot, chicken salad, buffalo chicken, ground beef & cabbage, and an egg & sausage scramble.  Husband cooked a beef brisket on the grill and I attempted (and failed) to make homemade cocktail sauce.  I also made a new mayo recipe.  When Husband tasted it he said "now THAT'S mayo!"  

Check out these "rainbow carrots" that I got at the Farmer's Market!

Overall, week 1 went by fast and wasn't as bad as I expected.  The weekend wasn't as difficult to navigate as I thought it would be (although our eating schedules are always off on the weekends due to Husband working 3rd shift).  He said he had a ton of energy last night at work and I feel like a million bucks today!  

Whole30 Day 5!

So far, this seems almost too easy.  Yeah, I've had a few sugar cravings, but nothing I couldn't get over in less than 5 minutes.  Husband says he feels about the same other than a few changes in his bathroom habits.  He did say he felt like he didn't have the energy to do his CrossFit WOD on Wednesday, but that was to be expected in the first week.  He also really misses chewing gum.

I had posted the first 2 days of my food/mood log on the Whole9 Life Forum and a moderator commented and said I wasn't eating enough fat.  So, I need to focus on that for sure (and lay off the larabars).

I can't really say there is any particular food that I am craving or missing right now.  Although, our office has an annual BLT Day party where we eat BLTs made with one of our Owner's fresh grown tomatoes.  Nikki & I are both a little bummed that we can't eat the bacon, but I've vowed to come up with something really awesome to bring for us to eat and we'll eat tomatoes & lettuce!

Also, Nikki & I have survived 2 days of fresh popcorn being popped in our office without eating any!  The first day was much harder than the 2nd.

I'm a little nervous about the weekend.  Husband and I tend to go out with friends and eat bad food and drink alcohol on the weekends.  We'll have to find other ways to entertain ourselves this weekend.  I know we won't fall our bikes,  but it's definitely easier to stay on track when you have a schedule.

See ya'll Monday! :)

Whole30 Journal ~ Days 1-4

So, here it is!  My Food/Mood Log for the first 4 days of my first Whole30!  




Day 1~Monday, July 9


Wake up at 5am.  Feel pretty good for only 6 hours of sleep :)
1 cup coffee with full fat coconut milk, 1/2C. peppermint tea, glass of lemon/lime water

8am - 3 sm. HB eggs, Chai Tea over ice, Cauliflower & bell pepper with ranch dressing, 2 bite-size pcs of canteloupe
9:15 (still hungry!) - half of keylime pie larabar
11:20 - other half of larabar (on my way out to run errands!)
12:30 - Crockpot chicken with veggies (celery, carrots, onions).  Cauliflower & peppers w/ranch dressing
5:40 - Pecan Pie Larabar
7:30 - Beef Roast w/veggies (celery, carrots, onions, tomatoes) & Salad

Dinner.  The beef & veggies were bland.  The salads were great!

Was in bed before 9:00, but was on the phone for a while and then tossed and turned until after 10:00.  Woke up several times during the night.

Obviously, I need to work on making my meals last longer so that I am not eating so often!



Day 2~Tuesday, July 10
Up at 5:00am after a very restless night.  Did 40 minutes of Kickboxing.

6:15 - Sausage/egg scramble, steamed broccoli & cauliflower, coffee with full fat coconut milk, glass of peppermint iced tea


It's 8:54.  I'm hungry.  This too shall pass... Take another drink of your lemon water.


Wheew!  Made it until after noon without starving!


12:20 - Crockpot chicken with veggies (celery, carrots, onions).  Cauliflower & peppers w/ranch dressing.  Banana Bread Larabar
2:30 - Chai Tea (iced)
6:00 - 20 minute walk with a friend
7:00 - Turkey Burger with creamed cucumbers and tomato slices
9:00 - sleepytime tea

Dinner

Felt hungry most of the day, but not unbearable.  Had a sugar craving after dinner, it passed quickly.


Day 3~Wednesday, July 11
Woke up at 5am.  Still a restless night, but not as bad as the night before!  Did a 25 minute cross-training workout.

6:30 - egg/sausage scramble & fried eggplant, energy green tea, coffee w/coconut milk
11:00 - feeling hungry, but it's too early for lunch.  Having a hot cup of Tazo Awake Black Tea instead
12:40 - Turkey Burger with creamed cucumbers and tomato slices, 1/2 banana bread Larabar (YUCK!)
7:15 - Baked Chicken Breast w/sauteed cabbage & spaghetti squash w/clarified butter, s&p, garlic powder

Day 4 ~Thursday, July 12
Woke up at 3:20 in a lot of pain (monthly cycle).  Fell back to sleep around 4:45.  Alarm went off at 6:00.  Hit snooze until 6:45.  Slowly made breakfast and then couldn't eat it :(

7:15- hot peppermint tea
7:40 - tried to eat spaghetti squash and eggs fried in clarified butter, but felt too nauseous :(
9:45 - finally eating breakfast :)
12:30 - Chicken breast meat w/mayo.  steamed broccoli, cauliflower & carrots, blueberries
6:30 - went to bed due to severe/intense abdominal cramping, lower back pain & nausea :(

Spaghetti Squash

For those of you who have never made a spaghetti squash, here's how I do it:

1) use a knife to pierce holes all over the squash
2) bake at 350 for 60 minutes
3) let cool for about 10 minutes
4) CAREFULLY cut in half the long way (don't burn yourself, this thing is HOT!)
5) use a spoon to remove the seeds
6) use a fork to remove the meat by sort of "shredding" it
7) you can do whatever you want with it at this point.  I put a little clarified butter on it and then salt, pepper and garlic powder.  The next day, I fry it like hashbrowns and eat it with eggs.  Some people use it as a pasta replacement, but the texture is more like hashbrowns IMO.

Looks like I might have overcooked it, but it was fine :)

Another option is to cut the stem off of the raw squash and then cut it down the middle (this is VERY hard!).  Then take the seeds & guts out and place each half cut-side down on a baking sheet and bake for 40-60 minutes (less time for "crunchy" and more time for "mushy").

From WW to W30

So, after 5+ years of having what I learned at Weight Watchers in my head, I have had to make some adjustments.  For instance, I have eaten all of the meals that I prepare for myself on a dessert plate for about 5 or 6 years now.  I started using my big-girl plates again with the Whole30.  I am accustomed to eating every 3-4 waking hours, now I am trying to eat only 3 meals a day (another reason to use a bigger plate!).  I've used MyFitnessPal to track my food & exercise, including calories, fat, protein, fiber, carbs...etc. for about 2 years, no more tracking with Whole30.  I'm a work in progress, but I feel that the Whole30 is going make some GREAT BIG, healthy changes to my life.  So... here goes Day 4 :)

Minor Meltdown

So... I planned on making Bacon Chicken tonight.  Turns out that my bacon that I get at the farmers market that is nitrate/nitrite free has SUGAR in it!  GAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!  Between my monthly hormones and it being Day 3 of the the Whole30, this makes me want to cry.  Or kill someone.  I did find this recipe that I will probably use, but I'm still angry and upset.  I can't believe I have to go a month without bacon.  I guess I'll have to smother my chicken in my homemade ranch dressing...

Standing Ovation

I expect applause.  I am so proud of myself.  Not only  have I made it through Day 2 (that was expected), but I have eaten vegetables at Meal 1 for the third day in a row!!!!!!!!!!  This was/is definitely one of my biggest struggles.  I made this eggplant recipe this morning and paired it with my egg/sausage scramble leftover from yesterday.  It was really good!  I sliced the eggplant really thin and fried them until they were crispy.  Next time, I plan to use garlic powder instead of the minced garlic.  The paste it made was a little messy.

On a roll...

Wheeew!  Made it through Day 1!

We ran out of the amazing ranch dressing already!  I did bring some to work to share and Husband ate some veggies dipped in it and we had some on our salads last night and that's it... it's gone :(  I'm making more tonight :)


I forgot to mention some other prepping that I had done.  There was a post on the Whole9 Facebook Page regarding ways to kick your gum habit.  It looked like this:

Successfully kicked your gum habit? Share your best tips and tricks. Here is #Whole30 expert Bethann Mathews' gum-free solution: peppermint iced tea! 

"4 bags Meijer Organics (or your brand of choice) peppermint tea + 1 quart of water in a saucepan + a 2-quart pitcher, 1/4 full of ice and cold water.

Bring the water in the sauce pan to a boil. Add the tea bags, turn off the burner, and put a lid on the pan. Let steep for 10 minutes. Remove the tea bags. Pour the hot tea into the ice water in the bottom of your pitcher. Add more cold water to make 2 quarts. Refrigerate. I drink this all day long. It helps me stay properly hydrated without any artificial anything and without sugar, and makes my breath fresh too!"

So, I bought some peppermint tea and followed the instructions above.  Husband and I both like it (his gum addiction is MUCH more serious than mine).  I also tried this method with Rooibos Red Tea.  It was awful.  My next pitcher was Yogi Energy Green Tea.  It is mild and I like it.  Husband hasn't tried it yet.

This morning I made a batch of sausage/egg scramble (1lb of grassfed breakfast sausage with 7 eggs).  This works really well for reheating.  Here's what my breakfast looked like:

As I was eating my steamed broccoli & cauliflower, all I could
think was "I'm ONLY doing this because of Whole30"
I hope those thoughts change by the end of this program...

So... how did day 1 go?  I think it went OK.  I felt hungry most of the day and had 2 Larabar snacks between meals (one between breakfast & lunch and one between lunch & dinner).  I feel like the sugar dragon probably got a win on that one, but I will do better today.  I definitely need to concentrate on eating enough and eating the right things at my meals so that I can make it from one meal to the next.  

BRING IT, DAY 2!

It Starts (with Food) Today!

It's finally here!  Day 1 of my first Whole30.  I am so very grateful to have others doing this with me, I think the support will be much needed :)

I spent a lot of time preparing over the weekend.  I started out by cleaning out my pantries.  There are some items that, while not Whole30 compliant, I will not throw out (tomato sauce that has sugar in it, flavored almonds...etc.), so those items went to the top cabinet and all W30 compliant items went in the lower cabinet.  I was shocked at how little was left in the cabinet.

You can almost hear it echo...

This one looks more full, but is really almost all inedible!

After that, I cleaned out the fridge and poured out any dressings/condiments that were in glass jars.  I washed the jars and lids and they are now taking space in the newly emptied pantry cabinet :)

I needed to go shopping (obviously).  So, I stopped at the Farmer's Market and got this:

I went back on Saturday for Tomatoes, Cucumbers & Bacon,
but forgot to take a pic.

Then I headed to two different Kroger locations.  First I got all of this:

Larabars are my new obsession!
The Ziploc containers were a must because I plan to have several
lunches/dinners available to be reheated at any given time.
The VitaCoco Coconut Water with Pineapple was ok, but the
plain coconut water was awful.
SCORE!  Ground turkey marked down
Finally found canned coconut milk

I seriously prowl around Kroger every chance I get looking for marked down items.  Did well at my next stop:

The bagged veggies last at least a week past their freshness date,
but Kroger always marks them down (about 50%) when they are getting
close to their date.  These are easy to carry to work and toss in the microwave
or even just eat raw.

Next it was time to prepare!  I made another batch of mayo and then turned it into ranch dressing!

Holy Exciting!  I fricken' LOVE ranch dressing!

I also clarified all of the butter in my house, but again, forgot to take pix.  Sorry!

Yesterday (Sunday), I got to work putting meat and veggies in BOTH of my crockpots!  Can you say efficient?!  First I put carrots, onions, celery and tomatoes in one of them.  I seasoned and browned my beef roast in coconut oil and then put it on top with just a splash of water in the bottom and turned it on.

Then I put carrots, onions and celery in the next crockpot and Husband cut up a whole chicken into quarters, seasoned it and dropped it in (no water needed).  Cutting it up first made it SO much easier to clean off the bone when it was done.  Also, it made a better stock.  Here's a picture of our 5 "chicken dinners" and my big pickle jar full of stock for future use:

I plan to use the "stock" from the beef roast to make a chili sometime in the next week.  I am keeping a journal each day of what I eat and how I feel.  I will probably share 5 days at a time on here.