38flamingo Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 I'm home, but still on vacation - so I spent the morning harvesting veggies at my friend's farm, where I generally put in my share of work on the weekend. This is one of the great gifts of living in central New York - home grown organic food is highly accessible during the growing season. I was on my own at the farm with the assigned task of harvesting everything and taking it all (2 of the people who generally share the food are about to leave on vacation, and the 3rd lives on the farm and didn't need anything more in her fridge). What an assignment! Two hours after I arrived I left for home with a bag of cut lettuce, cilantro, onions, garlic, apples, 2 bags of kale, 2 varieties of green beans, beets, and 3 varieties of tomatoes. There were so many tomatoes that I'm cooking down some to can. Lunch was an amazing salad inspired by all the fresh food, plus a few things already cooked in the fridge. Beets, apple, cilantro, tomatoes, chicken, cashews, and an oil and vinegar dressing. Absolutely thrilling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethP Posted August 15, 2013 Share Posted August 15, 2013 NavyGirl - I'm cutting out tomatos because I realized my joints were aching after I made a pot of chili a couple of weeks ago and no more aching joints since then. I've also never really like tomatos (although I've tolerated them cooked)... also made me think about if my body's been trying to tell me something for a long time. About once a month a consultant comes in for meetings at work and he always brings 2.5 pounds of M&Ms and a pound of dark chocolate covered acai berries... and fills up all the candy jars on the assistants' desks all around the office. He arrived yesterday so everywhere I look at work there is chocolate. Today I sat through a 1.5 hour meeting mid-afternoon with a bowl-full of chocolate infront of my face the entire time. I don't think I've ever gone 25 days in my life without chocolate before! But I held my own today and didn't go off plan. Two days after I finish Whole30, I'll be traveling to spend 3 days at my parents' house... the place where my lousy eating habits were born and formed. A little bit nervous about it. Thinking of trying to extend to a Whole35 and starting reintroduction once I'm back home so that I don't get pulled into all of the family eating habits while I'm there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primalamy Posted August 16, 2013 Author Share Posted August 16, 2013 Breakfast: Chicken and veggie stir fry. Lunch: Tuna salad with olive oil, red wine vinegar, pickle juice, pickled onions, celery, salt, pepper, garlic and dill. Dinner: Sauteed onions, mushroom and kale with compliant portobello chicken sausages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunnyJen Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Today was good for me. Here's a quick meal I've made several times and just love. A healthy guacamole. This was my dinner tonight along with grilled veggies from last night. 2 hard boiled eggs 1/2 avocado Diced tomato Diced onions Cilantro Salt & pepper I smash up the eggs and avocado and stir in the rest of the ingredients. I might eat this along with a piece of fruit or sweet potato or like tonight, leftover veggies. It has really saved me when I'm bored with food or need something quick to make. I may start adding eggs to my guacamole from now on. It is so good and creamy. My husband liked it too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demos88 Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Another great day of eating. Tuna steak of dinner yesterday and tuna steak salad for lunch today. The weekend today will be a challenge... visit to a fruit farm tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCSunshine Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 I can't believe we are so close to being done with the 30 days. This has been so eye opening, and this message board has been such a great help when little issues come up. And 30 days ago I would have bet money that one of the first things I would add back in was chocolate or coffee. And to my surprise, I have missed cheese the most. I know this for certain- I don't need sugar in my diet to feel good. I don't need bread to help me feel full. I have found that I love some other foods that I had been neglecting in my diet (avocado and sweet potatoes). I know I have lost weight. I know that so many others could benefit from eating this way, and I have been championing this way of eating to all who will listen. And above all, I know that my migraines have been triggered by food. (I went from having 2 migraines a week to having 1 in the past 26 days.) That was my whole reason for starting this. Hang in there, y'all! We're almost there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whole Amy Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 KCSunshine - that is amazing!! That is about 6 migranes you did not have just because you changed the food on your plate...nice work! I just had a HUGE victory. I went to a bday party for my kids from 11-1 and did not eat any of the chicken strips, sliders, fries, cupcakes or ice cream! I did have a few grapes...that was all that I could have...I really thought there would have been some cup up veggies to nibble. I was very hungry when I got home and that was even after I had a snack at 10am before leaving. I got home at about 2pm and dug into my meatballs in marinara over sauteed kale! At the party - I was really really close to having a bite of ice cream. The cupcake did not interest me - and the fried food did not really either, I was never much of a fried food person....but ice cream I was thiiiiissss close! BUt I thought about how mad at myself I would be if I cheated on day 25! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowflower Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 I just realized something that I never saw mentioned in the book as a possible improvement due to the whole30......I've had NO tooth sensitivity!! None!! I can't even remember the last time I had it. So....I don't know if it's due to Whole30 or not, but I love it. I've got to do some cooking this weekend! Ive got sweet potato soup and chocolate chili in my freezer and I can bring out a few servings of those, but I'd like to try something new. I'm thinking of trying a veggie + eggs muffin recipe. I've been eating scotch eggs for the past 2 weeks with whatever veggies I have on hand for meal #1, but am ready for a change. (I like keeping the mess in the morning to one pan or less) Hope you are all having a great day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowflower Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Woohoo! Way to Go, WholeAmy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyGirl Posted August 16, 2013 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Temptations at work today!! A coworker pulled out a giant bag of Doritos and offered me some. I declined but it was tough. Another coworker started eating them and said "Why did you give me these??? Now I can't stop eating them!" It led to an interesting discussion on frankenfood and food without brakes. Another coworker brought her wonderful, made from scratch poundcake. I was sorry to pass that up but no regrets on passing up the Doritos. Someone else brought a bushel of corn from his farm and I politely declined. It's definitely getting easier to say no and moreover to think about what food is worth my time and what isn't. Valuable life skill!! Today for meal 1 green veggie soup with leftover salmon cakes and paleo mayo, meal 2 breakfast sausage (why not, lol) with sweet potato and roasted zucchini. Not sure about tonight... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primalamy Posted August 16, 2013 Author Share Posted August 16, 2013 Breakfast was sausages with mushrooms and sauerkraut. Lunch was chicken and guacamole. Dinner was baked salmon with seaweed and roasted okra, sweet potatoes and cauliflower. I can't believe there are only 4 days left! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
demos88 Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 NavyGirl, DORITOS are a drug. We love them. It is all about trading short-term pleasure for long-term health. Our brains hate it. I am the worst with moderation, so I long W30. I woke up and worked out upperbody, avoiding any strain to the stitches on my shin. It has been three days and I should be healing well. It is a beautiful day in MD... enjoy the day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whole Amy Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 Hi everyone - I am having serious cravings today, I won't give in but I was not expecting it at this point! Bought some buffalo meat at the farmers market today, my kids asked for buffalo chili that they saw in a menu last night. I am trying to get excited about meat and vegetable, but really I am craving some bread and carbs! I know, people will saw I need a sweet potato, but that is not the same . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38flamingo Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 Whole Amy - I'm thinking that cravings can come at any time, especially if there's any connection with eating to manage uncomfortable feelings. What I've been experiencing today is a lot of emotional discomfort, and thinking that its kind of a good thing to handle the feelings without food. And, I'm thinking that the feelings are rising to the surface thanks to nearly a month without sugar and other food addictions to keep things managed. In my book its the kind of thing that feels bad for a little while, but is really no different than any other kind of detox! Sometimes it helps to just stop and ask myself how I'm actually feeling at the moment when I desperately want to eat something... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowflower Posted August 17, 2013 Share Posted August 17, 2013 Hi all. Happy Day 27! 27?! unbelievable! I wanted to share some of the yummy things I've made over the past 24 hours..... Mango / avocado salsa with pan fryed salmon (from nomnompaleo.com). I've always broiled my salmon.....NEVER AGAIN! it was so good pan fried / sautéed in a bit of ghee. And it was only seasoned with salt and pepper. It was amazing hot, but tasted great cold for lunch today. Mexican Meatza (from theclothesmakethegirl.com) was also great! it's a giant seasoned meat patty with salsa (I used my homemade tomatillo salsa), green peppers, onions, avocado and cilantro. I added some jalapeño stuffed olives for an extra kick. Have a fabulous weekend! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primalamy Posted August 17, 2013 Author Share Posted August 17, 2013 Whole Amy - I had some massive cravings today too. For cotton candy, hot fudge, pistachios, pasta sauce, cheese. It was crazy. We went to a new farmer's market today and got a bunch of delicious produce. I've decided to start trying fruits and veggies I don't normally eat, so I got some turnips and paw paw fruits. Breakfast was salmon with seaweed, sweet potatoes and okra. I didn't really have lunch but I had some toasted coconut and blueberries while I was cleaning the kitchen for dinner. Dinner was roasted squash, zucchini, purple cabbage and brussels sprouts, with a stir fry of ground beef, garlic, carrots and mushrooms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyGirl Posted August 18, 2013 Share Posted August 18, 2013 Good morning all! I missed checking in with you all yesterday but I had a great Whole30 Saturday : ) - Demos, thank you for the re-inforcement on the Doritos! They really are like food crack for me -- must avoid them! - WholeAmy, cue my frequent craving for ice cream! I mean, I like ice cream but still having MUST GET SOME NOW cravings every now and . I miss the convenience of bread and pasta and have confessed my love for both in the past, but I have not missed them much at all. Odd. I did have a crazy food dream that I joyfully ate a FlufferNutter sandwich and decided for myself that it really was Whole30-OK so I wasn't gonna post about on our thread : p - Snowflower, is there anything better than pan fried fish? I just fried up some tilapia last night. I recently started dating someone and he came over yesterday. He offered to buy me groceries for the week (is it odd to think that is the most thoughtful, practical gift someone has ever offered me?? Especially when eating paleo, lol) and then I made lunch for us at home. Inspired by "the best chicken ever", I threw some chicken thighs on the grill, glazed with coconut oil and BBQ 3000 (from Penzeys). We also had a green salad with olive oil & balsamic dressing and some grilled pineapple. It was a beautiful summer day so we sat outside under a tree for lunch. He really liked my cooking and I was impressed with myself! At the start, I really felt overwhelmed by all this cooking from scratch. Now I feel way more prepared and skilled. Yesterday evening I defrosted some ground meat and made paleo-ketchup glazed and bacon wrapped meatloaf for the week. I pressure cooked half a dozen sweet potatoes and defrosted some chicken thighs for the week. I saved the sweet potato water as a base for my next pressure cooker soup: last week green veggie soup, this week orange veggie soup! It quickly became my favorite go-to breakfast! I never liked mushrooms before Whole30 and I still think they are weird, but I like the option of adding more meaty, umami flavor to foods so I also prepped some mushroom-bacon stuffed burgers for Tuesday night. Might go crazy and have one in the morning one day : ) I love a good play on words and I have been looking for a good "tomato sauce" recipe without the tomatoes, to dodge those nightshades. I wanted to share this recipe for "Nomato Sauce" with the group: http://www.food.com/recipe/basic-nomato-sauce-tomato-free-tomato-sauce-359835 I'm so impressed to hear how everyone else is getting this done, especially with small children or traveling a lot. I have enjoyed the journey with you all. We are almost home now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethP Posted August 18, 2013 Share Posted August 18, 2013 It's interesting how much more attuned I feel to my body's signals now than a month ago. Yesterday I had a bad gastrointestinal reaction to something I ate and I was able to isolate what it was quickly because I've been paying attention what I'm eating & how my body is responding. I had gone out to brunch with some friends and ordered the fruit cup (since it was the only W30 compliant thing on the menu... I'd already had some scrambled eggs in coconut oil before going, anticipating this issue). The base of the fruit cup was cantaloupe. I've avoided cantaloupe for the past year or so, after noticing that I often got a sore throat after eating it. But I was hungry yesterday and the melon was delicious, so I didn't think much about it. Well, a few hours later I was thinking a lot about it! It was absolutely the only thing I ate yesterday that I hadn't been eating all along. Now I know! No more cantaloupe. NavyGirl - Thanks for sharing the Nomato Sauce link. I'm also avoiding tomatoes, because in large quantities they seem to make my joints ache, so that will be a fun recipe to experiment with. Glad you are enjoying the cooking-from-scratch and gaining confidence in it (and receiving compliments). I feel the same. Cooking is a creative outlet for me and I've done so much more cooking in the past month than I'd been doing... and I've enjoyed it a lot and find it very satisfying to eat something that I carefully crafted. In the beginning I was afraid I wouldn't have the energy for all of this cooking (and subsequent cleaning up of the kitchen), since I'd been in the pattern of coming home from work and not having energy for anything beyond popping popcorn or pouring a bowl of cereal and sitting on the couch. But with all of the extra energy I have these days, the cooking & cleaning haven't been that big of a deal. And I'm also not ravenous when I get home from work, so I don't mind waiting an hour or so to eat, which gives me time to make something delicious! Another enjoyable by-product of Whole30 has been having friends over for meals much more often. Since it's hard to eat out, I've just been having friends over and enjoying the social time. Have another friend coming for lunch today and will be making a Chicken Curry recipe that I experimented with a week or so ago. Made Scotch Eggs for the first time this morning, after making my own paleo breakfast sausage to use for the meat. Yummy! Had been stuck on the Egg Muffins for breakfast for a couple of weeks but I was ready for a change for Meal 1, and this seems like it will be an enjoyable addition to the Meal 1 rotation. We're almost there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primalamy Posted August 19, 2013 Author Share Posted August 19, 2013 Two more days left! Breakfast was ground beef with roasted veggies and guacamole. Lunch was salmon, seaweed and roasted cauliflower. Dinner was a big salad and grilled brisket and turkey with chimichurri and a pineapple cherry bbq sauce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowflower Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 day 29! I made krabby patties from nomnompaleo.com last night. I goofed and didn't read the directions carefully before buying the ingredients.....I didn't realize I needed to put them in the fridge for 30 minutes before frying them! I was hungry when I started at 7:30! uh oh! But it wasn't an issue! The hunger didn't "take over". I made the patties first and while they were in the fridge chopped my fennel and carrots, I washed dishes, I wiped down the counters. No snacking needed. No headache or stomach ache. (it was very common for me to get hunger headaches and stomach cramps if I waited too long to eat prior to whole30.). And they were totally worth the wait! Heavenly! I ate mine with a dollop of mayo. I had one of my kale, onion, green pepper egg muffins this morning and was amazed by how fluffy and good it tasted even after being warmed in the microwave. If anyone wants the recipe I'll share it. (I made it up based on several frittata and egg recipes I saw) 2 more days! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyGirl Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 GOOD MORNING EVERYONE Are we there yet??? I cannot believe we have made it so far and so well together. I keep saying it but this has really been an amazing journey. Still no tiger blood for me but I did finally get a good night's sleep last night without frequent waking up. The forum advice was time-release melatonin but I get "hooked" on that fairly quickly and then it's hard to sleep without it. I may consider some very low dose melatonin 0.25 - 0.5 mg daily but last night I tried a calcium-magnesium-zinc tablet in additional to my herbal tea with Natural Calm. I do like the Natural Calm, very relaxing, but I have been reading a lot about waking up in the middle of the night and cal-mag-zinc was a possible remedy. I figure we all need the minerals anyway and maybe my calcium is a little low these days. We'll see how it goes... Today for meal 1 green veggie soup with scrambled eggs, for meal 2 turkey-veggie meatloaf, spinach salad with white balsamic & olive oil and a plum, and for meal 3 bacon-mushroom burgers with romaine lettuce wrappers and grilled asparagus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
38flamingo Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Still no Tiger's Blood for me either! But I have definitely made major progress in breaking sugar and empty snacking habits, and I have exercised a level of discipline which for me, is absolutely remarkable! I no longer have afternoon blood sugar crashes, and I notice clearly how much my energy picks up after a good meal. And I have been having great meals! I was poking around on the Whole9 blog and found this post http://whole9life.com/2012/10/six-reasons-why-the-whole30-didnt-work-for-you/ which I found really helpful in re-evaluating what reasonable expectations are, and in noticing what I've accomplished. As I get ready to move on to day 31 I am continuing to think about what I want to keep as personal guidelines. At the moment I'm thinking that I'll stick with the basic Whole30 program to the extent that I'm in charge of my own food, and loosen it up a bit in terms of the times I eat out or at friends' homes. And I expect I'll have a glass of wine now and then! Great day to all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whole Amy Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Good morning everyone! Thank you for the support over the weekend - I think 38flamingo hit the nail on the head with her thoughts that things can come up at anytime, and I need to find a way to deal with them that does not involve food! I was not feeling so hot about myself and that makes me want to eat - whenever my mood is a little depressed the sugar/ carb dragon comes back and wants to be fed. I made it through - but man was I close to throwing in the towel! With my dinner I had some coconut milk, fruit and ground almonds on top - it was on the line of a cereal type concoction. I made cupcakes and frosting from scratch yesterday and did not have any - it was an out of body experience! I probably ate a good 1/2 cup (or more) of frosting in the past while baking. Notice - I said I ate it while baking/ making the cupcakes.....I never allowed myself to actually eat the cupcakes! So sad....I think back about all of the 1,000's of calories I consumed in the past during times of mindless eating - I never even enjoyed them! I was so bored with my eating yesterday that I told myself I need to step it up and making something new and exciting that made me happy to eat. I made a fabulous chicken curry with cauliflower rice! I have not had cauliflower in years because it has caused me trouble in the past....but he recipe was so tempting that I wanted to give it a go. It has been over 12 hours since the meal and I have been just fine....not a lick of stomach pain. So I am curious if that pain in the past was from something else I was usually eating with it. Anyway, the meal was most wonderful and the entire time I thought I was eating something off plan - the "rice" was so tasty and just wonderful. That meal was the most "satisfied" I have been in the last 30 days. My kids loved it too - they all asked for seconds. As I said last week I have been on a see-saw, I love this, I hate this, I can do this for another 30 days easy to....when is this over, I want chocolate! Right now I want to keep going - I am just now getting the whole thing, how to make meals, plan, keep the dragon at bay etc. If I did another one it would be with the goal of focusing on 3 meals a day and limiting fruit. My snacking and fruit intake on whole30 could have been better. I am proud of this group - we have been through a lot of challenges and have all made it through....way to go team! one more day to go Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salemsister Posted August 19, 2013 Share Posted August 19, 2013 Amazing that we are here at Day 29 and will reach our goal tomorrow! Yea us!!! I haven't found the tiger's blood either, but I am sleeping better I do admit. In many ways I am ready for this to be over, but know that my family and I will continue to eat this way indefinitely. It will certainly be WONDERFUL however to have more flexibility in eating and drinking. You bet there is a glass of red wine in my future on Wednesday! It has been great going through this with all of you. Don't know if I could have kept at it without our group and the forum pages! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethP Posted August 20, 2013 Share Posted August 20, 2013 Today was my final day of work before a week long vacation. At 5pm I found myself in celebration mode and was craving some of my old celebration foods. "It's only one more day, who cares if I go off plan now?" Thankfully I kept driving til I got home to my refrigerator full of Whole30 foods. I also successfully navigated a dinner at Cracker Barrell with my church small group on Sunday night. (I ate before I went!) But I feel like these final few days have been full of temptations. And moments of feeling like "I can't wait until this is over!" and mentally planning all the things I'm going to eat on Day 31. Hmmmm, not so good. But today I went clothes shopping and came away with a new pair of jeans and new top - both a size smaller than I was a month ago! I broke up with my scale about a year ago, after realizing that focusing on the numbers was only keeping me stuck in some really unhealthy emotional places. So the change in pant size will be the biggest measure of change in weight and body composition that I'll get as I look at the results of my Whole30. And it's an encouraging measure at this point... Seeing those concrete results is enough to make me take a deep breath and say "Ok, maybe I won't go carb-crazy on Day31!" And reflecting on the other positive outcomes of this Whole30 is just further motivation to keep going with a Paleo eating plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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