First-timer Starting 8/1

[JayneNZ]

Oh, my link didn't happen - Let me try again:

 

http://nomnompaleo.com/post/4807547385/slow-cooker-roast-chicken-and-gravy

 

ha! I think that did it!

[Darlene]

Hi Jayne!

 

My crockpot chicken is simply two whole pastured chickens rinsed, stuffed with half a lemon each, salted, and cooked on low overnight (or about eight hours).  No "recipe" required.    It's my quick/easy method for ensuring I've got some meat for snacks and quick meals available.  Of course, you can add whatever seasoning you wish.  I usually add garlic and onion to nearly everything, but I keep this plain so I can safely give a few bites to my cats as a treat.  (Onion and garlic are potentially deadly to cats.)  

 

That recipe from nomnompaleo looks really good - thank you!  

 

Day 10

Woke up feeling fine, but sleepy.  Stayed up too late.  Will be out all day, but in a very relaxing, Whole30-friendly place.  Lunch should be covered, but I'll have backup items, just in case.  Not sure what I'll be having for dinner, though.  

[Darlene]

Lots to update.

Yesterday was Day 10, and though I was prepared for it to be a rough one, it wasn't.  Still feeling fine. 

 

I spent the day, yesterday, at the house of my chiropractor and his wife.  They periodically host a "Flow Day", where people can hang out and chill, while receiving three Flow sessions throughout the day.  Flow is method of gentle touches, generally along the spinal column, that send the body's nervous system the message that it's okay to relax and heal.  It's lovely work, and made for a very Zen-like day. 

 

This chiroprator is the one from whom I first heard of It Starts With Food.  He and his wife "went Paleo" earlier this year, and many of his patients have followed suit.  So the lunch that was served was a Paleo meal.  I brought backup food, since not all Paleo food is Whole30 friendly, but turns out the only thing they served that I couldn't have was the butter for the broccoli. 

 

Meal 1

First time since I started that I did not have eggs for breakfast.  I needed something quick, so I just heated leftovers from the previous night's dinner of chicken and steamed zucchini.  That, plus the usual coffee w/coconut milk.

 

Meal 2

Paleo meatballs (made with grassfed beef and pork), spaghetti squash, and steamed broccoli.  Since I couldn't have butter, I took a little extra oil from the top of the sauce the meatballs were in to make sure I had enough fat.  

 

I also snacked a little, over the course of the day, and sipped ginger peach tea.  A friend brought a yummy meat snack that was ground beef, goji berries, and I don't remember what else (but it was all compliant) that she'd baked and cut into bite-sized pieces.  I had three bites of that.  Also had a single cherry, and a sample of another meat snack (store-bought) called Tanka Bites that are made with buffalo and cranberries.  (Tiny bit of sugar in the cranberries, but I think I read somewhere that that's okay?  At any rate, it was one small piece.))  Not all the flavors are compliant (there's one that has some gluten), but these were.  Quite tasty, but I'm guessing expensive.   

 

Meal 3

Didn't feel like cooking when I got home, so I had a large sprout salad with tomato, avocado, tuna, and homemade mayo and mustard.  Also half an Israel melon.  (My son and I are very much enjoying these Israel melons!  Such a nice summer fruit.)

 

Now on to today - Day 11

A bit sleepy today, but fine otherwise.  I've had a few twinges of longing for no-no starchy carbs.  Closest I've come to a "craving", so far.  I'd love a cookie or biscuit, but not enough to be tempted to follow through.  Pretty sure I had a dream last night about eating something I shouldn't.  I hope this doesn't get worse as the days go on. 

 

Meal 1

Big bunch of kale and mustard greens sauteed in ghee and topped with half an avocado; scrambled eggs (3 1/2) and mushrooms; coffee w/coconut milk that I only drank about 2/3 of. 

 

Meal 2

Regular Sunday dinner with friends.  I was up for doing the main course, so I brought Coconut Curry Turkey that had been cooking in the crockpot all day.  It's one of my favorite recipes, and people love it!  (I'll post the recipe below.) 

I asked the person who was to bring a side veggie to set some aside for me that would be "plain" (no oils, cheese, etc.), which they did.  Unfortunately, their "veggie" ended up being corn and edamame.  So... meal 2 for me was the turkey, and that was it. 

Meal 3

Our Sunday dinner is too late to be lunch, but too early to be dinner, so meal 3 was not long after meal 2.  Which was fine, since all meal 2 consisted of was meat and the liquid it cooked in.  For this meal, then, I had a bit more of the turkey, plus a huge bowl of steamed broccoli and cauliflower with ghee.  Almost forgot, I preceded meal three with *5* apricots.  Not sure it was wise to have them before everything else, and I wouldn't eat five at a time on a regular basis, but apricots are small enough that even five of them don't make me feel like I'm going overboard.  They were a nice treat.     Oh, I also had half a can of coconut water, followed by plain water, because I've definitely not had enough of that today. 

 

Still having a fairly easy time of it, so far!  *knock on wood*  Here's the Coconut Curry Turkey recipe:

 

Coconut Curry Turkey  (Note: This is for a large, oblong crockpot.  For the smaller round ones, halve this recipe.)

6 turkey breast tenderloins, each cut into 3-4 pieces (or left whole - doesn't really matter)

1 quart of chicken stock (I used my own homemade chicken bone broth this time)

2 cans of organic coconut milk

1 large onion, chopped

1 lb. of mushrooms

2-4 T. curry powder (I eyeball it, so I'm not sure how much I actually use)

salt and black pepper to taste

minced garlic (or garlic powder) to taste

 

Pour all the liquids into the crockpot

Whisk in the spices

Add the chopped onion

Add the turkey

Toss the mushrooms on top

Cover and cook on high for 5-6 hours, or low for 7-8 hours. 

 

A couple comments about this recipe:

I used to include two cans of cream of mushroom soup, and this was the first time I left that out.  (I figured it's probably not compliant.)  I didn't miss it.

I also used to serve it over rice or noodles, which is an obvious no-no now.  Not sure how it would be over spaghetti squash, but maybe?  Tonight, I ate it like soup. 

Which brings me to the fact that there's a lot of liquid in this, and it's not thick, like a sauce.  So some tweaking (arrowroot flour, maybe?) is needed if one wants some thickness. 

 

That's a wrap for day 11!  I'm off to click my little email reward for the day.  'Night!

[JayneNZ]

What a bummer about your turkey meal!! Of all the vegies they could cook hahahaha it's quite funny really isn't it - good job you did the main or you could have been eating apricots lol  Good on you for sticking to the plan. You're a third of the way now!

[Darlene]

Not good at keeping this log updated lately, and now I've got three days to log.  Ugh. 

 

Quick summary of how things have been: Fine.     No big lovely surge of energy or feelings of well-being, but no difficulties either.  Been bad about staying up too late then, sleeping in.  Need to work on that, because I know I'm getting fewer hours than I should, and at less-than-optimal times.

 

Day 12

Meal 1 (late morning, as this was one of the days I slept in)

Kale and mustard greens sauteed in ghee and topped with half an avocado; scrambled eggs and mushrooms; coffee w/coconut milk. 

 

Meal 2 (late afternoon, partly because I'd slept in; partly because meal 1 really stayed with me a good while)

Mini meal of leftover turkey and steamed broccoli and cauliflower

 

Meal 3

Sprout salad w/tuna, tomato, avocado, mayo for dressing

 

 

Day 13 

I can't remember what I ate for meals 1 and 2 yesterday!  Ugh.  It was all compliant, though - no worries.  

 

Meal 3

Ginger Crock Pot Chicken (from thefoodee.com) which included a lot of carrots.  1/2 and Israel melon.

 

 

Today - Day 14

Meal 1

Last of the Coconut Curry Turkey plus a ton of steamed broccoli and cauliflower.  Coffee w/coconut milk.

 

Meal 2

Curried Mango Tuna Cakes (thefoodee.com) and yet more broccoli and cauliflower (always with plenty of clarified butter).  Also had a small handful of cashews and about 2/3 of an apple.   

 

No third meal today, because today was another day I slept in.  Meal 2 was late enough that I can't justify another meal.  Plus, it's time to go grocery shopping again.  I'm low on a lot of stuff!

 

 

All right - day 14 down! 

[Darlene]

Two days to log again. 

 

Yesterday - Day 15 (Halfway point!)

Meal 1

4 eggs scrambled in ghee; coffee w/coconut milk; cherry tomatoes  (I think I had additional veggies, but I can't remember for certain.)

 

Meal 2

Leftover Curried Mango Tuna cakes and a lot of steamed broccoli and cauliflower with ghee.  (I love these tuna cakes, but I botched the recipe by doubling every ingredient except the tuna.  *forehead smack*  Probably explains why the mixture didn't hold together well enough to make "cakes".  It was more like hash!  lol  Really yummy, though.

 

Meal 3

Salmon; steamed asparagus and yellow squash w/ghee. 

Pretty sure that's it.  Didn't have any fruit to speak of, on this day.

(edited to add: Forgot I also had a bottle of kombucha and a can of coconut juice.  Splurged a bit.)

 

Went shopping before dinner (otherwise, there wouldn't have been salmon!) and stocked up again.  Put two whole chickens in the crockpot to cook overnight.

 

Today - Day 16

Meal 1

Mustard greens and kale sauteed in ghee, to which I added about a T. of raisins as an afterthought (getting creative!) and topped with a small avocado; 4 scrambled eggs; coffee w/coconut milk.  (I'm not usually one to put fruit in savory dishes, but the raisins with the greens were a nice touch, I must say!)

 

Meal 2

Large salad of mixed baby lettuces and such (spring mix) with one large roma tomato, a bunch of chicken (from last night's crockpot), and dressed with Tessamae's Cracked Pepper.  Feeling a need for more, I mashed a small banana together with two T. of almond butter, added about a T. of coconut oil and a bit of coconut milk.  It was a nice sweet treat, but not too sweet.

 

Snack:

Half a cantaloupe, a small handful of cashews, cherry tomatoes. 

 

Meal 3 pending.

 

I did 2 1/2 hours of massage today, which is more than I've been used to doing for a long time.  (Work is reeeeallly slow.)  So at the moment, I'm rather tired and not terribly inspired to cook.  Thus, the snack, which was kinda nibbled over a period of time.  Some acorn squash just came out of the oven, and it's getting late, so I'm going to stop procrastinating and go get dinner made now. 

 

Update:

Meal 3

Cold crockpot chicken; acorn squash*; a bottle of kombucha.

*recipe: http://paleodietlifestyle.com/roasted-acorn-squash/

The squash was a lot more labor-intensive than I liked, but it was good, once I got over the fact that it wasn't sweet. 
The recipe used nutmeg, which enhanced the disconnect. (Too used to nutmeg being associated with sweet things.) It grew on me as I ate it, though, and worked well with the chicken.  It's also only the second time, I think, that I've had anything starchy, and it was nicely satisfying. 

 

Misc. comments/observations:

Still finding this to be really easy.  No energy surge, but I realized just tonight that I haven't had or needed a nap in... a week, I think?  Haven't even thought about it.  Not that I'm getting as much sleep as I should.  I try for 7 1/2 hours a night, minimum (and know 8-9 would be better), but too often get a bit less than that.  But no nap attacks, at least.

 

My pants are looser!  Not dramatically so, but noticeably and unmistakably.  A couple people have commented. 

 

I've been having an issue with calf cramps in the morning for several days now (5 or 6).  I searched the forums yesterday to see if others have had this issue, and they have.  I think the cause is usually lack of one or more of the following: water, calcium, magnesium, potassium.  My water intake is pretty good and hasn't changed, so I'm thinking minerals.  So what do I need to be eating more of, I wonder? 

 

I haven't been taking my supplements because I haven't bothered to see which ones contain gluten and which are compliant.  Last night, I took my calcium and magnesium (after making sure they're compliant), and the coconut water supplied a lot of potassium, but this morning's calf cramp was the worst yet.  *headscratch*  I probably need to start taking the calcium and magnesium on schedule again, and perhaps allow a banana now and then (big reason I had one today), and more coconut water, except that the coconut water is rather pricey. 

 

Anyway, except for these minor issues, all is well!  I'm looking forward to "tiger's blood", but not at all dismayed or discouraged by not feeling it yet.  I have confidence I will, in good time! 

[Darlene]

Quick update.  Not much to report beyond my meal logs and a few comments after. 

 

Yesterday - Day 17

Meal 1

Sping mix salad with tomatoes, avocado, tuna, Tessamae's dressing; coffee w/coconut milk

 

Meal 2

Greens sauteed in ghee with a few raisins; four scrambled eggs

 

Snack

Some plain chicken and 1/2 a cantaloupe

 

Meal 3

Salmon; lots of steamed broccoli and cauliflower w/ghee; 2 kiwis; cup of rooibos tea

 

 

Today - Day 18

Meal 1

Ginger Crock Pot Chicken (cooked all night and made for a quick, ready-to-go breakfast!) with carrots and leftover broccoli and cauliflower (with ghee, of course) from last night.  Coffee w/coconut milk

 

Snack

A bit of chicken then a small banana mashed with almond butter (about 4 T.), coconut oil (about 2 T.) and a little coconut milk

(Really wanted a cold glass of milk with this, I must say, but no actual temptation.)

 

Meal 2

Large spring mix salad with tomatoes, avocado, Tessamae's, and cold chicken.

 

Meal 3

Ground beef w/onions, chili pepper, garlic and other seasonings served over spaghetti squash.  (Yummy change of pace!) 

Also, 1/2 a cantaloupe and a can of coconut water later.

 

Okay, quick comments:

No leg cramps the last two mornings, even though I have not followed through with my plan to start taking my calcium and magnesium supplements again.  *shrug*  Maybe the potassium in the coconut water is doing the trick.

 

The kombucha I had three nights ago (end of day 15) gave me a bit of heartburn and might have affected my blood sugar a little (felt low).  The heartburn wasn't too bad and didn't last too long, but I'm going to avoid that for awhile, or drink no more half a bottle at a time. 

 

I just screwed up, a little while ago, darn it.  Not a deal breaker I hope, but I've got a half-dollar patch of poison ivy on my arm that I wanted to get on top of quickly.  So I took three doses of a homeopathic remedy, realizing too late that it's got lactose and sucrose in it. 

 

But at least I didn't pop a few M&Ms like I did in a dream last night!  I had one (or two?) dreams of blowing it early on, but none since (that I remember), so this dream took me by surprise.  I was very relieved it was just a dream!  

 

I actually have a mild headache right now, and it's different from my usual kind of headache.  Could it really be from the small amount of lactose and sucrose in the remedy?  If so, that doesn't bode at all well for me being able to add dairy and [a wee bit] sugar back in when this is over.  I've really been hoping I'd be okay with raw milk, 1/2 and 1/2 in my coffee, and a little sugar in my coffee too.  I guess we'll see.  

 

Overall, I'm still very very happy with how this is going.  Day 18 down!     

[JayneNZ]

Hi Darlene

 

I see you're still going strong - yay you. I've had a couple of challenges (did a post in the troubleshooting section which was basically just a big whinge) but I'm still on track - yay me!

 

My biggest problem is not feeling like breakfast but I see you had salad a couple of times for breakfast - I love salad so maybe I might try that.

 

Keep rocking on

 

Jayne

[Darlene]

I'm still here!  Like you, Jayne, I have no intention of trying to catch up on my food log, at this point. 

 

But just a quick note:

Though I've been slack about keeping this food journal, the Whole30 itself is still going very well.  I had some days of increased joint pain, but that seems to be resolving, and I feel like I have less now than before I started on Aug. 1.  That's awesome!  

 

My energy hasn't surged, but my lack of a decent bedtime is almost certainly keeping me from progressing as quickly as I could.  Good news is that I'm now actively working on that.  My son reports to Navy boot camp in less than a week, and two nights ago, he started going to bed at 10:00 and getting up at 6:00 in preparation for that.  And I'm doing it with him.  I suggested we take it one step further and ban TV, computers, and anything else with a screen an hour beforehand, at 9:00.  We haven't been super rigid about that, and I do still read my Kindle before sleep, but I do so using amber glasses so as to avoid interfering with melatonin production.  

 

First night, I barely dozed until about 1:00 a.m..  Really annoying, but not surprising.  Last night I did a whole lot better (got to sleep in about half an hour), but then had a serious nap attack mid-morning.  (Napped yesterday, too.)  I figure it will get easier every night, and intend to keep to the schedule even after my son is gone.  

 

Speaking of which, I also suspect the reason my energy isn't awesome yet is due to my son's impending departure.  All is right with the world regarding this, but I'm going to miss him terribly, and it may take a week or two after he's gone before I find my new equilibrium.  *sigh*  All the more reason it's good I'm taking care of myself with great food, right now.  

 

Oh, I skipped my coffee altogether today, for the first time.  No issues with that, because I've been increasing the decaf:regular ratio for the last couple weeks.  Again, mostly for my son's benefit (he doesn't want to go to boot camp with a caffeine addiction), but it didn't make sense to make separate pots of coffee, so I stepped my consumption down as well.  He's off coffee altogether, even decaf, for this last week, and since I'm not really enjoying my coffee without the sugar, there's not much point in making it.  At least for awhile. 

 

That's all I've got, at the moment.  Day 27 - wow!  Time to start planning my reintroduction routine.  To be candid, I'll probably add sugar to my coffee again pretty soon, starting with (and hopefully staying at) a much smaller amount that I was using before.  Other than that, though, I intend to keep to the "no added sugar" for everything else as much as possible.  

 

Not missing grains at all, but still hoping raw milk will be okay for me.  Other than the sugar in my coffee, raw dairy will be the first thing I add back in.     

[JayneNZ]

Good to read your update - hope you're not missing your son too much!

 

Can you believe that we've nearly finished this??? I guess, again, another month has whizzed by - a definite sign of old age I think lol

 

I too am still having trouble with the early night thing. I hope your routine that you started with your son is still going strong. I need to work on that much more myself. I have been trying a bit harder in the exercise department - going for more walks. I even got the kids old pram out and walked to the supermarket, loaded up and walked home hahaha I must have looked like a very crazy woman walking along with an empty pram! But I don't care - it was a good walk and saved petrol - bonus!

 

I have to go and update my journal some time tonight too - I'm not going to bother putting in my food journal. I have been compliant but it's all pretty much the same old, same old.

 

Can't wait to read your final entry on Day 30 - not long now!!!

[Darlene]

Well, so much for doing my final entry on Day 30, which was...five days ago!  (I've always been pretty flaky when it comes to keeping up with journals, diaries, and logs.)

 

Jayne, I love your story about taking a pram to the grocery store. 

 

My son is only just gone, having left just yesterday (Tuesday).  Actually, I last saw him Monday.  They put the new recruits up in a hotel the night before they leave.  So now, after 27 years, 2 weeks, and 4 days of having at least one of my two children in the house, I'm officially an empty nester.  My husband is overseas and has been for most of the last several years, and my son has been like a really awesome room mate who I miss very much.  Really happy for him, though.  Just need to find a new equilibrium for myself, and that is probably a really good thing, once I come to terms with not having either of my kids fully present in my day-to-day life any more.  

 

Anyway, on to my Whole30.  It really was a resounding success, and I'm so very pleased and proud I made it through!  Not that it was hard.  I think I've said before, it was actually the easiest thing I've ever done, with regard to my way of eating!  It's the satiation  that makes it so easy, I believe.  So many food issues go away when the food being eaten isn't causing crazy hunger due to blood sugar imbalances!

 

There were a few minor foibles along the way: 

Early on, I used a bit of lemon juice I realized later probably had preservatives in it.  From that point on, I only used fresh lemon juice I squeezed myself. 

Near the end, the first night of going to bed so much earlier than I'm used to, I took a dose of liquid melatonin, forgetting it has alcohol.

Think I mentioned taking a homeopathic remedy containing lactose and sucrose.  Well, that ended up being something I did a lot more of, due to a fairly serious case of poison ivy.  Couldn't see any way around it, though.  That remedy is very necessary for me.  Didn't seem to mess me up.

One last thing was that on the last day, I got food from the hot bar at Whole Foods for dinner, and the fish I chose for my entree was cooked in canola oil.     I drained it as best I could.

 

I can't say I felt dramatically different during the Whole30, but I didn't have any headaches, which was great.  (I used to have really intense headaches rather often, but those had already decreased in severity and duration before I started my Whole30.)  I was pretty hungry a lot during the early days, but I just needed more food.  Didn't feel like my blood sugar was unstable at all.  That was REALLY great.  Sleep quality seems to be a little better (but wasn't what I'd call bad before, anyway).  Bloat is not a huge issue with me, but I do feel like there's less of that.  I've had a lot less joint pain (my left hip is the main trouble spot), but it's impossible to know if that's due to clean eating or to the homeopathic remedy I've been taking for the poison ivy, which is also for joint pain.  Probably both are factors. 

 

Stepping on the scale was pretty anticlimactic.  I dropped 6 pounds.  Not terribly impressive, but then I realized that translates to 72 pounds a year.  Not so bad, really!  Especially considering that until the last week or so, my sleep schedule was still far from optimal, and also that I'm not exercising in any meaningful way yet.  Considering how important both those factors are in weight balance, I actually feel really good about dropping "just" 6 pounds, having done it with diet alone.  

 

Post Whole30 life is a bit more challenging.  I'll start a new thread in the Post-Whole30 section for that.  I'll close this with one final comment about how much I love the Whole30!  It's so easy, beneficial, and empowering!  I know I'll need to do it again, I'm ready and willing to do so, and I love how it helps me know what to eat in between!  Thank you, Dallas and Melissa, for ALL this!  And thank you to everyone who has supported me, whether directly or privately.