I'm so burned out on the foods I can eat

[Kim Haberman Erwin]

Day 15....SICK to DEATH of eggs, salads, cashews, chicken......ugg. I'm so tired of thinking SO hard about what to eat all the time. I'm not a big protein fan normally, so this has been a real stretch for me. I'm sure I'm not eating enough. Feeling very discouraged as I have not noticed ANY benefits from this two weeks of diligent work....no energy, no better sleep, not even a dropped pound (tho I haven't weighed myself to confirm).

I started this journey to jumpstart my healthy eating, but frankly, I just want to eat a piece of pizza and a cupcake.

Not sure I want to stick it out....I can't face another salad or chicken breast. And jerky - ICK.

Kim

[juju]

How about a big Whole30 friendly "Sunday Dinner" comfort meal.

Roast a turkey or a roast beast, sweet potatoes, steamed or grilled veggies,mashed cauliflower, baked apples with cinnamon for dessert?

Spaghetti squash with meatballs and tomato sauce?

A grilled steak with some grilled veggies?

Sometimes a "comfort" meal can be completely whole30 friendly. Maybe you just need to break out of your eggs/salad/ cashew funk and get creative in the kitchen. There are tons of great recipes out there so don't let food boredom stop you from achieving your goals!

Now back away from the pizza and cupcakes, slowly...don't make any sudden movements...

[befabdaily]

One of my Whole30 resolutions this time around was to try new recipes. I got into a bit of a salad/meat/egg funk last time too, although I like my protein, so hey bring on the crockpot full of pork.

If you like spicy ethnic food, I just posted a recipe for five-minute shrimp curry! Or you could try mexican or Indian flavors (there are so many good indian recipes that put your protein in a rich tasty nut-based sauce, you would not believe). It is easy to get kinda in a rut with paleo. Do you own Well Fed? Make the little coconut pork meatballs, that's my next project for sure!

[Life More Abundantly]

I was going through the same thing last week! Check out The Foodee for some inspiration. I was very encouraged and refreshed by so many new ideas.

[Snicci]

I just keep browsing this forum and several other sites like the one mentioned above every day for new ideas. I plan our meals for the following week as the current week goes on. By the time the weekend comes around (time to prep and pre-cook some meals for the week), I am literally excited to get started! Feel free to check out my blog to see what I've been eating for some more ideas. http://mypathtopaleo.blogspot.com/

[Adagio]

There are so many things you can eat besides what you mentioned. You just have to look for recipes and try them. The thing is, you can either commit to getting healthy via nourishing food, or you can pay the doctor later. Pay the farmer now, or the doctor later. It's your choice.

It's really not as hard as we complain about. It's our mindset that is stopping us, not the availability of compliant food. There are tons of choices.

[Laura Jeanne Penrod]

If you have an iPad, the Nom Nom Paleo app is killer. She even has Whole 30 compliant recipes. I've tried several, all are good, I agree with everyone else in that you have to get creative food wise. It's easy to get stuck in the salad and meat rut. Hang in there. I'd it make should feel any better I dreamt of cake last night.

[Andrea D.]

Hang in there...you are halfway done! It takes some people longer to see results and trust me, pizza and a cupcake will truly make you feel worse.

[Adagio]

Both Foodee and Chowstalker have a bunch of Whole30 compliant recipes. Free.

[Kim D]

I was going through the same thing last week! Check out The Foodee for some inspiration. I was very encouraged and refreshed by so many new ideas.

We are on Day 16. And same thing...wanted something different. The Foodee is a GREAT site. My husband made the avocado stuffed burgers for dinner tonight...amazing. You gotta check out this site.

[Vickizee]

Wow, I'm on day 17 and am feeling the same. I'm eating a variety of foods, I'm just tired of prep and cooking all the time. I'm worried I won't lose anything too. I appreciate all of the suggestions and comments for Kim. I needed them too. BTW, I love Tom's sweet potato, raisin, coconut flakes for breakfast. A nice break from eggs.

[Colleen Roy]

As I handed my copy of ISWF to a friend tonight, she asked "didn't you get bored with the same thing every day and night?" My response was "no, because we didn't eat the same thing every day and night". We really committed to trying at least one new thing/recipe each week and made sure to mix things up-Mexican, Indian, Italian-it's easy if you have a well stocked spice cabinet and peruse the websites mentioned above...take the time to do that and you will be much happier-and less bored!

[Colleen Roy]

Oh-and another thing that helped us get through the boredom? Thinking about how much money we were saving by not going out to eat! We are planning on taking that money and putting it in a savings account for a winter vacation while we go through our second whole30....a different kind of "special treat".

[Kim Haberman Erwin]

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions, guys....I'll check them out. I'm in it for the long haul, but geez....it's trying sometimes.

ke

[kayell]

Lovely juicy steaks, grilled salmon, pulled pork with salsa verde, sweet potatoes with ghee and cinnamon, beautiful brightly colored salads with summer tomatoes and avocados, pork chops with sauerkraut and apples, roasted vegetables with olive oil and rosemary, omelets with arugula and smoked salmon, figs or cantaloupe with prosciutto, basil on tomatoes, shrimp in green coconut curry, kebabs, sauteed portobellos in ghee, blackened catfish, ceviche,,,

Yep, it's a TERRIBLY boring way to eat.

Added: Sorry for the sarcasm. More to the point is that as you get used to eating real food, fresh and seasonal food, your tastes will change. You'll start looking at foods in a whole different light, see the possibilities, the colors and flavors and incredible variety of real food.

[Renee Lee]

I think it's really easy to get stuck in "go to" meals, because you know they're compliant and you know they're quick/easy.

It's grill season! Don't forget that, OP! Grab some steaks and throw em on!

[limejuicy]

I like to prep a bunch of foods on Sunday that are easy to change the flavor of and alter to keep things interesting. I roast a spaghetti squash and can use that for "pasta" night or for throwing in with veggies & meat for a stir fry in the morning. A basic cauliflower rice can be eaten at the bottom of a bowl of chili, stew, soup, eaten as a side dish, or fried up with veggies and meats for paleo fried rice. I love Well Fed's basic garlic ground beef recipe - you can make it with any ground protein (think pork, chicken, turkey, lamb). I make a big batch and then I add different seasonings throughout the week for variety. If you don't have Well Fed, GO BUY IT and check out theclothesmakethegirl.com. It is totally worth the money and the recipes on her site are awesome. Well Fed also has basic quick throw together recipes, as well as a section on doing a weekly cookup. I also get my veggies chopped on Sundays, so I can easily throw things together. I love to plan a large "comfort" food cook up as well, roast a chicken, make a batch of chili, make a batch of carnitas http://www.theclothe...-pork-carnitas/ or some other protein that will last all week and you can have on a salad, stir fried for breakfast or just heated up for dinner. I also make an effort to try at least one new recipe a week.

[GLC1968]

Get yourself a copy of Well Fed. Seriously, everything in the book is delicious AND, there are tons of helpful pages on making quick, satisfying meals and easy ways to change them up all the time.

I think the only reason we have been able to stick with this so successfully (day 28 today) is precisely because we are embracing the variety available to us. This means variety in food and variety in preparation as well. Some weeks, I cook up a bunch of stuff on Sunday. Other weeks, I pick out recipes to cook during the week. Some nights, we fend for ourselves. Sometimes we are eating a lot of leftovers, and this week, we've had guac topped burgers twice because I wasn't in the mood to get creative. What ever you do, don't get stuck in a rut! Variety is the spice of life, right?

[Lora Friedenthal]

It can get tiring always feeling like you're chopping. Maybe make large batches of things? Chili seems to stay good in the fridge nigh on forever. How about soups? You can make a great cream of mushroom using cashew cream, which would work just as well for broccoli. Cashew cream seems to be a base that vegans have used for a long time now, and you can turn it into all kinds of dressings and sauces since it has a pretty neutral flavor on its own.

Well Fed is certainly worth the money. I've never used a cookbook as thoroughly as I've used that one.

Spices can make a big difference too. Even if you're making a egg and veggie hash in the morning, italian spice v. indian spice v. ras al hanout, it's the same food but tastes different.

[MaryP]

I find chicken really tasteless, particularly the chicken breast we have all been brainwashed to think is healthy (low fat!) and have enjoyed switching to more beef recipes. We roast a whole (organice free-range) chicken once a week and that's all the poultry we eat. It's healthier to eat fish and grass-fed beef or bison, IMO, anyway! Ditch the chicken and try out some different stuff!

[Colleen Roy]

If you want some tasty chicken breast, try the Best Ever Grilled Chicken in Well Fed! You brine the chicken for a few hours. Makes it so juicy and tender! Really easy to do. And I have been grilling up a package of chicken thighs at least once a week and use a different spice blend each time. Easy, quick to grab protein, ready to go!

And pork tenderloin-also a good alternative to chicken. Great in stews! Great on the grill!

[cavequeen]

Another recommendation for Well Fed! My family who aren't even paleo love all the recipes. My husband and I fight over the stovetop carnitas!

One thing I have found is to always start cooking meat, a day or two before I need it. I put in a fryer chicken, or roast in the crockpot. Or slow cook the pork on the stove for carnitas. That way the meat is already cooked, I just have to combine it with something or put it in a salad. Much less stress. You can also double it and freeze half so that it is already made for next time.

I also have foods I just keep made in stock, homemade mayo, creamy ranch salad dressing, gucamole etc. Because the last thing I want to do is whip it up when I am tired so if it is already made much easier.

I still do cook a lot as I have three kids, two of them teen boys! I have them help with dishes when I can.

[jhmomi]

I like going to the farmer's market to find unusual things to try. Back in the spring I bought some Japanese mustard greens (sort of reddish purple colored) and they were very peppery tasting and a great addition to a salad. The cooked flavor was much milder but still yummy. I went back the next week and got more!

Just today there were some local vendors at my Whole Foods for a little once a month farmer's market in front of the store and I bought the yummiest and sweetest orange cherry tomatoes I have ever had. And I bought some smoked whitefish. Nice treats and all Whole30 approved! They even had Coconut Milk Kefir but I wasn't sure if we could have that.

If I get really bored, I take a little time and explore all the aisles at Whole Foods and usually uncover some wonderful new gems I can't wait to try.

[areldi]

If you're finding chicken breast boring, have you tried brining it first? I've been using the recipe from Well Fed Paleo book but there's a version on the website too: http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2009/06/09/the-best-chicken-you-will-ever-eat-ever/

The chicken comes out beautifully moist and tender (and I did an unbrined 'control' piece once and it really does make a difference). I'd always avoided chicken breast before but this really does make it tasty.

Having said that, I totally agree about trying other stuff. I'm currently addicted to Nom Nom Paleo's 'Kalua Pork' - so much yummy protein for so little effort! I'd never cooked pork before that.

Edit - oops realised that Colleen Roy already suggested this, so seconding her recommendation.

[Dutchie]

To be honest boredom is the kinda feeling I also get reading what most people eat on here.

I basically mainly see dishes with egg,avocado,chicken breast,turkey and some beef,avocado,nuts,mayo&olive oil and for fish mostly salmon&tuna(which i personally always call the lowfat fatty fish)

Now i havent got nor read the book,so it might be stated as forbidden and why....but what about trying some more alternative things to keep it interesting?

For instance ive read on a site that yo7 can make a wicked chilisauce by taking some red palmoil&mixing it with some garlic(powder) as a dip for baked green plantains.(havent tried it myself yet)

And what about other proteine sources such as liver or other organmeats,veal,herring,mackarel,eel,trout,game meats(duck,deer/venison,boar,rabbit,pheasant etc.)?