Complete and utter food boredom

[ktothev]

This hit me in my third week of my Whole30, and it's hitting me now.

 

Note that I am a foodie, was into cooking for years and years, well before my dabbling in paleo and then my January Whole30. It isn't as if I don't have a huge arsenal...I have a freezer full of local, ethically raised chicken, turkey, beef, some grass fed bison, some wild caught mahi mahi and salmon...I know how to cook just about anything. I am normally both an engaged and creative cook.

 

I just want...none of it. I have days, sometimes multiple days, where I would rather not eat than eat anything compliant. I have had three days in the past week where I have only eaten 2 meals. I finished my Whole30 a week ago, and while I love the way I feel and do not want to go back to eating my old way...

 

some days, I just want a freaking pizza, lol.

 

I am all for moderation, and I will have pizza (or "whatever")...when the time is right, when its fantastic pizza with friends and its about eating something wonderful in a great setting. Not because I just don't feel like anything else. Not crap takeout pizza. Maybe its the convenience of certain foods I miss most of all...maybe I'm just tired of all the cooking. I don't know. It seems odd that I can feel physically better than I ever have in my adult life and at the same time resent the food that makes me feel this way.

 

I know this is just something I have to suck up and get through (someone posted a great quote on someone's thread about craving chocolate: the only way out is through). I guess I just wondered if anyone else goes through this...it seems like this would be part of the whole figuring out how to ride your own bike thing.

 

I do have a meal planned for tomorrow night (date night) that I AM looking forward to...a chicken tika masala recipe someone shared on these forums that I made last week and adored. However, I don't think I can eat that for 3 meals a day, every day...

 

So, anyone want to have a moment of a little pity party with me before I suck it up and carry on? (Which I will do. I got through this when I was on the Whole30 just by putting one foot in front of the other and making good choices, I'm going to do the same thing now)

[Physibeth]

Yup this is part of learning to ride your own bike. Did you do the reintroduction protocol? On this side of the W30 it is all about asking the questions "Is it special? Is it worth it?" The other thing about this side of the W30 is that you may paleofy if you so please. The other thing I do to deal with the I don't want anything attitude (which is usually me just not wanting to cook) is I try to keep around a few things that I can easily scrounge. I keep grass fed hotdogs around a lot and frozen burger patties. 

[Kage]

You are not alone, this hit me hard a couple of days ago (I am day 19 of my first whole 30) I would have rather not eaten at all than prepare food, I was so sick of having to think about it all the time. I did the old "suck it up princess" and went looking for recipes etc and it has passed for now but I know it will be back. So I will join your pity party, I'll bring some balloons ;-)

[anzadel]

I totally feel like I could have written your post. I also love to cook, have a well stocked kitchen etc. Hell I kicked off day 1 of my w30 by making a standing rib roast with a platter of roasted veggies and mashed sweet potatoes.

I got to a point where I was sick of meat. Sick of chicken and missed pork badly because I can't source the good stuff (yet) I had bought up a ton of grass fed ground beef on sale. And after a week of burgers and meat balls and taco salad I wanted to die.

It was wierd. My hubby asked me what I was missing. If could eat anything what would I eat. Like last meal type food,....and other then high end pastries I just didn't know. I couldn't put my finger on it--why I wanted to go on hunger strike but I did. . Sure I missed rice a bit, and longingly looked at ravioli and gnocci at the store. I make a mean gnocci from scratch, too. Even tho I rarely eat these things pre w30 because they make me feel sluggish and fat. But it wasn't what I was craving. I still don't know what caused it, but I did end up eating a few meatless Dinners. Just big plates of veggies with avocado.

In the end what helped was doing what any junkiie does.,. I went on a shopping spree. I splurged on a bunch of 'exotic' ingredients. Coconut Amino's, red boat fish sauce, curry pastes. Splurged on things I don't normally get like purple cauli, organic shallots, fancy mushrooms, dragon fruit etc.

I purged my spice cabinet, reorganized it and ordered fresh spices from penzys. I also got some new tools. Norpro mini scoops, silicone muffin cups, a sprial slicer and a crock pot. Oh and a new set of containers.

Yes I'm lucky I can afford to do this as a pick me up, but it helped. A lot. My cooking always was more Mediterranean/middle eastern with a lot of standards and classic dishes like mustard crusted pork loin. I'm half German half Lebanese so I just cook what I grew up eating but I love all food.

So I gave some serioua effort cookinng authentic thai food. stiill working on it. But larb, papaya salad, curries are all easy to modify into compliance. I went out to mexican places and got some ceviche. Just new flavors to spice it up. I'm 2 weeks post w30 and since ive pretty much stayed on track. I reintroed cheese (fail) atena sushi meal out and a bit of maple syrup used as a sweetener Here and there but that's it. I tried pumpkin pancakes, hated them, but I'm more of a biscuitsnand gravy girl and I'm not even gonna try to recreate that.

I do miss a good pizza but that was a once a month thing anyway, if even that often. It gets better! I think its just the knowing you can't have something,

[ktothev]

Thanks for the support. The thing is, I'm done with Whole30, technically I can have anything I want...the problem is, I know I can't eat the crap and feel this good. It doesn't work that way, lol. I know if I want to continue feeling this way, I have to continue eating pretty much this way.

 

I do think it is more that I am over all the cooking (and even more than that, all the CLEANING UP). I actually think I need to go in the reverse direction and simplify more, just do one or two special dinners a week and then make it easier on myself for the other meals.

 

I have worked through ALL my easy stuff in the freezer; I need to just suck it up for a day and do a major cookup, and then I'll freeze some individual portions so I have something easy for those times I don't want to cook.

 

I'm sure the weather isn't helping. I believe this winter has officially broken my spirit...it is affecting every part of my life. I'm the kind of person who gets a lot of mood from spending time outside, and that has been very difficult in this bitter cold and all the snow. It's starting to feel like spring will NEVER get here. (What really sucks is with all the snow, I would love to be out cross country skiing or snowshowing...but with sub-zero temps, that aint gonna happen).

[Carlaccini]

I think we all go through the "Meh" phase.

 

My Bf does most of the cooking but we plan the meals together.  Every so often there comes a time when I "just don't want ANYTHING" then I gravitate to old favourites - stuffed almond flour crusted chicken breast with proscuito and herbed ghee (my take on Chicken Kiev), Well Fed's Pad Thai, Asian inspired anything, Meatloaf.  I think part of it is me seaking comfort food, and the other part me is tired of having to be "good". 

 

As I tell many people - I miss the convenience of pasta, and bread.  But I don't actually miss them.

[GLC1968]

When I get that way, I also go shopping...for cookbooks!  Even if they aren't paleo or whole3- - I still find that I usually get inspired.

 

A major cook-up is also a good idea.  Some days, I have to force myself to do it but having a fridge stocked with a lot of quick to grab but compliant food also inspires me to want to eat again.

 

I hear you on the cleanup.  In fact, just this morning I found myself taking pleasure it the daily running of my dishwasher as an indicator that I've been clearly eating right.  There are only two of us, so unless I'm cooking a lot, the dishwasher takes a few days to fill up.

 

I do find that the food doldrums are cyclical.  They'll pass.  Hang tight!

[Elle9]

Hey everyone, this is my visit to the forum.

Gor here by googling bored on whole30. Thank you so much for these post,day26 and I thought I was losing my mind!I forgot about this stage. Last 2 days and I haven't eaten enough, trying to suck it up, its only 4 more right? 

Now how do I figure out what I want to eat...

[Mdubg]

I am in my 3rd week of W30 and I am so over it! I never at much dairy anyway because I am lactose intolerant and cannot stand the taste of cow's milk so skipping the dairy was easy for me. Veggies were easy for me because for at least 1/4 of every year, I go meatless. Meat was easy because I enjoy poultry, fish, beef, and lamb. What was not easy was BEANS!!! I usually have hummus and broccoli (raw for dipping) or hummus and carrots or cucumbers as a mid-morning snack or afternoon snack. I miss hummus. I miss making my meatless black bean quinoa dish (black beans, quinoa, cilantro, red bell pepper, onion). I miss sushi. And most of all, I miss a little drizzle of honey in my tea in the morning and sweetened almond milk.

Outside of missing those things, I feel a little better. I'm less bloated, but I am in a serious breakfast rut. I used to have quinoa (made much like oatmeal) for breakfast with fruit mixed in. Or I would have a smoothie made of a shot of protein, fruits and vegetables (but smoothies are on the "cautionary" list) but I've been avoiding a smoothie.

I am SICK of eggs (since that is the only thing I actually like for breakfast that is W30 compliant). I can't get with potatoes or any kind of hash for breakfast (I've always HATED hash anything). I can do a veggie scramble with my eggs, which is fine, but I am bored with it. Any breakfast advice for someone who is not a "potatoes for breakfast" person?

Lunch and dinner are easy. On Sundays, I have been preparing my proteins for the week in different ways. On week 1, I did Lamb. I bough lamb chops and ground lamb. I seasoned the ground lamb and prepared the lamb chops. I prepared multiple types of vegetables. And I made sure that I ate salad at least 3-4 times per week. I put the lamb in salads, I used the ground lamb over mashed sweet potatoes with a side of steamed mixed vegetables...EASY PEASY.

On week 2, I did a similar thing with tuna and salmon. Week 3, ground beef (similar setup). Week 4 (I plan on chicken...similar setup again).

Snacks have been fresh fruit or raw vegetables. If I am craving candy, I have a small box of raisins.

BUT WHAT DO I DO FOR BREAKFAST!!! I'm not a fan of many of the recipes I found for breakfast and I know when my W30 is over, breakfast will be where I slip back into my old ways.

Is anyone else out there struggling with breakfast? HELP! Please?

[T2Andrew]

5 hours ago, Mdubg said:

...Is anyone else out there struggling with breakfast? HELP! Please?

I hear ya on that!  I'm on day 9.  Yesterday I had a bigger breakfast than before and about four hours later I got nausea and dry heaved for a minute.  Was fine after that but ended up going about nine hours between breakfast and dinner with nothing in between.  My W30 breakfasts are the big meal of the day and I might be taking in more than I should so that I don't need to snack later.  I find myself thinking about crunchy stuff like cereal so I browned some potato chunks in the skillet to satisfy that.  I wonder about getting egged-out too!

The gains I've made so far are worth it tho - more energy, no more achy joints, and my hand arthritis is gone!

[aprilb]

I also found this thread by googling and I'm only on Day 14!!!!! Very bored!!! Argh!

[kirkor]

This isn't a Whole30 resource, but Robb Wolf's "matrix" concept can be one way to address this:

http://robbwolf.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Robb-Wolf-Food-Matrix.pdf

Mixing up spices can create dramatically different food experiences.

Tim Ferriss has a great breakdown of simple spice combinations from around the world:

https://tim.blog/2013/03/17/a-world-map-of-flavors-36-regions-36-herb-and-spice-combinations/

 

[slozano76]

I am there with you gals.  Brainstorming things like stuffed poblanos and Greek salad. Als osince its V day, a strawberry walnut salad could be nice.  Might be a nice change!   Best wishes!!