boohooboo Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Hi there, I am writing in earnest, so please be kind. I am starting Day 8 this morning. I must tell you, I am trying to focus on how I feel. And how I feel is hungry. I have never been a huge meat/chicken eater. I can't eat pork, and I don't like fish. I have been eating eggs for breakfast every single day. I have been forcing myself to eat either chicken or turkey every day. And of course, there is the Paleo Taco Soup, which seemed like a great idea on Day 1, but by Day 3 (no one else in my family likes it), I wanted to jettison it. I roasted a chicken, which everyone in my family liked. Well, everyone except me. Last night, I stared and stared at my plate, looking at the chicken atop yet another salad, and I just couldn't. I didn't eat dinner. I had a banana and called it a day. In short, this food regime makes me realize how eating disorders get started. Note: I am *not* knocking the idea or that it works. My #1 enemy when I started was sugar -- I want to significantly lower my sugar intake beyond fruits, But I have to tell you: I am really, really struggling here. I don't think I can face another breakfast of two eggs plus veggies. And I am dreading lunch. I am ridiculously not interested in food now, and yet I am so hungry, it has woken me up the past two nights. What to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EleanorB Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Hey boohooboo, congratulations on making it to day 8! I'm sorry you're having a tough time of it and hopefully the advice you get from everyone here will help. For me, my first round of W30 encouraged me to be experimental with my food. Rather than living on salad, I looked at what we are already and tweaked it so that it was compliant. 2 seconds on google will show you how to make substitutions for rice (cauliflower), noodles (squash or zucchini) etc. I would then make meals like chili and serve it with a baked sweet potato or something. As I was cooking, my family ate what they were given but because it wasn't that dissimilar from what they ate before, they didn't notice. My husband was skeptical at first, then agreed that zucchini noodles are tasty and is now doing a round of W30 with me! What I'm trying to say is be adventurous. Add flavour to your meals. Have you got a copy of Well Fed 1 / 2? They are brilliant for giving ideas and compliant recipes. I make almost everything from those books. You say you've got leftover roast chicken - I straight away think pad Thai (WF1). Ground meat: burgers, sausages, chili, meat pie... Endless possibilities! If you're sick of eating eggs for breakfast then don't. There are other things you can have. You might not be ready to have last nights leftovers, but you could make meat muffins or quiche with some salad and veg. Or have some soup? Honestly, thinking outside the box opens the door to a world of deliciousness! If you're hungry then eat! Have half an avocado or make some scotch eggs (WF1 I think, or 2) to keep in the fridge for snacks or for a meal. If you don't eat pork then substitute it for chicken or turkey. I really hope this helps! Good luck! E Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Andria Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 EleanorB makes many excellent suggestions and is probably all the info that you need, but just wanted to offer some thoughts or comments or questions. Why are you 'forcing' yourself to eat chicken or turkey everyday?? Ruminant meat (lamb, bison, beef, esp grass fed) is going to be a much healthier option for us (due to lower polyunsaturated fats than poultry) and you made no mention of eating it. Also, there is no rule saying you must have eggs for breakfast. Most people get hung up on breakfast foods having to be of a certain type (eggs, sweet, etc), but in W30 land your breakfast (i.e., meal 1) should be no different than lunch or dinner. With that said, some mornings there are foods that I just don't want to eat. I will say having a thick creamy soup on hand is helpful. Several mornings last week I had a creamy butternut squash soup with a serving of protein (eggs, chicken apple sausage) on the side and it was perfect. Oh and can we talk salad. Blech! I wouldn't want to eat, either, if all I was feeding myself was chicken and salad. Roast a bunch of veggies, including the starchy kind. They develop a bit of sweetness when roasted, taste better and are easier to digest. Also, you can quickly stir fry a large batch of veggies with a splash of coconut aminos or compliant balsamic vinegar to have with your meals in place of salad. Try more soups and stews; warm comfort food may be easier 'to get down' and may help you feel better. Don't stress yourself out with trying to make every meal an exciting new dish, but do make an effort to try 1-2 new recipes per week. Check out www.clothesmakesthegirl.com, www.nomnompaleo.com and the Whole30 Recipe feed on Facebook or Instagram for plenty of interesting recipes. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Physibeth Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Some great suggestions here. This article might help as well:http://whole9life.com/2011/02/eating-meat-a-primer-for-the-meat-challenged/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boohooboo Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 Thank you all so much. I am going to follow up with your suggestions. That being said, I guess my biggest problem: I really, really do not enjoy meat of any kind. Beef, lamb, poultry, turkey, bison, etc., are not things I have ever craved; and to be honest, to eat any of them is a push for me, though turkey and chicken go the easiest. (I was never the one who ever got psyched at the thought of a steak dinner.) I'm not a vegetarian (nor do I play one on TV), but I guess I am missing my dairy and my legumes, probably my two big protein sources (peanut butter? My favorite thing in the world, after chocolate, which surprisingly, I am doing okay without.) I know I can only get so much protein from nut butters, which I do enjoy... Hence, it's eggs for breakfast and then some semblance of chicken or turkey. But it is really, really unenjoyable for me. I guess I was wondering if there was anyone else out there who wasn't particularly carnivorous and who might have some words to kick me forward. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GFChris Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Do you like seafood? That could be another way to get in protein. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boohooboo Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 Sadly, I do not save for tuna in a can. Since I didn't have paleo mayo on hand yesterday, I mixed it with some guac, Sounds disgusting but was actually not bad. (Or maybe I was *that* hungry. <VBG>) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GFChris Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Have you looked at the vegetarian Whole30 shopping list? Perhaps doing the vegetarian Whole30 is a better option for you? That would at least get you to allow legumes and certain forms of dairy back in, and you wouldn't eat any meats or fish for protein. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ShannonM816 Posted October 21, 2014 Moderators Share Posted October 21, 2014 So if you like tuna, maybe for a change of pace try these tuna cakes? Or could you maybe make the stretch to canned salmon and try these salmon cakes? If you're tired of plain chicken, make chicken salad, either with mayo or with avocado. Would it be any easier to have your meat mixed in with your veggies? If so, I made these artichoke chicken thighs -- I used lemon juice and added some lemon zest, and because I don't care for olives, subbed in capers instead, it reminded me of chicken piccata at an Italian restaurant -- but I used two packages of chicken thighs and wished I had added more artichokes. Or something like this chicken broccoli bake -- you could even dice the chicken up smaller so it was mixed in more, if that helps, although it might affect cooking time. You could do something like an egg drop soup -- although even if you ate that whole recipe (which says it makes 2 servings) you wouldn't have all the protein you'd need for your meal. But maybe you could do that, and a stir fry with enough chicken to make up the rest of your protein, diced into small pieces with a bunch of veggies over some cauliflower rice. Sort of taking the focus off the meat, hiding it in the veggies, I guess. There are tons of ways to prepare eggs -- maybe you could see if changing them up helps. These twice-baked sweet potatoes with eggs looked intriguing to me. Breakfast casseroles, where your eggs would be mixed in with other stuff, might be an option -- the recipe I linked also includes meat, but they don't have to, you can put pretty much anything you want in them, that was just so you'd have some general cooking guidelines. Or crustless quiche like this one. If you can pinpoint what it is about other meats that you don't like, maybe someone could help you come up with a way to overcome that -- for instance, if the texture of steak bothers you, how do you feel about ground meat, or very, very thinly sliced meat? Or if it's flavor, there may be ways to help mask it, or meats that don't have as strong a flavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boohooboo Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 Thank you! So many thought-provoking ideas. One of the things I miss is the creamy texture of things like cheesy sauces. I have to figure out how to deal with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ShannonM816 Posted October 22, 2014 Moderators Share Posted October 22, 2014 One of the things I miss is the creamy texture of things like cheesy sauces. I have to figure out how to deal with that. Obviously, cheese is out. But there are plenty of other kinds of sauces you could use. Hollandaise, or any of the sauces in this article (it lists mayo, an alfredo-like sauce, a creamy tomato sauce, a tzatziki, and others). Sunshine sauce might be an option too, although it's not really a cheese-like sauce. Not creamy, but definitely yummy, is the Moroccan dipping sauce down at the bottom of this blog post (the chicken recipe is pretty good too), or chimichurri -- either of those would be great on meat or vegetables for extra flavor, or to help if the meat seems a little dry. And there's always pesto, just leave out the cheese that's usually in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boohooboo Posted October 22, 2014 Author Share Posted October 22, 2014 Thank you so much!!!!! I genuinely appreciate the time and care you've all taken to respond. Here's to better days -- with sauces and other things that make life a little yummier :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caiceangel Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 Hi boohooboo. I am on my 3rd W30 and I always miss things with creamy texture. (I also miss chocolate, but that's another story . . .) Two things that seem to help are guacamole and ranch dressing. I buy Wholly Guacamole at Costco, separate the guac into single serving bags, and freeze until I'm ready to use. I put it on salads, omelettes, and use it as dip for raw veggies. Sometimes I just eat it with a little bit of pepper and a spoon! For the dressing, I make homemade mayo with a stick blender and mix in spices to make compliant dressing. The mayo only takes about 60 seconds to make. Sometimes I make extra mayo and use it to make compliant sweet potato salad. It has the texture I crave and is a super easy way to sneak in eggs! Especially when you start to feel like running down the street screaming if you have to eat another egg. ;-) I know you said you aren't a meat fan, but you could try the mayo or guac in chicken salad. Very creamy & less meat flavor than just trying to eat roasted chicken. Don't give up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaitlinI Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 Just lurking on this post and appreciating all of the time put into such helpful replies. Day nine-r here is really appreciating these suggestions! I hope things are going better for you boohooboo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little mighty Posted October 30, 2014 Share Posted October 30, 2014 I second the vegetarian Whole30 suggestion. But if you do decide you want to continue with the omnivore plan...what if you made some one-dish meals, like stews or casseroles, that have the meat mixed in already and "disguised" a little? Ground meat is sometimes a little easier to stomach, and if you mix it with chopped mushrooms, you can camouflage it AND stretch the meat to save money Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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