chezjulie Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 My brother recommended the Whole30 to me after having dramatic results on it. (He lost 17 lbs. and eliminated tendonitis pain). So my husband and I are both going to give it a try. We could both stand to eat better and feel better. I have now been to 4 different grocery stores and I think we're stocked up for Week 1! W1D1M1 3 hard boiled eggs, 1 Gala apple, 1 "thumb" of cashew butter, coffee, 1 1/2 "thumbs" of coconut milk (at my mother's) W1D1M2 2 chicken & spinach sausages, 1 cup sauteed spinach, 1 "thumb" ghee, carrot sticks W1D1S1 1/2 chicken & spinach sausage, 1/2 avocado, salted, a few pineapple chunks (I was still hungry after lunch) W1D1M3 salmon filet, chimichurri sauce, asparagus, new potatoes, ghee, parsley W1D1S2 1/2 chicken & spinach sausage, 1/2 avocado w/lemon & salt Food: The black coffee with coconut milk was, to me, pretty gross. The coconut milk didn't seem to add anything much texture- or flavor-wise. I was also surprised to find when I opened the lid that it was almost a solid! Is that how it usually is, or was it the particular brand? However it didn't remain a solid while I drove home from with the open can in a bag of groceries! Dripped all over everything. Live and learn. Also... forgot to take the carrot sticks. Chimichurri is not good on salmon! I was trying to find a substitute for the pesto we usually have with salmon. For some reason I had been thinking of a thumb-sized portion as being the size of the tip of my thumb below the knuckle. I was pretty excited to realize that it was the whole dang thumb! Feelings: Excited to get started. Got bad headache later in the day, which is unusual for me. Eating dinner helped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ShannonM816 Posted April 26, 2015 Moderators Share Posted April 26, 2015 Food: The black coffee with coconut milk was, to me, pretty gross. The coconut milk didn't seem to add anything much texture- or flavor-wise. I was also surprised to find when I opened the lid that it was almost a solid! Is that how it usually is, or was it the particular brand? However it didn't remain a solid while I drove home from with the open can in a bag of groceries! Dripped all over everything. Live and learn. Also... forgot to take the carrot sticks. For some reason I had been thinking of a thumb-sized portion as being the size of the tip of my thumb below the knuckle. I was pretty excited to realize that it was the whole dang thumb! Feelings: Excited. Welcome! Coconut milk will separate into a solid part and a liquid part if it's cool enough. If it's room temperature or warmer, you can usually shake the can and it will blend again, but if it's cooler than that and you want it to mix together again you usually have to blend it in a blender or with an immersion blender. There may be times when you want it separated, for instance if you have a recipe that just calls for coconut cream -- then you'd just want the solid part. Once opened, it keeps better if you transfer the leftover to a different container, rather than just sticking foil or plastic wrap over the can. (Side note: If it spilled on the car upholstery or anything, be sure you clean it well. It can get pretty stinky after a few days.) Remember to have vegetables at every meal, even meal 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezjulie Posted April 27, 2015 Author Share Posted April 27, 2015 Hi Shannon. Thanks for the info about coconut milk, and the warning about the smell! I did intend to have carrot sticks with meal 1; just forgot to take them with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezjulie Posted April 27, 2015 Author Share Posted April 27, 2015 W1D2M1 3 eggs, 1 chicken & spinach sausage, handful shredded sweet potato, handful spinach, ghee W1D2M2 grilled chicken salad - spring mix, grilled rosemary chicken breast, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, capers, EVOO & balsamic vinegar (this was my standard work lunch for several years until I switched back to frozen lunches to save time) W1D2M3 Master Recipe ground beef (with EVOO, tomato paste, and poultry seasoning) over cooked cauliflower, broccoli, and carrot mix, plus 1 1/2 new potatoes, 1 navel orange W1D3S1 cashews (closed fist) Food: I wasn't very hungry for breakfast, probably because I had another protein + fat snack close to bedtime. (I was still very hungry last night despite a good dinner and that helped). I made myself go ahead and eat a full breakfast, but now it's lunchtime and again I'm not feeling hungry. Also, I normally have a cast iron stomach, but the ghee makes me feel nauseous. I can't even think about it right now without getting a little queasy. I had some on the potatoes last night and that seemed okay, but when I used it to cook eggs this morning on top of having used it to cook the sausage, it just seemed really yellow and oily and overpowering. I will try doing breakfast with olive oil tomorrow. Feelings: A little headache-y still when I woke up. By the end of the work day I was so tired I barely felt l could drive home. I was closing my eyes between bites during dinner. In low spirits, too. Will go to bed soon even though it's only 8:30. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shebon Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 You are so lucky to have 4 grocery stores to shop from. Where I live, there are only 2! I'm surprised to see people having potatoes, because I don't see it on the shopping list. They're allowed?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators ShannonM816 Posted April 27, 2015 Moderators Share Posted April 27, 2015 I did intend to have carrot sticks with meal 1; just forgot to take them with me. I figured you knew about the vegetables, but it never hurts to remind people. You are so lucky to have 4 grocery stores to shop from. Where I live, there are only 2! I'm surprised to see people having potatoes, because I don't see it on the shopping list. They're allowed?? Potatoes used to not be allowed, but that was changed over a year ago. You may have an old version of the shopping list. If you go to the Downloads section of Whole30.com, you can find the latest versions of the shopping list and the rules and a bunch of other helpful stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezjulie Posted April 27, 2015 Author Share Posted April 27, 2015 I honestly don't know how people do the Whole30 if they don't live in a big city. My hat is off to those people who make it work with limited shopping options! That takes real dedication. Good for you. I live in a large city where we have some very nice general grocery chains, Whole Foods, and a fun store called Fiesta that carries an amazing assortment of international foods. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezjulie Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 W1D3M1 banana, cashew butter, 1/2 chicken & apple sausage, 3 celery sticks W1D3M2 grilled chicken salad - spring mix, grilled rosemary chicken breast, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, capers, EVOO & balsamic vinegar W1D3S1 1/2 chicken & apple sausage, celery sticks, (both were the rest of breakfast), hard boiled egg W1D3M3 Master Recipe ground beef (with EVOO, tomato paste, and poultry seasoning) over 1/2 sweet potato, 1/2 avocado W1D3S2 BareFruit Cinnamon Apple Chips Food: Still feeling turned off to some food (not a normal sensation for me!) so I decided to start breakfast with something I would have eaten normally - a banana with cashew butter. I'm making myself eat 1/2 a chicken & apple sausage and a few celery sticks, and hopefully I'll feel like finishing the rest at work. I didn't end up wanting the rest until much later in the afternoon, but I think I've learned that I've got to be careful about having more than 1 palm-sized protein at each meal because I may pay the price later. Feelings: Got 8 hours of sleep last night so feeling a bit better. Unfortunately I'm having an asthma flare-up and my allergist put me on a short course of Prednisone. This is TERRIBLE for the Whole30 because it causes intense carb cravings and bottomless hunger. I'm going to try to stock up on as many munchie-type compliant snacks and things as I can (hence the Apple Chips) to make sure I stay on plan while on steroids. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezjulie Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 W1D4M1 banana, cashew butter, Master Recipe ground beef (with EVOO, tomato paste, and poultry seasoning) over shredded sweet potato W1D4M2 grilled chicken salad - spring mix, grilled rosemary chicken breast, mushrooms, 1/2 avocado, capers, EVOO & balsamic vinegar W1D4S1 grapes, sugar snap peas, scoop of guacamole (we had a party at work this afternoon) W1D4M3 poached salmon, green salad w/tomatoes, dressing of EVOO, yellow mustard, & lemon juice W1D4S2 pistachio nuts, Bare Fruit Cinnamon Apple Chips Food: I think I did pretty damn good for a day when I went to a party at work and also out to dinner at a homestyle cafeteria! I was concerned about what I would be able to eat at the cafeteria, so I called ahead to inquire about what is in their vegetables (butter) and their fruit salad (syrup from the peaches), and some of their lean meats and fish. They told me that if I called ahead 5 minutes, they could make me a piece of poached salmon without the sauce, and I could get a green salad with no dressing. So that's what I did! The salmon was delicious, and I mixed up a little dressing of EVOO, French's mustard, and a squeeze of lemon slice. (Sadly, their balsamic vinegar had sugar in it). Feelings: Being on a larger dose of Prednisone today, I'm very alert and up. I know that will diminish as I adjust to the medication and then begin tapering down. My husband went to the store for us, so I feel more prepared for any steroid-induced mood swings or cravings. He came back exclaiming about how much crap is in all the lunch meat. Had some pistachio nuts and apple chips for a (non-template) snack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezjulie Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 W1D5M1 Master Recipe ground beef (with EVOO, tomato paste, and poultry seasoning), shredded sweet potato, spinach, 1 egg fried in EVOO, hot sauce (this was a really good breakfast) W1D5M2 grilled chicken salad - spring mix, grilled rosemary chicken breast, grape tomatoes, 1/2 avocado, capers, EVOO & balsamic vinegar W1D5M3 Sweet Italian turkey sausage, mixed bell peppers & onion sauteed in EVOO, 1/2 sweet potato W1D5S1 Bare Fruit Cinnamon Apple Chips, cashew butter, coconut flakes Food: I feel like I got my ratios right for breakfast, with several cups of veggies, meat but only 1 egg, and using EVOO instead of ghee. That dash of hot sauce didn't hurt either! The sausage, peppers, and onion was good. The snack wasn't what would be recommended, but it was a lot better than having a non-Whole30 snack would have been! Feelings: Feel okay today. I think the Prednisone is more in charge of my body than the food changes right now. I have a couple of busier weekends coming up, so I'm going to have to figure out when I'll get my shopping and food prep in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tierramar Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 keep it up! I find a breakfast in line with the recommendations is hard for me, it just seems so big. I've tried switching up and having a more lunch-like item for breakfast and then doing the eggs loaded with veg and protein for lunch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezjulie Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 Yeah, it's really different! Breakfast for me usually would be oatmeal or a protein bar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tierramar Posted April 30, 2015 Share Posted April 30, 2015 me too, doing ok with most of it but I do miss my coffee with sugar and coffeemate and bowl of oatmeal with honey.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezjulie Posted April 30, 2015 Author Share Posted April 30, 2015 I tried the coconut milk in my coffee this morning using a different brand (A Taste of Thai), and it was much better and helped me not miss cream as much. Oatmeal is a food I am looking forward to trying to reintroduce at the other side of this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezjulie Posted May 2, 2015 Author Share Posted May 2, 2015 W1D6M1 1 Sweet Italian turkey sausage, handful shredded sweet potato, 1 egg in olive oil, 1/2 avocado W1D6M2 kale and tuna fish salad - baby kale, albacore tuna fish, grape tomatoes, 1/2 avocado, EVOO & balsamic vinegar W1D6M3 2 Zoe's Kitchen steak kebabs (marinated) minus the sauce, red bell peppers, onions, roasted vegetables in lemon & olive oil, sweet potato with coconut oil & ghee W1D6S1 Bare Fruit Cinnamon Apple Chips, shredded coconut Food: I was on point with breakfast and lunch, then had a problem tonight. I was late getting out of work and decided to avoid the small package of almonds in my desk drawer in favor of a Whole30 dinner. I was very, very tired and didn't feel like cooking, so I thought I would go a place called My Fit Foods and pick up a couple of Friday night meals to go for DH and me. They are a chain that serves athletes and people who want to eat clean, and they have a lot of high protein dinner meals, so I thought it would be great. When I got there I started looking at the meals, and EVERY SINGLE ONE had sugar or another sweet ingredient, typically as part of a seasoning mix. I couldn't believe it. They even have meals marked Paleo but they're not Whole30. So I thought I would at least pick out something with steak for DH and find something almost compliant for myself, but it was tough. Then at the last minute I forced myself to walk out of the store, and went to Zoe's Kitchen instead, where I understood they had some Whole30 compliant meals. At this point I was exhausted and very hungry. When I got to Zoe's Kitchen, it was hard to tell what was in everything. I asked the woman working there a bunch of questions about the steak kebabs. What are they cooked in? They're in a marinade and then they get a sweet sauce at the end. Oh. :-( But we could make it for you without the sauce. Okay, what about the grilled potatoes? They're in our vinaigrette. Okay, can I have the steak kebabs with no sauce, but vegetables, and no potatoes? While I waited, I searched my phone to learn more about the steak kebabs, and found that they have some kind of soy in them. I crossed my fingers that the soy was an ingredient in the sweet sauce that I had asked not to get. But after dinner I google and NOPE, there was soy sauce in the marinade. And I went ahead and ate it for dinner anyway. Sigh. Feelings: I feel pretty bad because honestly I tried really hard to pick up something Whole30 compliant for dinner. I didn't set out to have an off-program food. I know I have broken one of the rules, and at the time I actually ate the kebabs, I knew that they contained soy sauce. Not quite the same as an accident where someone didn't know what was in something. I think I'm going to press on though. I am doing the Whole30 to lose weight and to address a prediabetes diagnosis. I'm afraid that if I start over I'll be discouraged. And this is the first time I can remember going without sugar or diet soda in six days. I feel like I have been managing most challenges (such as the Prednisone) well. I don't want to stop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezjulie Posted May 2, 2015 Author Share Posted May 2, 2015 W1S1M1 Cherry Pie Lara Bar W1D7M1 3 turkey sausage, eggs, olive oil, grilled vegetables & pineapple, almond slivers W1D7M2 1/2 eggplant w/generous EVOO & TJ's 21 spice, smoked oysters, roasted almonds W1D7M3 TJ's pork belly, TJ's brussels sprouts, 1/2 sweet potato w/ghee & cinnamon, 1 pear W1D7S1 TJ's freeze dried strawberries Food: Did a big shop at Trader Joe's today so I won't be out of food and end up making another bad decision, and so DH will have plenty to nosh on during the day. I don't think he's eating enough on his Whole30-ish. Also, I picked up some ghee from TJ's and it is much more palatable as a butter substitute than the authentic imported-from-India kind I was using. I had some dehydrated strawberries from TJ's as a late night steroid snack and they tasted disgustingly sweet. Like hurt-your-teeth sweet. Not sure if that's the product or my taste buds changing. Feelings: Gassy starting last night. DH looked really tired today when I saw him as he was heading out for a gig. I'm a bit worried about him dealing with sleep issues and Whole30 fatigue. ETA: Now he's home and he's conked out. I'll leave him a plate for when he wakes up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezjulie Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 W2D8M1 banana, (way too much) cashew butterW2D8S1 2 beef slider patties, pineapple slices W2D8M2 small grilled chicken breast, cooked spinach, 1/2 eggplant w/2 TB EVOO, bananaW2D8S2 TJ's plantain chips, 1/2 bagW2D8M3 Filet mignon, baked potato w/Dijon mustard & ghee, asparagus spearsFood: My breakfast was not on point today. I went to a reception in the afternoon and had some beef patties from a couple of sliders with some slices of pineapple. Lunch was pretty on track. Some digestion issues last night and this morning. Feelings: Okay day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezjulie Posted May 4, 2015 Author Share Posted May 4, 2015 W2D9M1 3 eggs in pork belly fat, spinach, mushrooms W2D9M2 grilled chicken salad - baby spinach, grilled chicken breast, mushrooms, grape tomatoes, blueberries, EVOO & balsamic vinegar, large sweet potato w/ghee & cinnamon W2D9M3 grilled chicken breast, mushrooms in EVOO, butternut squash, fresh raspberries with coconut milk & coconut flakes W2D9S1 TJ Kale Chips, Zesty Nacho, 1 serving Food: OMG the eggs cooked in the leftover fat from heating the TJ's pork belly was good! I am still really hungry after lunch though. Maybe I need to add a sweet potato. Yes, that helped. My DH put together a little plate for me for dinner. I was still hungry so I decided to have some fruit and a little fat, then thought that a cup of raspberries might be good with a little coconut milk and it was. I hope that's not SWYPO... I wasn't trying to make a dessert-ish concoction. Actually I think the issue today has been that I bought "thin" chicken breasts for this week, and they're just not holding me. I might need to eat 1 1/2 for my lunches the rest of the week. My final steroid-y snack was half a package of TJ's kale chips in Zesty Nacho, and they were AWFUL. Yuck! I sort of liked the consistency because they were more robust and crunchy than other kale chips I've had (and I'm not normally a big fan of the kale chip), but these had some kind of hideous powder on them like carrots mixed with past-their-date Cheetos. Feelings: Well... today was a crazy day because it started with me having to call 9-1-1 for someone I know (not a close friend or family member) who was having medical distress. I am amazed that I was able to truck along with the plan after all that. My "reward" to deal with the stress was going to sit in the park for an hour and watch birds. It did not even occur to me to soothe myself with food. I hope the person with the medical crisis will be okay. ETA: Happy to see this forum post from Melissa saying "As for strawberries with whipped coconut cream... I'm fine with this as a Whole30 approved food. Should you eat these every night as dessert? Not if you want to change your habits. But if you want to enjoy fruit, or have a special occasion in which you want to serve "dessert," these are perfectly healthy whole food options--and not at all the same as baking some almond-flour brownies." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezjulie Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 W2D10M1 3 eggs, spinach, mushrooms, and heirloom tomatoes in EVOO; coffee with coconut milk W2D10M2 grilled chicken salad - baby spinach, grilled chicken breast, mushrooms, heirloom tomatoes, Kalamata olives, EVOO & balsamic vinegar W2D10M3 sugar snap peas, almond butter Master Recipe ground turkey with sweet potato (with coconut oil/, onions, tomato paste, & poultry seasoning) W2D10S1 (too much) almond butter Food: Everything was pretty good if not wildly exciting, but I went too long between lunch and dinner. Feelings: Weird day mood-wise. This morning I thought I was experiencing Tiger Blood! Or it might have been too much coffee, seriously. Then this afternoon when I was in a meeting I felt kind of irritable/adversarial, and as I was heading home at 7:30 tonight I just felt f*ckin' awful. I forced myself to eat something quick, then make a real meal with protein, fat, and a starchy carb. It was the first night when I reached for something (almond butter) and ate it to excess because I was stressed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezjulie Posted May 6, 2015 Author Share Posted May 6, 2015 W2D11M1 2 Larabars W2D11M2 grilled chicken salad - baby spinach, grilled chicken breast, mushrooms, heirloom tomatoes, EVOO & balsamic vinegar W2D11S1 roast almonds W2D10M3 green salad w/beef tenderloin & avocado, EVOO & balsamic vinegar, banana W3D10S2 TJ's freeze dried strawberries Food: food is off today Feelings: feel terrible; left work a couple of hours early to come home and sleep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezjulie Posted May 7, 2015 Author Share Posted May 7, 2015 W2D12M1 2 chicken sausage (kale & balsamic), 2 eggs in a little coconut oil, butternut squash seasoned with garam masala & cinnamon, 2 cups of Amaya Roasting Coffee with generous coconut milk W2D12M2 grilled chicken breast, new potatoes with ghee, broccoli with cayenne pepper W2D12S1 pistachio nuts (more than a fistful, erk) W2D12M3 The Biggest Salad Ever, featuring baby spinach, spring mix, small grilled chicken breast, 1 chicken sausage, beet, pear, mushrooms, EVOO, lemon juice, S&P W2D12S2 pistachio nuts (much more than a fistful, double erk) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tierramar Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Hang in there! I'm getting a bit bored and frustrated with food choices too. My family is used to going to brunch for mother's/father's day and they wanted to take me somewhere this Sunday. After researching as much as I could, I couldn't find a truly safe choice for me out there while I'm doing W30...it's frustrating and I feel your pain when you try and do your due diligence and then there's a sneaky ingredient. The novelty of the program has worn off for me and I'm figuring out that I need to do more advance prep work (shredding, chopping, etc) to make it easier on myself for those meals when I just don't wanna cook anything that meets the template. I'm having gastrointestinal issues too - I wish they'd stop. Where are you getting your sausage? Or are you making your own compliant stuff? I made my own ghee from Kerrigold butter and it ends up tasting and smelling the same when I cook with it. I also make the Slowcooker Kalua Pig from Nom Nom Paleo and saved the drippings for cooking which tastes really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezjulie Posted May 7, 2015 Author Share Posted May 7, 2015 Hi tierramar. Thanks for the note of encouragement. It was well timed! We seem to be in similar places. The novelty is wearing off and the intersections with "real life" (such as trying to eat out) are more challenging. When was your start date or what day are you on? Yeah, I think it's critical to have some stuff you can just grab and assemble if you're not really into cooking or don't have much extra time. I found that Trader Joe's had a number of pre-prepped items that were useful such as butternut squash cubes. I think I'm going to try to alternate weeks; one weekend try to spend a lot of time in the kitchen making stuff, and the next weekend get a bunch of shortcut ingredients to make it easier. Otherwise I think I would be overwhelmed by trying to cook a ton of stuff every weekend. I see that you're in Texas, too. So I have potentially great news for you about the sausage. Safeway/Randalls have several flavors of compliant chicken sausage in their Organics line. If you knew me you would understand how hilarious the idea that I make my own sausage is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WholeMama623 Posted May 7, 2015 Share Posted May 7, 2015 Stick with it! You are doing good. I just think you need to eat more food!!! I always feel tired and sluggish when I'm not eating enough, and larabars are really sweet but not too filling. More veggies and meat for breakfast might start your day better! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chezjulie Posted May 8, 2015 Author Share Posted May 8, 2015 Thanks, Mama, I will! The Larabars for a breakfast were a one time only thing. I felt like I was about to die from fatigue and was already late for work. I feel like I'm eating a lot of food, trying to stick to the template. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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