Gates' Whole30

[mgwhee]

Today is Day 1 for me! I have a fridge FULL of fresh fruits, veggies, and other produce and I have done most of the shopping for the first week meal plan. I just plan on picking up some of the ingredients for the weekend meals later in the week. Last night, I did my Sunday prep cooking and I was surprised and delighted with how simple and easy most of the recipes were. Spaghetti squash is so strange! I really did not enjoy making my own mayo, so I ordered some Whole30 compliant mayo from Primal Blueprint to take that hassle off my plate and to keep me happy with my protein salads. I almost forgot to weigh myself before it started so that I will know if I end up losing any weight. 

 

This morning, I woke up excited to start, but very tired from not getting nearly enough sleep this past weekend. When I got to work, I wasn't very hungry. I never eat breakfast and I usually just eat lunch and dinner each day, so I only was able to eat a few bites of frittata and avocado before wanting to stop. The creamy texture of avocado sometimes bothers me, so that might be an obstacle, but I figure as long as I'm not hungry, it's easy to stick to the program. 

 

I have a grilled chicken protein salad with grapes, almond slivers, and celery to top my baby spinach for lunch. Since I wasn't happy with my homemade mayo, I decided to skip making the Ranch dressing for the salad today and just brought some oil & balsamic vinegar to dress it with. I am most excited for the sliced mango, grapes, and strawberries. I love eating regular old fruit and veggies but I am usually very lazy and don't' get my act together enough in the mornings to pack my lunch right. That should be changing now! 

 

The one thing I am concerned about is completely losing any semblance of a social life. I imagine drinking seltzer and lime while everyone else sips their drinks at Happy Hour will be a trying experience, and I will sorely miss eating out and brunch! The guy I'm seeing is starting a healthy kick now too, so maybe that will make this easier. Anyway, here's to Day 1! 

 

Breakfast: slice of spinach and tomato frittata with 1/2 an avocado. I was only able to eat a bit of it before it just wasn't appetizing anymore. I am not naturally very hungry in the mornings but that will change when I start working out more. 

Lunch: chicken salad (whole chicken pieces) with grapes, almond slivers and celery and homemade mayo over a bed of baby spinach. Side of mango, strawberries, and grapes

Dinner: Spaghetti squash with Whole30 tomato sauce and ground turkey

 

Side note: I LOVE how the Whole30 cookbook I have describes simple elements like ground meat as "Perfect Ground Meat." Even if I'm not an amazing chef, it makes me feel better and kind of makes me like the food better before I even eat it! Weird. 

 

[kimberlyxo]

The one thing I am concerned about is completely losing any semblance of a social life. I imagine drinking seltzer and lime while everyone else sips their drinks at Happy Hour will be a trying experience, and I will sorely miss eating out and brunch! 

 

This was the hardest for me too. But its only 30 days! That's what I kept telling myself 

[mgwhee]

Day 1 went fine! I was a little peckish about two hours after I had my dinner because the guy I'm seeing came over and was eating some of my leftovers and the smell made me hungry again. I had just finished prepping for today, so I sliced an apple and split that with him with some almond butter. The little bit of extra protein satisfied me right away. I really enjoy the peacefulness of cooking, lol when I'm not burning things or messing up recipes, and last night I made my lunch for today, my Red Pepper Sauce, my cole slaw, and a huge vat of beef bone broth that's still at home simmering on really low. It is weird leaving things on when I leave the house, whether it's a crock pot or a low simmer on the stove, but I guess that's just me being paranoid. It's just strange to intentionally leave the stove on when I leave the house.

 

I slept like a rock, but then again, I did a horrible job of coming into this week rested, so I can't tell if that's my body's reaction to the good food or just because I'm already exhausted. 

 

This morning (and every Tuesday morning) my team at work has a meeting first thing and someone is responsible for bringing breakfast. It's almost always some sinfully good Texas breakfast tacos, so that was annoying to smell and see, while denying myself, but I was actually looking forward to my breakfast of leftovers for when the meeting was over! 

 

I have also noticed that during my meals, I seem to get full rather quickly, and can't eat very much of the portions recommended by the Whole30 book. I stop eating when I'm full, which is something I haven't always been able to do (I have a VERY hard time putting down the fork with a bowl of mac and cheese in front of me), but then about an hour or two after my meal, I'm hungry again. I'm not sure how I should handle this. I could just wait and try to eat the rest of my meal (like having two mini meals instead of one normal meal) a little later, or I could just keep fresh cut veggies on hand to eat when my post-meal hunger comes back. That feels like unnecessary snacking though. If I just push through the hunger, I won't be eating nearly enough. I seriously get full after like 1/4 of the portion is gone. I think I'm just going to go back to my meal if/when I get hungry and only eat when my body tells me to, not when the clock does. I am never hungry first thing in the morning unless I've just worked out, so I imagine my schedule will look a little different than normal. Probably breakfast at like 9:00/9:30, lunch anytime from 1om-2pm and dinner after I get home at like 6pm-7:30pm, or split it into two mini-meals if I get hungry after prepping for the next day. I have always been a steady 2 meal a day person (no breakfast), but I tried My Fit Foods before and I enjoyed the 5 small meals a day a lot. I am sure I'll have 3 meals a day normally, but on occasion, I might do 4 slightly smaller ones instead if that suits my schedule better. 

 

Day 2 meal plan:

Breakfast: leftover spaghetti squash with Whole30 tomato sauce and ground turkey. 

I couldn't finish 1/2 of the spaghetti squash last night, and I couldn't finish the other half this morning. At least my guy likes the leftovers! It seems like the Whole30 version of cooking for 2 (one meal now, one for leftovers) is larger than I'm able to keep up with. That's very strange because with unhealthy food I can really pack it away!

Lunch: Chicken salad (with homemade mayo, grapes, celery, and almond slivers) stuffed in a raw green pepper with celery and carrot sticks and almond butter. I LOVE almond butter, but I'm not really a fan of peanut butter, so that's strange.

Dinner: chicken breast with Whole30 Red Pepper Sauce, roasted potatoes with olive oil and rosemary, and fresh cole slaw with carrots, cabbage, basil, sesame seeds, chopped raw cashews, and a lemon, garlic, and olive oil dressing. I ended up having leftovers again instead of coooking the chicken and potatoes. 

 

I'm basically doing the first week meal plan from the book, but making small substitutions depending on what I prefer. 

 

I am sure I will continue to write long, rambling posts too. I'm really enjoying being able to get all my thoughts out without talking my friends' ears off about my self-righteous new eating habits. I know no one will really read these, but I like it. Are you there Whole30 Gods? It's me, mgwhee. (Judy Bloom reference for the win!) 

 

One thing I really want to do is get into a schedule where I'm using my fitbit one every day to track my steps and make sure I'm working out a minimum of 4 times a week. I thought about imposing a rule of at least 30 mins of physical activity on myself a day, but with the long hours at my job and my love for truly being able to relax for a while after my work and cooking are done, I think the 4x a week rule will be more attainable for me and I'm trying to set myself up for success, not failure! I do get competitive with myself though, so maybe I'll end up having a step goal for each day. 

 

Part of me feels like I should be curbing my enthusiasm a bit because right now I'm feeling amazing! I love the structure, I love the food, and I love feeling good about doing all of this, but I'm kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm worried if I get too comfortable in how easy and fun this has been so far (haha it's only day too, I can't get a big head...), the I WANT TO KILL ALL THINGS phase will hit me even harder. I guess we'll see. 

 

 

I know I've written a novel and no one will read it, but if anyone is there (Whole30 God?), do you know of any Whole30 compliant beef jerky recipes? I like the idea of portable protein, but I've never made jerky before and I'm intimidated. Is it super hard? 

 

Adios until tomorrow! 

 

[DonnaB]

Right there with you on day 2 of Whole 30. DH and I are doing it together. I'm going to wait until tomorrow to post what we eat today, as I can't predict what DH will eat today when he has the day off from work, and though the fridge is full of veggies, I haven't decided what to fix to go with the pork chops DH will grill for supper. We did the spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce last night, too, and that was one honking big spaghetti squash! It will be two meals for the two of us, so will have that again later in the week when we are getting packed up to go camping. I'm seriously hoping we don't both hit the "kill all the things" while we are camping with friends!! I haven't made jerky before, but DH has a smoker and he smokes jerky for us. I don't think it would be too difficult to make some in the oven. The one thing that we know about ourselves is that we don't care for it when it's as tough as shoe leather, so he doesn't leave it in the smoker long enough for that to happen. However, then you need to refrigerate or freeze it just for food safety. DH freezes it in snack sized bags so we can just take out a little at a time. Hope this helps! Good luck!

[mgwhee]

Thanks for the jerky tips! I will definitely freeze in snack sized bags now! 

[mgwhee]

Here goes Day 3! 

 

Last night when I got home, I realized that I had enough leftovers for dinner and breakfast today so I didn't need to cook the chicken with roasted potatoes. My amended Dinner for day 2 was: leftover spaghetti squash with tomato sauce and ground turkey, that I didn't finish at breakfast, and the rest of the celery and carrot sticks with almond butter that I didn't finish at lunch.

 

My cooking/prep for last night consisted of: 1) taking my beef bone broth off the stove, where it had been simmering all day, and straining it. After it cooled, I refrigerated it and scraped they layer of fat off the top. 2) preparing Greek dressing 3) trimming my brisket (what a gross pain in the butt!) and prepping the vegetables for Day 3 dinner, and 4) making my Mexican Tuna Boats for lunch today. It was a pretty easy night of cooking, but since I'm still not used to the processes (especially the bone broth and the brisket trimming), it took me longer than I imagine it would if I was already familiar with the recipes.

 

I slept without waking last night, but when my alarm to get up for the gym went off at 5:45, I was awake enough to go, but truthfully, I was just feeling lazy and was really really covetous of that extra hour of sleep. I am not sure yet how I'll break that cycle and actually kick my butt into gear, but I know myself and as soon as I make going to the gym in the morning part of my new schedule and establish a reliable routine, I will be able to stick with it. Maybe it'll be easier next week when I'm a little less overwhelmed with my cooking. I really like the suggested meal plan and it's clear that it's designed to show the diversity and the deliciousness of the food that Whole30 is all about, but on a regular week, there's no way that I usually cook homemade tomato sauce, beef brisket, butternut squash soup, carnitas, salmon cakes, etc. It's all very time-consuming and I'm hoping when I limit my menu to 2-3 time-consuming meals a week instead of 5-6, it'll be easier for me to get to the gym, since I have more time to call my own. haha I swear, every time my guy texts me to see what I'm doing, if I'm not at work, the answer is "cooking... what else?". He likes the food though, which makes me feel like a good cook (though I'm sure it's due to the Whole30 recipe creators, not me), and he also helps me get through the extra leftovers that I'd feel bad throwing away/letting go bad.

 

So on to today! Day 3! 

 

This morning I got up a bit earlier than usual (after allowing myself that extra hour of sleep) and quickly browned my brisket on the stove, sauteed my onions and garlic, and combined everything in my crock pot, adding chopped sweet potatoes and my beef bone broth. The official recipe called for butternut squash and carrots too, but I left those out since I plan to add other veggies to my plate tonight. After that, I was good to go!

 

Breakfast: leftover spinach and tomato frittata with a side of my ground turkey and tomato sauce

Lunch: Mexican Tuna Boats: avocado, tuna, green onions, cilantro, chili powder, salt, pepper, and lime juice mixed together and tucked into "boats" of romaine lettuce. I also have homemade cabbage coleslaw and a side of fruit (mango, grapes, and strawberries cut up)

Dinner: Brisket, seasoned with salt and pepper and slow roasted in my crock pot with sweet potatoes, onions, garlic, thyme, and beef bone broth. I will also have a garden salad with mushrooms, cucumbers, and Greek dressing and a side of green beans sauteed with coconut oil and lemon. 

 

I will have plenty of leftovers from dinner! 

 

I like starting my day with a post about what the rest of my day will consist of, so I think I'll stick with that style of logging and make edits, if I have to adjust, the following day. 

 

Until tomorrow then! 

 

[DonnaB]

You're welcome! I can relate to your post on so many levels! For one - as much as I love to cook, I don't love being owned by the kitchen. With working full-time, I have a limited amount of time to call my own, and I don't want to spend all of it cooking. Thankfully, DH also knows how to cook, so he does some, including all of the grilling, so that makes things easier for me. We also try to intentionally plan to have leftovers one to two times a week. Most of my bone broth is from chicken, and I now have a sort of routine where once a month or so I put a whole chicken in the crock-pot on a Friday or Saturday morning (can easily be made with W30 approved ingredients - and we usually get 2 or 3 meals out of one chicken), then after dinner I de-bone the chicken and return the bones, skin, and whatever little bits of chicken are still on the bones to the crock pot along with 2 qts water and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (it doesn't affect the flavor of the broth, but it does pull the calcium out of the bones to enrich your broth) and set the crock pot on low for 24 hrs. The next night - wala! - I have 4 pints of chicken broth that I strain the bones from and freeze for later use. That way I don't have to make broth every time a recipe calls for it. Occasionally we get a beef soup bone in our meat CSA. Then I usually roast it when I have something else cooking in the oven - then put in the crock pot with the water and cider vinegar for 24 hrs. Works slick and keeps me from putting more time in the kitchen than I want to! If you're interested, I'm also keeping a log. It's Donna and Norms Whole 30 - or something like that. 

[mgwhee]

Day 3 went fine! I ended up nixing the salad with dinner because my other veggies were enough for me and I added an apple with almond butter. 

 

I realized yesterday that maybe I don't have as big of a "sugar dragon" as I thought I would. I don't drink coffee, so no sugar or cream there, I don't really drink soda (except as a mixer), and I don't have much of a sweet tooth.  I usually only crave candy around my period. The most sugar I consume is probably when I am drinking because of the mixers. Damn you Redbull! What I do have is a "cheese dragon". I already really miss cheese. When I was eating my frittata, I was just thinking about how much better it'd be with cheese. Same with my scrambled eggs from this morning. If I could add Parmesan to my spaghetti squash and tomato sauce, I'd have been a happy girl. I crave cheeseburgers pretty much daily. So yeah, I'm thinking about off-program foods, but since I'm not really hungry after I eat my Whole30 meals, it hasn't been a problem yet, and I won't let it become one. 

 

Anyway, last night, I got home, took my brisket and sweet potatoes out of the crock pot, sauteed some green beans in a pan, and had my dinner ready. It was delicious. The sweet potatoes were pretty  mushy after cooking all day long, but it just made them feel "mashed" instead of "boiled," so I'm okay with that. The sugary sweetness of sweet potatoes is hard for me to fully get behind and I can't eat very much of them, so that was the only thing I didn't finish completely. 

 

I slept solidly again last night with no real waking up throughout the night. I am still frustrated when I wake up and have to get out of bed, but that's just how I am in the mornings. I am curious to see how many hours of sleep a night I actually "require" before I am fully ready to hop out of bed when my alarm goes off. Maybe I'll try going to bed an hour earlier each night and see what feels best. Maybe not though, because then I'd never have time to see my guy and he doesn't go to bed early at all.

 

So for Day 4, my meals will be as follows:

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with salt, pepper, and Tabasco sauce, handful of spinach wilted over heat with leftover ground turkey, handful of mushrooms sauteed with coconut oil.

 

Side note: I LOVE coconut oil. It's my go-to cooking fat. I have a big jar of it (organic) and it starts off as a white-ish translucent solid and when heated, it looks just like olive oil, but it leave no oily residue on food. It doesn't have any discernible taste, and there's not process in order to get it. I don't need to clarify butter or render Whole30 approved bacon fat. I'm a huge fan of the ease and simplicity of it.

 

Lunch: leftover brisket, sweet potatoes, and green beans

Dinner: baked salmon with broccoli, mushrooms and yellow squash, topped with Red Pepper sauce.

 

Tonight, I will also prepare a Butternut Squash Soup, a Greek salad, and some seared chicken to top the salad. 

 

 

The photos are of last night's dinner and this morning's breakfast. 

 

 

[mgwhee]

Does anyone know how to make the photos smaller? I'm doing the photobucket url insert, but they show up HUGE and I can't figure out how to resize them on here. 

[mgwhee]

Good morning Day 5! 

 

Last night, I ended up not feeling up to making the veggies to go along with my salmon after all of my other prep so..

amended Day 4 Dinner:  the salmon over a salad with chopped up mushrooms and carrots with oil and balsamic dressing and a handful of kalamata olives. 

 

I am still happy with the food and after I'm done cooking, I'm very pleased and feel proud of my accomplishments, but I'm really getting sick of cooking like 2 hours a day. 

 

Last night me and my guy broke up, so that was tough and I really wanted a drink! I resisted, and I felt good about that. So maybe I am glad Whole30 will be keeping me very busy this month, but I do intend to try to do the bulk of my cooking on the weekend and make large amounts that can be mixed and matched throughout the week to keep me full, satisfied, and on-track!

 

Day 5:

Breakfast: I had my butternut squash soup to eat for breakfast, but I really don't feel like it now. I am eating sliced apples with almond butter instead. I know I'm not getting any veggies at this meal, but I'm making up for that at lunch.

Lunch: huge Greek salad (cucumbers, tomatoes, and kalamata olives with romaine lettuce) and leftover salmon with homemade greek dressing. 

Dinner: tonight I'll cook pork chops and make spiced applesauce. I will probably eat my butternut squash soup then. 

 

I am nervous for the first weekend. Part of what's been so easy for me so far is that I have been at work, with my meals pre-planned and no "free time" to get in trouble with. It will probably be much more trying on the weekend, especially without my man in my life anymore. I will want to curl up on the couch and watch movies with fried chicken and ice cream and a stiff drink, but I'll have to make do with carrot sticks and greek dressing instead.

 

I plan on doing the laundry, changing the sheets, and cleaning my whole apartment, doing a new shop for the week, and trying to stay busy instead of sitting around and focusing on things I can't do/can't have anymore (both food wise and ex-boyfriend wise).

 

Wish me luck! 

 

Here's a picture of my dinner last night! I'd never made salmon before and it came out perfect! 

 

[DonnaB]

Your salmon looks beautiful! Sorry to hear about the break-up. Stick with your plan for the weekend. It sounds like a good one.

[mgwhee]

So, this weekend was hard. My ex was being mean and vindictive and kept trying to blame the breakup on me. It was a mess, and I really just wanted some comfort food and a drink, but I resisted.

 

I slept in both Saturday and Sunday so I only ate 2 full meals and 1 mini meal those days because I'd woken up later.

 

Day 6: 

Lunch: leftover brisket, butternut squash soup, and strawberries

Mini-Meal: Olive trio: black olives, kalamata olives, and those big green olives (I can't remember the name)

Dinner: 2 chicken wings, baked with salt & pepper, roasted potatoes with rosemary, and boiled green beans

 

Day 7: 

Lunch: "Breakfast Tacos": ground turkey, two eggs (scrambled), and salsa, tucked into romaine lettuce leaves.

Mini-Meal: fresh cucumber and carrots, and a handful of olives

Dinner: Leftover brisket, butternut squash soup, mango & strawberries

 

Weekends are just going to be hard for me. I think about all the other food I want, and it makes me want to quit (but I don't). Week days are so much easier because I pack my breakfast and lunch, and then the day is almost over! 

 

I also went to two movies this weekend to keep me  busy and keep my mind off of my jerk of an ex. I saw San Andreas and Mad Max Fury Road. I enjoyed both.

 

I also went to home depot and finally got some flowers/herbs to put in my 3 little balcony hanging boxes. I got some pretty purple flowers, some white daisy-looking ones, and some fresh rosemary and basil. Though it's scorching hot here, I'm setting up my balcony to be a nice place to read, hang out, and have a glass of lemonade (when I'm allowed again). 

 

Anyway, on to Day 8!

 

Day 8:

Breakfast: Butternut squash soup, sliced apple with almond butter

Lunch: leftover brisket (wow I'm finally finishing this off!), green beans, and roasted butternut squash with rosemary. 

I also brought raw veggies: cucumbers, carrots, and celery if I want/need it this afternoon, since I've got a stressful day today.

Dinner: pan seared chicken breast with a spinach salad and a chopped green pepper and a vinaigrette dressing. Handful of assorted olives.

 

Let's gooooo! 

[mgwhee]

Day 9 okay!

 

This morning I got up a little early and set up my crock pot for this awesome soup recipe I found online for Whole 30. The basic recipe is here: http://rivernorthpaleo.blogspot.com/2012/03/creamy-crockpot-chicken-and-tomato-soup.html

but I played with the ratios a bit. That's at home slow-cooking for dinner (I hope it's good!) and I have my breakfast and lunch packed and ready.

 

Day 9: 

Breakfast: I have 2 eggs scrambled with the meat from 1 small pork chop and sliced green bell pepper and salsa to go on top. Right now, I'm not very hungry, so I'm substituting my snack for breakfast and if I'm hungry enough later, I can eat my breakfast as a mini-meal later in the day, or maybe just have it for breakfast tomorrow instead.

So actually what I ate was a plate of sliced mixed veggies (raw): carrots, celery, and cucumber.

Lunch: spinach and romaine mix salad with green bell pepper on it, vinaigrette dressing, 2 baked chicken wings with salt and pepper, and rosemary roasted potatoes

Dinner: bowl of "Creamy" Chicken Tomato Crock-Pot Soup. 

 

Thanks to the soup, (and passing on breakfast), I might not have to prep anything tonight at all! Then I'll have breakfast and lunch ready and only have to deal with dinner when I get home tomorrow night.

 

I'm REALLY excited for Jurassic World to come out this week!!! I have tickets to go on Friday and I can't wait! 

[mgwhee]

Okay so here comes Day 10! Wow I thought these days would feel slower, but yay! 

 

My soup from yesterday came out so well! It's creamy (from the coconut milk - in a can, so it's thick), hearty (tons of chicken), and delicious, with a hint of coconut flavor that goes so nicely with the tomato flavor. I used fresh basil instead of dried basil, I skipped the Italian Seasoning and put in some other assorted spices. I used 4 huge (frozen!) chicken breasts, and even though they're rock hard and frozen, after 8 hours, they were soft and tender. I just pulled them out, shredded them with a fork, and plopped the chicken back in. 4 chicken breasts was PLENTY and there's chicken in every bite. I used a can of Hunt's tomato sauce (the recipe just says pick your favorite) and I wasn't sure if they meant tomato sauce like on pasta or what, but the can of regular "tomato sauce" worked wonderfully. Now I have tons of yummy leftovers!

 

So Day 10 will go like this:

Breakfast: the breakfast from yesterday that I didn't feel like eating: 2 scrambled eggs cooked with the meat from 1 leftover pork chop and chopped green pepper topped with salsa

Lunch: bowl of my creamy tomato chicken soup and a small snack-size Tupperware of grapes

Dinner: I took my ground beef out of the freezer last night, so I'll make two hamburgers (one for now, one for leftovers!). I usually make burgers with the 80-20 fat meat, but the 90-10 was on sale last Sunday, so that's what I'm working with. I know it won't be as decadent as a big juicy fatty cheeseburger, but I'm hoping it'll still taste good. I plan on wrapping it in a romaine leaf with pickles and having a side of roasted butternut squash. 

 

I keep finding more and more amazing recipes online and that means I need to order more things. I've been toying with the idea of a great dutch oven for a while, but haven't make the purchase yet. I'm doing it now, and buying some other ingredients that are hard to find in my area (certain kinds of flours - tapioca flour and coconut flour) as well as ghee. I can toy with making my own if I really love it, but just like the mayo, I don't really trust myself with making these things at first and would rather try them as they're supposed to taste first so that I don't put myself off them completely by trying my own horrible version first. Either way, I'm very excited for my stuff to come in and since they won't get here quickly (the expedited shipping cost a fortune and the shipping dates were pretty late this month), that means I'll just have more motivation to keep going after my 30 days are up! 

 

Yay Day 10! 

[mgwhee]

So last night I made my burgers, and the ex came over. Not sure what will end up happening, but I think we're going to try to make it work. So no leftover burger because he ate the 2nd one. I had mine with some simple seasoning and pickles in a lettuce wrap and some roasted butternut squash and roasted potatoes on the side. He had his with a LOT of seasoning, my Whole30 Mayo, the Red Pepper Sauce I made, and mustard. They were a great success, and I didn't notice the lack of fat at all, very juicy! We had a nice meal and watched Jurassic Park!

 

Day 10 Snack: last night during the movie, my guy had a bowl of my creamy tomato chicken soup (and loved it!) and I had a bowl of mixed olives as a snack.

 

I also roasted some chicken wings to have on hand.

 

My coworker brought in his Jurassic Park movies for me today, so the plan for tonight is to watch the 2nd and 3rd one for the first time so that the ex (?) and I will be super excited for Jurassic World on Friday! 

 

The meal plan for Day 11 is:

Breakfast: leftover creamy chicken tomato soup and a large handful of grapes. 

Lunch: 2 chicken wings, some roasted potatoes with rosemary, and raw sliced veggies (carrots, celery, and cucumber)

Dinner: I took 4 pork chops out of the freezer last night, so the plan is to do a walnut crusted pork chop (one for me, one for my guy, and two for leftovers), steamed broccoli, and more roast potatoes or butternut squash. 

 

I made a lot of roasted butternut squash and potatoes on Sunday and I love being able to just pull them out and add them to every meal! I diced them, so they're easy to portion control and they got nice and crispy.

 

As long as you plan ahead, sticking to Whole30 isn't all that difficult at all. I do however keep having food nightmares. I dream about eating non-approved foods (Brie, tortilla chips, candy, cheeseburgers) and then during my dream, I remember that I'm in the middle of my Whole30 and I get very very upset with myself. I wake up, as if I'd just had a nightmare, and have to remind myself that I haven't gone off plan at all, and that everything is okay still! Very strange! 

 

I am sleeping VERY well, and I've had no stomach issues like I used to. I used to get a lot of indigestion and upset stomach after eating greasy things like pizza, but I would feel fine after using the bathroom. I definitely don't miss that pattern, but MAN OH MAN do I miss pizza. Thinking about it is making my mouth water. I'm not confident that I'll be one of those lucky bastards who no longer craves fried chicken or pizza or mac and cheese after this is over. I doubt I'll ever be that person who can say "I don't even want it anymore!" but I am hoping that if I do my re-introduction right and stick to the fundamentals of the plan while allowing myself treats every once and a while, I'll be able to maintain a healthy eating program even after my official 30 days are done. 

 

Yay it's Day 11!

[mgwhee]

and YAY I just got word that I have a package at work, and I know that it's my Steve's Paleo Goods Jerky! I ordered a couple of bags because I want to have it at my desk in case I need a protein boost to keep me on track. It will also be great to be able to bring a snack that I LOVE and really enjoyed before Whole30 with me to the movie theater tomorrow night. I was planning on bringing sliced veggies to keep me happy (Despite the alluring smell of popcorn!) but the jerky will really keep me satisfied in a way the raw veggies wouldn't! I do love a salty snack at the movies! 

[mgwhee]

So yesterday, (Day 11) I didn't end up eating that soup for breakfast, but I did have the grapes and a packet of my jerky.

 

The pork chops were delicious last night! I like the spice rub I used a lot. I also finished off the butternut squash with dinner. That lasted all week!

 

I also made some tuna salad last night and roasted some cauliflower to have on hand. 

 

Today is Day 12! Wow, almost halfway there!

 

Breakfast: leftover creamy tomato chicken soup

Lunch: 3 chicken wings, sugar snap peas, and the last of my roasted potatoes. 

Dinner: leftover pork chop with roasted cauliflower and steamed green beans.

 

Snack: I know you're not supposed to snack, but I am going to Jurassic World tonight (!!!) and I know I'll be surrounded by yummy smells, so I'm going to bring a bag of sliced raw veggies (carrots, celery, and cucumber) with a bit of salt on them, and a portion of my beef jerky. I am excited for the food and for the movie! 

 

I feel awesome! I'm excited about how well I'm doing, and I'm really looking forward to trying more recipes this weekend to prep for next week! I do keep having nightmares about cheating on the program though. Last night, I was somehow forced to eat out, and my only options were a mexican place or an italian place. I know there are options that I could make work for me at either one, but for some reason, only things like burritos, tortilla tacos, pizza, garlic bread, etc. were available. It's like my subconscious is terrified that all it would take would be one tiny bite of garlic bread to ruin my entire Whole30 and is taunting me with that knowledge... haha at least I'm not presented with those choices in my waking hours!

[mgwhee]

Yesterday was Day 13. My meals were small and all over the place, but all compliant.

 

Meal 1: I woke up late and around noon I had some tuna salad (with celery, whole30 mayo, and dill pickles chopped up in it) and some of my creamy tomato soup.

Meal 2: my first meal out! I went to Snappy Salads and had a salad with romaine and spinach, celery, cucumbers, carrots, black olives, kalamata olives, almonds, and grilled chicken (marinated in only salt and pepper) with a balsamic vinegrette (I checked the ingredients before having it). It was delicious!

Meal 3: I had a leftover pork chop, a sliced apple, and some roasted potatoes.

 

On day 13, I also roasted more potatoes with rosemary and salt and pepper, and I also have leftover roasted cauliflower, so I've got some stuff ready for this week.

 

Today is Day 14!  I went out to lunch today and had a plain hamburger in a lettuce wrap with pickles and a tall glass of water. It was so nice to be able to eat out again! The weekends are the only time I have to potentially do so, so I was pleased that I got two meals out this weekend.

 

Meal 1: plain hamburger with lettuce (1/2 iceberg and 1/2 romaine) and pickles

Meal 2: I plan on having braised lamb with the braised veggies and the gravy created in the dutch oven, roasted potatoes, and a side salad.

 

Since I woke up late again today, I'll try to stick to the two meals, but if i'm peckish later I'll have an apple with some almond butter. That always satisfies me.

 

Today, I am braising a bone-in leg of lamb with garlic, thyme, fresh rosemary from my balcony windowbox, onion, celery, leftover beef bone broth from week one (I had frozen the leftovers), and salt and pepper. I'm so excited for this to come out! I LOVE lamb, and I'm going to use the leftovers to make a sheperd's pie with cauliflower mash topping! It's going to be a great week and I can't wait to push through the halfway mark!

 

I am still sleeping like a rock, I'm loving not having the indegestion or upset stomach I used to, and having a healthy schedule has been super helpful in keeping the rest of my life going strong. I am not sure I would classify this as "Tiger Blood" because I'm not waking up at 6 every day and hitting the gym with all this excess energy, but I am very very happy with how I feel. Things like grogery shopping and cooking on the weekends used to feel daunting and I never wanted to get off the couch. Now I love being able to get up, get them done, plan my weekly meals, and then truly be able to relax after a productive day! Cheers to the next week!

[mgwhee]

The lamb came out so great! Dinner last night was delicious!

 

Today is Day 15! Halfway! 

 

I slept so well last night! I feel so great on this program, but I'm still finding it hard to carve out more time out of my schedule to go to the gym. When I get off work at 6 or so, (get home at like 6:30), I am hungry and want to start preparing dinner and prepping for the next day. After that, all I want to do is sit down and relax. I try to get to bed early, and sometimes I can be in  bed by 10:30 but most of the time I'm up until 11:30-midnight. I need to be at work at 8:00 am and I COULD wake up at 5:30 to work out for an hour and be home at 7am to shower and get out the door in time, but the 5:30 am wake up call just kills me. I suppose I could just muscle through it, or make an effort to go late-ish at night after I'm done cooking/eating - so at like 9 or 9:30 pm. Maybe I will try my first Whole 30 just focusing on feeling good, and introduce exercise into my second Whole30 to compare and contrast. 

 

I am looking forward to my re-introduction and I will see how certain foods affect me and then keep the ones that don't bother me around as options or special treats, but I intend to try to stick to the fundamentals even after I'm done. My loose plan as of now is to spend July doing re-introduction, but after that staying close to plan. After July, depending on how I'm feeling, I will either start a 2nd Whole 30 for August, or I will continue eating mainly Whole30 with treats and foods that don't bother me. Unfortunately, I think the main deciding factor will be alcohol. I will want to be free to have fun with my friends this summer, and I am not one of those people who finds drunk people antics funny when I'm sober. I HATE being dead sober at a bar or a party. I just isn't fun for me. I guess we'll see though.

 

Day 15:

 

Breakfast: I wasn't very hungry so I just had a large plate of veggies (carrots, cucumbers, and celery). I had some almond butter to eat with them, but I was enjoying the pure taste of the veggies.

Lunch: spinach and romaine mixed salad with tuna salad on top (Primal Kitchen avocado oil based mayo, celery, and chopped dill pickles) I have a vinaigrette dressing to go on top, and a side of fruit (pineapple and strawberries). I don't anticipate eating it, but I also brought some more leftover chicken tomato soup for breakfast, and I can have that if my salad doesn't satisfy  me.

Dinner: I have a ton of leftover lamb from my braised lamb leg, so the plan is to make a shepherd's pie and have some of that for dinner. I'll start with my lamb on the base of the baking dish, Then I'll puree the braising liquid and the veggies in there (onions and celery) and pour some of that sauce over the lamb. Then I'll brown some mushrooms in ghee in a pan and add those on top of the lamb. Finally, I'll make a creamy cauliflower mash (cauliflower, ghee, salt, pepper, tapioca starch, and coconut flour) and spread that on top.

 

I really hope I end up losing weight doing this without exercising. I know exercising would just make it that much more effective, but it would just be such a huge letdown to not lose any weight. I feel so much better, so that's a victory, but my end goal in eating better is to see results, so fingers crossed this kills two birds with one stone. 

[mgwhee]

The shepherd's pie from last night turned out really well! I'm very pleased!

 

Day 16:

Breakfast: leftover creamy chicken tomato soup and a plate of cut veggies (carrots, celery, and cucumber)

Lunch: serving of lamb, mushroom, and cauliflower mash shepherd's pie, a spinach salad with vinaigrette, and a side of fruit (pineapple and strawberry).

Dinner: Leftover leg of lamb, roasted potatoes, steamed cauliflower, and spinach salad. 

EDIT: I ended up going out to a Mexican restaurant instead. I got the mixed fajitas (chicken and steak), and made sure to ask about any marinades etc. used in the veggies or the meat. They were clean! - so chicken, steak, onions, two potato slices, and some green and orange pepper.

 

No cooking tonight! 

[DonnaB]

Hey mgwhee - in case you're interested, there is a forum specifically for people who started W30 on June 1st with lots of great support from other people who are at the same day as you are here: http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/27631-start-date-june-1/.

 

I'm interested to know where you got the recipe for the creamy chicken tomato soup from. Is it in the W30 book? Thanks! 

[mgwhee]

Hey mgwhee - in case you're interested, there is a forum specifically for people who started W30 on June 1st with lots of great support from other people who are at the same day as you are here: http://forum.whole9life.com/topic/27631-start-date-june-1/.

 

I'm interested to know where you got the recipe for the creamy chicken tomato soup from. Is it in the W30 book? Thanks! 

 

It wasn't in the W30 book. I found it by searching paleo recipes and checking to see if they were Whole30 compliant as well.I also did that when finding my lamb and shepherd's pie reciepes. This one fit the bill, but I replaced fresh basil with the dried basil and didn't use any italian seasoning. I also used 4 huge chicken breasts instead of 8 (8 seems like a LOT!). 

 

 

Creamy chicken tomato soup: http://rivernorthpaleo.blogspot.com/2012/03/creamy-crockpot-chicken-and-tomato-soup.html

 

Braised Leg of Lamb: http://thehealthyfoodie.com/braised-leg-of-lamb/

 

Shepherd's Pie: http://thehealthyfoodie.com/braised-lamb-and-wild-mushrooms-shepherds-pie/

[mgwhee]

Today is Day 17!

 

I had a rough night, fighting with the ex, who maybe wasn't going to be an ex, but is definitely an ex now! Exhausting, and I was up until 3am driving home from his house after he kicked me out. So not much sleep!

 

I feel fine today though, so maybe I'm better rested than I thought.

 

Day 17: 

 

Breakfast: the last of my creamy tomato chicken soup (but I froze about 2 servings) and a plate of fresh cut veggies: carrots, celery, and cucumbers

Lunch: leftover lamb shepherd's pie, another spinach salad with vinaigrette, and another side of pineapple and strawberries. Maybe I shouldn't be eating this much fruit, but I'm staying 100% on plan, and I like it, but don't go craving crazy or snack crazy when I eat it, so I'm letting it go. Also, when you shop in bulk, you save money, but you do have to eat it all!

Dinner: I am tired today (not because of the Whole30, but because I only got four hours of sleep last night) and I ate a really late lunch, so I'll probably just have a tuna salad boat and a spinach salad. 

 

I feel like my body might be changing a bit, but I haven't noticed any very loose fitting clothes yet. Fingers crossed! 

[mgwhee]

Last night I ended up having two romaine leafs of lettuce with tuna in them  and no spinach salad, and I went to bed early.

 

This morning, I was still tired from missing so much sleep on Tuesday night, but I don't feel draggy now that I'm up.

 

Today is Day 18!

 

Breakfast:  I didn't have extra time to get any eggs cooked before I left the house so I'm having a serving of grass fed beef jerky and cut up carrots, celery,and cucumbers. I also have an apple, if i want it. 

Lunch: leftover lamb, side of roasted cauliflower, and a spinach salad with vinaigrette. I also brought a sparkling water flavored with grapefruit to sip on.

Dinner: Tonight I'm going to make some pork/ground beef meatballs, another batch of the W30 book tomato sauce, and roast some spaghetti squash. 

 

One of my local grocery stores is this AWESOME healthy place that stocks sugar free bacon, ghee, and other specialty food, has an AMAZING meat/butcher/fish section, and has 100% grass fed pork, beef, etc. so my meatballs tonight are going to be really good!

 

Cooking is really an ingrained part of my life now. I enjoy the nights where I can get by on leftovers, but I don't dread having to figure out dinner anymore when I do have to cook. I used to just eat out because I was lazy and now I look forward to it! It can be fun! And when I'm in a mood and don't feel up to it, trusty protein salad (usually tuna for me) is an appealing choice. Either that or seasoned pan seared shrimp over salad (which I haven't actually had yet during these last 18 days, but I'm sure I will soon!). 

 

Still feeling great! 

[mgwhee]

Day 19!

 

Breakfast: two small tuna boats and a side of fresh cut strawberries

Lunch: the last of my lamb and cauliflower mash, spinach salad, and an apple if I want it

Dinner: I have dinner plans with a friend tonight and I think we're going to this healthy place called Lyfe Kitchen. I checked the menu and while it's all healthy, almost none of it is Whole30 friendly. I will probably end up getting a modified salad (no cheese or croutons etc) with a vinaigrette or plain oil and vinegar. 

 

I made it through another week only shopping on the weekends! I am planning on making my list tonight so I can get my shopping done tomorrow and start on my weekend prep. I'm so glad it's Friday! 

 

I'm planning on getting a mani/pedi this weekend to celebrate my progress (no more food treats! I have to reward myself with something else!)

 

I'm also going to take a stab at making my own jerky this weekend. I got a dehydrator!!! I'm excited to test it out.