Sarah's first Whole30

[NinjaSarah]

My goals: get back to eating Real food that I truly enjoy.

Be conscientious of what I'm sticking in my mouth, and Why.

Loose weight (I'm shooting for 10 lbs but really, at this point, will be happy with anything to start)

Allergy devils be Gone!

Continue my journey of becoming a conscientious & aware consumer, helping to promote & support ethical & humane treatment of the animals we consume.

So, I got introdoced to the whole Paleo idea and then Whole 30 by my sister. We used to eat fairly well, and balanced, but after some serious events in the family (mom's cancer diagnosis & death) food intake took a serious turn for the worst. Between the overall stress and inability to cook In the house we got stuck on more typical american diet. And we've tried to pull ourselves out, gradually getting better, but always with some backsliding.

But...still the weight was there and not really going away, stress, and bad habits. Overall, I just haven't been in a happy place for a while now. And when I'm not happy I don't exercise as much as I should, I don't eat as well, and when I try to change that I still don't loose the weight, which leads to frustration & a "May as well just give up" state of mind. I Know I haven't eaten nearly as well this past summer as I usually do. Even though there isn't a fruit or veg I've met yet I don't like.

I've joined the sedentary state worker job force. At least in past jobs I stood for 75% of my job/day. And couldn't have food at my workstation. Pop, coffee (with a coffee shop conveniently next door *shudder*) however, were ever present.

I've started to recognize triggers. Drink pop and I "need" something...be it pretzel m&m's, potato chips...

Along with moving less during my work day, these people like to Eat! Crap too. Stuff I Never would choose to eat. But...as the year has gone on my willpower has gone away. Someone will say, oh I made this will you try it? (I'm a known baker, so the ladies often want to compare notes) And since I'm technically removed from my general department, my coworkers are nice enough to make sure I know about all of the goodies available. And there's that unspoken but ever present guilt pressure- we're eating it, what are you better than us?

So in my head I've started saying, "Yes I am, because I don't want my fanny to conform to my chair" as I see has happened to many a state employee. I don't Want to want the crappy, chemical filled cake or cookies. Especially because I can and do make a much higher quality version.

Wow, this post has gotten really long. I may have had a bit of stuff to unload.

Upon reading Robb Wolf's book, and now It Starts with Food, I'm geeked to start Whole30. This is actually day 3 for us. And thank goodness we've been weaning our selves towards this eating life style for a while because after reading some of the withdrawal stories on the other forums....ugh.

So far, it hasn't been too hard. But that is in part due to not having dealt with a weekend yet. Those have typically been less structured and more "ooh, treat time". Switched coffee a while back, and my test for coffee is-can I drink it black? Going creamer free wasn't a problem then. And I now know that I LOVE coconut milk (out of a can) so those days when I need the edge taken off of the black coffee I can just add that. I had also started playing with adding cinnamon, so there's another option when I need some flavor.

My sister is a wonderful planner, and researcher, so she came fully armed with the knowledge. Plus she's an awesome cook. Very, Very helpful to get this thing started. I am, and will try, to help more and more with meal planning, preparing and cooking.

Ok, what did I eat today? A steamed yam with bacon and coconut milk. I Love it. I think coconut milk will be my treat food. Not a reward, but a Treat. And I've always enjoyed sweet potatoes and yams so that isn't too hard to eat for breakfast-I mean Meal 1. Plus coffee with some coconut milk.

[NinjaSarah]

Today I've eaten:

Breakfast: yam with 2 slices bacon and coconut milk. I'm still playing with portions for breakfast. The past two days I wasn't able to eat all of my eggs scrambled with (sugar free, Whole Food butcher counter) pork sausage with lots of veggies. Even though I am already waking up hungry, my body isn't quite ready for 3 eggs plus stuff added. So I got a little hungry before the lunch hour, but nothing too bad.

Lunch: lamb stew, thanks to my wonderful sister a bowl of that and some lemon water and I have been set all afternoon. Now though, I"m Bored. At work with just over an hour to go, and NO work left to do. The phones are usually pretty dead at this point on Fridays too. So I've already drank 2 cups of almond tea, just have this `want to nosh' feeling. Not hungry, not craving any sweets or salts. Just....you know. Went for a brisk walk...but I keep having to come back to my desk and just Sit. Thought I'd get on here to help, find something constructive to do

For Dinner, planning on some wonderful beanless chili. It's different, but good. Tastetested last night.

[NinjaSarah]

What a weekend. Ended up unexpectedly taking a 3 hour road trip to go to Dad's place. Took lamb stew had already prepared for Saturday's lunch, Dad lives in farm country so he had farm fresh eggs And bacon on hand, so took some yams and wf sausage. On the way up, since we didn't have anything prepped besides stew, got unwiches at jj's, no mayo no cheese. Yes I know the cold cuts they use probably aren't within Whole30, but hey I did the best I could with in the circumstances. I was full and didn't feel compelled to snack (which car rides are usually a trigger for snacking and pop).

Sunday, back home, kind of frustrating. Sis and I got back home late Saturday, so went to bed without running to store. No eggs=bad news for the morning. Lesson learned. Later in the day I had to run to the store to get vital supplies (coconut milk, eggs, cauliflower ) and discovered that Sunday shopping is a big trigger for me. I have Never enjoyed grocery shopping, and it's been a while since I've been to the store on a Sunday. Oy vey. I had to keep doubling back because the stupid store rearranged. I couldn't find Any dried fruit without sugar added, little to none stocked coconut milk, the eggs I feel least guilty buying at the store.... so I came home a Little cranky. And as the night progressed it only got worse. I had a wonderful dinner of garlic roast, roasted cauliflower, assorted veg. But I wanted....Something. Anything. I didn't cave though. Had some chamomile tea and went ot bed early.

But today....I don't care for the way I cooked my eggs, but made myself eat them. Ugh. And every freaking coworker who walks by is sure to remind me about the double chocolate brownies down the way. Somedays, I wish I could wear ear plugs to work

[ginsinnot]

You can do it! Those office brownies are probably gross anyway. You get to have delicious garlic roast beef for lunch.

[NinjaSarah]

I made it through yesterday without caving to the brownies!! Well before time to go home I was Hungry. Hungry enough to eat that fish and broccoli , so I went to our little convenience store to see if there were any veg packs or even an apple. Sadly, there was nothing and I Just. Walked. Out. Pretty proud of myself for that. No rationalizing, well I'm Really hungry and.... So I just brewed some tea and sipped on that.

Dinner was roasted buttercup squash with a little ghee, cinnamon and nutmeg (Fall in a dish), kale and grilled pork chops. Yum. Thanks to my sis, discovered a nice once in awhile treat- some strawberries & peaches that had to be eaten, chopped up & topped with a little coconut milk.

Still need to get blackout curtains but overall sleep is improving. I stayed up "late" last night (til 10:30!) which used to be when I might just maybe have thought to start getting ready for bed.

Today is the start of day 7, and overall I'm feeling pretty good. I Feel like I've lost some weight (but I haven't stepped on the scale ), except for a cranky bit Sunday afternoon I haven't craved/wanted any no-foods. I continue to be amazed at all of the crap that is added to food when I look at the labels. I already knew there was a lot of stuff, and avoided more often than not, but sometimes it feels like if I took all of the boxed/canned/bottled food in the store and only reshelved those without msg, corn syrup, dairy (whey is EVERYWHERE), sugar or soy, there Might be a enough to fill a yardstick length of shelf. And that feels generous.

Breakfast: scrambled eggs, with roasted tomatoes, greens & peppers. I kept trying to figure out why my eggs were making me think of piz-a food to remain unnamed and then realized sis used the oven roasted tomatoes. Very good. Coffee black.

My goal this week: to help my sister more. There are 3 adults in the house & the bulk of the food work (cooking, planning) has fallen on her.

[NinjaSarah]

Doing good so far. Went out on a limb lastnight and made "creamed" rainbow chard with coconut milk. Interesting.

Today's 1st meal was a little skimpy which I am now regretting becuase I"m stuck with the late lunch. But I'm surviving. It was good though, "fried" egg, yam skillet toasted in ghee & cinnamon, mixed with blueberries and coconut milk.

However, today is the first time I've experienced true Resentment towards Whole30. In life's comedic way, I had joined a Foodie Meetup group about 2 months before learning about the paleo/whole 30 way. Being the start of Fall there have been lots of meetups scheduled. And I had signed up for nearly every one. And have now cancelled nearly every one. Private tour of hard cider mill (complete with tastings)-nope. Honey/cheese tasting-nope. Private chefs dinner at local restaurant- nope because he would allow No substitutions and Every dish had gluten And dairy.

Sure, I could still go and enjoy the company right? Not this girl. Cider-downfall. Honey? MAJOR weakspot. And explaining this program to a bunch of foodies is like to trying to explain.... can't think of analogy at the moment. But it's not easy. Most people have been very open or at least respectful to this lifestyle i've chosen. But these guys, can't quite grasp how I could say no to baked brie (gasp), panko encrusted lake trout on rice pilaf (double gasp) or chocolate creme brulee (I think a couple fainted at that one )

Most other social situations I don't think I'll have much of a problem with. My family and friends are used to my quirks, and know when to Just Drop It. But these folks are new, we're still in that tentative building stage. And, not necessarily just with these folks, I am amazed & intrigued by how many people take My choices as a criticism of theirs.

Huh.

[NinjaSarah]

Feeling kind of beat-up-on today. I'm not thinking "Ooh a brownie would make me feel better" but, typically in the past, when upset or stressed I would often bake. Not just for my own consumption, I would give to family, friends, bring to work. But there's no way in hell I could bake up a batch of something and completely abstain. So it just finally hit me that while I"m doing this to make me a better me, I've (at least temporarily) lost a coping skill.

When baking I usually crank up Deano & Frank and just...create/chill. It was a form of meditation honestly. And I don't actually consume a lot of what I'm baking/creating, most of the time. I just know that I can't do this now.

I know, I know, I Have alternatives. I could do some (much needed) yard work. I can still listen to my music. But that realisation, on top of some other crap, has had me actually fighting back tears for the past half hour. Maybe there are some hardcore bakers out there who might understand. I bake, and I'm happy. Not just because I can/could consume the end product. But it's the actual creating. I can cook, but honestly it doesn't bring me the same level of satisfaction. My sister is a far more accomplished cook than I, but I'm trying to not leave all of the cooking to her.

[ceanothus]

Oh, you poor dear! I don't know if this will help, but sometimes when I think about a bad feeling as being the result of some bizarre hormone cascade in my body, it helps me calm down. Like, I'm not out of control or overly sensitive; I'm just a slave to the chemical shenanigans going on inside me. And when you're withdrawing from the opiates found in grains and dairy, it's not too surprising that your personal chemistry is going to do some fancy dancing. Again, not sure if this will help you, but I do hope you feel better soon.

[NinjaSarah]

Thank you ceanothus. I'm feeling much better today, just indulged in a bit of a pity-party yesterday. I need to work on utilizing visualization skills like that, I'm sure it'll help.

I think yesterday was more a psychic/emotional-withdrawal than a physiological withdrawal issue. I wasn't prepared to mourn a habit, so I wasn't prepared. And now I know.

[NinjaSarah]

Yesterday:

M1: fried egg, yam skillet toasted in ghee and cinnamon, mixed with blueberries and coconut milk (accidentaly bought a can of lite)

M2: chicken breast, half avocado, creamed chard. The last of the yam & blueberries.

Snack: (had to, after work appt, know would be ravenous by end) sliced red pear and handful pistachios.

M3: salmon with spicy mustard, sauteed bok choy, buttercup squash with ghee.

Bed, kind of late for me since I've started. I adapted to going to bed before 10pm far more easily than I thought I would. 10pm, up at 6

Actually I woke up Before my alarm, which was nice. I took a few minutes to just focus on the day.

[Aberrantatavia]

I can relate to the baking and cooking wing relaxing and enjoyable. I swear my kids used to piss me off just so I would go bake something lol

A couple of things have helped me with this. First, I've gotten used to paleo cooking. Second, I still bake and cook for my family and friends. I can do this as a labor of love and not eat it, and I find it satisfying. I'll probably have a tough time at christmas with all of the homemade goods I make, but in general it allows me to still be creative and do something I love without compromising my good health.

It's great that you are doing this with your sister, the support you can provide to each other is so valuable!

[NinjaSarah]

I can relate to the baking and cooking wing relaxing and enjoyable. I swear my kids used to piss me off just so I would go bake something lol

A couple of things have helped me with this. First, I've gotten used to paleo cooking. Second, I still bake and cook for my family and friends. I can do this as a labor of love and not eat it, and I find it satisfying. I'll probably have a tough time at christmas with all of the homemade goods I make, but in general it allows me to still be creative and do something I love without compromising my good health.

It's great that you are doing this with your sister, the support you can provide to each other is so valuable!

Thanks. I have looked into paleo cooking/baking for the future; I just know that right now I can't bake and not taste But I also want to be sure to not paleo-fy everything. I am a cupcaker-cake & frosting from scratch everytime. I'll be sure to buy better, grassfed butter, etc but occassionally, I'm going to bake, eat and enjoy a real cupcake dammit! (one of my f-off foods)

And yes, sis is a major source of support. And information. I don't know if I would have stuck to it after that first grocery bill if not for her.

[NinjaSarah]

M1: fluffy omelette (no sugar!) separate eggs, whip up both yolks & whites, fold together, start on stove top to "set" pop in oven 10 minutes and Yum. It did deflate a little when it came out, that may be the lack of sugar in the whites. Topped with my serving of fruit for the day, cup of strawberries. Drank a little coconut milk (don't really care for the lite stuff) Yum. And stayed fairly full feeling until lunchtime. I was a little worried with the lack of fat. Used less than a tablespoon of ghee to coat the pan.

M2: Gorgeous day, biked home for food. Best way to guarantee I'll sit at a table, eat and enjoy. Chicken breast, creamed chard, buttercup squash with coconut oil. Water. I'm learning to "like" water. Never been a big fan.

Am feeling a little hungry, have a snack/mini meal planned for immediately after work. I have a volunteer program that I go to, and part of the set up is a potluck for the families involved. We volunteers are encourage to participate, but often the choices are Big Johns steak n cheese, pizza, chips, chicken nuggets, tacos, fried chicken. And yet we aren't allowed to bring "sweets". So I go prepared tonight!

Then off ot the store afterwards to stock up (wow do we blow through the eggs fast!) Going to have to up our weekly delivery to 3 doz i think.

And then, finally, dinner. I mean Meal 3.

[NinjaSarah]

Ok so maybe I didn't plan that so well. Ate some sliced strawberries with (extra) coconutbutter, hb egg & about a handful of snappeas for my between work & volunteer snack. Didn't think ahead to hitting the grocery store After. Did fine there, evening shopping = less stress. But as I was loading up it occured to me I was getting home so late, didn't want to eat a full on meal and plop right into bed. And my sis made sine delicious looking spaghetti squash with meat & tomato sauce. This late, straight to bed, would Def give me heartburn. So I'm eating some buttercup squash with cocnut butter, soothing, filling enough to get to sleep on but not to throw off my schedule tomorrow. I've been waking up hungry pretty much since day 2, new & good thing. So this, with some warm tea, I'll be sleeping pretty quick here. Just as well, I could Totally wax poetic on the wonder that is coconut butter. Gonna have to watch myself g'nite

[NinjaSarah]

Good Morning! Maybe it's because the weekend is here, but I am just in freakin good mood Even with, I believe, a sleep dep headache. Have to plan out my Thursdays better for the future so that I'm not up until nearly 11. What's weird, 11 was a pretty typical bed time for me previously, and I Always fought my alarm. Last night, I set my alarm "late" (ooh, 6:30, sooo late) but still woke up before it went off. And got my fanny out of bed and cooked for the sis and myself.

M1: scrambled eggs (3 ea) with bell peppers, tomatoes, poblano and cilantro, in the pan i had cooked our last 2 slices of compliant bacon. Added a little ghee to ensure the eggs didn't stick too badly. Yum, if I do say so myself.

Looking forward to the slowcooker carnitas and tacos planned for the weekend. (Iceberg lettuce taco shell....adventure time!)

Goals for the weekend: resist the zombie snacks at annual Zombie walk (they don't put out any Real offal so....)

Try my first jicama....

Sunday, prep out for the week ahead so I feel like I can have a life this week.

M2: spaghetti squash w/grd beef tomato sauce. Prob about two cups total. Light on fats today, so chopped up a nectarine and topped with coconut butter.

Will look through the forum to see if there's an answer (sure there is) but ideas on How to increase fat intake? Aside from chugging a 1/4 cp of coconut in the morning, that meal is the Hardest for me to incorporate the fats, aside from what I'm cooking in.

[NinjaSarah]

Weekends are hard fir me to remember to update the log.

Fridays last meal of the day was slowcooker pork shoulder cooked with salsa onions & olive oil. That, over some fresh cut bellpeppers & topped with 1/2 an avocado & cilantro, um Yum! Only minorly disappointed the pre made carnitas sauce I Thought was compliant wasn't. Argh.

Saturday: woke up thinking I had really slept in- Nope, 8am. Since I had actually been awake for quite a while (on top of going to bed after 11, nit really sure how that happaned) I probably got less sleep Friday night than I had all week. But I felt good so I got up and started being productive. Started prepping ratatoille while making an omellette for sis & I. Kale, tomatos, peppers. Plus some tasty hazelnut butter w a honey crisp apple- for fat while finishing everything

love ratatoille, so easy & delicious cold or warm. But a little time consuming to make. Since I broke to eat & then later to go to local Zombie walk (working that fun/having a life back in) it took most of the morning & afternoon. Snagged a nice nap too, aided by the kits.

Split another honey crisp w sis, along w some cashews to eat while prepping out tacos ( iceberg lettuce shells) & homemade guac. Pretty good, messy. A little strange to not have chips but didn't miss them.

Upon realization didn't have 3 meals (a pretty busy feeling day) heated up buttercup squash with some red pear & just a skotch coconut butter. That with some warm gingerbread tea = a good relaxing end to the day. Which yet again ended up being too late (after 11 again), I actually started getting a headache, that's what cued in me on the lateness. And here I am awake at 8.

[NinjaSarah]

Oy! What a Sunday, in a good way. While I didn't sleep in, I lazed about in bed with a book and a cat or two, which was a nice indulgence. So I didn't eat within an hour of waking, but that's cool.

M1: rotisserie chicken and ratatouille with water. Then had my coffee with some apple slices and hazelnut butter (coffee does Not go with ratatoille )

Mowed my lawn and geared myself up for some serious outdoor Halloween decorating. So that was my fun/exericse/goal for the day. Halloween is So my thing. Took a break and put a ghee rubbed chicken in the oven, seasoned with s&p and rosemary. Handling raw meat does not usually compel me to stop and break for food. So went back outside and got distracted for a few... hours. Then it hit me (literally-minor headache) I hadn't eaten anything since late morning (Halloweening Consumes me, what can I say?) so since dinner was Almost ready but not quite, I ate half an apple with hazelnut butter & coffee with a good dollop of coconut cream (Note, need to pick up some Decaf for weekend afternoons).

Then I got lost in my yard for a bit longer (ok, it was nearly dark...)

M2: ate a good helping of chicken, nice crackly skin thanks to the ghee, ratatoille, creamed chard and a little mustard-sauced kale.

miniM3: frozen blueberries heated with coconut milk and topped with toasted almonds. Tea.

Bed about 9:45-overtired by then due to all that fresh air and activity. Could have gone to bed at 9 but kept thinking "oh wait that needs to be done" So I set my alarm late, and I'm glad I did.

A new week (Wednesday, we're halfway through!!!!)

[NinjaSarah]

Slept ti 7 this morning, so was a little crunched for time.

M1: Beat up 2 eggs and popped the bowl in the microwave. Super fluffy this way, but the dish can be a pain to clean, so it's def a brekky of last resort Topped it with a good glop of homemade guacamole = surprisingly good. Just didn't think ahead on the garlic content, so was a little self concsious. Coffee with a healthy pour of coconut milk. Forgot to heat up my yam, that's what I was going to eat with the CM but oh well. Tomorrow.

M2: Walked home on this gorgeous Fall day with the sis, and had leftover chicken from last night, raw sugar snap peas, carrots, spring greens and more guac. Yum.

Since gum is off limits I'm chugging lots of water to offset the garlic again

Tonight, looking at my first restaurant excursion. I actually looked at the menu last week to double check there were options that I wouldn't have to modify too much. The friend I'm meeting doesn't yet know I'm doing the Whole30. And while I think she'd benefit Immensely from trying it herself, not one you can Tell it to, I'll just have to show her the results.

Dinner out was moved to Tuesday. Even though I knew this was a strong possibility was a little bummed. I was ready.

But anywho...M3 was leftover chicken, frozen winter squash (that didn't want to unlump at first so I mixed in some coconut oil) and ratatouille.

Then, to still do something fun I grabbed a bottle of water and some pistachios and went to the movies. Water because movie theater water is Ridiculous. Pistachios, well, just because. I got throught nearly the entire movie (only 1 1/2 hours) and then the kid in front of me opened a bag of m&ms. I-could-smell-them! So I noshed on a handful of nuts and enjoyed the rest of the movie. When I got home I finished off the squash, really these days those boxes are like 1 serving and a little more chicken. Bed by 10.

[NinjaSarah]

Day 14! Woohoo!!

Breakfast was, as my sister says, an experiment. That turned out pretty well. Realized we were down to 4 eggs, 1 yam, it was too late to roast the squash, and I needed a break from chicken (beh-bawk!) She mixed together some canned pumpkin and coconut milk with a few of the requisite spices, and since it was too late as well to bake a pumpkin custard, this morning I scrambled the last 4 eggs. I think my egg cooking abilities are improving. Kept them fluffier and less chewy than my past attempts. (any non-egg brek food, I am So on it, eggs, just not my strong suit in cooking skills).

Feeling good. Yesterday sis asked if I felt this was eaiser or harder than I thought it would be. Honestly, it's easier. I haven't had any cravings, haven't off-roaded. Oh, I see that salsa in the back that's not compliant, but I just think, It can wait. While there are items I will most definitely build back in I haven't actually missed anything. 30 days is not that bad.

Things I Am looking forward to: aforementioned salsa. Alcohol-social situations & I just like it (this is also where gluten will be most prevalent, because I am Not giving up my dark beers forever). Dark chocolate. Cheese, a good sharp cheddar, my drunken goat cheese waiting patiently in the fridge.... Candy corn (hey, it's Halloween time ) Baking. We're having a soup kitchen fundraiser the week after we finish our Whole30, so I'm going to bake cupcakes for that. Baking for me and the majority of the baked goods will leave the house.

Maybe 1/2 way through is a little early to plan. But I don't htink so. I think, for me anyway, it's the best way to guarantee I don't undo all of the good things I've accomplished.

M2: walked home for lunch. Leftover chicken (chickened out, need a Break from the chicken ) ratatouille and a side of homemade guac for the chicken. grabbed a sparkling water to bring back to work, stomache has been gurgly all day. Drank my (stronger than usual) coffee today a little faster than normal. Think that along with the pumpkin.....maybe not best combo.

Looking forward to dinner out (my first) tonight, and to girl's night on Thursday.

[NinjaSarah]

Dinner out- a success I guess. Had a salad topped with tenderloin (a whopping 3 lil nuggets!) with tomatoes, cuke, carrots & onion. I had them hold the cheese & sub the ceasar with balsamic vinagerette, glad I got it on the side cause they definitely thickened it with something. That with water, and I totally & easily ignored the slice of bread that came with it. The only Hard part was that my friend got a mojito that wasapparently the end of all other mojitos I could acknowledge her Cuban sandwich looked delicious without wishing I could eat it.

Buy by the time I got home I was Hungry. And I knew I would be, hardly enough protein & no fat. Had to make a quick grocery run. My "I'm at the store & hungry" results are Very different now. 6 Apples + a container each of blackberries & raspberries, 5 sweet potaoes & onions .

Ate some pumpkin with toasted almonds to edge out the hungry without eating too much so close to bedtime.

[NinjaSarah]

Halfway mark- Yesh!! Feeling good overall. Seasonal allergies-nigh nonexistent; clothes fitting better (I'm resisting trying on a Stack of clothes that just didn't quite fit before), snacking less and less, feel satisfied, clear, Happy. I think my therapist is starting to wonder why I started counseling again

However, I'm finding myself slipping back towards my Old bedtime habits. Trying to nip that in the bud and get myself into bed by 10 at the latest.

M1: sweet potato hash (a la Robb Wolf) topped with 2 jumbo farm fresh fried eggs (in ghee of course)

Got hungry right around 11. (Lack of fat, and probably could have added a 3rd egg, but as usual was crunched for time)

M2: Leftovers, slowcooker beef roast with baby carrots, onions and cherry tomatoes. Yum! Didn't get any last night so was glad there was a bit left. Seriously chickened out, but that will be my pre-meeting mini meal tonight. Ratatoille.

Split a delicious honeycrisp apple with the sis to bring back to work along with some hazelnut butter, for fat since there wasn't really any with the roast. My personal goal is improving/increasing the variety of fat-intake.

[Derval]

It's all coming together!

[NinjaSarah]

No pre-meeting meal last night. Had a cat issue to deal with that took up my eating time. So I was SO VERY HAPPY to come home to pork chops, roasted cauliflower and sauteed squash & peppers. Yum. Thank goodness for my sister. We then hit the "local" grocery store that everyone thinks is the bees knees. They have just as much shipped in produced as any chain grocery store, and virtually no organic. The olive bar we had such high hopes for....crash and burn. All but 2 of the olives were in canola oil. As my sis said, shouldn't olives be in Olive oil? I can see why people rave about the olive bar though, it's all stuffed with cheese! After a LOT of label reading found a prosciutto that was only meat and salt. There is sugar in absolutely everything. It was a fairly frustrating trip. But the upside was we discovered there's really nothing there we can't find at the closer Meijer's. Was pretty shocked we couldn't find porkback (i think that's the right name). Oh well.

M1: a bit of leftover sweet potato hash from yesterday, my sister has come to the realization she doesn't care for sweet potatoes/yams. Egg scramble with kale, onions and tomatoes, and a slice of prosciutto.

Feeling good. Pulled on a dress for work that I've avoided because it was snug enough to be difficult to get on. It's been so long in fact, my sister thought I'd gotten a new dress when she first saw me

Mind block on how to spice up the food variety. Think I'll spend some quality time with Julia Childs this weekend.

Oh how quickly a day can start to come apart. Actively working to not let this gorgeous day turn "bleh".

Probably not helped by the fact, I just wasn't hungry at lunch. Made a nice salad of snap peas, lettuce & spinach, topped with chicken and half an avocado and drizzled with EVOO. Also grabbed a few blackberries & coconut butter, ooh with some macadamia nuts! Brought it back with me, I figured maybe I'm just still full from the first meal. 1 rolls around nothing, as 2 inched closer I realized I was going to have to make myself eat. Hard to force yourself (myself) to eat salad....so I started with the fruit. Thought that would get things going. Nope. Made myself eat about half the salad, focusing on the chicken and avocado. It tasted good. I just didn't want food.

Huh.

[NinjaSarah]

Had some errands to run, including the grocery store, ugh. But I was definitely hungry by the time I was done.

So M3: pork chop, roasted carrots/tomatoes.

Snack: While cleaning, making mayo, and because we had gotten some nice stuff for the didn't-happen-girls-night

Prosciutto wrapped dates. Almost too sweet, could have maybe used 1/2 date. RAspberries with coconut butter. Fancy olives and some macadamia nuts.

Today, Yay, it's Friday. Even though not nearly as lovely outside as it was yesterday, I'm scooting out early. It's Plaidurday man and I've got to celebrate! Celebrate as in be goofy, go to the Capital for a group picture. And Not follow the group to Oktoberfest (aka Beer fest).

M1: Scrambled eggs with spinach, tomatoes and yellow peppers.

M2: Thought it was going to be kind of haphazard (no leftovers!) but thanks to the genius of my sister, we had-as I named them - deconstructed BLTs. Took the time to hardboil some eggs to make deviled eggs or egg salad for the weekend with some of my newly made mayo.

Going to make beanless chili for a chili cookoff tomorrow. Don't know if I want to actually enter it into the tasting though, so that I have enough to eat over the weekend. My first weekend/time fending for myself and myself alone. Challenge-accepted!

(can you tell I'm feeling a little perky? hope it's not too annoying )

[Derval]

Perky Ninja's rock!