Moving right along!

[katieblue]

So, I ate a bunch of corn chips with guac/salsa last night, and so far, so good - I feel pretty much the same as I have after eating compliant. The only thing I noticed was that I got full faster while eating them, but I still ate my whole salad (with chorizo... omg how I missed chorizo... I couldn't find any without added sugar so it was not a Whole30 food, but it is SO my favorite meat)!

[galaxigrl]

Katie, thanks for the recipe!  Glad you had fun at dinner last night!  I also like to spread out the birthday cheer around my birthday.  At one point, my friend's started calling February my birthday month.  

 

Wendy: Way to go on resisting all those foods for Teacher Appreciation Week!  That is really impressive!

 

jen: Glad your second W30 is going well for you, too!  Did you make the nachos?

 

The nachos post made me think of this recipe I pinned recently.  Can't wait to try it! 

 

http://www.thehealthymaven.com/2016/01/loaded-guacamole-sweet-potato-fries.html#comment-586809

[jen c]

Katie, glad dinner went well. I had the same experience with corn - no problems, just made me full faster. Post W30, corn chips be a worth-it once in a while food for me too.

Galaxigrl, we had the nachos last night. Everyone else had corn chips and I had mine with the sliced bell peppers. So good! I discouraged my kids from taking leftovers in their lunches today because I wanted them for MY lunch! Oh so selfish of me. Those guac topped sweet potato fries look like they should be illegal! Thanks for the link. I've pinned it too. Our Mother's Day forecast is looking perfect for a backyard bbq and these fries would be a perfect side with grilled burgers (sans bun of course).

[Wendy and Frankie]

Colleen, those sweet potato fries look AMAZING!  I'm definitely getting the ingredients for those tomorrow!  I adore both avocados and sweet potatoes, so that is right up my alley.  I wonder if you could buy frozen sweet potato fries that are compliant to save time?  Sweet potatoes are always so hard to cut through.

 

     I made it through Teacher Appreciation week filled with yummy treats all week in the teacher's lounge with no cheats!  The only thing that really tempted me was the sundae bar, and the bagels from Tim's. Oh yeah, and the cheesecake!  haha  It's funny that beverages are still my weakness.  I so miss my non-compliant coffee creamer and wine!  However, I am beginning to actually prefer my tea unsweetened. I noticed during my month off between W30 that when I got sweetened tea at a restaurant or made it myself it tasted way too sweet most of the time.  I'm loving my La Croix!

 

     Katieblue and ksea, I just read your NSV's again and am so impressed.  You girls rock!!

 

Wendy

[ksea]

katieblue, Happy Birthday!!!   Hope you have a great night out!

Happy to hear the corn chips treated you good.  If you end up getting it, Well Fed 2 has an a-MA-zing recipe for chorizo.  I'm assuming you're talking about Mexican chorizo (ground meat type?), as opposed to Spanish cured chorizo (like salami), both are some of my all time favorite things on this earth. 

 

Those of you on Round 2, way to go!  Hope all is going well.

 

Wendy - Good job resisting those treats.  I hope you had a good Teacher Appreciation Week otherwise.  It should be Teacher Appreciation Month, with free massages and wine.

If you can't find any frozen sweet potato fries, maybe try cutting sweet potato into rounds before baking?  I find that's the easiest way for me to cook them if I have none baked off.  Buggers are hard to cut!  They cook fairly quickly if cut less than an inch thick, and would be kinda chip shaped too!  That recipe looks yumlicious.

Good idea with the blueberry/black tea combo!  Have you tried it iced?  Lately I've been into combining black tea with CS's Bengal Spice (tastes like chai) or Mandarin Orange Spice (makes a yummy Russian-style tea).  

 

I had a glass of wine Sunday night.  It was a little stronger than expected, so I only had about 2 oz. with dinner and another 2 oz. after I put baby to bed.  I felt a little sore the next morning!  This week I made some zoodles sautéed in ghee, garlic and red pepper flakes, with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top.  Tasted very much like fettuccine alfredo, but without the super heavy feeling after.  A few days ago I made Italian Wedding Soup (sans pasta) and had some parm on a bowl, but it was just as good without it.

I took my little guy to his 6 month checkup yesterday, and he's 23.5 pounds and 28.5 inches long!  He's in the 99 and 98 percentile for weight/height.   I'm going to see if he wants to try solid food soon.  I ordered a mini food processor so I can puree food for him, and I figure it'll be good for making mayo, dressings, and sauces too.

Only 10 days left until fishing starts here, and things are getting pretty darn stressful!  I'm staying as calm as I can, and I think not eating a bunch of crap is helping with that.

[Wendy and Frankie]

Oh, my gosh, I forgot to say happy Birthday yesterday, Katieblue!  I even thought about it on my way home from work, but forgot when I was posting yesterday.  I hope you had fun!  

 

ksea, thanks for the tea suggestions.  I saw the CS Bengal spice flavor in the store and wondered what it tasted like.  I may just have to buy it now, as I like chai tea a lot.  You have a big little guy on your hands!  Sounds like he may be ready for some solid food.

What do you use to make the zoodles?  Yours sound yummy.  Good Luck getting ready for fishing season! I'll let you know how the sweet potato/guac. recipe turns out.

 

Wendy

[katieblue]

Colleen, my friends call May my birthday month, too!! Haha. I mean, life can get so monotonous, when you have something to celebrate, why not drag it out as long as possible?!

Also, thank you for that amazing looking sweet potato fries idea!! I make guac all the time but never put garlic or green onion in it, or pico de gallo, I'll have to see how that changes the flavors! I usually just use salt, cumin, lime, cilantro, and a little bit of pepper and onion powder (or really thinly sliced onion but I hate biting into chunks of onion).

 

Jen, so glad that nachos were yummy!! I don't blame you for not wanting to share the leftovers. And you're so right about how those fries could be great for mother's day! When I made a potato salad that is Whole 30 I was thinking that I could totally bring it to BBQs over the summer and no one would even know there was no added crap in the mayo!!

 

Wendy, congrats on surviving Teacher Appreciation Week!! Now you can appreciate yourself that much more. (Seriously, kudos on passing up cheesecake, I'm lucky I was never faced with that challenge during my Whole 30s!)

It's awesome that you actually like the beverages unsweetened! I definitely agree that they taste a lot better after our taste buds adjust to not being overpowered by superhuman sugar sensations. However, I don't think I've ever come to like them as much as I did when they were sweetened... but they taste like less of a treat now and more of a function, like I have coffee in the mornings before I work out for a burst of energy, not because I want a yummy sweet treat. I really do love the way this has changed the mentality about "treats" because they really aren't, if we have to pay for them later...

I'm with ksea, massages should totally be an appreciation treat instead!!

 

ksea, I didn't even know there were different kinds of chorizo!! I've had both in sausage form and ground form, but I was talking about the ground kind on the salad at dinner. I think I will have to buy that cook book if only for that recipe.

It's weird that you felt sore after the wine - do you think that could be because it caused some inflammatory response in your body? Do you think it was worth it?

I'm with you on things tasting fine without cheese now - especially if you get that heavy feeling afterward. Dairy just feels like it sits in my stomach, and gives me bubble guts. Lol!

It must be so exciting to think about giving Gregorio solid foods, especially for someone who likes cooking as much as you do! I have a little mini food processor and it is fabulous for making blends of dressings and things.

Not eating crap will definitely help with your anxiety/stress levels, coming from someone whose stress has been through the roof!!

 

Thank you for the birthday wishes!! We did have a good day. It was really rainy and cold here, which sucks because I'm used to having sunny, 70-degree gorgeous days on my birthday! So we couldn't go outside, which was a bummer. But I went to the gym, and then Rob and I went shopping in the morning and got some new jeans (I'm too big for all my old jeans, even after two Whole 30s, so I decided maybe I'm just going to stay this weight/build and instead should buy some clothes that don't make me feel huge when I have to squeeze and jump into them) and some new shoes. As much as I hate shopping, I do love the prospect of fitting in my clothes again! LoL!

Then we went to Whole Foods and got a whole bunch of sides from their food bar, so I won't have to cook anything until probably next weekend! We have a lot of leftover meat in the freezer from carnitas, the gingered pork shoulder, and some BBQ chicken, so I figured this way we can just take stuff out as we need it.

We're planning a Friendsgiving dinner for the 21st to celebrate my birthday with some friends we never see (Again with extending it forever) so we want to make some room in the freezer for leftovers!

We hung around and had a quiet afternoon, then went to Cave and out to see Civil War, both of which were excellent! I got a paleo chocolate chip cookie as my dessert, since it was my birthday, and honestly, the sugar dragon roared right up again. I ate that cookie in, like, 30 seconds, and was genuinely considering ordering another one, even though I was stuffed. I just wanted MORE. Which is insane!! So, obviously, I was like, "Shut up, stupid lizard," and will not be having anything sweet for a while! I don't regret it, because that cookie was damn good and didn't make me feel crummy after because it was all good ingredients, no sugar or grains or anything nasty, but I will definitely only reserve that for special occasions.

Also, Rob got me a mandolin, and I am SO pumped to try that out with cutting up some veggies!! I hope it makes prep easier. I also saw this recipe for a plantain lasagna that calls for slicing the plantains really thin, so I think it will help with that.

[jen c]

katie, I'm sorry I forgot to say happy birthday too!  I was thinking about it when I was typing my last post yesterday, but completely forgot to actually type the words!  So glad to hear you had a nice relaxing day, spending it with Rob and treating yourself to new clothes, dinner out, and some freedom from cooking in the coming week!    

 

ksea, sounds like your little guy is doing great!  Making your own baby food will give him the best start.  Have you seen the book Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron?  It's all about introducing your baby to real foods and suggests an order to do so - kind of like slow-roll introductions here by starting with foods that are easiest on the system first.  Mashed avocado is an excellent first food.  

 

wendy, let us know what you think of the sweet potato/guac combination.  I'll be making it tomorrow but anticipate I'll also be the only one eating it.  Not sure my family will be willing to try the two together.  So glad you've found some teas you like without sweeteners.  I never thought to combine and will have to try adding a fruit one to a black tea.  I appreciate ksea's suggestion for a Russian tea flavor too - that sounds so good!  I'm still drinking my tea with coconut milk added and haven't been able to switch to just drinking it plain yet.  Congrats on making it through teacher appreciation week without cheats!  Great job!

[jen c]

katieblue said:  "I really do love the way this has changed the mentality about "treats" because they really aren't, if we have to pay for them later…"

 

 

 

katie . . . this is a huge NSV!!  I'm finally starting to realize this too and thank you for saying it so well!

[katieblue]

It IS a big NSV!! It's such a freeing, amazing feeling to understand this, to know that the sugar dragon is all psychological, and to know how to beat her because she is not our friend at all and we aren't doing ourselves any favors by succumbing to her gluttony!!

 

And thank you for the birthday wishes also!!

[KalinaM]

Wow, I've missed so much! Sounds like you ladies have had a busy may already.

Happy belated birthday, Katie!

Congrats to ksea and Katie for finishing your second whole 30. You ladies inspire me.

I've not been on too much lately as I feel all I do recently is work and sleep. But that's OK, because I'm busy growing a baby! My ultrasound went really well, baby is measuring right on track with a strong heartbeat. I'm 8 weeks 3 days and Officially due December 15. It's so surreal to be talking like this after trying for 7 years! My diet has unfortunately taken a turn for the worse as I'm so tired and don't cook much anymore and have been experiencing lots of nausea and food aversions, too. Oh well. I do what I can but lately it's not much.

The very requested Spanish skillet recipe from my last post awhile back will follow. It's the first recipe I made as a young married and has been a favorite ever since. It's really not Spanish-y though so hope you're not disappointed. And definitely not whole 30 but is adaptable:

Brown one pound ground beef and drain, add one chopped onion and green pepper and saute until tender. Add 1/4 cup water, can of diced tomatoes, 3 tablespoons ketchup, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir to combine, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve over cooked white rice.

Easy peasy and yummy! To whole 30fy it, I subbed tomato paste for ketchup and beef broth for Worcestershire. I did serve it over rice as the only time I made it during whole 30 was during non gluten grain introduction day.

Now that I'm done with whole 30, I did use Worcestershire as the only forbidden thing in it is sugar, but I stick to tomato paste as the chemicals I'm finding in ketchup are a turn off. Still delicious! Enjoy.

[katieblue]

Thanks, Kalina!! And thank you for the Spanish skillet recipe also!

 

I'm sorry your diet and food/nausea have been all in upheaval, but I hope that it balances out soon. I don't know much about pregnancy, but I do understand that things can change really fast and suddenly! And so glad to hear your little one is in a good place. <3

 

And a very, very happy Mother's Day to you, and CG, and all the amazing ladies on this thread who are already moms!!

[Wendy and Frankie]

Happy Mother's Day to all moms and future mothers!  And for those of you who no longer have your mom or grandmothers with you as they have passed on, I feel your bittersweet feelings that this day can bring.

 

     I'm off to get ready for my daughter's graduation from THE Ohio State University!! And then to have a NON-compliant meal at the Japanese steakhouse.  

 

Enjoy your day! 

[katieblue]

Wendy, I love the new picture of you and your daughter!! I imagine that's a prom picture?

 

I hope you guys have a blast at your daughter's graduation and celebration!!! Congratulations to her!!!!

[jen c]

Kalina, so glad you checked in and that your ultrasound was good! 

 

CG, hope you're doing well too!

 

I made the loaded sweet potatoes tonight.  Chili powder on sweet potato fries, topped with guacamole and pico de gallo is a combination I never would have thought of.  Thanks for the recipe link, galaxigrl!  It was very good and very filling.  My eyes were much bigger than my stomach and I ended up putting half of my plate away as leftovers for tomorrow.  Lol. 

[Wendy and Frankie]

Yes, katieblue, that is my daughter and me the day of prom. 

 

We did have a blast at graduation and ended up having takeout BBQ instead of going to the Japanese steakhouse.  We decided staying at home for the celebration would be more fun for 10 people (and easier on the budget) than going to the restaurant with so many people, especially on Mother's Day, and trying to have conversation. (It was still very NON-compliant with a bun for my BBQ and potato salad and mac and cheese).  I stayed up way too late, and now have to teach today, but I'll make it.  16 more teaching days until summer break!

 

jen c, I can't wait to make those loaded sweet potatoes! Back on the W30 today with no more reasons to "cheat" like a graduation! My son graduates from HS on June 2nd, but by then I'll be done with 2nd round of W30.

 

CG and Kalina, keep us posted on your pregnancies, and hope all is well!

 

Wendy

[katieblue]

Jen, I wish I had the willpower to be able to put away food that I was too full to finish!! I feel like that is my Achilles heel when it comes to changing my mindset around food. I always just eat until it's gone, even if I'm stuffed. I feel like my mind overpowers my feeling full and is just like "FOOD...EAT!"

Those fries would especially be FWNB... sweet potato and guacamole, not even fair!!

 

Wendy, you ladies look absolutely lovely!! So glad you enjoyed your Mother's Day/graduation BBQ - how did you feel afterward?!

 

And I also want to hear about the Whole30 miracle babies!!

 

I had "normal" ketchup from a bottle yesterday at my mom's, but it was organic and the only "bad" thing in it was sugar, no corn syrup or that nonsense, and I also had "normal" bacon that was cured with sugar at my dad's, but also organic with no nitrates or anything added to it that was funky. I know sugar technically doesn't have to be its own reintro because the effects are mostly psychological, but I feel fine today! Of course, I had only the teeniest amounts, but still good to know I can have ketchup and bacon without waking up the sugar dragon.

Tomorrow I'm having dinner at my dad's, and he is making my favorite dinner from my childhood, sauerbraten!! If you've never had it, it's a German pot roast marinated in vinegar and spices and served with ginger snap gravy. So, I'll be introducing non-gluten grains tomorrow, because I did request the gluten-free ginger snaps. We usually have it with egg noodles, green beans, pickled red cabbage, and carrots that cooked along with the meat. So I'll skip the egg noodles but see how I do with the gravy. I am SO excited!!!

 

Also, my stepmom is the most amazing woman on the planet. We went there for breakfast yesterday and I made her this frame with seashells that I glued onto it and I put a picture of us from their wedding in it and I worked really hard on it all week in between homework. (I'm not really crafty, I never do things like that, but I just adore her). And we were just sitting around talking and I mentioned that I had seen these Iron Maiden Vans (you remember how I feel about Iron Maiden!!) but they were really expensive so I was debating if I wanted to get them for myself as a non-food-celebration of the new job. And she just goes, "How much are they?" and takes out her check book and said she wanted to buy them for me because that is what moms do, and I am just SO happy and I was blubbering like a child and I ordered my new sneakers today and I just had to gush about how amazing and spectacular she is!!!

And seeing her and feeling that kind of love in the morning made it WAY easier to tolerate my birth mom at dinner...

[jen c]

Wow, Wendy, what a busy time of your life right now with prom and two graduations!  I bet you're more ready for summer break than your students are. 

 

katie, your extended family situation sounds similar to mine.  My mom is a very untrustworthy person and you never know if anything she says is truth or not (nearly always not).  It's a bit sad but it's been that way my whole life.  I tried for years to stay close and it was the main source of stress in my life.  When I finally put up much needed boundaries, it was like a huge weight lifted off of my shoulders and I'm a far healthier person now.  I've spent my whole adult life working to overcome self-doubt and build my confidence, replacing her negative messages with new positive ones of my own.  Now that I've been losing weight with through these W30's, the negative has stepped in again.  By the end of June, the majority of my clothes will be 2-3 sizes too large and I'm faced with having to shop for new things.  Shopping is hard, #1 because as an INTJ, it's overwhelming, #2 because I'm frugal and concerned about budget, but #3 because I have to tell myself over and over that I'm worth spending the money on and fight the negative opposite message that rolls through my head and heart.  That's probably the hardest part.

 

On the other hand, my dad and his wife are amazing people and I cherish every time we get to visit.  We live halfway across the country and wish it were closer, but make the best with what we have.  I have weekly conference calls with my dad and older sister - gotta love telephone technology just for that capability!  I wouldn't trade those weekly phone calls for the world.  I get to see them all in less than a month and can't wait! 

 

I'm glad you have a good relationship with your dad and stepmom and wish you patience and endurance with your mom.  And congrats on your new sneakers!! 

[katieblue]

Jen, I couldn't be more sincere when I say I'm sorry your family situation is so similar. It's so hard to not be able to rely on your mom; I can completely understand how sad it is and how much of a struggle it is to want to badly to trust her and to keep getting hurt over and over when you realize once again that you can't. But it's wonderful to hear that you've come so far past it, and that you've built your confidence up and turned your attitude around. I'm so happy for you that you have made so much progress with your weight! As another INTJ, I can also appreciate how difficult it is to justify spending the money on yourself.

Thank you for sharing (I know we INTJs are not always so open, but I think this faceless computer interaction in writing is helpful with that ) your story with me; it gives me hope that someday I'll be able to be more stable about the reality of my situation with my mother. I'm really sorry you had to go through with it, but you are so encouraging to me and I'll think of you when I'm having a hard time! I really do hope you wind up buying yourself some new clothes that will feel fabulous to purchase in smaller sizes, I'm sure!!

 

And it's also amazing that you are able to have a great relationship with your dad and his wife! Are you going out there to visit them? Or are they coming to you? Do you have anything special planned?

 

I was actually never close with my dad growing up, either, because he was so shut down as a result of my mom being so condescending and cold. But when he met my stepmom, he totally became the dad I remembered from when I was a little kid and he's so happy and lovey and wonderful now it's easy to get along with him. It's kind of crazy to be an adult and be psych analyzing my parents and other adults, but it's crazy how much things make sense now when taken in a different perspective!

 

Update: My sneakers have shipped. I'm hyperventilating.

[jen c]

Thanks for your kind words Katie.  I'm sorry your family situation is rough at times too but am glad you have such a closeness with your stepmom and dad.  I'm grateful I have that too.  My mom's specialty is in heaping on boatloads of guilt and when I shed that a few years ago, that's when things went cold between us.  I'd learned that as long as I stayed in that pattern, things would never change, and it was having a negative affect on the rest of my life.  Standing up for myself has been very freeing and I finally feel like I'm my own person.  It was hard to be so bold when you're raised to not "talk back" but was so very worth it.  I've never been more at peace and free of stress than in these past few years. 

 

My upcoming visit will be my trip to Alaska for my nephew's wedding.  Dad and stepmom are coming from MN, and my older sis is coming from TN.  After the wedding, sis and I will take a few days together for a retreat at the WA coast before she flies back home and I drive back down to OR.  We've never done anything like that before and I'm SOOO excited for that part of the trip!  The AK portion has the potential for high stress due to the mother of the groom (my younger sister) who hasn't spoken to several family members in years and of whom 3 of her 4 children don't want anything to do with her.  That's the result of her using her children for identity theft and doing things like not picking them up from the airport because she was arrested for DUII the same day.  My mom is her enabler and they always find someone else to blame (remember those boatloads of guilt???).  So my younger sister has a pretty long rap sheet and is a bit of a powder keg and if she goes to the wedding, no one's really sure what will happen.  Thus, the beach retreat afterward!!  Time to decompress and refresh and spend quality time with my older sis (who is very sane and a happy person, like me ). 

 

Yikes, how's that for airing the dirty laundry?    

 

Different topic . . . I got my bloodwork results back yesterday.  My triglycerides have dropped from 149 down to 64!  It's great, but I had to go look up what triglycerides are.  Lol.  My LDL (bad cholesterol) has risen, so they suggested more exercise.  That means:  START to exercise!  Yeah, I've been lacking in that area for a while.  The doctor thinks my numbers might be still adjusting due to the big changes I've made with my diet and isn't concerned but said to just keep doing more of the same.  Hooray Whole 30!!  My weight loss has been substantial and I'm continuing to be amazed by that.  It's at the point now where people are starting to notice.  I began Feb 22nd at 166lbs and began again on May 1st at 146lbs.  My pants that were tight two weeks ago are loose now so I'm certain I'm continuing to lose.  They say for my 5'5" height, the weight range should be about 114-150.  I'd be very happy to settle in the 130s somewhere. 

 

Due to a heart issue that developed from an infection back in 1990, it's really vital for me to keep my weight in a better range than it has been.  It's because of my heart that I got that heavy to begin with.  After 17 years of doing decently well, It tanked on me back in '07 and I wasn't even able to carry a load of laundry or sack of groceries without its rhythm going out way of whack.  My kids were 1 1/2 & 3 at the time and it was a challenge because I couldn't pick them up or carry either of them for about a year.  After some failed surgeries and ending up on regulatory medications, I was able to resume normal life but I have a pretty limited aerobic tolerance.  With the limitations I had that year, I put on 30 lbs very quickly, topping out at 168, and haven't been able to get it to budge since.  Until now!  Now I see how much diet factors in and Whole 30 has been my saving grace.  Continuing with this type of eating will greatly ease the load on my heart.  Even by reducing 20 lbs, I've probably bought myself several more years of time before having to consider a pacemaker.  I've been off of my regulatory meds for about 2 years now and things are going fine so far, but I really want a buffer zone for my weight.  Bringing it down into the mid-range will allow me some wiggle room if things go south again.  I've lived with this heart problem for 26 years now (I'm 43), so it's nothing new and I don't even think about it most days.  It's not cancer, diabetes, or anything else that others struggle with.  It's workable and fine, but my weight was a real casualty from it.  There's been a lot more to this W30 for me than to just see numbers change on the scale or doing a bit of a reset.  It really has been a game changer for my heart and health.     

[katieblue]

Jen, I am SO happy for you that you feel so at peace, in spite of your mom's behavior. That is really amazing to hear that you've come out stronger on the other side of all this. Taking a trip to AK/WA with the family sounds so exciting!! I mean, not the drama portion - I really hope that nothing blows up there or gets too stressful; at least you have an awareness of how your younger sister and mom behave so at least you can brace yourself! But the retreat part afterward sounds amazing! And also like you're totally planning ahead to cope with the potentially stressful aspects of a family gathering. You are truly inspirational for me!!

 

I didn't know what triglycerides were, either, but I think it's awesome that your numbers are going down!! Congratulations on all of your weight loss, again, too!! I think you've done amazing work in sticking with clean eating and have taken a really substantial chunk of weight away! And although I'm sorry to hear about your heart issue, too, I think it sounds like you have really taken control of your life again and are in a really great place - and on the road to better. I'm so impressed and proud!!

 

My dad surprised me with an ice cream cake after my birthday dinner last night -- and being an introvert, I couldn't think of any reasons on the spot not to eat it without hurting his feelings. So I had a piece, which means my non-gluten grains day became a really heavy dairy day, too which I know affects me, so I no longer know how the non gluten grains may have affected me because I feel like hell today from all the dairy. I just had a small, small piece, but I woke up stuffy and headachey, with my skin peely and dry, I'm nauseous and my stomach, which had been looking pretty damn good, is bloated to hell. I hope this passes quickly. I'll have to do non-gluten grains on another day in the future, after I feel better from this. Stupid dairy. It is so not worth it. I mean, the ice cream was delicious, but I can eat so many delicious things otherwise that I really don't need it. And it was crazy, I ate my little piece and the sugar dragon was like MORE GIVE ME MORE. We left it at my dad's for my step brothers to have, which is great because I seriously don't think I EVER want to eat dairy-based ice cream again.

Aside from that, though, dinner was wonderful and amazing and lots of fun!!

[galaxigrl]

Hi everyone!  Sorry I haven't posted in a few days.  Just been really busy with work and life.  But things are good here.  My husband, son, and I are going to the mountains in NC tomorrow for a long weekend.  I'm looking forward to getting away for a bit.  Otherwise, things are going well, I think.  I didn't have a great eating day on Monday, because my friend from out of town brought me a whole loaf of this delicious bread (which I think I've mentioned on here before), and she brought doughnuts for our team.  THEN, I went to a meeting where they had cookies from a local bakery, and cookies are SO my weakness!  So, I ended up having 1.5 pieces of bread, about 2 doughnuts, and 2 cookies.  I was not happy with myself at the end of the day.  But yesterday was MUCH better!

 

Wendy: I agree with ksea on the sweet potato rounds.  I've started cutting mine that way.  Seems to be easier, and they do cook quick!  Or maybe you can pop the potatoes in the microwave for a couple of minutes before cutting into fry shape.  Not sure if they'd be too hot, though.  If you find compliant frozen ones, please let me know.  I'm all about convenience!  I'm impressed with your willpower resisting all of those TAW treats!  Also, love your new profile picture!

 

Katie: Happy belated birthday!  Your day sounds like it was so nice!  I love that you have a birthday month, too.  I'm all about celebrations, whether they be for myself o someone else.  Life is short!  We should celebrate more!  Have you tried your mandolin yet?  When I lived with a friend years ago, she had a Pampered Chef one we used all the time.  Then my husband bought me one a few years ago, but I haven't used it much until recently.  It's really great for cutting up cabbage for slaw, and you can kind of make zucchini zoodles with it, but it's a little time-consuming.  Great for slicing potatoes for baked potato chips, too.

 

ksea: My 19-month-old is only 21 lbs, 11 oz.  Ha ha!  He's a peanut, though.  5th percentile for weight!  I'm reading about your zoodle alfredo recipe, and it sounds amazing.  Do you have a spiralizer?  Making baby food is soooo easy!  And so much cheaper!  One sweet potato can last a week or more.  When my son was younger, I made all of his baby food in my Vitamix.  He, surprisingly, really liked pureed broccoli.  Now I could never get him to eat that.  He really liked bluberries.  I would puree a bunch and freeze in ice cube trays, and then store them in the freezer in Ziploc bags.  Then I could just pop a few out and give them to him.

 

Kalina: Great to hear that your ultrasound went well!  I think you totally deserve to be easy on yourself right now.  I didn't have a lot of throwing up in my first trimester, but I was very nauseated every day and had a lot of food aversions.  Just do what you can!  That recipe sounds great.  I'm going to add it to my list and maybe serve over cauliflower rice.  I've also seen coconut aminos used as a sub for Worcestershire.  

 

jen c: Glad you liked the sweet potato fries.  Now I need to try them!  And thank you for sharing so much about your life.  I'm sorry for both you and Katie to have such difficult relationships with your mothers.  I have a really awful dad, who I've tried to have a relationship with many, many times, mostly because of my Gram (who I mentioned visited a few weeks ago who I'm very close to), who is my dad's mom.  He and my mom got divorced when I was 13, because he was having an affair with my mom's best friend, who he's now married to.  She's a liar and a manipulator, and I want nothing to do with her.  I sincerely think she turned my dad against me.  I know he has a part in it, too, but she completely controls him.  At this point, he comments about my son on pictures on FB, and he will occasionally send me a text message, but that's about the extent of our relationship.  I'm mostly over it at this point (since it's been this way for almost 26 years), but it still sucks sometimes, especially when I think back to before the divorce when I used to spend all of my time with him, and he was the most loving dad.  Just makes me sad that it's ended up how it is now.  Anyway, I didn't want to talk about myself.  I wanted to say congrats on your weight loss!  That's really, really great!!!

[katieblue]

Colleen, I hope you have a blast in NC! I love that you seem to prioritize relaxing and having fun along with working - I want to get in a place like that someday where I can take better care of myself and make room for the things that really matter. And glad to hear you're not being too hard on yourself about Monday!

Also, sorry to hear about your relationship with your father going downhill... sounds like a lot of drama and at least you feel mostly over it now. It's so sad that family relationships can crumble like that, but I guess we don't get to pick them, so we sometimes wind up with some people who turn out to not be so great. It's just hard I think because when we're little, they are like superheroes, they know everything and are so amazing, but then we have to grow up and realize that they're just humans, too, and they make mistakes and bad choices and sometimes don't know how to love. But I think the good thing is the way we can recognize that they are toxic and separate ourselves and try to be better and not follow in their footsteps - the world doesn't need any more manipulative, negative people in it. It needs more people like us, who are positive and healthy and happy and amazing ladies.

 

The only thing I used the mandolin for so far was to slice up some cucumber into long strands rather than round slices for a salad, in an attempt to mimic Cave's salad style. It was SO easy and cut like butter!! We're going to try making a plantain lasagna soon, and it will be definitely helpful for that! I'm excited to not have to chop so much anymore! Your idea about using it for cabbage is genius!! I never even thought of that! I feel like I will have so many options now!!

 

Rob and I got in a big fight yesterday over food!! Lol! I am able to come home for lunch every day since my job is literally just six minutes down the road. So I get home, and he's heating up his lunch in the microwave, and he holds up two different containers from the freezer and tells me they are the last two things that aren't Whole 30 that are still in the freezer. I was happy at first until I realized one of them was a container of pulled pork that was made with regular BBQ sauce, and the other one was NOT the side of bacon baked beans that I had wanted to use as my reintro for legumes. They specifically were made to go together, and I had asked him to save them. I reminded him that I had asked him to save it, and he was like, "Oh, we'll just make more." So I got really pissed (I was REALLY cranky from the dairy and how crappy I felt!) and went off on him about how by "We" he must mean "me" because he's always eating all the food but never actually making any to make up for it, and I have to do all the cooking, blah blah blah. He got really mad back and was yelling about how he's "not allowed" to eat any of the food in the freezer because it's Whole 30 so what was he supposed to do, and I was yelling about how clearly that hasn't stopped him because he ate the beans that was meant for two. I was a total raging hag and I'm embarrassed to say I still haven't apologized for it. We're acting like it didn't happen, which isn't exactly the healthiest way of dealing. Lol. I'm hoping maybe we can sit down and talk about it because I clearly have a lot of pent-up anger over the fact that I have to do all the cooking.

[Wendy and Frankie]

Hi, ladies, sorry I've been gone for a few days, I have checked in and read posts, just didn't have time to respond.  

   

katieblue,

   I'm sorry dairy treats you so badly.  It's a shame such a small piece of ice cream cake affected you that way!   And I totally get it about getting mad at your boyfriend about not doing his share of cooking.  My husband is getting better, but I still do the bulk of the food shopping and cooking. I so know how it feels to have food you've planned on for a meal eaten, and how cranky that makes me feel.  This round of W30 I've been feeling lazy about cooking, and now food boredom is settling in. I'm getting really tired of baked potatoes and salad!  I just don't feel like all the food prep, and lately our weekends have been so busy, that I never have a chance to catch up on it.  Last time I made all the salad dressings and a couple of big meals on the weekend, so we could have mostly leftovers during the week.  

    After the BBQ with mac and cheese and potato salad, (and a couple cocktails made by my daughter!), I felt fine the next day.  However, my husband had stomach issues all the next day.  He thought it was more the drinks than the food, but we're not sure.  

 

katieblue and jen c, I'm really sorry about your strained relationships with your mothers.  That must really hurt at times.  It sounds like both of you have handled it the best you can, and are in a good place now. You have a lot to be proud of!  I'm not so sure I would be able to maintain a healthy attitude about that situation. 

 

Jen c, that is wonderful that W30 has improved your health so much! It sounds like you have a great attitude about it.  We're the same height, and since the first W30, this is the first time I've seen the 130's in a long time!  Between ending the 1st W30, and starting the second one, I gained only 1.5 pounds back (after losing 11.5).  I am also wearing my jeans 1 size smaller.  I now have a bunch of pants that are too big. I'm debating about whether i should donate them, or hold on to them for the future in case I need them.  

 

Kalina,

    Glad the pregnancy is going well!  Hope to try the Spanish skillet recipe soon...

 

Colleen,

     I hope your long weekend is relaxing and fun.  That sounds heavenly.  Thanks for your kind words about my new profile pic.   I found some compliant sweet potato fries at Giant Eagle, so I'm going to try using those in the sweet potato/guac recipe.  I'll let you know how it turns out.  Making those tomorrow night.  

 

11 more days of school!!! Yes, I am more than ready to be done, probably more than my students!  I feel like I have a ton to do to get ready for the grad party for my son and daughter on June 3rd, and this is a crazy time getting all the end of year paperwork done at school.  Plus closing up the classroom.  Thank goodness (as far as I know right now), I don't have to move my classroom to another room like our principal is making several teachers do. I moved last summer, so he is showing mercy on me, I guess.  

 

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

    Wendy

[katieblue]

Wendy, no need to apologize! I feel like all of us are busy with life stuff right now! (And always! Lol).

Thanks for the empathy about doing all the cooking/shopping -- most of the time it just is what it is, but gosh, sometimes it does get frustrating! But I'll think of you next time I'm feeling cranky about it and remember it's not so bad.

I TOTALLY get the being bored with the same foods because it takes so much time to make extra other things! At least it's awesome that you know you felt fine after eating the BBQ food so you didn't have to pay for it!

I made this fabulous chorizo/plantain hash last night that was really easy and took like 45 minutes all in! If you like that kind of stuff, you just use 1lb ground chorizo, 3 plantains, 1/2 a sweet onion, 2 green peppers, all diced up (doesn't have to be really small, bite-size is fine). You fry up the onion in cooking fat of choice until it's soft, then you add the chorizo and brown it. Then you take it out and cook the peppers in the chorizo fat. Once those are tender enough, take them out too and add more cooking fat and the plantains. Fry them until soft, then add everything back in and stir it til combined and warm. It doesn't even need any seasoning because the chorizo has so much flavor! And you could totally change it up. I added olives once it was done because Rob won't eat them, and also some hot sauce. I feel like you could use any ground meat and spice combination (and you might have to unless you can find compliant chorizo.. mine had some added sugar), and different starch or veggie combinations. I always forget how easy hashes are!

 

Yay for school almost being over!!! That is never not exciting! Haha. It does sound like you have a lot going on, but at least you can see the light at the end of the tunnel! It's so awesome, too, that your son and daughter are also graduating! What are you doing for their party?

 

I had the gingersnap gravy without the ice cream cake for dinner the other night and I felt fine after that! I'll experiment with other non-gluten grains, too, but I'm happy to say that sat totally okay with me.

And then we had friends over last night to play Cards Against Humanity, and we had a veggie tray and chips and salsa out for everyone, and I didn't snack at all!!! We had dinner before they got there and I wasn't hungry, so I didn't nibble. I kind of wanted to, but it wasn't even that much of a temptation. Just fleeting moments here and there where I was like, gosh I love salsa, but then it passed. Woohoo for willpower!!!

Rob's friend brought me a little gluten free birthday cake from Whole Foods, and I was really touched, but in my head I was like, YOU ALL HAVE TO STOP WITH THE CAKES. Everyone is all about the junk food!! It's a chocolate confetti cake with chocolate meringue frosting. I want to eat it SO badly, I'm actually having anxiety about it. I'm like, maybe I could try one piece, but I know the sugar dragon will rage up if I do... and I'm very good at crushing her again now that I'm aware of what she is, but it might not be so easy knowing the rest of the cake is still in the fridge. I actually feel a little guilty but I thought the best thing would be to just throw it away. I feel bad because she spent money on it - we all know Whole Foods isn't cheap - but she will never have to know, I don't think it would be awful to just say that it was good if she ever asks and change the subject. But I got mad at Rob again because when I said that I was going to throw it away, he was like, "Wait, I'd like to try it." And I was like, "Dude, it's my cake, it's gluten free, you have plenty of crap you could eat that is gluteny, you don't need this. You just want it because it's there. And if you eat it, then it will be open and I will want to sneak in and just have a sliver, which will turn into a lot."

I've been pretty grouchy lately. I wonder if reintros have anything to do with it...