Log and Blog

[LS192]

My first Whole 30 starting Sunday. I'm excited and scared. The website can tell me it's not hard all they want, and I'm sure I've done harder things...I gave birth in a car once because I really misread the timing on my labor. That was hard. And a b!tch of a detailing bill. But this IS hard. I've placated myself for years now telling myself that the once or twice a week salads made up for late night Taco Bell or cereal for dinner. I really don't want to be one of those "new year new me" people, because those people bother me, but I do need a kick in the pants. 

I'd also really like to get back into the habit of writing something every day, so here we are. 

Tonight I'm going to three different stores (ugh) to get all my goodies. Tomorrow I'm going out of town, which several cuts my prep time, but I'll get it done. 

Then Sunday...we go. Avocado and egg bake. I'm ready. 

[LS192]

Day One! 

Breakfast - Baked avocado eggs. 

Grade - C+. This was very meh. I wanted to love it - it was actually a recipe I was really looking forward to, but I don't think I like baked eggs. They were rubbery and the yolks were cooked through. I like a nice runny yolk and I think it would have been good with the creamy avocado. I'm going to work on this - maybe fry the eggs instead of baking. We'll see. 

Lunch - turkey burger and salsa with snap peas on the side. 

Grade - B+. This was solid. I was also STARVING because we were running errands that went too long so I think anything would have been good. I didn't even get a picture of it because I was so hungry. Salsa was just roma tomatoes, red onion, jalapeno, cilantro, salt, and lemon juice. I could have eaten it with a spoon. I had to stop myself from looking for a chip substitute to scoop this up. Turkey burger was from Trader Joes. It was good, easy, and fast, which are great in my book. 

Dinner - Potato leek soup 

Grade- A. This is going in the Post Whole 30 recipe file. It was awesome. It was somehow creamy without dairy- I pureed the potato and I think that make a big difference. Potatoes, leeks, onions, garlic, and a little garlic salt chicken broth in the crockpot. I chopped up some compliant chicken sausage and put it in there too, which was a nice added spice and flavor. 

Day one also brought my first test - husband took kiddos to his parents house to watch the football game. I stayed home to meal prep and catch up on laundry. He came home with Hershey's Dunkers and a full pizza from Pizza Hut. Man it smelled good. I didn't eat any of it though. Quitting on the first day would just be embarrassing. 

[LS192]

Day Two

Breakfast - roasted potatoes and onions with two scrambled eggs (in olive oil w/ a few drops of Tabasco). I threw in raw green pepper and some of the pico from yesterday to finish. 

Grade - A+. Holy moly this was delicious. I love bagels. Like, I would shove aside my granny for a good, warm everything bagel. (I wouldn't, but you get it). This was so satisfying and really yummy. 

Lunch - Leftover potato soup. This is even better the second day. Also sugar snap peas and carrots on the side. 

Snack - Lara bar. I tried to fight this, I really did. I gave in. 

Dinner - Roasted spaghetti squash, marinara, chicken sausage. 

Grade -B. This should have been better, but it was entirely my fault. The squash was under cooked and I doctored the sauce but I didn't let it simmer for long enough to really meld the flavors together. It was still good, but I made a ton and I'm hoping the leftovers are better. My food photography was really off here. It tasted better than it looked. 

I also roasted the squash seeds with lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper and ate them over half an avocado. It was good, but I think next time I'll soak the seeds first. They were a little rough around the edges, but I'm glad I tried it. 

Notes: I got a dull headache in the afternoon. Could be W30, could be a day of staring at my computer. My daughter came into our room around 2:30 this morning. This is not an unusual occurrence, we usually just pull her into bed with us and go back to sleep. For some reason this REALLY threw me off. I was so confused and I couldn't shake the fog. Again, it was 2:30 am so it's hard to say if it was a side effect or just general 2:30 am confusion but it usually doesn't happen so I thought I'd make a note. 

[LS192]

Day Three (so far) 

Feeling good this morning. We have a weekly meeting at work first thing Tuesday morning and I didn't get here early enough to make coffee beforehand. I was still pretty alert, which leads me to believe my 2:30 am fog didn't have a terrible effect on my sleep quality. Definitely an improvement! I also took the opportunity to drink water straight out of the gate, before coffee. 

Breakfast- The potato breakfast bowl, with green pepper, pico, and 1/2 avocado. Still really good. 

 

[LS192]

I'm not sure why I can't edit so I guess I'll finish up today and just do everything a day behind. 

Lunch - leftover squash and sausage. The sauce was MUCH better today. "noodles" still a little under coked, but I've always liked my pasta al dente. Side dish is raw carrots and snap peas - look how pretty they look! It's actually kind of nice to look outside and see bland - salt all over everything (I can't even tell what color my car is), snow on the ground, cloudy, but here on my desk, a nice little burst of color. 

I wish I had a dip. I meant to pick up some Tessemae's and forgot about it. Even a nice squirt of lemon juice, just for a little pizzazz. Oh well. That might bring it less to "side dish" and more to "snack" and I'm still not super clear on that distinction. 

Dinner will be more potato soup with 1/2 an avocado pureed in, plus a side salad. 

[LS192]

End of day three notes: 

I had a major headache today. I knew it could be coming and it's been dull but it gradually built up and it was a tough. 

I also desperately wanted sweets last night. I'm really not a sweets person. My biggest sweet indulgence is ice cream but I would have done anything for any sugar last night. I drank water. I watched Netflix (Gilmore Girls, which is basically like comfort food to me) I went to bed early. I got through it, but it was unpleasant. 

[LS192]

Day Four

Breakfast - Breakfast bowl w/1/2 avocado

Lunch- spaghetti squash with  hard boiled egg, carrots, snap peas 

Dinner - pan fried (in ghee) chicken breast with 1/2 avocado, pico, mashed potatoes, snap peas. 

Ghee is my new favorite thing!!! My mashed potatoes were AMAZING. 

This was the worst I'e felt - foggy (I got mad at the remote for scrolling the wrong way until I realized I was holding it upside down), moody (screamed at my daughter), just generally feeling unwell. I do feel good today though. Would it be wishful thinking that that's the worst hump? 

[Emma]

I've always wondered what happens with cars after someone has a baby - major detailing must be a pretty penny

We're on the same schedule.  Today is my day four.  I totally get the remote control upside down thing.  Reminds me of one of those pregnancy moments where one puts the keys in the freezer or drinks a cup of coffee without noticing that it's actually just hot water (I did that one and even, as I drank, pondered how interesting it was that I could see the bottom of my ceramic mug since I couldn't normally do so).

I had ghee last night.  It is some good rich stuff.  My dinner, however, was not so amazing.  Ah well.  Hope your day goes decently.