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30 days before I go!


sarahstardust

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Today, 1/17 is my Day 1... flew home from a couple of months in Hawaii yesterday and got in the door late. I scrounged a few things at Safeway to get me through today so I will do the best I can with what I have.  I am reading "It Starts With Food" and making my shopping list today.  I have exactly 30 days before I leave for India... 

I am really liking the book, it makes so much sense! I'm 48 and my body is definitely not the same one I've been feeding all these years -- it mattered less when I was young that I didn't really know how! I've always carried weight, but felt great... now suddenly there is more weight to carry, and lots of foods I've always enjoyed just don't feel good anymore. Even "healthy" things like lentils, peppers, and tomatoes. So I am also going to remove nightshades -- tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes from my plate. After a very stressful year, I have totally lost control of any self-discipline with regard to cravings... I'm looking forward to feeling good about what I eat. 

I just ate my first meal -- a sort of bizarre combination but it was what I had and it tasted pretty good! Salad greens with a bit of olive oil and vinegar, a few pistachios (stale, they were just here... not sure if those are on the list or not!), sliced organic strawberries, and a grass fed beef patty topped with some pretty dried out almond butter.  I would honestly do that again -- maybe no pistachios and use sunbutter instead?

Tonight I will repeat with the greens and the patty, and I have some bone broth and squash soup defrosting. I can't quite remember what I put in it... but I think it is on the program. Tomorrow I will shop and make sure I have what I need to do this well.  

Just a little shout out to other folks starting around the same time... I'll be reading your posts and wishing you well! 

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Well, I discovered the Whole30 email a day program, and so TODAY is my day 1.  It turned me on to Melissa Joulwan's plan for Week 1... http://meljoulwan.com/2013/07/27/whole30-week-1-food-plan/  How great is that?? I spent the morning studying it while I ate my last beef patty with strawberries. I amended it a bit with some of her other recipes.... and now I am going to follow her plan to cook most of my  food for the week. Paleo Beef Stew, Yucatan Green Chili Sautee, Pad Thai, and Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup. Oh, and Lara Bars were on sale for a buck each.  So... today is sketchy just because I haven't eaten very much... but... that is about to end! I'm excited about this, which should help for the hard days everyone promises are coming. I mostly feel relieved not to have to eat all that crap I always think I have to eat and feel horrible about. :)

 

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Ok, I did it. Day 1 is history...  the real accomplishment was shopping and cooking almost everything I bought. I didn't even put anything away before I cooked it!

I'm slightly whacked out because I still have jet lag... and didn't have much food in the house ... till now. Lara bars were on sale, so I tried one of those, along with a few Epic bison snacks with raspberries (so now I have some snack options!) and as each of my protein dishes was completed I tasted them... roasted chicken for paleo pad Thai... the green chili sautée...and the stew! All exceptional. For dinner I had the cup of silky gingery zucchini soup with a handful of steamed green beans and broccoli  florets dipped in sunshine sauce.  Then later when I felt desserted, I had a bowl with a few blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries, a date, and a handful of raw cashew pieces.

My main realization is that I love all these foods, and I can't think why I don't eat them. That I am bored to death with coffee, wine, cheese, bread, and chocolate-- my major food groups. (Hey, it's vegetarian... ) (ok, yes...French fries and potato chips too.) I've had them a million times, they don't satisfy me, and I continue eating...searching for a satisfaction that never comes. I realized I don't even like coffee without cream and sugar... so have switched to tea. So mainly, I'm wondering where my headache is? I was promised a headache today...maybe I'll get it tomorrow. I am super stiff... I think that is how it's showing up for me. A combination of not much motion besides travel and cooking, some chronic stiff joints, and just transitioning from 2.5 months in Hawaii to damp rainy NorCal. Don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining! Just making notes so I can keep track of the changes, and any good recipes! 

I love Melissa Joulwan's recipes and articles! 

http://meljoulwan.com/2009/07/21/sunshine-sauce/

http://meljoulwan.com/2009/06/09/the-best-chicken-you-will-ever-eat-ever/

http://meljoulwan.com/2012/11/05/silky-gingered-zucchini-soup/

http://meljoulwan.com/2010/10/13/the-secret-of-veggies-steam-saute/

http://meljoulwan.com/2016/09/21/yucatan-green-chile-saute/

http://meljoulwan.com/2015/05/07/classic-paleo-beef-stew/

 

 

 

 

 

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Ok, top of Day 3... yesterday went well. I had Zucchini Soup and Chile Saute for breakfast, stew for lunch, and pad thai with spaghetti squash for dinner -- another Mel Joulwan recipe.  I mostly felt grateful and happy to be eating such great food. A rainbow came out while I ate my stew! And we have a big storm coming, so I am excited to have food not only planned, but already cooked! Mel Joulwan made the point that she loves cooking, and eating -- but not at the same time. I never really realized it, but I feel the same way.

What I like about Whole30 is I can still enjoy food and indulge in my love of cooking and creating in the kitchen.  I have done every diet under the sun, it seems -- powder diets, food from boxes diets, reasonably healthy diets where I ended up eating a lot of cheese sticks and apples. I've always lost weight -- but I've always had to sacrifice the creative fun of cooking. So this makes me happy. If I start feeling craving-y, I just start looking at Nom Nom Paleo or Mel Joulwan's page, or the Whole30 resources, and I get to indulge in food without actually eating it, and get some inspiration at the same time. It works for me.

I'm feeling pretty good -- I quit drinking coffee too, switched to black tea without sweetener. I think my biggest chronic habits were coffee with cream and sugar and wine... and over the holidays I just went nuts with flour and sugar. (And cheese and potato chips!) So all things considered, aside from being hella stiff -- which I was anyway -- I feel pretty good. I'm lucky, because I'm home alone for a while, and don't have to go anywhere... thanks Universe. I can't recall that ever happening before.

I got the idea from Mel Joulwan to try Natural Calm before bed -- a fizzy cal-mag supplement. It helps with digestion and stiffness... I made a cup and tasted and WHOOO it was sweet. It has stevia in it. Not technically Whole30. But I woke up MUCH less stiff this morning. So I'm going to keep it. It's one cup a day, and it isn't something I'm going to jones for or OD on... so it isn't activating the food psych problems. And it is helping me feel better. Which is the Whole 30 point! 

I woke up hungry today... so I just ate first thing. Soup and saute for breakfast again... I think the main thing I have to pay attention to is getting full. The recipe I made last night, which I did exactly to proportion, said to divide the quantity onto two plates and enjoy. So I did, and then I overrode my awareness that I had had enough to eat, and finished my whole half. And then felt overly full. And then I realized... I didn't work out, I'm not 6.5"... I need to use my own sense of fullness to gauge how much I eat. Not just what the recipes say.

I'm already starting to plan for next week's cook and shop...

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Day 3 is winding down, and I'm switching to posting in the evenings so I can do some exercise in the morning. I think I'm coming to terms with the new normal. I think. Famous last words, right?  I was not very high energy today, but... it was kind of a heavy day all the way around. 

Anyway, I realize I did not really quite grip the whole concept that MJ presented of "Hot Plates" and "Cook Up," the point is to prep things so you can put together improvisational meals on themes... not just cook recipes. And I mostly put together recipes, so I didn't buy enough veggies...  And I was starting to feel like I needed a big green bowl of something. And I had two sweet potatoes that I had roasted... and I have never eaten one before. I guess they always just reminded me of that horrible marshmallow thing from Thanksgiving, or made me wish for a Russet. 

So... I threw some salad mix in a bowl with chopped broccoli and green beans that I had already steam sauteed, and added some sliced up snow peas and kalamata olives and onions and drizzled with MJ's Morrocan spice blend. Delish. 

I was nervous about the sweet potato. So. I loaded it up... first I made olive oil mayonnaise with a grassy, but not light EVO. It came out SUPER thick. Surprising. Not bad really, I can see how the lighter would be better, but it wasn't gross like a fruity EVO would be. (It was all I had.) Then I made that into a Ranch dressing... it came out thick and green, so I'm calling it Pasture Sauce.

I scooped the sweet potato out of the shell, mixed the insides with ghee, salt and pepper and microwaved that while I fried, yes, fried the skin in ghee. Then I stacked it up, skin, then potato, then Pasture Sauce, then avocado. And it came out looking like a sea creature. Or a Hawaiian flower. And it tasted pretty good -- pickled jalapenos, some scallions, and a little cilantro would have put it over the top. It was quite good (why not, with all that fat on it, right?) and really filling so I saved about 1/3 of it to eat under Chili Saute for breakfast. 

I'm no food photographer... but these things came out looking interesting enough to indulge in my secret habit of taking bad photos of my food. I also play the guitar really badly. But I'm earnest. Isn't that what matters? 

And good news, the Nature Calm I ordered does not have stevia in it -- the original flavor is unsweetened. Unlike the flavored packets I already had ...  so. Just another lesson in label reading! 

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Day 4. Meh. Maybe today was my version of "Kill all the Things." Had a conversation with my father that made me want cheese, wine, croissants, chocolate, and to fling myself off the nearest bridge. I realized that the (in)ability to say NO to my father is connected to my (in)ability to say no. Period. The easiest way to abide by the promise I made myself to do the Whole 30 is to tell him no. Then, easy. I don't need to eat that stuff. If I cave and say yes, then... well. I very much DO need all that junk to numb out the bad feelings I get from not being true to myself. That's a bitch of a catch-22. Thanks Whole30. That insight alone is worth the ride. 

After I got off the phone, I went to check out the women's march on tv and accidentally caught Trump making a speech to the CIA. And then somehow I segued to taking "before" pictures of myself. A narcissistic trifecta. Sigh. Luckily, my new garlic press was delivered, which gave me something sleek and shiny to live for. 

I ate the rest of my sweet potato with chili sautée for breakfast. I had stew for lunch. A larabar for a snack. For dinner, Pad Thai leftovers- soooo good. And then something I've been thinking about for days, an apple with sun butter and raisins and some cashew pieces.

So yeah. I danced with the sugar dragon a bit. But I didn't let him buy me free drinks and take me home. I'll do better tomorrow.

Lemme just practice this: No. N-o. N-O. NO! No way. Uh uh. Forget it. Not happening. No. 

Still on the program? YES!!!!!! 

 

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4 minutes ago, sarahstardust said:

Day 4. Meh. Maybe today was my version of "Kill all the Things." Had a conversation with my father that made me want cheese, wine, croissants, chocolate, and to fling myself off the nearest bridge. I realized that the (in)ability to say NO to my father is connected to my (in)ability to say no. Period. The easiest way to abide by the promise I made myself to do the Whole 30 is to tell him no. Then, easy. I don't need to eat that stuff. If I cave and say yes, then... well. I very much DO need all that junk to numb out the bad feelings I get from not being true to myself. That's a bitch of a catch-22. Thanks Whole30. That insight alone is worth the ride. 

After I got off the phone, I went to check out the women's march on tv and accidentally caught Trump making a speech to the CIA. And then somehow I segued to taking "before" pictures of myself. A narcissistic trifecta. Sigh. Luckily, my new garlic press was delivered, which gave me something sleek and shiny to live for. 

I ate the rest of my sweet potato with chili sautée for breakfast. I had stew for lunch. A larabar for a snack. For dinner, Pad Thai leftovers- soooo good. And then something I've been thinking about for days, an apple with sun butter and raisins and some cashew pieces.

So yeah. I danced with the sugar dragon a bit. But I didn't let him buy me free drinks and take me home. I'll do better tomorrow.

Lemme just practice this: No. N-o. N-O. NO! No way. Uh uh. Forget it. Not happening. No. 

Still on the program? YES!!!!!! 

 

Free your mind and your ass will follow -- Funkadelic 

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Day 5. I felt pretty good today. 

Breakfast: zucchini soup with avocado and a drizzle of cumin-lime mayo. Yum. 

Lunch: Green beans and snow peas sautéed in ghee with chili sautée, drizzled with Moroccan dipping sauce and more cumin lime mayo

Larabar

Dinner: Broccoli sautéed in ghee with more of the drizzle and mayo, a bowl of stew

I think I'm finally getting the hang of this. I need... more veggies!!! Looking forward to shopping and doing another cook up soon. Despite the 20/20 hindsight on how to shop and make real Whole 30 meals, I'm happy about the fact that I'm actually eating everything I cooked on the first go round  and it all still tastes good. And there is much less kitchenwork, and more happy eating overall. oh joy! 

Next week I'm going to roast a chicken and pull the meat, and use the bones to make bone broth. Then I'll make some more zucchini soup from that.  I'm going to buy a bunch of zucchini... I'm going to make zoodles with my spiralizer in addition to roasting a spaghetti squash and making cauliflower rice. I will make some ground beef, and roast some chicken thighs, and prep a bunch of veggies and steam them. And put some frozen shrimp and veggies in the freezer to have on hand. Must make more sunshine sauce!!! I also got some green curry...   so when it comes meal time, I'll throw 2 cups of veggies and about a palm size serving of meat in my big ass skillet with cooking fat and spices,  drizzle with sauce, maybe add avo. 

I added a walk in for the past couple of days, tomorrow I'm going to add these cool yoga/strength training sessions I found on Daily Om.

I have to get vaccinations for India tomorrow. Really hoping they don't mess me up... 

 

 

 

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Day 6: I started to post this as a reply to another thread and then thought. Oh jese. Who wants to read this? And then I thought, well. Maybe it would be good for me to reread. So I didn’t post it there and am posting it here. 

Someone posted about being bummed that they hadn’t lost weight as of Day 7, and the following thread was useful to read. So I wrote:

Thanks y’all, these posts were helpful to read today. I have the same -- only my-- version of the abusive scale relationship... when I started the program I couldn't bear to get on it. So I didn't. But I had to go to the doctor today and they weighed me. It wasn't different than I thought it was, when I really admitted how I felt to myself. It had the same sort of crushing feeling that happened after I looked at my "before" pix. Oy. 

I have gained and lost weight my entire life... and let the scale tell me how to feel about myself. 7 years ago, I weighed 70 lbs less than I do today and everyone was saying... you are way way too thin! But the scale told me I was awesome. I didn't feel very well.  It was hard to workout the way I wanted to -- at the time I was really enjoying weight training. I was horseback riding and was so thin that I had blisters under my seatbones. There were things about being that thin that were really kind of... wrong.  

Over some years, I slowly gained weight and got more comfortable in my skin, and forgot about that mean old scale. At about 35 lbs over my all time low, I felt good. People said I looked great. I didn't think much about my weight, or get on the scale much. I felt good in my clothes. It was good.

2016 was super crazy stressful year, which involved really having to relook at my relationship with my aging dad, who basically wanted me to give up my life and take care of him. I lost control of everything... eating, drinking. Everything. I finally managed to set a boundary with him, but then entered some sort of emotional paralysis which some part of me seemed sure could be solved with a combination of butter, sugar, and Chardonnay. Mmmm. Not so much. That part of me was wrong! This past holiday season I managed to enjoy all those things in convivial instead of self-destructive, self-medicating ways -- but it was still an overdose.  I'm at a personal best, weight wise. 

I've only been on the Whole30 for 6 days... so I can hardly blame or credit the program for anything. I'm still learning how to do it well, and I can see that it isn't just going to be a Whole 30 for me... it's going to be a whole life. Because thus far,  It's been a whole lifetime of outta control. Of not understanding the consequences of the choices I was failing to make. Of looking outside for validation, instead of inside for strength. What I have learned so far is that one NO is connected to all the others. I think that is one of things that is so successful about this program -- no partial measures. Working the Whole30 makes me make ALL my choices more carefully -- I know if I do things for or with people that I really don't want to do, I will follow up by eating food I don't really want to eat. I feel good about the way I've been eating for the past 6 days. I'm committed to that, and as a result I'm way more likely to set healthy boundaries in all areas of my life -- it isn't about the goal. It's the process. 

Now that isn't to say that getting weighed in and just being glad there was still a 1 in front of the other two numbers (barely) didn't rattle me and my confidence. It also didn't help that my blood pressure was something ridiculous, like 102/60, and that I was running a 1 degree fever which made my doctor suggest everything from a CT scan to a urine sample... sigh. I came in from the appointment and ate a chicken I had roasted with my bare hands, like Henry the VIII. And then later, realizing I needed some sort of vegetable or SOMETHING, an apple and a piece of celery with sunbutter and some raisins. But it wasn't chocolate cake and a bottle of wine. And that makes me feel slightly better. I made better choices. And I will make even better choices tomorrow. 

What I would really like from this program is to be able to be honest with myself. To not play these scale/shell games.  If I'm eating well, and honestly, then surely, feeling well and looking good will follow. That just has to be true, doesn't it? Somewhere, a long time ago, the trust got broken between me, myself, and my food. I want it back. 

Oh, and I need to drink more water. 

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Ok. Day 7 is winding down... 

I ate the last of the zucchini soup with a palm's worth of chili sautee and some avo for breakfast. I ate the meat out of the stew around 1 and pitched the potatoes. With my leftover roasted sweet potato, I made a recipe from NomNom Paleo for Spicy Tuna Cakes. http://nomnompaleo.com/post/91332244628/spicy-tuna-cakes I swapped out the scallions for onion, since I didn't have any, and I used ginger instead of jalapeno. I ate 2 of those over salad greens around 3 with the dressings I made last week.  Yep. Nom Nom! Then for dinner, I cooked some of the chicken I roasted yesterday with the last of my veggies -- spaghetti squash, green beans, and snap peas -- in Mae Ploy green curry. That tasted pretty good -- super spicy and salty though. So looks like tomorrow's the cookup! I'm happy I used everything I prepped and cooked last week. 

What did I learn. 1) reduce nightshades. No white potatoes. And I love spicy stuff but...  swapping ginger for jalapeno is a good move. 2) Fewer seeds and nuts, less sunbutter.  3) I really don't like sweet potatoes. Except they are pretty good in Tuna Cakes, which look like they will make a great lunch to go or breakfast with zucchini soup.

Every time I try a new food regime, even if the main theme is elimination, I somehow end up adding foods I don't usually eat much of anyway -- this time it was seeds, nuts, sunbutter, and sweet potatoes.  So next week I'm going to keep it EVEN simpler. Fewer of those things and no peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, fewer peppers, chilis, and spicy things. As always, the KISS acronym is a good rule of thumb. (Keep it simple, stupid.) 

I didn't feel that great today... but I got my period today and I had a Hepatitis A booster shot yesterday. And my doctor completely freaked me out. So I don't think the way I feel has much to do with the Whole30. In fact, I feel WAY better than I have the past few times my cycle has started. I managed to skip ibuprofen which was just not even an option the past few rounds.

I have been walking pretty much every other day. I really want to add some strength training/yoga/stretching, but I just didn't have it in me today. 

Doing this before I go to India is probably a great idea on one level, but it can't be the ultimate Whole 30 because there are just a few too many variables.  I have to take some gnarly drugs for resistance to Malaria and Typhoid. Since my travel day is Day 30, I will be able to complete the 30 days... but I won't have a ton of control over phasing things back in. Some. But not total. 

Which is why I already know that I will do another Whole30 when I get home... 

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I did my shopping and cook up today. I really enjoy this new way of doing things. I am so happy not to have a refrigerator full of uncooked food to look at when I'm hungry!
I might have overstocked due to my understocking of veggies last week... we shall see. I roasted chicken thighs and a spaghetti squash. I made zucchini soup from the bone broth I spent the last two days brewing — it came out tasting insanely good. I cooked grass-fed ground round. I made cauliflower rice. And I made Gyoza Meatballs and dipping sauce which I had for dinner over cauliflower rice with the dipping sauce. Delicious. http://meljoulwan.com/2014/03/27/gyoza-meatballs/  I prepped shredded cabbage, and steamed green beans, and snap peas. And I was pretty much all cooked up at that point, so tomorrow I will finish by making zoodles and jicama, carrot, and celery matchsticks...
I have a couple of heads of kale in the fridge to enjoy as well.

What with all the cooking, I lost a bit of focus on eating... I had two sweet potato tuna cakes with avo for breakfast, and lunch didn't really happen -- just some Epic Bites with raspberries and some of the meat I was cooking...

I had cramps all day. My digestion was a wreck last night, it kept me up, and so I am doubling down on my decision not to eat nightshades or spicy things. 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes is about as crazy as I'll get, and mostly I'll rely on ginger and garlic. Wherever a recipe calls for powdered ginger, I am using fresh grated root instead. I have a big painful red spot on one eyelid, and the whole eyelid is swollen, my vision seems blurry, and my eyeball is itchy. I'm just hoping it isn't shingles — cutting back on nuts and foods high in arginine regardless. I can't say that I'm mapping massive physical improvements this Day 8, but... I'm trying to listen to my body and make adjustments that will help me to feel better. 

What more can I do?

 

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Day 9... wow. I feel like crap. No energy. Headache. Back tight. Blurry vision.   I had some acupuncture and contacted a naturopathic MD. And I get to start taking the Typhoid vaccine orally now. What joy!!

I ate 3 sweet potato cakes with zucchini soup for breakfast.

I had spaghetti squash, snap peas, and beans sauteed with chicken and drizzled with sunshine sauce and a few cashews for lunch.

Dinner will be Gyozu Meatballs in pork/ginger bone broth over cabbage... 

I got a really nice tea I'm excited to have after dinner. http://www.republicoftea.com/orange-ginger-mint-herbal/p/v00676/

Oh, and the acupuncturist said to add 2 T apple cider vinegar at night to aid digestion.

 

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Day 10. I felt a lot better today. Back much less tight. Decent energy. Minimal headache. Phew. I also felt extremely grateful for all this delicious food! Seriously. And for all the tools that are here, all the great blogs and cookbooks. It's a whole new world. 

Meal 1: I had zucchini soup with some grass fed beef and 1/4th an avocado in it, and a couple of sweet potato tuna cakes with sunshine sauce and avo. Good.

2: The salad I had for lunch was crazy good. Jicama, cucumber, carrots, celery, green olives, kalamata olives, roasted chicken and paleo ranch. So good.

3.  I made zoodles (my first) in aglio and olio... in addition to garlic and red pepper flakes, I added a palms-worth of roasted chicken thighs, a sprinkle of Epic bacon bits, and 1/4 an avocado. And then I sprinkled almond meal cooked in duck fat over that.  I think it was one of the best things I have ever eaten.

Onward.

 

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Day 11. I had to double check, I was thinking it was 10. Good day working with horses today...

I used to get breakfast at Starbucks and forget lunch and get a junky snack at a gas station like a Kind bar and potato chips on the way home. It sounds appalling now- like a third grader was making the decisions. 

I had... yes, you guessed it, the last of the sweet potato tuna cakes with avo and zucchini soup for breakfast. 

I took lunch, veggies and chicken with paleo ranch- it was so good! 

I always need to eat afterwards- like after a workout. It's grounding too-I had Epic venison bites and an apple. 

Had a delicious typhoid capsule before taking a shower and lying down for a half hour. Then cauliflower rice with gyozu meatballs. 

Had good energy. Tomorrow I'm getting a massage- hoping that will help crack the shell and I'll feel more like working out! 

 

 

 

 

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Day 12. 

1. 3 eggs with onions, fennel, zoodles, and some Sunny Paris seasoning from Penzey's spices. Nice.

2. Spaghetti squash stir fried with snap peas, beans, and grass fed ground beef. Some more spices. Sunshine sauce. Good.

Larabar after massage. 

3. Another monster salad with lettuce, cucumber, celery, jicama, onion, olives, roasted chicken, Epic bacon bits, some avo, and Paleo Ranch. Yeah.

No headache, finally. Digestion was horrible last night, sleep disruptive.  It's fine all day. Maybe I should sleep standing up? I've backed off the Natural Calm magnesium and trying to drink less liquid after dinner/before bed. Skipping the cider vinegar too  -- just trying to let it do what it's doing without messing with it. :blink:

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Day 13:

Better digestion and sleep. Phew. I'm watching the news though, that might tip things off again...

1. I had a really weird breakfast- apple slices topped with grass fed ground beef    heated in duck fat with Epic bacon bits and tossed with sunbutter. It was actually quite good. 

2. Pork bone broth with gyozu meatballs and zoodles. 

3. Spaghetti squash, snap peas, green beans, onions, and  fennel stir fried with grass fed ground beef and Well Fed stir fry sauce. Spicy but good.

i can't really say I was on a good mood today- but I think I would have been totally happy if I hadn't had to work at the computer! 

 

 

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Day 14:

Ok... I'm definitely feeling better. Better digestion, better sleep. Such a relief. I had WILD dreams last night though... went from living in a palace fighting over toys to wandering through alleys and people's back yards trying to find a place to be. Hmmm. Maybe I should stop watching the news.

1. Deluxe breakfast of zucchini soup and my new bizarre fave, an apple topped with grassfed ground beef warmed in duck fat with bacon bits and mixed with sunbutter. I call it the Heart Attack. 

2. Huge salad for lunch -- jicama, celery, lettuce, avo, chicken, olives, paleo ranch dressing.

3. Completely invented dinner... I put two cups of lamb broth with about 1 1/3 cans of coconut milk into the crock pot with a chopped can of water chestnuts, a chopped onion, and  chopped bunch of kale and 1/4 C of Mae Ploy Green Curry Sauce and set it on high. Meanwhile, I marinated 1.75 lbs of shrimp in olive oil, pressed garlic, and a little Penzey's Mural of Spice mix.  After about two hours of slow cooking and marinating, I added the shrimp to the curry and cooked that about 10 mins or so. Served in a bowl with lime juice, cashews, and cilantro. It was freaking good. I thought the shrimp or the kale might get a weird texture -- but they were both delish. A keeper.

Truth of the matter is, I don't work in an office or have meetings, so I don't have the proverbial break room or meeting snacks to avoid. I don't have a family I have to cook for, though my husband will be home later this week. I haven't set foot in a restaurant, nor have I socialized. So, coming round the bend on Day 15, I've been doing a pretty good job at Whole 30-ing... just in a bit of a vacuum. It's been freaking great. I'm honestly not missing a thing.

Occasionally, I have... what shall I call them... oral fantasies. You know, like I'm sinking my teeth into one of those fruit tarts in a pastry shell with custard in the middle.  But... I never even eat those regularly, so I have to laugh. Nice try, Sugar Dragon! :) 

Cookup tomorrow. Yeeeeeehawwwww! 

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I missed my day 15 post last night...

I was supposed to cook up yesterday, but had acupuncture in the am and darned if I just didn't feel like meal planning and shopping. So I didn't. In the evening, I sat with my apps and cookbooks and put together my meal plan by the fire...  

I slept pretty well, if my cat hadn't been protecting the house from a baby raccoon I would have certainly slept through the night! 

Yesterday I ate:

The last of my zucchini soup and hamburger meat.

Gyozu meatballs over spaghetti squash with Sunshine Sauce

Another round of the Mae Ploy green curry kale shrimp. Even though I know it is not the best thing for me. So I am now debating whether to sacrifice the rest of it to the gods in the interest of health... it's a no brainer in this context. So I guess I will.

Today... I feel like my clothes are a bit looser. I don't look any different though I don't think, but I've never been the best judge of that! I definitely feel more settled. I can't quite call it tiger blood... its more like... domestic feline blood. 

I am getting ready to do a giant cookup. Ready?

Chicken thighs, ground venison, pork roast, cauliflower soup, cauliflower rice, paleo mayo and ranch, lardons, roast spaghetti squash, turkey apple patties, maybe tuna sweet potato cakes. I have sweet potato I roasted last wednesday -- it looks fine but not sure.  And prep green beans, peas, fennel, carrots, lettuce. 

That will probably take all afternoon!

 

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I had to check my Whole30 daily email to remember what day I'm on... 17.  My cook up sort of took me down yesterday! I had pretty much run out of food -- so it was a rather sketchy eating day... I had an apple with sunbutter and raisins and an epic bar for breakfast. Then 3 eggs for lunch -- no veggies. Another apple. For dinner I ate a giant bowl of golden cauliflower soup with lardons and savory granola in it. Good. Then a larabar. See what I mean? I ended up eating too many nuts (the savory granola is now safely put away.) Digestion miserable again. Probably not enough water either. And I didn't quite finish cooking everything! Oh well. Maybe two cookups a week is going to be more my style -- part of the difference was trying to factor in my husband eating too, he's coming home today!

Anyhoo, I was up early to get my hair done, which came out awesome for the first time in like 3 years. Patience does pay off! Then I splurged on a double espresso -- haven't had coffee in well, 17 days. 2 espresso shots is such a tiny amount of liquid! And did I LOVE the flavor? Well. Not so much. Sure felt good though, I feel like I have wings on my sneakers today! Which is good, because my house is a mess and must clean the entire thing.  

I got the espresso at a bakery called The Buttery. Oh, it smelled so good in there! Croissants, and cookies, pies, cakes. I felt like I had a reflective teflon suit on -- like I was somehow separate from all that.  Appreciative -- like the way I feel when I see a really gorgeous man. Nice to look at. Not for me!!  (Is that sexist? Hmm.)  Anyway, yes, the baked goods are sexy. And fun to look at and smell. But eating them is a completely different deal. I'm just not ready for that level of commitment, you know what I mean? I had a funny moment after I picked up the drink, I hesitated in front of the bar, where I would usually add cream and sugar... and then I realized I didn't need to!  I was free to step out into the sun, which had just come out after night of hard rain.

For breakfast I had golden cauliflower soup and chicken thighs  which I prepped using a brine and the spice mix from Mel Joulwan's "Best Chicken You Will Ever Eat." Because I didn't grill it, and because thighs are so much smaller than breasts, it is somewhat overly spiced, but delish once I reheated and mixed with avo. Not really what I wanted to eat after night of weird digestion -- but its what I had. When I got home, my Kalua Pork a la Nom Nom was ready in my slow cooker. Can I swear in this forum? Holy Shit!! Soooooo good. Wow. I have never been a pork person. I guess things change!!

I ate a bunch of it with my fingers, I'll confess. Then, having had a hankering for wraps lately, I wrapped it in a nori sheet with cauliflower rice, avocado, lettuce and sunshine sauce. Then I got down on my knees and thanked the Goddess for all the good things in life. And for the kitchen witches in charge of Nom Nom and Well Fed. Those ladies rock. 

 

 

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Sorry, I noticed when reading one of your entries that you were eating Epic bison bars. I was looking to buy some of those at Trader Joe's when a clerk that I was talking to mentioned that bar has added sugar in the ingredients. S@@t! I thought all Epic bars were whole30 compliant. Sorry. 

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Hi @Brassfrog Well, that would be a bummer -- IF I had eaten Epic bison bars! But I haven't! So I'm still on day 18! Here's the deal on Epic.... I discovered the company through the Whole30 website. They were promoting a Whole30 kit, I think conjunct with the first 30 days of the new year. The kit is still for sale, though I don't see anything about epic on Whole30 page beyond that they are an approved partner. Here is the link to that http://whole30.com/whole30-approved/ and here is the link to the kit. http://store.epicbar.com/products/epic-whole30-starter-kit. You may very well be right about the bison bar, because it is not in the kit. I have only eaten one of the bars, it was beef with apple and it was pretty good. Here are some images of the kit, and also some of what was in it!  I think, as with everything, its a matter of reading the resources offered on Whole30 carefully, and then vetting everything yourself by reading the ingredients carefully in the store. I basically cannot shop without reading glasses anymore!! They should make some Whole30 xray glasses that put gold stars on everything we can eat when we look through them! That produce department would be glowing!!! 

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I think I discovered the magic ingredient for Tiger Blood.... I'm sorry to say... it's coffee! I hadn't had any since I started... till yesterday. I liked the espresso so much yesterday I tried regular coffee with coconut milk. I'm in heaven! Take that, Sugar Dragon! You can go hang out with Puff the Magic Dragon in Honnah Lee! 

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On 2/3/2017 at 1:33 PM, Brassfrog said:

Sorry, I noticed when reading one of your entries that you were eating Epic bison bars. I was looking to buy some of those at Trader Joe's when a clerk that I was talking to mentioned that bar has added sugar in the ingredients. S@@t! I thought all Epic bars were whole30 compliant. Sorry. 

This made me curious, so I did a little looking around online and found this:

 
8/25/2015, 2:22:00 PM

 

Hey Jen,

 

How are you? Unfortunately you found out the hard way, but the bison bacon cranberry bar has brown sugar added to the bacon. Its our only EPIC bar with an added sugar and a simple result of the availability of pork bellies in the market place. Take comfort in knowing that all our EPIC Bites and future bars will be Whole30 compliant!

 

Reply to Taylor Collins
 
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Day 20! I am definitely feeling better -- better digestion, better sleep. Clothes maybe just ever so slightly looser -- not sure.  My husband returned Friday evening... and got his intro to my new Whole30 kitchen. I would say so far, he's pretty stoked! 

While I did not technically eat anything off the plan, I did experience certain patterns in eating this weekend that are not really kosher for Whole30. Part of this seemed to be a side effect of getting started eating too late in the day -- sleeping in, breakfast late, lunch late, dinner late. It just seemed to lend itself to a sort of snacky mentality.

I made very good turkey apple patties on Saturday morning and have been eating those for breakfast with golden cauliflower soup. Yesterday morning i cooked bacon and made lardons. I put sunbutter and bacon on the sausage yesterday, and I put bacon into the soup (yum!) today and had Nom Nom guacamole on top of the patties today.

On Saturday night, I made ground venison. Then I took that out of the pan and caramelized onions, then added mushrooms, garlic, and crumbled bacon. Then I added 2 T balsamic and added the venison back, got it all integrated, set it aside. Then I steam sautéed kale, added roasted spaghetti squash, added olive oil and a bit more garlic. (Random salt, pepper and spice blends as well throughout. ) Then I tossed the meat and onion/mushroom mix back in, and got it all hot and integrated. Served with a drizzle of homemade olive oil mayo mixed with coconut oil, garlic salt, dill, chives, red pepper. Happiness! 

Saturday lunch was overly small, and so some handfuls of nuts disappeared along the way...

Yesterday I made salads with lettuce, carrot, celery, onion, apple, and fennel topped with kalua pork. Very good.  Even though I had plenty of breakfast and lunch, more handfuls of nuts disappeared... mainly because when I was trying to put some Superbowl snacks together I added raisins to the already delicious Savory Granola a la Mel Joulwan that I made with pistachios and cashews. http://meljoulwan.com/2012/12/31/savory-paleo-snack-mix/ This is SO good. And with raisins it is like... the new chocolate. This could be a really good mix to take in ziplocs to India -- as long as I don't just eat it all on the plane.

 I have to be a bit careful as I am super prone to over/unconsciously eat a nut mix like this! However, it was superbowl sunday and I did not eat: potato chips with onion dip, cheese, alcohol, or any of the other things that I might have been confronted with! So I'm considering it a win. And I have better consciousness around what things unhinge my eating -- at the moment, it is really salty, not sweet, that gets me going.   One further note, since I had no trouble with digesting the nut overdose, I am concluding that spicy food and I simply must part ways, alas. How sad!

Last night another fabulous dinner, I steam-sauteed chard, then removed that from the pan and cooked onions and mushrooms in ghee. Returned chard and also roasted spaghetti squash to the pan, cooked with garlic. I set that aside, and then heated the spiced chicken thighs in a little of the juices that came out of the cooking over very low heat so the spices and fat (oh, added a bit of duck fat too!) made a sort of glaze. Then I served the veggies with the chicken on top with a drizzle of sunshine sauce and some Nom Nom guacamole. Crazy good. 

I probably will not heavily spice the chicken thighs again... brining seems like a good way to keep them moist, but the spice is too thick. Mel's recipe was for grilled breasts, which probably is a better ratio of chicken surface to spice and also the grill would mobilize the spices a little more!j 

And yes, after dinner I crammed a lemon larabar in my mouth like it was chocolate cake. I confess!!!  I absolutely love those lemon larabars. SO GOOD. Another gateway to potential bad-habit eating. 

However, here on day 20, I am feeling like this is just how I eat now. I'm extremely happy with even less than perfect eating habits -- because for the most part, I've changed so many things and really can feel the benefits. So there is really no going back! Now that I have assimilated HOW to put together Whole 30 meals and how to have fun cooking and eating, it becomes just a matter of awareness to begin to focus even more letting go of hooks/habitual eating, portion size, adequate but not over the top amounts of fat.

I will miss eating this way when I go to India. And am so grateful that I have all this new awareness in place as I head out the door, and even more grateful to have it to come home to...

I will be packing some Whole30 snackage- key lime larabars (not quite as luscious as lemon, but still delish), Epic bars (not bison)  and bites (no beef bites or bars due to cow being holy in India!), and possibly the savory granola. The hotels that I will stay at have CRAZY buffets -- and very little way to chase out individual ingredients, so I'm just going to try to avoid obvious sugar, gluten, dairy -- and not worry too much if it is swirled into a sauce. At the ashram, the food is mostly rice and dahl with ghee — ghee being the only Whole30 acceptable item! The trick I think is to just eat very sparingly -- and focus on everything else in life! 

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@sarahstardustThanks for your helpful comments. Your recipes sound wonderful. I'm not quite so creative but I eatbwhat I like and really don't care if I eat the same thing ever day. Good luck on your India trip; wish I were going also. Took a two day trip,out of town this week and it was a trial to stay on whole30 the whole trip. Luckily the plan has reduced my appetite so much that I can put off eating until I can get to where compliant food is available. Good luck! Day 23!!!!

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