Start date June 1st

[C. Page]

Yes! She! Did!

Took my daughter to watch Wonder Woman last night and survived the temptation to bury my face in her buttered popcorn, devour her box of candy, and demolish her drink!!! I kept asking myself, "Do you really want to go back to Day 1 and start all over again?"  Yay me!!!!! 

(It was a great movie, by the way!)

[WholeCourtney]

Day 10 and Im feeling pretty great. Actually concerned that I might be doing something wrong because I never really felt terrible. Maybe thats because I was used to feeling cranky, tired and run down.

Starting yesterday Im feeling really good. Waking up energized, in a good mood, getting good sleep, and Im feeling really good in my body if that makes sense. I feel like for the first time Im making really healthy choices.

I hit the farmers market today and stocked up on veggies and local pastured protein. 

So grateful for this forum and specifically our thread, I so enjoy reading all of your experiences <3

 

[Ginsky]

Good day to all.  My dog and I are both tired but it's the good happy kind.  I did manage to get to bed early last night so we were out being ourselves for hours all morning.  I'm naturally a morning person, love sunrises.

Eager to get out the door, I just had yesterday's leftover mahi and king crab  with some sauteed green beans and black olives.  I quite lazily but effectively seasoned my green beans and olivs with a splash of Red Boat fish sauce.  

While out and about getting sweaty I started to form an image of cucumber gazpacho in my mind that I couldn't shake so when I got home, that's what I made.  I thought I'd just make a garlic dill cucumber gazpacho but I still had some pineapple in the fridge so something else happened instead.  I grabbed my last two cucumbers from the fridge and the pineapple, a lime, a piece of ginger root, and a green onion just for the heck of it.  I didn't use all the green onion, didn't want to overpower the rest.  I cut up both cucumbers but did reserve half of one of them, minus seeds, to dice and set aside. I threw the rest of the cucumber, seeds included, juice from one lime, 3 ounces of coconut cream, my piece of ginger root, a small bit of green onion, chives parsley just for the heck of it, and a bit of pineapple into a quart sized mason jar.  I only put in half-ish of the ingredients first so I had room for the immersion blender.  After that was blended down, there was room for the rest to go in with it for blending  I had zested my lime before I cut and squeezed.  You know all about my great love for lime.  I grilled a few shrimp seasoned with ghee, lime zest and ginger and used the reserved bit of cucumber and pineapple to make a salsa to garnish the gazpacho, added the shrimp and the last pinches of lime zest.  It was perfect after the morning out.  I'm even a little sad that I don't have more cucumber.  FYI:  Yes it does have coconut and also pineapple but not enough of either one that it reminded me even slightly of pina colada.  Cucumber was the dominant ingredient by a landslide.  

These are supposedly the days when people are most likely to quit, hang in there everyone!  We'll be over the hump very soon.

[Ginsky]

2 hours ago, C. Page said:

Yes! She! Did!

Took my daughter to watch Wonder Woman last night and survived the temptation to bury my face in her buttered popcorn, devour her box of candy, and demolish her drink!!! I kept asking myself, "Do you really want to go back to Day 1 and start all over again?"  Yay me!!!!! 

(It was a great movie, by the way!)

That's so awesome you kept your cool around the theater junkfood!  I've been procrastinating seeing the movie a bit, not a fan of crowds, thinking maybe after this weekend I'll go.  I've been avoiding spoilers and am getting scared someone will say something they will think is okay to say but that will kill me since I don't even watch trailers or read interviews, reviews, etc.  

 

1 hour ago, WholeCourtney said:

Day 10 and Im feeling pretty great. Actually concerned that I might be doing something wrong because I never really felt terrible. Maybe thats because I was used to feeling cranky, tired and run down.

Starting yesterday Im feeling really good. Waking up energized, in a good mood, getting good sleep, and Im feeling really good in my body if that makes sense. I feel like for the first time Im making really healthy choices.

I hit the farmers market today and stocked up on veggies and local pastured protein. 

So grateful for this forum and specifically our thread, I so enjoy reading all of your experiences <3

 

That's great if you're starting to feel wonderful and glad the earlier days didn't come down on you harder than you'd already been having it.  

 

18 hours ago, grandma karen said:

So, it turns out the last day I consumed HFCS was Wednesday so I started over again yesterday since I was fully compliant and was again today.  I'm using Real plans to plan my meals and being extra careful to read all my labels.  Having Roasted Potatoes with Sausage and Peppers for dinner.  I have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes and am going to a Diabetes Prevention Program at the local YMCA.  One of the things I have to do is weigh in weekly.  Not doing so is not an option and we paid a pretty penny for the class before I decided to do Whole30.  I am also limited to 33 grams of fat a day.  I am tracking my food because that is what I have been told to do.  Is this a deal breaker, as the saying goes? 

The program is a year long.  Other than that I am being fully compliant with the rules.  So far so good except for the mishap with the pickles.

Welcome to your day 3, I hope you breeze through the next week and feel awesome.  Any way that you could ask them not to show or tell you your weight at your check-ins for the month?  

[Ginsky]

Dinner is in the oven.  Chicken thighs seasoned with ginger and cinnamon over a bed of chopped sweet potato and carrot in cast iron.  I used ghee to coat the chicken as well as the carrot and sweet potato.  

[Ginsky]

After it came out of the oven, I sprinkled it all generously with coconut shreds to add fat to it.  So today is done, closing out the first third of this Whole30.  Not so bad.  

[WholeCourtney]

@Ginsky your cucumber gazpacho sounds amazing! I LOVE gazpacho, plan on making a traditional version this week (minus the bread of course). Ive made a few different kinds but nothing mostly cucumber based, Ill have to give it a try!

[SugarcubeOD]

57 minutes ago, Ginsky said:

After it came out of the oven, I sprinkled it all generously with coconut shreds to add fat to it.  So today is done, closing out the first third of this Whole30.  Not so bad.  

I remain inspired by your cheffing

[katrine77]

On 6/7/2017 at 9:02 AM, Ginsky said:

Pederson's has sugar free whole30 compliant bacon.  I've found it at Whole Foods and similar groceries as well as other brands at local organic and gourmet grocery stores.  I recently just bought some sugar free uncured (no sweeterners, no sulfites or nitrites, etc either) from a local grocer, the brand is Garrett Valley.  I've seen other brands before but can't recall names at the moment.  Bring your reading glasses and read lots of labels.

thank you!  Unfortunately, I live in Montana and no Whole Foods nearby.  But now that you mention a name brand, I might be able to order it from my local Community Food Coop in Bozeman!  yay!  Thank you!  

 

on another note!  I just have to share my lettuce burger with a side of grilled zuchinni and a large salad (not pictured)   I made for dinner!  it was so satisfying!  

[SugarcubeOD]

28 minutes ago, katrine77 said:

thank you!  Unfortunately, I live in Montana and no Whole Foods nearby.  But now that you mention a name brand, I might be able to order it from my local Community Food Coop in Bozeman!  yay!  Thank you!  

 

on another note!  I just have to share my lettuce burger with a side of grilled zuchinni and a large salad (not pictured)   I made for dinner!  it was so satisfying!  

Looks amazing!  The one thing I miss the most about not having a bbq is grilled veggies!  That grilled zuke wouldn't last a second in my house!

[Shawnni]

On 10/06/2017 at 1:55 AM, SugarcubeOD said:

No such thing as a posting hog... you're good, keep on keeping on

[Shawnni]

On 10/06/2017 at 5:19 AM, Srini said:

I made the stew of all stews last night ....... getting hungry thinking about it. Onions, garlic, peppers (yellow and red), potatoes, okra, carrots, snap peas, green beans and Chicken. Cooked in avocado oil. Cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper and a little salt. Avocado on the side. 

Ate a sensible spinach salad with Avocado, veggies and tuna with Olive oil as dressing. No cravings, no hunger. I am liking this. My gut looks less gross in my polo shirt and I am ready to go hang out with my Son and walk 6-10 miles. High School is doing a relay for life, to raise money for cancer. Walking/running in relay - 3pm to midnight.

 

I wis I could LOVE this post!

[Shawnni]

Hi all,

Quick post, I am home from the beach. I am so proud of myself. I did so well and I'm ver glad I took all my prepped foods with me. I didn't even feel hard done by when DS had Maccas. 

Im even decreased the amount of coffee I've been drinking the last two days. Maybe there's something in this. 

More later.<3

[HopingtoHeal]

Happy Day 11! Have enjoyed reading everyone's posts, sounds like there's loads of great cooking and eating going on!

I still feel very tired and I am experiencing some of the issues on day 9 of the timeline re: toilet (sorry if that is TMI!) BUT I am two notches tighter on my belt already and last night when I was out at my old youth theatre's 40th anniversary party I wore a dress that hasn't fitted in a while and my skin is so clear that I didn't feel the need to wear any make-up other than a wee bit of mascara. 

Currently my husband is cooking breakfast, we pushed the boat out and bought me sausages from Whole Foods, compliant and delicious but not cheap! So it will be sausage, bacon, homemade hash browns, eggs, tomato and spinach for me. Husband is having black pudding which I am a bit jealous about but I know there will be enough on my plate to fill me up so that I won't miss it. 

We're off to Costco this afternoon too to stock up a bit.

[Ginsky]

@angiej936 and anyone else who recalls the chili pepper conversation from a couple days ago and would still like to buy organic spices:  McCormick's gourmet organic chili blend still uses silicone dioxide instead of the rice concentrate.  This could be because they don't use the USDA certified organic stamp, which requires the use of the rice instead of silicone dioxide.  I didn't ask why, just contacted them to confirm ingredients..  All ingredients, except of course the silicone dioxide, are organic.    Still, keep reading labels every time you shop just in case that changes.  

[Lizzard]

5 hours ago, HopingtoHeal said:

Happy Day 11! Have enjoyed reading everyone's posts, sounds like there's loads of great cooking and eating going on!

I still feel very tired and I am experiencing some of the issues on day 9 of the timeline re: toilet (sorry if that is TMI!) BUT I am two notches tighter on my belt already and last night when I was out at my old youth theatre's 40th anniversary party I wore a dress that hasn't fitted in a while and my skin is so clear that I didn't feel the need to wear any make-up other than a wee bit of mascara. 

Currently my husband is cooking breakfast, we pushed the boat out and bought me sausages from Whole Foods, compliant and delicious but not cheap! So it will be sausage, bacon, homemade hash browns, eggs, tomato and spinach for me. Husband is having black pudding which I am a bit jealous about but I know there will be enough on my plate to fill me up so that I won't miss it. 

We're off to Costco this afternoon too to stock up a bit.

That is so great that you already have noticed two notches tighter in your belt and that you are noticing better skin.  I hope your tiredness wears off soon.  Enjoy the Costco trip - avoid the free samples

[Lizzard]

Breakfast this morning - frittata with onions, tomatoes, and broccoli made with the bacon fat from the bacon I made first.

[SugarcubeOD]

46 minutes ago, Lizzard said:

Breakfast this morning - frittata with onions, tomatoes, and broccoli made with the bacon fat from the bacon I made first.

I'll be right over... I can bring my own fork.

[Ginsky]

1 hour ago, Lizzard said:

Breakfast this morning - frittata with onions, tomatoes, and broccoli made with the bacon fat from the bacon I made first.

This looks so lovely!  

[Ginsky]

I was out the door early as usual, had tuna salad with celery over some spinach with lime juice before I left.  

I am so glad my lunch is nearly out of the oven after looking at that delicious frittata that @Lizzard is having.  I'm having an egg dish for lunch too.  I've got Scotch eggs (Well Fed pg 83) in the oven and shredded zucchini, yellow squash, and potato on the stove about ready to be plated.  I'm going to make a little dipping sauce out of mayo so I can add fat, maybe mix in some dump ranch and something else,  I'll figure it out once I take it out of the oven and the smell speaks to me.  

Edited to add:  I ended up using mayo, a bit of dump ranch (because I love lazy shortcuts to add layers of flavor), cinnamon, allspice, and tomato paste.  I feel like I just more or less made ketchup and mayo for my scotch egg.  It's working for me.  

[Guest]

I've never made a frittata but that looks delicious.  Breakfast for me this morning was two eggs over easy on top of fried potatoes (cut up from boiled spuds from last night), speck (kinda like prosciutto but from Germany), and olives.  Since then I've been prep cooking all morning:  Spicy fried turkey, calirice with sliced almonds, beef and green bean curry, spicy orange chocolate almonds (before anyone says anything they are from the Whole 30 cookbook), homemade clarified butter.

I've got two turkey breasts defrosting to roast laster and salmon in the fridge to make fish cakes.  Broccoli to steam, asparagus to grill, and butternut squash for making soup.  Collard greens in the fridge to make wraps with the leftover turkey, and lettuce, roast beef, beets, and avocados for my beef salads.

Honestly I do not understand how people say they 'take a couple hours' and prep for the week.  It will take me all day to do this and I probably won't get it all done.  It's the biggest drawback to my success on this program:  I don't have time or energy to cook during the week, so I have to do all my cooking on the weekend which means I have no weekend.  I have no life outside of work, kids, and cooking.  It's okay for a while, but it gets super exhausting and is not sustainable long term.  

[ArtFossil]

47 minutes ago, Georgina2 said:

Honestly I do not understand how people say they 'take a couple hours' and prep for the week.  It will take me all day to do this and I probably won't get it all done.  It's the biggest drawback to my success on this program:  I don't have time or energy to cook during the week, so I have to do all my cooking on the weekend which means I have no weekend.  I have no life outside of work, kids, and cooking.  It's okay for a while, but it gets super exhausting and is not sustainable long term.  

I keep it really simple. I'm a good cook but cooking is not a priority in my lifestyle now. On my Whole30 my prep would be make mayo, make ghee if needed. Make a frittata and/or hard boil eggs (on their own, deviled or egg salad). Bake a package of paleo turkey "bacon" (15 min; no turning.) Roast a bunch of vegetables maybe. Cook some compliant hotdogs perhaps  1- to 1.5 hours tops and I can watch a TV episode while making the ghee.

Proteins were grilled or baked or canned tuna (made into salad). I always made sure I cooked enough protein. for at least two meals. I used a lot of frozen vegetables (pre-chopped) and just microwaved with ghee or ate my greens with balsamic. I also bought precut broccoli, cauliflower or cauliflower rice and pre-peeled garlic.  Sometimes I would go wild and turn my leftover baked chicken into a soup or curry. Sometimes I went even wilder and picked up a cooked chicken from Whole Foods (plain is compliant). $2 off on Tuesdays!

i just mixed and matched proteins/fats/veggies. I am the master of the 30 minute dinner, including roasting sweet potato slices or making guacamole or turning mayo into tartar sauce when the spirit moves me. 

Easy-peasy!  I simply did not cook complex meals or use complicated recipes. 

Dont get me wrong--I love food but I enjoy eating simply most of the time. 

[Ginsky]

1 hour ago, ArtFossil said:

i just mixed and matched proteins/fats/veggies. I am the master of the 30 minute dinner, including roasting sweet potato slices or making guacamole or turning mayo into tartar sauce when the spirit moves me. 

Easy-peasy!  I simply did not cook complex meals or use complicated recipes. 

Dont get me wrong--I love food but I enjoy eating simply most of the time. 

I love simple meals!  I tend to do the same, mixing and matching of the 3 key groups.  Because I have a lot of allergies, I cook 3 meals a day, 7 days a week with very few breaks all year through, not just for Whole30.  

 I do often cook as I go but I tend to keep things simple, made in one pan/pot.  My most used herbs and spices are in a cart in my ridiculously tiny kitchen and the rest are in bins in the pantry according to types (herbs all in one bin, spicey in another, aromatics, etc) so it makes it easy to cook on the fly and let my mood and sense  of smell guide me quickly.  I get a little less simple during Whole30 because for me, that's when I'm being more mindful about my food and focusing on being really good to me.  I know it's different for other people.    

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, Ginsky said:

I love simple meals!  I tend to do the same, mixing and matching of the 3 key groups.  Because I have a lot of allergies, I cook 3 meals a day, 7 days a week with very few breaks all year through, not just for Whole30.  

 I do often cook as I go but I tend to keep things simple, made in one pan/pot.  My most used herbs and spices are in a cart in my ridiculously tiny kitchen and the rest are in bins in the pantry according to types (herbs all in one bin, spicey in another, aromatics, etc) so it makes it easy to cook on the fly and let my mood and sense  of smell guide me quickly.  I get a little less simple during Whole30 because for me, that's when I'm being more mindful about my food and focusing on being really good to me.  I know it's different for other people.    

You must not have to work a 9-5 then. I envy people who are so lucky. If i wasn't the primary provider for my family and could stay home i would not have any issues cooking enough.

[ArtFossil]

33 minutes ago, Georgina2 said:

You must not have to work a 9-5 then. I envy people who are so lucky. If i wasn't the primary provider for my family and could stay home i would not have any issues cooking enough.

For the 20 years or so I cooked family meals--

First, I had 2 years as a single parent. All bets were off and money was ridiculously tight and I kept things simple. If one is a single parent, one's expectations have to be reasonable.

In marriage # 2 and years 6-20 when we were both working full time including, during kids' high school, my (intensive) classes on top of working) we kept things easy, used a Jennaire grill a LOT and my partner cooked simple clay-pot type meals on the weekends while he watched sports-on-TV. We had a rotation of easy meals and just repeated them often and saved more elaborate cooking for when we had guests. My partner had to step up and learn to cook and he also shared transporting children/doctor's appointments/shopping and cleaning.