DellaNova's Whole30 Log

[kshacklett]

Oooh you listed some of my favorites! Here are some suggestions:

1. Eggplant is great in stir fries, italian dishes, or in pretty much anything where it will have sauce or oil to absorb. You can also make chips/fries like you would with a sweet potato, and dip in to marinara sauce or enjoy as is. The secret to good eggplant is to "sweat" it: cut it widthwise so you get a bunch of circles, lay out on paper towels, and salt both sides. Press a layer of paper towels on top, too, and let it wait 10-30 minutes. This removes some of the bitterness.

2. Artichoke: I haven't had these in a while, but I like to steam them, then dip in an olive oil/mustard dip. Eating them whole is kind of funny, you pull off the leaves and then sort of scrape the "meat" off with your teeth. Or you buy a jar/can and add it to a salad, ready to go

3. Capers are great if you like really salty foods, not so much otherwise. This is a good recipe if you like fish, or Chicken Picatta if you're more of a poultry fan (Chicken Picatta is usually breaded, but you could probably just grill it or search for a paleo version). Not sure how much nutritional value they have, though, so you probably don't need to kill yourself trying to get them in your diet.

4. I hate mushrooms, so I'm no help here

5. Okra is iffy for me, I've never had much success cooking it myself, but it's found in a lot of Indian vegetable recipes, I think.

6. Rutabaga is a pain to make, but I really like it. I usually peel and dice mine first, but I've heard you can microwave first and then peel/dice to make it a little easier. Pretty much just treat them like you would mashed potatos (I boil, mash, then add salt and ghee).

7. Tomatillos - I only make one recipe with these, Chile Verde Enchiladas, which are time consuming for a just ok result on Whole30 (With the cheese, they're pretty good). If you don't like tomatos, have you tried getting them from a farmers market in the summer? Real, fresh tomatos and the store bought ones don't even compare.

8. I've seen these, but never gone out of my way to use them

9. Carmalized onions are absolutely delicious on top of steak...mmmm....

10. I usually just throw sprouts into salads or stir fries, but I always assumed they were bean sprouts, so not sure if these are W30 compliant.

11. I know they're different, but my mom uses the terms "turnips" and "rutabega" interchangably, so I'd assume you could make them the same way I do rutabega.

12. Leeks:I had to google this, because I'm guilty of using lots of onion family products interchangably. They look like giant scallions I've never cooked with them, but I've heard of leek and potato soup...

Welcome to the wonderful world of vegetables!!

[Della Nova]

Thank you so much kshacklett! That's exactly the kind of response I was looking for. I think my biggest issue is just reversing my mindset. All those veggies (and previously all onions and various other ones I eat now) register as "non-food" in my head, so I never find myself reaching for them.

It's like, since all my veggies (pre-Whole30) used to come out of a Green Giant box or bag, it's difficult to break that cycle and embrace fresh veggies as a real and important part of my diet.

I will take your ideas to heart during my meal-planning and hopefully they'll find their way on my plate. If not during the rest of the Whole30, certainly in the future.

Also, now that I've looked up Rutabaga, they are the same as turnips, lol! That shows how much I know about them! XD

[Della Nova]

(posting for yesterday; trying to take pictures of meals before I chow down)

Day 9

• Meal One: 7:15-8:30 AM: 1 Meat & Spinach Muffin early, then another heated up at work. Also drinking Tazo's English Breakfast Tea and hoping it gives me a boost (not sleepy, but I could use some motivation)
  
• Meal Two: 12:00PM: Had Leftover Pork Fried Rice; was even better at lunch than at dinner! I also had one hardboiled egg
  
• Meal Three: 6PM: Made Jalapeno Buffalo Burgers with Carrot Bun from "Practical Paleo". Also topped with Baby Spinach Leaves. It turned out incredibly well!!!
  
• Snacks: Very little snacking (yay!) - finished off the last few Macademia nuts in my desk and I won't be packing anymore
  

[kshacklett]

Random Question - are you from the same town where All American Muslim was filmed? I loved that show - so sad when it got cancelled (although if you are, you probably weren't sad at all lol)

[Della Nova]

Random Question - are you from the same town where All American Muslim was filmed? I loved that show - so sad when it got cancelled (although if you are, you probably weren't sad at all lol)

Lol! Not exactly the same town, but really close to there and I recognized all the landmarks. I was sad when it got cancelled too!

[Derval]

Your bun burgers look awesome!

[Della Nova]

Your bun burgers look awesome!

Thanks! They tasted awesome! Practical Paleo's recipe says you can use 2 cups shredded carrots or sweet potatoes, mix with 3 cups eggs, cinnamon/nutmeg/salt, about 1-2 tablespoons coconut flour, and then fry both sides in a pan. Easy, tasty, and effective!

[Della Nova]

Day 10

• Meal One: 6:45 AM - 7:10 AM: Made Smoked Salmon Handrolls from "Practical Paleo". They had avocado, smoked salmon, cucumber, and scallions. Made for a fun and delicious breakfast! I was happy that I used my "clocky" to wake up at 6AM and have a good breakfast.
  
• Meal Two: 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM: I had 1 leftover bison burger and also made a quick "deconstructed sushi salad" (torn up nori pieces, avocado, torn up smoked slamon, cucumber, and shredded carrots)
  
• Meal Three: 7:00 PM - 7:30 PM: My husband was kind enough to prepare the Shrimp salad recipe for dinner: http://www.health-be...le-shrimp-salad but I didn't buy nearly enough shrimp to fill it out and didn't eat much at all. But it looked pretty!
  
• Snacks: I had the biggest emotional eating failure tonight, which prevented me from eating much real dinner. Despite eating three hardboiled eggs around 3pm-4pm, I still snacked around 5:30pm. Probably due to my period, but after work at 5pm I was in a really bad cranky mood. I came home and ate a ton of raisins, some cashews, and later some almond butter. Total fail splurge, I know. But it did improve my mood a lot. Myself and my husband committed to not buying raisins again on our shopping trips for the Whole30, because they are way too much of a temptation.
  

Anywho, I keep learning on this journey and things are going pretty well overall.

On a positive note, I woke up on time finally this morning (with my active alarm's help) and up until 5pm I was feeling the "magic". For most of my workday I was energized and feeling good about my meal choices. My husband also seemed very energized and upbeat, which I'm glad because his stomach has been unpleasantly gurgly the past few days.

Each day seems to bring an interesting and new challenge, so I guess I'll see what tomorrow brings!

[Della Nova]

Day 11

• 6 AM: Got up on time again! Yay for clocky actually pulling my ass out of bed, lol.
  
• Brought our final small supply of Cashews and Macademia nuts to work, but the container broke open and the shrimp salad's sauce spilled all over it. I'll take that as a sign to not snack on nuts today...
  
• Meal One: 6:45 AM - 7:15 AM: Made Omelette with 6 eggs and a bunch of spinach. I was going to add ground beef, but it wasn't defrosted. Split between myself and my husband, it wasn't enough breakfast. But we're out of eggs and going shopping tomorrow.
  
• 8:00 - 9:00 AM: My coworker was complaining about some of her health concerns and how she wishes to go off of several medications. I recommended reading, "It Starts With Food" and told her all about our Whole30 (she knows my husband as well). She can tell how good we're doing and is genuinely interested. She is going to get "It Starts With Food" and "Well Fed" off of Amazon.
  
• Snacks: 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM: I was so freaking hungry and finished off the last three slices of Whole30-compliant pastrami bought from Whole Foods.
  
• Meal Two: 12:00 PM - 12:35 PM: I ate entirely too much to make up for breakfast. I ate a big bowl of the leftover pork fried cauli-rice, and then another bowl of the shrimp salad (with homemade ranch added). I felt nauseous and stomach-gurgly afterwards around 1pm, but now my stomach is settling down.
  
• 2:30 PM: Currently I am having a horrible sugar-craving attack. Like, so bad that I can't focus on work. I want something sweet SOOOO badly that I can't even take my mind off it. It's really annoying and distracting and makes me feel like an addict. Ughhhhh
  
• 4:00 PM - 4:20 PM: Distracted my mind by planning and thinking about my Game-Plan for the coming week. Backup Chili in the freezer, Carnitas for my friends on Sunday, Egg Bake & Scotch Eggs ready for the breakfasts, Cauliflower Hummus for my hubby....Sunday cookup should be grand!
  
  • ​Snacked on Smoked Salmon. It was nice and salty and made me much happier and less like, "omg I'm gonna die if I don't eat sugar now!!!"
    
  • Odd note, the pink look of the smoked salmon and pulling off pieces reminded me of pulling off taffy pieces, lol. And I've never been much of a taffy person! I guess that goes to show how much my brain was wired for candy! >.<
    

  [*]5:30 PM - 6:00 PM: After we got home, my husband wanted a cucumber, which made me want to snack too as we were enjoying a good conversation (but I'm not a huge cucumber fan). I finished off the last bag of organic dried cherries. Seriously. We are not buying any dried fruits at the grocery tomorrow.

  [*]Meal Three: 7:30 PM - 8:00 PM: Had a late dinner. We both tried Duck Heart for the first time and really enjoyed it! It was like eating little duck pieces. I sautéed the heart with a small amount of spinach and shredded carrots and then served it on a bed of sweet potato pasta. All in all, pretty successful dinner!

  [*]10:15 PM: About to get ready for bed; really really excited for grocery shopping at Whole Foods. I can already tell by the huge amount of protein I'm about to buy (3-4 lbs pork, 4 lbs ground meat, 4 dozen eggs, shrimp, etc), it's gonna be a whomping load from the paycheck (but the meals should last awhile).

[Della Nova]

Day 12

• 7 AM: Actually woke up early on Saturday! Crazy!
  
• Meal One: 7:45AM-8:15AM: Had leftover duck & sweet potato pasta, as well as some extra ground beef.
  
• 9:00AM-10:30AM: Went grocery shopping at Whole Foods and avoided buying dried fruits/nuts. Had to buy pork rinds at Meijer for Scotch Eggs.
  
• Meal Two: 11:00 AM - 12:35 AM: I made egg drop soup with six eggs and some baby spinach mixed in. Also ate some Macademia nuts right afterwards.
  
• 12:30PM-3:00PM Attended first class for the semester. Now every Saturday from 12:30-4 I'll be taking class. I wasn't hungry or snacky at all during the class today!
  
• 4:00PM: Snacked on almond butter. Husband snacked on one orange.
  
• Meal Three: 7:00 PM - 8:00 PM: I made Shepherd's Pie (Well Fed recipe) for our date night (my husband's been wanting some for a long time). I found it very labor-intensive/time-consuming compared to normal meals, but I put in the effort for this special meal. It turned out very well and we both really enjoyed it!
  
• 10:15 PM: About to get ready for bed; planning to have a productive weekly cookup!
  

[Della Nova]

Day 13 (late update)

• 6:30 AM: I woke up at 6:30 AM yesterday morning without an alarm, it was due to a very bad dream though. I let my husband sleep in.
  
• Meal One: 7:15AM-7:45AM: Had leftover Shepherd's Pie for breakfast. Also watched "Hells Kitchen" for a little bit. Husband also had Shepherd's Pie when he woke up (around 11am).
  
• 9:00AM-3:45 PM: I worked and did meal-prepping ALL DAY:
  
  • Italian Brunch Bake
    
  • Proscuitto-Wrapped Mini Frittata Muffins (for snack/"mini-meal" during the week)
    
  • Scotch Eggs
    
  • Chocolate Chili (extra protein to backup lunches)
    
  • Citrus Carnitas (for the friends who came over today; they highly enjoyed and asked for the recipe)
    
  • Sunshine Sauce (for Carnitas; used up in one night)
    
  • Almond-Cauliflower Hummus (recipe from Everyday Paleo)
    
  • Crispy Coconut Flakes
    

  [*]Meal Two: 12:00 PM - 12:35 PM: Ate the last of the Shepherd's Pie leftovers

  [*]Snacks: Snacked on Proscuitto, the leftover bits of muffins that stuck to the pan, a little bit of the pork rinds (all during meal prep)

  [*]Snacks: 4:30 PM: Incredibly over-snacked on the coconut flakes. They were more tasty and addictive than I imagined they would and I went threw almost two batches. Obviously, I have little control when it comes to "compliant" snacking.

  [*]Meal Three: 6:00 PM - 6:30 PM: Layered bowls with Red Butter lettuce, then carnitas, garnished with shredded carrots, and sauced the dish with the Sunshine Sauce. My friends love love loved it!

  [*]10:30 PM: Went to bed and fell dead asleep. I was totally tuckered-out from the insane amount of cooking that day!

[Della Nova]

Day 14

• 6:30 AM: I woke up at 6:30 AM this morning with alarm, but laziness during the morning caused us both to not eat breakfast at home (had to run out the door)
  
• Meal One: 7:50AM-8:10AM: Ate the Italian Brunch Bake at my desk while surfing online and checking blogs and such (I'm not a productive early morning worker, lol). Not surprisingly, I scarfed down breakfast quickly without thinking about it.
  
• 10:30 AM: I haven't snacked yet, although was tempted earlier. Surprisingly, I still feel very full right now - woohoo! However, I also feel really sleepy (despite getting a fairly solid 8 hours last night). I even had English Breakfast Tea around Meal One, which is highly caffeinated, yet I'm yawning like crazy and I feel like I could take a nice nap on my desk, lol. I have no idea what's up with this sleepiness, but if it continues I'll need to take a nap around Meal Two time.
  
• Meal Two: 12:10 PM-12:25 PM: Ate a small plate of leftover Duck Hearts & Ground Beef (definitely the size of my palm) and the rest of the Sweet Potato Pasta (also a good amount). Husband ate leftover Carnitas along with the Cauliflower Hummus.
  
• 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM: Decided to take a nap immediately after Meal Two. I had many odd dreams and I could feel my system digesting foods. I still feel a lot of bubbling and such going on! Hoping to stay strong and not have to snack until dinner time, but we'll see.
  
• 2:30 PM: Got frustrated at work and snacked on the last bit of Coconut Crisps. About 1, maybe 2 handfuls total. I wasn't legitimately hungry, it was more an impulse.
  
• 3:52 PM-4:00 PM: Started to feel legitimately hungry. I ate a "mini-meal"of one proscuitto-wrapped frittata muffin; it was pretty good!
  
• 5:00 PM-6:00 PM: Husband snacked on two small pieces of the breakfast bake (mini-meal); I snacked on two slices of prosciutto. He's currently also snacking on the cauli-hummus. I'm craving chocolate and junk, but resisting! Plus, I'm about to prepare dinner!
  
• Meal Three: 6:30 PM-7:00 PM: Roasted Salmon (thanks to Tom Denham for the recipe) and Sauteed Cabbage. Honestly, I'm still getting used to cabbage because it's new to my vegetable-repertoire, but NomNomPaleo's recipe made it super tasty! I was surprised, especially since the recipe contained anchovies! (which I've never ever had before; they looked gross lol)
  
• 10:20 PM: Went to bed.
  

[kshacklett]

Your Sundays look just like mine - be productive while husband sleeps, cook all day, try not to eat everything while cooking, collapse. I don't know about you, but I love it

[Della Nova]

Your Sundays look just like mine - be productive while husband sleeps, cook all day, try not to eat everything while cooking, collapse. I don't know about you, but I love it

Hehe, at least I'm not the only one! I like it and looked forward to it, but honestly, I did a lot of complicated recipes and got pretty tired out from it. It was also kinda crazy because I was trying to get it all done before our guests arrived at 3pm! But, my husband did help me out a bit around 2pm with cleaning up and doing the hummus/coconut crisps, so that was nice.

All in all, a very productive day! My hope now is that it allows us to have lots of healthy breakfasts, a good assortment of foods for lunch, and healthy snack options when needed. I really hope that all the time and effort is worth it.

[Della Nova]

Day 15 - Holy Crap OMG HALFWAY there!

• 6:30 AM: I woke up at 6:30 AM this morning with alarm
  
• Meal One: 7:05 AM-7:25 AM: Ate a mid-sized piece of the Italian Brunch Bake. Not sure if it was a full enough portion, but I felt full afterwards. My stomach was a bit gurgly and I didn't want to push it. Even though I felt like I was eating slow (at least compared to my husband, who scarfed down his portion), it still only took me 20minutes to finish eating. I have yet to master this whole "savoring the food" thing.
  
• 10:30 AM: Started feeling snack cravings around 9 AM, like hardcore wanting pastries (my desire for cinnamon rolls is insane). At 10:30 I ate two mini-fritatta muffins for my "mini-meal" to keep me satisfied until lunch.
  
• Meal Two: 12:00 PM-12:30 PM: I wasn't hungry when lunch rolled around due to my "mini-meal"...but, I packed Chocolate Chili for lunch and had to have some! I actually ended up eating most of what I packed, and my husband didn't eat much.
  
• 5:00 PM: Received the call that I was accepted for my new position! It is a promotion within my current position! Wheee!
  
• Meal Three: 5:30 PM & 7:00 PM: This meal was a bit random and fragmented. I ate a Scotch Egg (Well Fed recipe) when we got home because I was hungry and also ate some unsweetened applesauce. I also ate most of another Scotch Egg later in the day. My husband did about the same. I had planned on doing a beef stir fry, but I didn't buy the right kind of meat for it and would've needed to go to the grocery for more citrus anyways, so this dinner was the easier option.
  
• 10:05 PM: Got to bed a bit earlier.
  

[Derval]

[Della Nova]

Day 16 - Made it past halfway! Unbelievable!

• 6:00 AM: I somewhat woke up naturally, I tossed and turned a bit before the alarm went off. My husband took the bathroom, so I stayed in bed and messed around on my iPad for awhile.
  
• Meal One: 6:50 AM - 7:15 AM: Last night I prepared a Beef Stew for the beef stew meat I defrosted (was previously going to attempt a stir-fry with it). I used this recipe from Everyday Paleo and let the slow-cooker run over night.
  
  • I am not normally a stew person, and my pickiness doesn't like "chunky" meals, but I ate my bowl of stew and it tasted really great!
    
  • I enjoyed the convenience of waking up to a nice hot meal that's already ready.
    
    • I may have to find other Slow-Cooker recipes that I can run overnight!
      

    [*]It was weird to me though to have a stew in the morning, because I'm still working on breaking out of the "breakfast" mindset. So I had eggs for dinner last night and stew in the morning lol, woo!

    [*]I am kind of worried that I didn't eat a large enough bowl and will be hungry later on.

  [*]10:30 AM: Ate two Mini Frittata Muffins as a "mini-meal"

  [*]Meal Two: 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM: I ate more leftover Chocolate Chili for lunch

  [*]4:15 PM - 6:45 PM: I wasn't hungry at all after Meal Two (which is very unusual), but I felt very tired (perhaps due to work stress), I took about an hour nap when I got home from 5:30-6:30

  [*]Meal Three: 7:00 PM - 7:30 PM: My husband made dinner! I had a small container of Macademia Nuts/Sliced Almonds, then ate oven-baked chicken wings with a Franks-Ghee Hot Sauce along with Sweet Potato Fries. The Sweet Potato fries spent too long in the oven and got charred, but I still thought they tasted good with some hot sauce! I also had a side-salad with some homemade mayo.

  [*]10:20 PM: Went to bed.

[kshacklett]

Do you have a programable crock pot? I got one for Christmas, and it has seriously changed my life. On mine, you just set "hi" or "lo", then how long you want it to cook for, and at the end of that it switches to "keep warm" so your food doesn't overcook - this would be a great option for some slow-cooker breakfasts that might not require 8 hours to cook.

The one on nomnompaleo is to die for - I wish I had seen it before Christmas so I could have requested that specific one!

[Della Nova]

Do you have a programable crock pot? I got one for Christmas, and it has seriously changed my life. On mine, you just set "hi" or "lo", then how long you want it to cook for, and at the end of that it switches to "keep warm" so your food doesn't overcook - this would be a great option for some slow-cooker breakfasts that might not require 8 hours to cook.

The one on nomnompaleo is to die for - I wish I had seen it before Christmas so I could have requested that specific one!

I don't have a programmable one, but I like the idea! So far, I usually end up limiting myself to 8 hour recipes. Right now, the one I have works, so I'll stick with it until I can afford to replace it with a fancier model.

Plus, I have other kitchen goodies I also want to get:

1. Pressure Cooker
   
2. Dehydrator
   
3. Salad Spinner
   

At least, those are the next big things on my list. Especially the Salad Spinner because I really used to like my old one (until it broke) and I'd like to eat more salads.

[Della Nova]

Day 17:

• 6:00 AM: Woke up with alarm
  
• Meal One: 7:00 AM - 7:20 AM: Ate half of a Scotch Egg along with a leafy spring salad. I made my own vinaigrette (just Balsamic + Olive Oil) for the first time. I never used to like vinegar-based salad dressings (I only used to have Ranch + Ceasar), but it actually tasted pretty good! Especially when I ate with the Scotch Egg!
  
• 11:00 AM: Still having odd food cravings, such as a random desire to eat Fish Sticks (the kind in a frozen box) . Not sure where that one came from, but at least my hunger level has been pretty low and I haven't snacked at all!
  
• Meal Two: 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM: got hungry around 11:30 and decided to do lunch a bit early. I had Leftover Scotch Eggs from Meal One, Leftover Wings, and some salad with my vinaigrette.
  
• Meal Three: 6:30 PM - 7:00 PM: Ate the last Macademia Nuts mixed in with Sliced Almonds, then I got up and made dinner: http://feastofgaea.blogspot.com/2012/04/nutty-shrimps-over-kale.html (I added seasonings, used lacinto kale, more shrimp, and probably too many pepitas; I toasted the pepitas before adding them in). I think I got a good amount of fat in this meal because of the added coconut milk, which made the whole dish very yummy and creamy!
  
• 9:40 PM: Went to bed early.
  

[Della Nova]

Day 18:

• 6:00 AM: Woke up with alarm - but had poor sleep. Woke up around 3:45 AM, then tossed and turned until 6 AM (along with my husband). Very restless for some reason.
  
• Meal One: 7:00 AM - 7:20 AM: Tried to do NomNomPaleo's Thai Omelet, but I wanted to use 8 Eggs instead of 2, so I didn't quite follow the measurements on the Fish Sauce, and I added Coconut Aminos....the result was very salty omelets (even with no added salt!)...I made 4 smaller omelets, with myself eating 1 and my husband eating 1. I probably should have eaten more, but it was too salty...I figure if I get hungry later I can use that as my "mini-meal". I also added chopped spinach to the mix for veggies.
  
• 10:30 AM: I did indeed eat one leftover omelet as my "mini-meal"
  
• Meal Two: 12:00 PM - 12:30 PM: I ate the leftover shrimp
  
• 3:30 PM: At a very small bowl of leftover stew as a "mini-meal"
  
• Meal Three: I made Steak Bites which were ABSOLUTELY delicious! And also ate Zucchini noodles, made with my new Kuhn-Rikon Julienne Peeler! They were perfect and delicious because I cooked them in the leftover steak drippings. The Juileene Peeler also made thin noodles that I never could have made with my mandoline. Loved it!!!
  
• 10:45 PM: Went to bed a bit later because it was Friday night
  

[Della Nova]

Day 19

• 7:00 AM: Woke up at a good time for shopping
  
• Meal One: 7:30- 8:30 AM: Made Mini Egg Foo Yungs. I wing'd it with the seasoning and I didn't have any leftover meat I wanted to use, so I browned 1/2 lb of ground chicken and used that. They turned out pretty well!
  
• 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM: Did all our grocery shopping at Whole Foods. $230, which is $30 more than I wanted to spend (but a huge amount of smoked salmon, lamb leg, tons of other protein, kombucha, etc, will do that lol).
  
• Meal Two: 11:30 AM: I had an early lunch before I had to leave for Saturday class. Leftover delicious Steak Bites with a side salad & vinaigrette.
  
• 12:30 PM - 3:00 PM: Did Saturday class; snacked on a bit of plain coconut flakes during the break at 2 PM.
  
• Meal Three: 3:45 PM: Came home and was hungry, so I ate the leftover Egg Foo Yungs and some extra leftover ground chicken with hot sauce. My husband had already had leftover Chocolate Chili.
  
• 4:00 PM - 7:30 PM: Mall Trip! got husband new glasses, new shirts; I got new dress/jacket/pants. The guilt over spending so much is already getting to me, but we miraculously avoided the Food Court/Orange Julius/Cookie shops, etc....the whole mall smelled like sugar and I hated it. It's an absolute miracle that we got out of there with our Whole30 intact. The mall used to be such a big thing for me, and I realized I always had a ritual to get food at the mall, so leaving without any snacks was unbelivable!
  
• Meal Four: 8:30 PM - 9:30 PM: Due to the mall, and the difficulty of preparing the "mise en place" for Well Fed's Maki Rolls, we had a very late Date Night dinner. My husband loves sushi, so I tried my best to make them, but they were very messy and sometimes busted out of the nori. He thought they were very tasty though, so that was something.
  
• 10:30 PM: Bedtime
  

[Della Nova]

Day 20

• 5:30 AM: Woke up earlier than wanted; went back to sleep
  
• 7:00 AM - 10:00 AM: Not sure when I actually woke up as the husband and I just kinda lazed around
  
• Meal One: 10:30 AM: Made some scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and spinach. It was very very good and fulfilled my hunger (I didn't eat within an hour of waking, so I was SUPER DUPER hungry!)
  
• 11:15 AM: Gotta work on prep before our friends come over - but at least we have Monday off so if I don't get it all finished, I can do more then.
  
• Meal Two: 1:00 PM: I ate a decadent small bowl of unsweetened applesauce with some sliced almonds and a large bunch of pecan pieces. Although it wasn't in true Whole30 spirit, I was surprised at how rich and delicious it was. It felt like eating a slice of 5-Layer chocolate cake!
  
• 3:00 PM: My stomach rebelled.
  
• Meal Three: 6:00 PM - 6:30 PM: Made "Rogan Josh" from Well Fed and topped over Cauliflower-Rice (wanted to top over kale, but it burnt lol). It was a fairly good success because everyone liked the lamb I used. It was wayyyy more strongly spiced than expected though.
  
• 10:45 PM: Went to bed. Didn't get much prep done today, just Chocolate Chili and Rogan Josh (but this was knowing that I have tomorrow off).
  

[Della Nova]

Day 21:

• 8:00 AM: woke up and got ready for a busy day. (even on my day off: Shopping, school work, meal prepping, folding laundry)
  
• Meal One: 9:00 AM: Ate an egg yolk fried egg (1 full yolk fried with 2 broken ones, since I had 3 leftover yolks from only using 3 egg whites earlier). It was awesome!
  
• 10:30 AM: Finished baking "Swirly Crustless Quiche" from Practical Paleo. I didn't make it too swirly, but myself and my husband ate it when he woke up and liked it!
  
• 11:30 AM: Finished working on 1,000 word assignment for one of my classes.
  
• 12:30 PM: Went to Meijer; got a sweater/shoes/paper plates/apples/bananas/more pecans and a duck (no other store had duck). I love Meijer's produce selection, but walking in the other food sections was very unpleasant (especially since I was hungry at the time).
  
• Meal Two: 1:30 PM: Snacked on pecans in the car on the way home; then ate a smoked salmon spring salad with vinaigrette when we got home.
  
• 2:00 PM: Prepped Pork Fried Rice for the week (added diced red bell peppers and processed everything in my food processor, also added baby spinach near the end of cooking and decided to cook everything in one pot, rather than adding to a serving dish at the end). I also made my spin on an "Italian Hot Plate" idea from Well Fed (Ground Beef, Marinara Sauce, Diced Red Bell Peppers; Beef Broth). I basically made a meat sauce to go on Spaghetti Squash.
  
• 5:00 PM: Started working on my meal ideas for the month of February (Reintroduction Month). I plan on still being Paleo, but I'm excited to include Bacon from the Farmer's Market and honey back into my life. It's actually harder to plan for the meals that will include dairy/gluten etc than to plan Paleo meals! XD
  
• Meal Three: 6:30 PM: I tried making crispy spiced chicken livers, and I was absolutely APPALLED by the texture of them. I ate one bite and didn't eat any more. It was awful. This is the second time liver has failed me. I was so sad because I really wanted to like them, and I thought if I followed Melissa's recipe to the T it would be good, but no, just awful. I ended up eating scrambled eggs and not much else since the liver ruined my appetite.
  
• 8:00 PM: We went by my mother-in-law's house to give her the liver. She ate and very much enjoyed them. She likes liver and was not surprised by the texture. Apparently I cooked them well and I am just not a liver person. At least it didn't go to waste.
  
• 10:30 PM: Went to bed.
  

[Della Nova]

Day 22:

• 3:30 AM: Woke up unexpectedly with my husband. Had choppy sleep afterwards.
  
• 6:30 AM - 7:00 AM: Alarm rang. Didn't actually get out of bed until 7 AM.
  
• 7:30 AM: Had to run out the door, too late to eat breakfast at home. I snacked on a full handfuls of pecans to settle my hunger.
  
• Meal One: 8:10 AM: Ate leftover Quiche for breakfast.
  
• 8:25 AM: My stomach rebelled. **TMI** It seems that pecans gives a signal to my digestive system to just let everything out. Sucks because I really enjoy them. I guess I know what to eat if I'm ever stuffed-up, lol.
  
• 9:25 AM: Oh man, my stomach kinda hurts and feels weird. Similar to post IBS-D episodes. Ohhh...I'm not a happy camper right now and I can't focus on all the work I have to do. Ouchies. I really want my pecans, but every time I eat them my system rebels. T_T
  
• Meal Two: 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM: My stomach was iffy all morning, but I managed to eat a sizable portion of Pork Fried Rice at lunch. After we finish the 3 meals worth of pork fried rice, my husband and I probably won't do the cauli-rice thing for a little while.
  
• 2:23 PM: Snacked on 1 banana and it felt totally indulgent, lol. Like, such a beautiful, luscious serving of fruit....so wonderful...
  
• 4:00 PM: Also snacked on a "mini-meal" of the pork fried rice leftover from lunch.
  
• Meal Three: 7:00 PM: Made Duck with Cherry sauce from "Practical Paleo". I was only able to find a whole duck, so I had my first experience taking it a part and I think (with my husband's awesome help) that I did a very good job! Roasted two breasts, two legs, two wings, and also included the leftover fat. I also got some duck fat! Along with the duck we had microwave-baked Sweet Potato (forgot them and had to make them at the last minute). Overall it was a very tasty dinner.
  
• 8:30-9:00 PM: Inspired by the Cherry Sauce, I made a bad decision to snack on the last half of leftover frozen cherries while reading for class. Without thinking, I finished off the full bag of cherries! They were meltingly delicious, but, as you could imagine, filled me up with sugar right before bed.
  
• 10:15 PM: Went to bed. Due to the cherries, I had an awful night's sleep. I tossed and turned all night and it felt like forever before I actually went into "sleep mode". *Mental Note: "Dessert" before bedtime = shitty sleep*