Am I doing this Right?

[erinmstoll]

Hi I'm new here! On day 4 of my first Whole30. Someone suggested I also log my progress here..at least I think this is the right place, right?

My husband and I are doing this together! So far it has been good but with the usual challenges: Headaches, tired, annoyed that there is sugar in EVERYTHING I pick up at the grocery store!!! But we've had some fantastic meals already thanks to Nom Nom Paleo ipad app! And our farmers market starts this weekend so we are looking forward to that!

Both my husband and I are feeling okay--his worst day was day 2 and mine was yesterday. Today I feel physically better but still tired and a little unmotivated. I already have to go to the store again and I've grossly underestimated how much food it will take to keep us fed and satisfied for three meals a day. Not to mention I just had a baby and am stil on maternity leave. Which makes it easier since I am home to prepare meals, but I'm not getting a full nights sleep quite yet (although our baby girl sure is trying--last night we got about 6 hours!)

I've loved reading other peoples posts on their Whole30 journey. I find that SO many questions pop up for me every day so I am SO glad I have this site as a resource.

I'm a little concerned about how much I'm obsessing right now about food--CONSTANTLY. Not just what I can't eat, but what food are okay and if I'm eating too much of something or not enough. Hopefully that will all work itself out as we get further into the 30 days. I am definitely an emotional eater and have very weird emotional ties to food. I don't want this program to make that worse, I want to really get to know my body and give it what it needs not just what I want.

Here are my most pressing questions today:

Can I eat lunchmeat as long as there is no sugar, soy, etc?

Same with sausage and bacon?

Where can I find coconut milk? I am so annoyed that i bought one at whole foods only to get it home and find out i can't drink it because it had Carrageenan in it!

Thanks to whoever is reading this!

[KitchenWitchy]

Hi there! I was also surprised by how much food I was buying at first, just for me and my partner. I try to do all of our shopping for the week in one trip to the grocery store for produce and pantry items, plus one trip to the butcher for a few weeks' worth of meats. By the end of the week my fridge looks empty except maybe a little dish of leftovers!

In my grocery store, the Thai kitchen brand has coconut milk that only has guar gum added. It's in the Asian foods aisle. Once I sent my well-meaning partner to get groceries, and she accidentally bought several cans of Goya brand, which has the carrageenan... Oops!

From what I understand, as long as there are no no-no ingredients, you can eat the meats listed. Processed meats without additives can be really hard to find. It might be worthwhile to make a roast or a turkey breast or whatever. I did a roast beef, cooked to medium, last week. It was 3lbs of meat. Sliced thin it made 8 meals for 2 people, plus leftovers which i gave away because i was sick of it and had a delicious lunch meat quality when eaten cold and sliced thin. It's not as convenient as store bought, but it wasn't too difficult to prepare. I'd be happy to share the recipe if you'd like!

[kb0426]

Here are my most pressing questions today:

Can I eat lunchmeat as long as there is no sugar, soy, etc?

Same with sausage and bacon?

Where can I find coconut milk? I am so annoyed that i bought one at whole foods only to get it home and find out i can't drink it because it had Carrageenan in it!

Thanks to whoever is reading this!

Watch the deli meats; besides sugar and other offplan ingredients, many contain carageenan. I can get sliced meats at the deli counter of my coop.

Sausage - read those labels. Bacon - GOOD LUCK . Many of searched for a compliant bacon, few have succeeded!

Coconut milk - no cartons! Check the cans only and KitchenWitchy gave you a good brand to look for.

Your obsessing will go away, to be replaced by HIGH energy and joy .

[Egre4926]

As to the coconut milk, I buy the WF 365 brand - it contains coconut, water & guar gum, just like the other canned types they have there, but cheaper! As a pp mentioned, it's in the Asian aisle (usually the bottom shelf!)

[erinmstoll]

KitchenWitchy I would love the recipe. And thanks to you all for the help! I just got back from Trader Joes and I was so disappointed by how many items had sugar and other bad stuff. So frustrating! I did however find prosciutto and the only ingredients listed are ham and salt. I plan to crisp that up in a pan and use it sparingly. I've used it before in recipes and it tasted just like bacon.

But other than that my shopping trip really put me into "Kill all the Things" mode. Hope tomorrow is better!

[erinmstoll]

So it is 7:30 pm on day 4 and here is how I feel: EXTREMELY annoyed,frustrated and tired. But NOT hungry. Which is really strange for me. In fact my tummy sort of even feels upset. I assume this is normal? I'm annoyed because I spent way too long making a dinner for us that turned out to be super gross. Or I thought it was anyway.

To make matters worse I am about to leave to go to my friends house and I won't be able to join her in our usual wine and snacks. I'm bringing herbal tea. Yay.

I hope tomorrow is better!!!!

[kb0426]

Totally normal and yes, it does get better!

[KitchenWitchy]

To make the roast beef, i adapted Jamie Oliver's pot roast recipe.

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees, and drizzle a little bit of oil in your roasting pan or other shallow baking dish.

Dry the roast thoroughly, then rub it with some deliciousness. I used salt, pepper, rosemary, garlic powder, and smoked paprika. Then rub it with a bit of olive oil. Don't be skimpy with the spices, but you just need a little bit of oil.

Put the roast in the preheated oven and immediately turn it down to 400 degrees. I cooked a 3-lb roast for an hour and fifteen minutes and it was medium-rare, but you can cook it 15 minutes longer for medium, or longer still for well done.

After the baking time is over, move the roast out of the pan and onto a plate. cover it with foil and a tea towel, and let it sit for half an hour. Then slice, using a sharp knife to make thin, lunch meat like slices. It's a little easier to do when the roast is cold.

Yum... Now I want some roast beef!

[erinmstoll]

Thank you!! That sounds so yummy! And way more cost effective than the package I Applegate farms roast beef I bought yesterday-and we've already eaten over half of it today for breakfast and lunch. I will definitely be making this soon!

[erinmstoll]

So far today (day 5) I have been pretty hungry. I ate what should have been a satisfying breakfast:

2 scrambled eggs with spinach and avocado, and a few strawberries. But by 10 am I was starving!! I snacked on a few almonds but couldn't eat till my daughter went down for a nap at 1.

I feel ful after a big salad for lunch: spinach, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes, olives, hbe, and a few slices of roast beef. Very good and satisfying but I'm really craving something sweet now.

We will be going to the farmers market this weekend and I can't wait to hopefully find some sausage that we can eat and get some great local produce.

I'm curious if anyone out there has ever made their own sausage? I need some variety in my breakfast. I know that it's just really a first meal and I can eat something other than eggs but I so far dinner leftovers and salad don't sound that appetizing first thing in the morning.

I'm still feeling tired but the baby has a cold (in fact we all have one!) and didnt sleep as long last night. Other than that I feel better today than yesterday but I'm still crabby and sort of resentful of the fact that I can't eat certain things. I actually think its funny that I feel that way since this is my decision! I'm determined to get through this!!

But nervous about the weekend. We have no plans and it is going to be cold. I do not want to sit inside all weekend feeling crabby and having a husband that feels the same. Hopefully day 6 will be a turning point? I haven't looked ahead at the timeline to see what day 6 usually brings but so far that thing has been just about spot on for me.

I'm anxious to start seeing big changes soon and feelin more energized!