percypat's 1st Whole 30

[percypat]

I'll report back tomorrow calee!

Deborah, not sure yet! I was just going to eat it by itself! This will be the first pate I've eaten since starting my Whole 30. The only other dip-py thing I've eaten is mayo and I was using raw vegetables for that which doesn't help you very much.

I was toying with the idea of making sweet potato chips, so we're thinking along the same lines. Great minds and all that. Could always try making chips out of other veggies like parsnips?

[percypat]

First things first: pâté is delicious! Had some for breakfast this morning now that it had set and it was really good. How decadent is that, by the way? A month ago, pâté came in a little pot and was a treat. Now I have a mountain of the stuff sitting in my fridge and I'm eating it for breakfast.

Very gentle day today (as all Sundays should be). Got the chicken curry in the slow cooker for dinner and then hubby and I went into town for a bit of shopping. I've got new boots They were a freaking steal as well, only $36 (Australian)! I'm so cheap.

My eats for today:

Breakfast: pâté, broccoli and zucchini noodles, sweet potato and ginger soup. Had a couple of bites of avocado and realised I was full.

Lunch: Leftover beef ragout with zucchini noodles, the rest of the half avocado I didn't eat at breakfast.

Dinner: Slow cooked chicken curry with cauliflower rice and bok choy. Half an avocado.

Snack: Blob of pâté when I got home from shopping.

I'm feeling much perkier again after my slump last weekend but I don't feel like I'm getting any smaller. I know I can't expect this straight away but I want it and I'm pretty sure there are still a couple of things I can tweak without worrying about calories or weighing. Going to try and eat less fruit for the remainder of this Whole 30, cut the snacks out and be more diligent about making sure my meals really match the template. I probably drink about 4 cups of tea with a dash (def not a 1/4 of a can though) of coconut milk a day and since I don't always have a full size serving (or two) of fat in my meals, I assume it balances it out. I think I need to be more careful about factoring these drinks into my day. Maybe I'm taking in more fat than I think I am?

[calee]

I'm so happy that pâté is good! I've never used duck fat. I guess I could check Whole Foods. I'd love to give the recipe a whirl.

I don't really add much fat to my meals because I'm eating fatty pork. I figure that's fat enough. But I do often have salad and add a spoon if olive oil.

I'm not feeling any slimmer either. I didn't divorce my scale until last week. I know I was down two pounds but I won't be surprised if I put them back on when weighing on day 31. This eating by template and not by calories/carbs, food logging is new to me and it took me awoke to get up the trust to do the template as written. I think I add more fruit into my meals because off emotional cues. It looks like: I'm giving up nuts and beef and eggs etc so of course I deserve that peach by golly. Like I said, I anticipate more than 30 to undo my damaged relationship with food.

I'm so glad your energy is back! I think mine is going to be better today!

[percypat]

Calee, I think almost everything in it would be ok for you. Not sure about cinnamon on the AIP, but to be honest I can't taste it so you could probably leave it out without taking too much away from the flavour. It's the apple vinegar and the cranberries that shine in this recipe. Good luck if you try it!

And I have the same attitude to fruit as you: I'm giving up all these other things (and not nearly so many as you) so I feel like I have totally earned my fruit. Especially when fruit has always been touted as a healthy snack even when trying to lose weight. And of course it is a healthy thing to eat, but we're just not conditioned to see it as something sugary. It is hard coming to terms with that. I'm sure it'll be worthwhile though. I need to go and make friends with some more veggies!

[percypat]

Day 19 ... Getting close to 2/3 of the way through!

Breakfast: pâté, microwaved butternut pumpkin and zucchini noodles, tea with dash of coconut milk.

Lunch: chicken curry with cauliflower rice, half an avocado, tea with dash of coconut milk.

Dinner: Cranberry turkey meatballs, roast butternut and garlic mash, beetroot salad with pecans. Tea and coconut milk (more coconut milk here as not much fat in the meal).

Sorry the picture of dinner is blurry - sometimes I don't realise until I load it up on my computer screen and by then the meal is long gone!

Was putting together hubby's lunch for tomorrow - leftover beef ragout - and offered him normal spaghetti or zucchini noodles. He chose the zucchini and said "why would you eat pasta ones when these work just as well and are so much better for you?". Ding ding!

[Nadia B]

I like the lonely garlic clove

[percypat]

Don't worry. It wasn't lonely for long

[percypat]

Look what I found!!!

I just had my first sip of kombucha and I loved it. LOVED it. It's a plain one, and bearing in mind I am a sour fiend (raw rhubarb dipped in salt? YES PLEASE!), this was like sipping on vinegary, sour, fizzy, heavenly goodness. I've just had a bit as everyone says to start off slow and I have to go into uni for a seminar in a bit but I am looking forward to drinking the rest of this later on today. (Maybe not all though - I have to teach a Zumba class this evening).

This is the first time I've seen it in Perth, it was the only kombucha drink available at the health store in my local shopping centre. $5.25!!! That's insane. Maybe I will have jump on the homebrew bandwagon ...

[calee]

Ok, you've inspired me to try kombucha. Here it's less expensive, $3.89. Sometimes I see it on sale. We have several different brands/flavors.

I don't like sour things, or at least I didn't use to. I tried a sip of a friends a few years ago and hated it. Maybe my taste buds are changing!

I'm happy you're doing so well. I felt my energy start to surge back last night and my eczema patch is smooth this morning for the first tie since starting Whole30!

[percypat]

Glad you are feeling better again calee, you've been such a trooper. Awesome the eczema patch is clear - must be a good sign!

Good luck with the kombucha

Lots of reading today, a seminar at uni and taught my Zumba class this evening. Agreed to help out with stocktake at my casual job tomorrow so have to get up at 5:30am ... Not looking forward to that and really ought to get to bed very very soon!

Breakfast: leftover chicken curry with coconut rice and half and avocado. Tea with coconut milk.

Snack: blob of pate, pecans, a few frozen raspberries.

Lunch: pate, leftover zucchini noodles and a mug of sweet potato and basil soup. Tea with coconut milk.

Dinner: steak, broccoli and beetroot and pecan salad. Tea with coconut milk.

[percypat]

Also, it's decided. I'm going to find a big glass jar and try and brew some kombucha. I came home from Zumba and hubby said to me: "Ooh, that kombucha is nice". He'd found my half-drunk bottle in the fridge and had a couple of slurps himself. If there are two of us in this house who like it then there's no way we're paying $5.25 a bottle.

Also I like science experiment type projects. Time to go read about growing a scoby!

[Beets]

You guys are pushing me towards this kombucha making and I can not resist.

My husband has been trying to wean himself from sugary drinks with lunch. (He likes iced tea.) He also liked kombucha. Maybe he can take some to work.

The bottles are crazy expensive!

[Nadia B]

YEASAAA! Look at you. Liver now kombucha. Keeping Nadia happy!

Yes, paying for this stuff is insane. It was my primal reason. I mean now it's 2 gallons of plain black tea and cup of sugar. Uhmm - 50cents worth? Moreover it does miracles to my digestion. Not to mention that making your own flavors is SO MUCH fun. Try to find a plain flavor one. I know that some of the brands formulate it the way you can't do much. Buying a started is ok too.

Beets - GT original was the Mom for my scoby.

[Derval]

Loving your log percypat

Kombucha is even more expensive here, almost 7e a bottle!

[percypat]

Oh no, oh no. I've just read that people with immuno-suppression should preferably consume "controlled commercial beverages". I'm on immuno-suppressants for my eczema.

I'm not on that big a dose. Nowhere near what people who have had transplants get. Rrrrr. I think I'm going to go ahead and grow the thing anyway, it's not expensive to make and I can just practise lots and be a kombucha MASTER when I come off the drugs and can drink it properly.

[percypat]

Loving your log percypat

Kombucha is even more expensive here, almost 7e a bottle!

7 EURO?! That's daylight robbery!

[calee]

OMGoodness, I took your lead and went kombucha hunting. I found a brand I haven't seen before. Four grams of sugar for the entire bottle. I found GingerLemonRedRaspberry flavor which sounded enticing. When I got back to the office I poured 6 ounces to try. How many ways can I say YUM? I saw that it's made with oolong tea so I know I can't have it later than 11 am or it will keep me up.

It had an acid feel on my throat that I wasn't wild about but the taste was delicious and refreshing. If its as good health wise as very one says, I'm in. Let me know how your pet scoby works out please.

[percypat]

That sounds like an AMAZING flavour combination. I eagerly await the day I can play with own flavouring. Though the original I had was enough to seal the deal for me.

So, when I get a bee in my bonnet about something, apparently I have to act on it fast. I did some more scoby growing reading and on the bus back from work today I decided I would get straight in the car and go to the shops to get what I needed.

Aw, sad face. I took a photo of my big glass jar and the file is too big too upload. Lame. I had my hand in shot doing the peace sign for scale. (I'm allowed to do that, I'm half Asian).

As well as my lovely jar, I got another bottle of kombucha for growing this scoby. Brewed some tea, put sugar in it and left it to cool. Hubby came home, looked in the fridge and said "Ooh, more kombucha!". I said it wasn't for drinking and he said "Not for you to drink. I'll drink it." Managed to persuade him that if all goes to plan he will able to drink lots of it for much less money. Tea was cool so we poured the kombucha into the bowl with it. (Hubby wanted to watch. I'm not sure what he was expecting would happen). Now we wait.

Meals for today (Day 21 - week 3 is nearly over!)

Breakfast: Pate, sweet potato soup, leftover broccoli and zucchini noodles, pate. Tea with coconut milk.

Lunch: Leftover beef ragout with carrot noodles. (Julienne peeler is AWESOME). Realised there was very little beef left in the sauce so topped up with some more pate.

Dinner: Baked chicken breast with rosemary, baked sweet potato, roasted carrots and red cabbage.

Snack: blob of pate with a few pecans.

I am le tired. Got up at 5:20am to be at work for 7, stupid stocktake. I used to be regional manager for this company so even though I'm just a casual now I always get asked to do this kind of thing. Oh well, better than being responsible for things all the time. I like my academic life so much better

[calee]

I had to laugh about your husband and the kombucha. So how much starter did you use, and how long does it need to sit to kombuchaize before drinking?

I wake at 5:20 to be to work at 7, 5 days a week. I do it ny choice, insistence actually because then I am off at 3:30 and walked home by 4. That leaves time for a two hour walk in the woods when it stays light in spring, summer and fall.

We are in the home stretch PP but I know I will continue.

[percypat]

You know what's funny? He's just told me I should I have bought two bottles: one for the scoby and one for him. I guess he really liked it.

I used one bottle (330ml which google says about 11oz). That's with one cup of tea and 1 tbs of sugar. Hopefully it's enough to get things started! Apparently it takes 2-3 weeks for the scoby to grow and then it's another 1-2 weeks to ferment a batch of kombucha from there. I suck at waiting!

I just wrote about it on my blog! It's fun writing about my new food adventures, A logical extension for a chatterbox I suppose.

[Nadia B]

Wait a minute pretty face, why would you add tea and sugar? Is that what almighty google says? I just poured the whole bottle into the jar. My next question, what are you covering it with? Do you have cheesecloth? It's gotta be breathable fabric. As well you might find a jar with even mouth. You need to cover it and secure the fabric with a band. If dirt or flies get into the liquid, well it's spoiled.

Waiting time depends. In summer it might be less. Avoid firect sunlight for the svoby. She also likes warm and ventilate places. This waiting is is so worth it Hubby rocks.

Btw - in my post on the blog there are pictures of my scoby growing process if interested.

[Physibeth]

I think I would have to bottle my kombucha in old Mountain Dew bottles to get my husband to even try it. I'm sure he would be pissed at me at first sip too. *sigh*

I still have not started my kombucha with my scoby I got from a friend. ACK!

[Susan W]

Wait a minute pretty face, why would you add tea and sugar? Is that what almighty google says? I just poured the whole bottle into the jar. My next question, what are you covering it with? Do you have cheesecloth? It's gotta be breathable fabric. As well you might find a jar with even mouth. You need to cover it and secure the fabric with a band. If dirt or flies get into the liquid, well it's spoiled.

Waiting time depends. In summer it might be less. Avoid firect sunlight for the svoby. She also likes warm and ventilate places. This waiting is is so worth it Hubby rocks.

Btw - in my post on the blog there are pictures of my scoby growing process if interested.

Okay...so everyone knows, Nadia is a Komboocha wizard. She wings it and goes against the rules and ends up with perfectly fizzy booch. Sigh.

The experts say to empty a bottle into a glass jar. Then feed it one cup of sweet tea. That can simply be a cup of tea with a TBS of sugar. Then you cover it with a cloth so it can breathe but fruit flies cant get in. Dont use cheesecloth because the weave is too loose. :0)

Like I said..the booch wizard is very booch successful so feel free to ignore the above. I tend to way overthink and follow all the rules.

[Nadia B]

Wohahahahaha

Listen to Susan, Sophie. I consider myself lucky because I sort of tried to go with the rules I folded cheesecloth in layers so no fly will creep in! This is very important, so the point with the uneven edge of the jar is still relevant. M?

[percypat]

I read quite a few methods on the internets and they did all say sweet tea so that's what I did! That's the only glass bowl I've got that's big enough - all my jars (except the mega one) are too small (though I suppose I could have just done it in there - perhaps I should move it?).

Anyway, that's a tea towel I've got over the bowl and I've tied a cord around it to keep intruders out.

ARGH! All my picture are too big to upload I make them smaller on my phone and they're still too big. Is anyone else having problems uploading or is it just me? They used to work just fine. I took a picture so you could see the set up. Basically the towel covers the whole bowl and the cord is tied around the bowl, beneath the uneven edge.