Whole 30 Wrap-Up Plus 2 Weeks

I kept meaning to write up my final feelings about the Whole30, but then I really felt like it didn't really end. And I didn't want to write a "The End" blog because that meant that I could go back to eating like crap and feeling yucky. So, I just put it off. So funny how in the beginning you hate the Whole 30 and can't imagine how you will make it through 30 days. And then by the end you know you don't really want to go back to eating the way you did before. I hadn't really realized how much crap I was eating. The funny thing was that my crap intake was not really at meals, it was the snacking! Chips or pretzels, some cheese, some of the kid's snacks. And the bread - lots and lots of bread. Now that the Whole 30 is over I really look at all those foods differently. I don't stay away from them all together, but I think of them as treats - special foods, not everyday snacks. 

By the end of my Whole 30 I was sleeping better, my clothes were fitting better, and I was feeling good. I did notice some definite changes in my digestion and that was great because I have had some stomach issues in the past. I also did have quite a bit more energy. In the beginning of the program I felt like I was eating often to keep up my energy, but by the end I was eating a lot less often and maintaining the same energy levels. Amazing what eating "real" food will do to you. I did take some before and after photos, but those will not be posted on the internet for obvious reasons! But I definitely noticed a difference overall. So, for those reasons it was definitely worth it. 

What did the Whole 30 really teach me? I can eat like that at least 80% of the time. I can eat Paleo Monday-Friday and then eat "modified Paleo" on the weekends. This allows me to not stress or miss out on going out with the family and feeling like I can eat at whatever restaurant we go to. For me, that was one of the most difficult parts of the month. I have always planned our weekly menus so I only have to grocery shop once a week, so that change wasn't that much different, but now I have a whole wealth of new favorite meals to make. And I am having fun finding ways to adapt some of my pre-Whole 30 recipes to make them paleo - who knew that spaghetti over zoodles would be something I would actually enjoy?!? So, moving forward that is my plan - staying to the program as much as possible during the week, but accepting that I want to enjoy my time with friends and family on the weekend. 

Luckily the re-integration period was not too difficult for me. We celebrated my first official day off the Whole 30 with an amazingly indulgent meal out at Morton's Steakhouse. I had bread, dairy, and sugar all at the meal, but didn't suffer any really side effects. But, in the weeks since I have noticed how some foods definitely change my system. Bread will definitely be a treat from now on and not a daily food. Also, I think limiting my cheese moving forward would be a good idea. I just don't think that it is worth it most of the time. And everyone knows we should limit sugar, but I am going to be less strict about the "sauces" that contain sugar that I use in cooking. The homemade Worcestershire sauce was good, but a little too much work, so I will probably switch back to regular now. 

So, Whole 30 plus two weeks has been a great learning experience. I have really changed how I eat and I think I can plan on continuing this journey. I don't know that I will want to do another Whole 30, but who knows? Maybe someday I will feel the need for another detox. For now I will be happy with my accomplishments and my ability to be more mindful about the foods I eat. 

Days 18 - 21: Feeling Some Magic

Due to Snowmagedon our house experienced the longest weekend ever! This was a big struggle for me because during the week I am able to manage my meals much better. During the weekend the schedule is always a little hectic, plus if we don't have an "activity" planned it is so tempting to chill on the couch with some wine! Here Monday was a holiday for MLK and then the snow began on Tuesday morning. School and work was canceled on Tuesday and Ben had a delayed start on Wednesday. It was so hard to stay in our routine! 

Monday I took the kids downtown to the Smithsonian's Postal Service Museum. It was very fun and they had a great time. We had lunch at the food court at Union Station after the museum. Luckily, I had planned ahead and had my own lunch with us. So, the kids ate at the food court and I had a Larabar, some carrots, and some freeze dried fruit. It was more of a "snack" so I ate some more veggies and protein when we got home. It was nice to feel in control of my food even though we were out. Being out and about did just remind me again how bad the "quick" food choices are when you are out and about. 

I am finally starting to feel some "magic". I don't know if I would call it Tiger Blood, but I definitely have more energy throughout the day. I also have noticed more that my stomach and sides are slimming down. I made it through another Jillian Michaels workout on day 21 and it was much easier than the first time. It was great to feel like I was making some progress and hopefully my body is starting to really adjust to my new fuel source.

Cravings are still a weird thing for me. They come at times when I actually see the food - and that triggers the craving. Like the kids eating french fries, or wanting to eat the crust on Parker's PB&J. Otherwise I really don't think about the foods I am not eating. I also find it funny that I had been so excited that I will be done with the Whole 30 by the Super Bowl, but now I am finding myself instead thinking of compliant Super Bowl food. I even had a dream last night about bacon wrapped little smokies! Ha ha! I am sure little smokies are not "Whole 30" but they are definitely more compliant than Chips and Queso!

On to food:
Day 18: 
Breakfast: Egg scramble

Lunch: Salad with chicken

Dinner: Ben smoked some delicious chicken thighs and we had them with some salad. Nice to have a hubby who loves to cook meat!

Day 19:
Breakfast: Egg muffins

Lunch: Larabar, carrots, dried fruit, salad (spread out over about 2 1/2 hours)

Dinner: Roast Turkey Breast, green beans, mashed sweet potato. The turkey breast was delicious. I brined it for about an hour before putting it in the oven. I sauted the green beans in a little bit of bacon grease and they were yummy too. No one was very crazy about the mashed sweet potatoes. The flavor just wasn't quite right for the meal. I think they would be OK with a different meal, but when you are looking for the turkey-and-mashed-potato flavor, sweet potatoes don't really cut it. But the turkey was very good and had some leftover for lunches.

Day 20:
Breakfast: Eggs with veggies and sweet potatoes

Lunch: BLTA on a plate. Turkey from last night, lettuce, bacon, and avocado. It was very good, and satisfying. Also had some baby carrots.

Dinner: Balsamic Chicken in the Crockpot. This is one of my all-time favorite crockpot recipes and the great news is it was already compliant! Here is the recipe: Crock-Pot Balsamic Chicken I never had put sugar in the crock-pot for this, so it wasn't a stretch to leave it out. And the flavor is great. I made some noodles for the kids and Ben, but I really didn't miss them. We also had a salad with our chicken. So happy this is a paleo meal!

Day 21:
Breakfast (late): Eggs with veggies and sweet potatoes

Lunch: No real meal due to the really late breakfast. But I snacked on a banana, some carrots, and some macadamia nuts late in the afternoon.

Dinner: So, apparently Flank Steak is a go-to paleo cut of meat. I had purchased a few at our commissary last week and decided to try a new recipe from pinterest. Let me tell you there is a reason they call this Favorite Plank Steak: Paleo-style. This recipe was nothing short of AMAZING! It was beyond delicious. I did make the paleo Worcestershire sauce for the marinade - and it was very quick and easy. I marinaded the meat for about 3 hours before putting it on the grill. I grilled it on each side for about 5 1/2 minutes. Did I say amazing? Everyone loved it. I made some Rice Pilaf for Ben and the kids and Sizzled Green Beans with Crispy Prosciutto for vegetable. The green beans were also delicious. The recipe calls for pine nuts, but I am not crazy about nuts in my vegetables, so I left those out. The flavor was really good and the lemon zest added a great dimension to the green beans.  Definitely a dinner Win!

Day Twenty!

Day 20...a "reflective" day on the calendar. A day I really, reeeeaaallly toyed with the idea of requesting a hall pass and diving into a glass of wine. But...I didn't. "Do you really want to throw away days (20 of them!) for a moment (or in my case a few hours) of emotion?" I could imagine myself calling my teammates and letting them know I was diving in. But again, sheer determination (and fear of my daughter's wrath) kept me on the outside of the wine bottle.


Ok..


BS 136
Breakfast: 2 breakfast muffins topped with salsa and diced avocado. Fresh pineapple. Coffee w/almond milk.
Lunch: Leftover pork stew. Green salad with MPV.
Dinner: Leftover stuffed chicken rolls. Baked sweet potato French fries. Roasted asparagus.




Preparation of sweet potato fries: peel and cut into "French fries" (note, try and get these as uniform as possible and error on the side of the size of "fast fries" not "steak fries."). Put in a colander and sprinkle liberally with sea salt. Let set for about 20 minutes (don't skimp on the time, sometimes less is more, in this case more is better!). Rinse thoroughly, lay out on a fresh towel and roll, and squeeze dry. Lay out on a parchment lined baking sheet (the parchment helps them get crispier). Drizzle with melted coconut oil (this time, I opted for garlic infused olive oil). Season with salt, pepper, paprika, cayenne, chili powder or any combination of these; I just went with salt and pepper. Toss. Spread out. Single layer. NO TOUCHING! Place in the top 1/3 of a 425 degree preheated oven. Bake for about 15 minutes. Stir/flip. Rotate pan. Return to oven to desired brown-ness. Mine took about 30 minutes total. Yum!


For the asparagus, I also drizzled (lightly, ever so lightly...about 1 Tbsp. for 8 spears of asparagus) some garlic olive oil over these and sprinkled sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Pop into the 425 oven for 8-10 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle lightly with fresh squeezed lemon juice. This really does make a difference and you'll never miss the fresh grated parmesan.


It was a good Paleo day. Great, in fact, considering my fragile emotional state. Yay, me!

Countin' Down...Day 19!

...Day 19 and all is well! I'm feeling so much better than I did at the beginning of this "Experience." Noted differences:

• Noticeable Reduction in rosacea
• Fitting into my previously, "yeah, I can get them on and barely zip them, but man, am I uncomfortable" jeans
• Occasional heartburn is now non-existent
• Cravings have diminished dramatically; grains and sugar especially...wine, still a yearning, but that is more behavioral than  physiological
• Increased energy, especially in the evening
• Sleep, while still challenging trying to fall asleep in a timely manner, once I do, is sound and deep
• Consistent improvement in blood sugar readings; 30-40 points below what they were before TW30 (this is HUGE for me!)

 BS: 126

 

Breakfast: 2 breakfast muffins, fruit salad, coffee w/almond milk
Lunch: leftover flank steak over "loaded" green salad with MPV
Dinner: Nom Nom Paleo Pork Stew - This was a new recipe for us and even my loveable however pretty "selective" eater husband liked it! I used Herbs d'Provence and, while I thought I might have been a bit heavy handed with the seasoning, he loved it. So, maybe I won't pull back next time as I thought I might. I omitted the fish sauce; I've looked for it here locally and the only fish sauce I can find at F4L or TJ's has sugar in it. I also threw in some sliced fennel bulb because I had it on hand from a mahi mahi dish I made last week. I've really surprised myself with how much I like fennel; when it is prepared properly, it really adds a nice flavor. However, I don't think I'll ever find myself loving raw fennel in salads. The one addition I will make next time is to add quartered mushrooms. This is definitely a one-dish dinner and super, duper easy; especially when you have some "Mandy's Marinara" on hand in the freezer. It literally took me less than ten minutes to throw this whole dinner in the crock pot. For the pork, I used what I had on hand, which happened to be some really thick pork loin chops. I used two for the two of us and I cubed them. We have enough leftovers for two lunch meals.

 

A very successful Paleo/TW30 day!

What Day Is This...Day 18?

I'm behind! So, for a little catching up...
I'm not even going to try and re-create what happened between my last post and this one (approximately days 13 - 15).


I was in a foul mood and hadn't really planned ahead most of those days. Note to self; the combination of those two is NOT a formula for success when it comes to clean eating. While I DID stay completely TW30 compliant, it was not fun. My meals had fallen into a rut and I was not putting forth the effort. Add to that about three grueling days at work and we have the makings of a train wreck. Whew. Glad I dodged THAT bullet.






On Friday (Day 16) I tried the eMeals Thai Flank Steak that Mandy referenced a couple of days ago. In a word, um, searching, searching...yep, that's it...DELISH! Oh my goodness! Like Mandy, I didn't marinate overnight; marinated for close to eight hours. Larry grilled it for 4 minutes per side, a little underdone, so he put it back on for 5 minutes; perfection! Medium rare for me and the end pieces were medium for him. Not being familiar with flank steak, I didn't really take into consideration that it does not shrink. So...in summary, I will be eating leftover Thai Flank Steak for a couple of days. No problem here, I loved it! I'll have it tonight, probably with a quick sear in a skillet, and tomorrow, chilled, on top of a nice green salad. I have some awesome tangerine balsamic vinegar I'm going to use to make up this week's MPV and I think it will go perfect with the steak. With my flank steak on Friday I fixed some cauliflower rice; I started with sautéing onions and garlic in 2-3 Tbsp. combination of olive oil and butter (use ghee if you are avoiding butter during TW30), I then added some sliced almonds, about 3 Tbsp,  1 tsp curry, and salt and pepper to taste, I then added my cauliflower "rice" and stirred to combine and heat the cauliflower. YUM! I have some of that leftover as well.




Day 17 (BS 125) was an indulgent Scrapbooking Day with my gal pals. This is usually a very indulgent get-together with decadent food and wine. However, since one of my guests (a co-contributor here) is also doing TW30 and the other is an avid runner and all around healthy eater, this was not a problem. I served a wonderful "Ensalada Mixta," which, with just the tiniest tweak or two is completely Paleo Compliant. One of my guests brought a wonderful "pure" fruit salad and we were all in heaven. We even managed to get in a 2 mile walk AND lots of scrapbooking! For dinner, I fixed the prosciutto wrapped chicken (also a recipe that Mandy tried...I think from now on I'm just going to let her run the test kitchen and I'll take her recommendations!), "fan style roasted sweet potatoes" and Tiffany contributed a loaded green salad. All around, a great Paleo Day!


Day 18


BS 139


Subtitle of this post:

What a Difference A Good Playlist Makes

With some recommendations from Tiffany and Lorna, I began creating a new playlist to play during my "run" (I kind of laugh at myself when I call it a "run"... it's a walk/jog interval at this point, with lots of huffing and puffing at the slightest incline, but I'm doing it). Today I finally downloaded all of the songs I had been accumulating on my iTunes wish list and updated my "Run" playlist. What a difference! "California Gurlz" almost had me breaking into "Dance/Run" but I held back. I logged 1.89 miles ("walk" portion was 1.44 miles (15:16 mph) and my "run" portion was .45 miles (17:55 mph). Yay me! That's up from 1.84 total (1.26 miles (17:26 mph) during "walk" and .58 miles (13:42 mph) "run") last Sunday. I'm definitely feeling stronger than I did a week ago.

Make a-heads

As I was beginning to put together dinner, I decided to put to good use some of the leftover veggies and whatnot that had accumulated in the refrigerator. I pulled out the browned, ground sausage from the freezer and whipped up a dozen egg muffins. This time these little babies were loaded with baby greens (kale and spinach), diced mushrooms, diced onion, diced bell peppers and for good measure I diced up and threw in the leftovers from last night's roasted sweet potatoes. Add one dozen eggs, seasoned with garlic powder, cayenne pepper, nutmeg and sea salt and voila! Breakfast for about six days. These are in the freezer right now and when they are frozen, I'll toss them in a bag, throw them back in the freezer and breakfast is done.


I also tore a page out of Mandy's book (seem to be doing a lot of that lately) and chopped up a bunch of veggies for salads; tonight's, tomorrow lunch and extras for the week ahead.
I saw an interesting idea on FB or Pinterest, can't remember which; it was "salad in a jar." The concept is that you can layer your salad in a jar, dressing on the bottom, other ingredients layered with lettuce on top, refrigerate and, when ready to eat, give it a good shake. Supposedly you can make several of these days in advance and then just "grab and go." I'm not sure about that, but I did take a tip from here; layer my salad. Salad is just a little less appealing when it is "slimed" by the juicy tomatoes or other "wet" ingredients that have been sitting with the lettuce since the salad was made (usually, in the case of a workday lunch, leftovers from the night before). Putting the "juicy things" on the bottom should get rid of the slime factor; in tonight's case, marinated beets, pickled asparagus, red pepper stuffed olives (I sliced these...by the way, all three of these were ingredients left over from Saturday's salad), then the quartered Campari tomatoes, then the avocado then the lettuce. I'll put my MPV in a separate little container, thank you.


I also grabbed a pineapple from Costco the other day; we've been on an "orange" kick and I'm wanting to mix the fruit selection up a bit. I took the time this afternoon to clean and cut up the pineapple. Again, this is a great time saver for busy workday mornings; all cut and ready to grab to have alongside my breakfast muffins.

And today's meals...


Breakfast: Egg scramble w/spinach, bell peppers, green onions, mushrooms, crumbled bacon. Leftover fruit salad. Coffee w/almond milk


Lunch: Prosciutto wrapped chicken, leftover Ensalada Mixta


Dinner: Thai Flank Steak, curry cauliflower rice, green salad with MPV (made with Tangerine Balsamic vinegar...yum!)


I'm ready for the week ahead!

Day 17: Saturday, You are My Nemisis

So, it really doesn't matter how far along I get on this journey, on Saturday evenings I will always want to dive face-first into a goblet of wine. But, one more Saturday down and I did not dive in. Whoosh. 

We started off our day with an exciting new recipe - Pumpkin Pancakes! Now, I know that ISWF and the Whole 30 Forum would scream at me about Pumpkin Pancakes being SWYPO, but I disagree completely. First, Pumpkin Pancakes are about as close to regular pancakes as cauliflower mash is to mashed potatoes. And why is it that you can "fake" things like cauliflower mash, cauli-rice, sweet potato fries, but somehow pumpkin pancakes are off limits? I personally believe Melissa Harwig may have found herself face-first in one too many Grand-Slam breakfasts in her earlier life and so pancakes are HER danger food. So, I have made my own executive decision to try them out. They were definitely a success. Parker tends to believe that anything with syrup must be a good idea, so I don't think he noticed/cared about the switch up. I ate them with scrambled eggs and some bacon and they gave some interesting new textures/flavors to my breakfast. To me pancakes aren't pancakes without syrup of some sort, and since that is not an option I found them more to be an extra dimension to my breakfast. 

I also tried a new recipe from Pinterest for dinner. It was a smothered mustard/lime/cilantro chicken. It was OK, but not great. I don't think I would make it again. 

Breakfast: Pumpkin Pancakes from Practical Paleo. Scrambled eggs and bacon.

Recipe: Pumpkin Pancakes
4 eggs 
1/ 2 cup canned pumpkin 
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup (optional) 
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 
1 teaspoon cinnamon 
1/ 4 teaspoon baking soda 
2 tablespoons butter or coconut oil (plus extra for pan frying) *I used ghee instead of butter

Whisk the eggs, canned pumpkin, pure vanilla extract, and pure maple syrup together. Sift the pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and baking soda into the wet ingredients.


Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Then, mix the butter into the batter. Grease the skillet and spoon the batter into the skillet to make pancakes of your desired size. When a few bubbles appear, flip the pancakes once to finish cooking. Serve with grass-fed butter and cinnamon or sliced bananas.

Lunch: Chipotle salad with no dressing - guacamole on top.

Dinner: Mustard Lime Chicken and green salad

Days 15 & 16: Halfway! Reflections, Great Finds, and Timesavers

Whoo Hoo! We made it halfway! Oh my! I am such a slave to mental benchmarks. When I am losing weight it is the next five pound increment, when I am running it is the next half mile. With a challenge like this it starts with days past, and now we can finally count down days left. Mental "games" like this make me really stay engaged and on track. It was rewarding to say "wow, we have made it 10 days, 11 days, etc." Now I am excited to says "we only have 14 days left, 13 days..."

Halfway through I am definitely starting to feel some changes in my body. I do have more energy throughout the day and I have noticed that my mood is not so, shall we say, volatile. I find I am calmer during the day dealing with the kids. I am contributing that mostly to increased/better sleep. I also have minimal/fleeting cravings. When I get a craving it is usually linked to whatever food I am making for the kids...just one bite of the PB&J crust...and of course Parker asked for Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast the other day - ouch, that one was tough! I also have a pair of pants I am calling my Whole30 pants. As I said before, I did not weigh myself before the challenge and I have found that SOOO helpful. Whenever I am tempted to get on the scale I think to myself - "what is the point, you don't know what you weighed to start with, so the scale can't tell you anything" how awesome is that? I really am loving that freedom! But I do have a pair of jeans that was getting pretty tight over the holidays. And they are truly the only pair I can use to judge because they are the only ones that don't have some form of stretch to them that makes them lose their shape as the day goes on...saggy butt jeans anyone? So, I decided to try them on yesterday, and low and behold they are looser! I could button them with no difficulty and there was noticeably less, shall we say, puff (I don't like the term "muffin top") over the top. So, I consider that a big win! 

Yesterday was my big weekly shopping trip. I had read an interesting blog a few days ago about how much more expensive it is to eat Paleo/Whole30 and I was trying to be much more aware of that "topic" while I was shopping. As you would expect I spend much more time in the outskirts of the store - far from all the boxed food. Of course, with Ben and the kids still eating some of that food, I spend some time in the aisles, but noticeably less. The result is that my grocery cart looks like this:

Note: The baby comes with the cart.

So, the entire top part of the cart is filled with fruits and veggies and the bottom stocked with our meats and "some" extras for my non-Whole30 eaters. Don't judge based on the aisle we are in - the left side is where my sparkling water is - no Fruit Loops today! It is a very gratifying feeling to know you are taking home so much good/wholesome food. But, the bank account pays for it. It definitely is more expensive to eat this way. Our weekly grocery trip is about $175, and this day was closer to $250. Granted, I had to stock up on a couple of household items, but not enough to account for an additional $75. So, moving forward post Whole30 I will have to do a bit more budgeting and trying to find some ways to cut the costs. The commissary is already much less expensive than traditional grocery stores, and as well all know, they don't make coupons for produce!

On to my FPF (Fabulous Paleo Finds) and tips. I have recently discovered "Simply Balanced" which is the health food brand of Target. They have some great teas that are compliant as well as the freeze dried fruit that I have become addicted to. They also even have some "fruit bites" that are compliant and yummy. The fruit bites lean a little bit towards SWYPO (Sex With Your Pants On), but as a treat I enjoy them and am willing to add them to my "moderation" supply. The Simply Balanced brand seems to have a pretty extensive line of products that are much less processed than other snacks/food. I am going to continue to check out their offerings. 

My recent time saving tip has been about my bell peppers. I bought bell peppers at Costco, but they were turning soft and I really didn't want to throw them away. So I quickly sliced them all up into small strips and threw them in a gallon ziploc and popped them in the freezer. I wasn't sure if they would hold up. I was very pleasantly surprised the next morning when I wanted some peppers for my breakfast and I found that they held up very well. I chopped some into smaller pieces while they were still frozen and I threw them in the pan for my breakfast. I will definitely be doing this in the future. It saves a bunch of time in the morning and if I do it when I first get the peppers it will help keep them fresh. Win!

My breakfasts and lunches have become pretty consistent - eggs and veggies for breakfast and salad or leftovers for lunch. So I am going to just post dinners from now on unless I eat something special/different for one of the other meals.

Day 15: Another score from eMeals. So far every meal I have tried from these recipes has been a success. We had Pork Ragu. I had mine over roasted spaghetti squash and made noodles for Ben and the kids. We had it with a green salad.

Recipe: Pork Ragu

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 large carrot, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 lb ground pork

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1 cup white wine (I substituted chicken stock)

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

1 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (optional

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic. Cook 8 minutes or until lightly browned and tender. Add pork to skillet; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook 6 minutes or until browned. Deglaze with white wine, scraping skillet to loosen browned bits. Stir in bay leaf, parsley and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer over low heat. Cook 25 minutes or until liquid is almost evaporated. Discard bay leaf before serving. Sprinkle with cheese, if desired.

Day 16: Pan-Seared Halibut from eMeals. I served this with steamed veggies. It was delicious. The package of halibut I bought had three pieces. Ben and I both ate one and thought it was so good we split the third.

Recipe: Pan-Seared Halibut

3 tablespoons almond flour

½ teaspoon garlic salt

½ teaspoon lemon pepper

6 (6-oz) skinless halibut fillets (or substitute tilapia)

2 tablespoons coconut oil, divided

Combine almond flour, garlic salt and lemon pepper in a shallow dish. Dredge fish in flour mixture. Melt 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 fillets to pan. Cook 8 minutes, turning once, or until fish flakes with a fork. Remove from pan; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining oil and fish.

Days 13 & 14: Routine Has Kicked In

Whoosh, hitting the middle of this Whole 30 challenge and I am finally feeling a routine kick in. The best benefit of this change is that my lunches are seeming less daunting than they were in the past. I am really not good at eating leftovers. Eating the same thing I ate for dinner a night or two before, in the same form, is just a mental block for me. I have been able to jump this hurdle by repurposing my leftovers and using them for something else. I am a big fan of skillets at lunch (I know that is a luxury of being home most days). I will throw some veggies in the pan with whatever meat I have from dinner that week and usually add some coconut aminos and cook it all together. It usually turns out pretty tasty and it is very easy. My other trick is to dice up some meat and put it on a salad. This works especially well when the chicken/beef/whatever does not have a flavor that would be very conducive to a skillet meal. 

Long ago - during those Weight Watchers days during Ben's second deployment I learned the fine art of chopping up many extras whenever I chop veggies. I try to always have all the fixings for salad already chopped and in my fridge so putting together a salad involves chopping up my protein and mixing up some dressing. I do the same with other veggies like bell peppers and onions. That way when I do make a skillet the prep is minimal. This is really the only way lunches will work for me, by the time I get around to eating lunch (usually about 2PM - when the kids have gone down for nap) I need something quick and easy. 

I have also become a big fan of sweet potato hash at breakfast. It makes my eggs seem more exciting. I go through phases with breakfast, but this is my favorite right now. I also have the sweet potato prepped for about 3 days worth of breakfast. Whenever I need some I peel and shred a whole sweet potato, and wrap the extra in a paper towel and put it in a ziploc to absorb extra moisture. When I need some I can just grab the prepped shreds. The great thing about sweet potatoes is they don't brown/gray when cut or shredded like regular potatoes. I know the browning of regular potatoes doesn't really change the flavor, but gray potatoes are always a little unappealing to me.

I continue to notice my runs are more difficult than they were pre-Whole 30. I have researched it a bit and I have found that this is to be expected in the first few weeks. As my body readjusts to using fat as a fuel source. I am hoping in the next week or so things will start to even out and I will not feel like I am struggling so much.

Day 13:
Breakfast & Lunch were repeats from previous days...

Dinner: Thai Flank Steak from eMeals and steamed broccoli - The steak was delicious - and I used the leftover for lunch the next day. I did not marinate over night, I only put it in the marinade in the morning because I forgot. I imagine it would be even better if it was marinading longer.

Recipe: Thai Flank Steak

2 lb flank steak, trimmed

Zest and juice of 2 large limes

2 tablespoons coconut aminos

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Combine steak, lime zest, lime juice, coconut aminos, cilantro, cumin, ginger and red pepper flakes in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal and refrigerate overnight. Preheat grill or grill pan to medium-high heat. Remove steak from marinade; sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper. Grill 5 to 7 minutes per side or to desired degree of doneness. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing thinly across the grain.

Day 14:

Breakfast: soft boiled eggs, canadian bacon, veggies, SP hash

Lunch: Skillet with leftover flank steak, snap peas, onions, coconut aminos

Dinner: Coconut Almond Chicken from eMeals with a side salad. I also made a pasta side dish for Ben and the kids. This chicken was awesome! I will definitely make it again. It was very flavorful and will be great for leftovers.

Recipe: Coconut Almond Chicken

2.25 oz package sliced almonds

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

¼ teaspoon garlic salt

¼ teaspoon lemon pepper

3 tablespoons coconut oil

1½ cups coconut cream

2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place almonds on a small baking sheet; toast 5 minutes or until fragrant and lightly browned. Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of plastic wrap, and flatten to ¼-inch thickness. Sprinkle with garlic salt and lemon pepper. Melt 1½ tablespoons oil in a large skillet over mediumhigh heat. Add half of chicken, and cook 2 minutes per side or until golden. Remove chicken from skillet. Repeat procedure with remaining oil and chicken. Reduce heat to medium; add cream, orange juice, mustard and pepper, stirring well. Add chicken; sprinkle with almonds, and cook 8 minutes or until sauce thickens.

I toasted the almonds in my toaster oven. I also used Chicken Tenderloins instead of breasts. I did not flatten them, they cooked a few extra minutes, but I like the portions that tenderloins create.

After my recent success with eMeals recipes I have decided to subscribe. They are currently doing a Groupon so I got a year for almost half price - it was $29 instead of $58. I really think this will help me to continue to eat paleo-ish post Whole 30. I always menu plan for the whole week, so just pre-planned Paleo meals from eMeals will help me to stay on track. 

Day 12: Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Back To School We Go!

Yay Monday! And Hooray for a school day where the weather was decent enough to run with the BOB on the way to school! We had also gone on a family run on Sunday to the park, so it has been nice to be back in the routine again. Some interesting thoughts about my run though, I am not sure if it is the Whole 30, the cold, or if my children have gained 20 lbs, but my runs have been noticeably difficult. Maybe I haven't yet hit the "sweet spot" of W30 where my athletic performance should improve, but it was a bit of a bummer. I found myself struggling much more than before, especially on hills. I will definitely keep tracking this and see if/how it improves in the coming weeks. 

Breakfast: Egg Muffins 

Lunch: Leftover chicken from Friday night, baby carrots and snap peas dipped in homemade "veggie dip"

Dinner: Nom Nom Paleo's Slow Cooker Cheater Pork Stew. I used the pork shoulder whole and cut it up after it cooked. After cutting it I added it back to the crockpot for about 30 minutes. I did not use any fish sauce. The Red Boat Fish Sauce she recommends is a little outrageously priced ($24 on Amazon for a 17oz bottle). I had read some comments on the recipe site and others seemed to be happy with the recipe without the fish sauce so I went with that. I used some of my Giada homemade marinara sauce. It was excellent. Parker and Ben both enjoyed it as well. I made some couscous for Ben and the kids. Served it all with a salad. I would make this recipe even if I wasn't doing W30.

Day #12 - A Day late, but other than that...

Apparently my feelings today were right on target...


So interesting that I ran across this early this a.m. while eating my paleo breakfast:
http://whole30.com/2014/01/do-you-really-want-to-quit/






And then...ran across THIS later in the evening
http://whole30fromeasttowest.blogspot.com/2014/01/day-10-11-fun-filled-weekend.html




And then reflecting back on the thought that was consuming me on the way home, after a very long and somewhat frustrating/stressful Monday; visions of tossing in the towel and throwing back a glass (or 4) of wine and forgoing my Paleo dinner of leftovers for a trip to our local Mexican restaurant so I could stick my face in a bowl of chips. Hmmm...there really MUST be something to this Day 10/11 thing (although, for me, it kicked in a day late).


If I only remember one thing from the "Do You Really Want To Quit" article, it's this...


...don’t let an emotional moment ruin the days of hard work you’ve already put in.






BS 126


B: egg scramble; eggs, mushrooms, green onions, bacon; served over zucchini spirals, topped with salsa and avocado. Banana.


L: loaded green salad; tender, baby salad mix, olives, crushed almonds, tomatoes, avocado, topped with leftover roast chicken, MPV (the basil version). Orange.


D: Leftovers; Mahi Mahi, sweet potato, broccoli

Better Late than Never...

Day 1....

Yes, you read right...Day 1. I decided to start my journey a little later than everyone else because I wasn't quite feeling it. This past month has been difficult emotionally, as I lost my sister Kim just before Christmas. I wanted to get past the depression and be able to embrace this process with my whole heart. Unfortunately, my heart wasn't into it on January 1, so my start date is January 12th.

This isn't my first round of TW30, as I completed it last year at the same time, starting on January 2nd. However, I began eating like a Paleoista the previous fall. I can honestly say, I have never felt better than I do when I eat this way, and today is no different.

My first go-round, the biggest difficulty was getting around the coffee with no cream. I survived and even came to somewhat enjoy black coffee. This time it's not as bad, probably since I knew I survived the last attempt.

Here are what my meals consisted of:

B: Eggs and bacon

L: Sweet potato hash (organic grd beef, with chopped potato, onion, celery, and carrots. Hash is a staple that I always have on hand for a quick bite)

D: Yummy Sautéed Turkey Marbella, a recipe from Emeals Paleo Family plan for January 1st through the 7th. I actually made it with chicken cutlets because I couldn't find turkey cutlets. I made the suggested zucchini recipe, too. My family loved the whole meal!

My daughter Adrianna and I did a 3 mile walk/jog, too.

I have to say, I don't feel deprived or that I'm missing out...hard to believe, but I am not even missing my glass of wine!

I felt very energetic and even began tackling the HUGE job of sorting years of photos and memorabilia.

Day 2, bring it!

Day 10 & 11 - A Fun Filled Weekend

Woosh, the time is flying by in this Whole 30 isn't it? Um no, it isn't. Especially during the weekend. There is a reason why they say in the Whole 30 Timeline that days 10-11 are when you are most likely to quit. You want to know why? Because it is the WEEKEND! I realize that days 10-11 don't fall on a weekend for everyone, but let's assume that it is at least near a weekend. You  have already made it thought one Whole 30 weekend and it was ok. You drank your sparkling water instead of wine, had some fruit and coconut chips when you wanted some of that Harry & David Peppermint Bark from Christmas, and you ate your veggies. But now it is weekend #2, and on Saturday you are out running errands and it is getting dangerously close to lunchtime and you don't have anything with you, and have no intention of having a full-fledged restaurant meal where you can pick a Whole30 compliant(ish) dish. So, you just are hungry until you get home. Blah. And on Sunday your husband is hanging out around the house drinking beer and watching football. Wow that sparkling water looks good doesn't it? And eating chips and salsa - pass the carrot sticks please...Blah. There is nothing that will put a cramp in a weekend of activity like making sure you have appropriately planned for menu choices. But, it is only 30 days. And in my case, 4 weekends, and I have survived 2 of them already. So two more weekends to go. Not that I want to fall completely off the W30 wagon on February 1st, but I will be enjoying a some chips and salsa for the Super Bowl, I promise you that. 

Day 10:
Breakfast - Egg scramble with vegetables and bacon with sweet potato hash

Lunch - LaraBar, veggies, macadamia nuts, freeze dried fruit - lunch was spread over about 2 1/5 hours

Dinner - Hamburgers using eMeals recipe. I ate my burger with lettuce and pickles. Also some yummy Avocado Cole Slaw from Pinterest. I also cooked up some chicken wings to have on hand for a quick protein snack. I ate a couple with dinner and they were very good.

Day 11:
Breakfast - Soft boiled eggs with bacon and veggies

Lunch: Leftover chicken from Friday night with salad

Dinner: Steak, Asparagus wrapped with proscuitto, cauliflower "rice" pilaf

Day #10 and #11 - The Power of Persuasion

And, oh what a rainy day it was! I had every intention of walking up The Hill today but the rain set in and that was that. And apparently, I wasn't completely committed to getting a workout in, otherwise I would have managed something in the house. I do have to say that trying Mandy's find, The Jillian Michaels Workout, tickled my brain, but that's about as far as it went.


BS (forgot to take it right away, had a nibble of bacon as I took a pan of crisp bacon out of the oven, and then remembered. I didn't think a nibble of bacon five minutes prior would affect it, but perhaps it did, because when I did test it immediately, it was 144. No reason for it to be that high, other than that nibble of bacon)


B: Fried eggs over spaghetti squash, salsa, cubed avocado, 2 strips bacon, fresh pineapple
L: Breakfast was late, so lunch was in a snack form: baby carrots, almonds, jerky
D: Pulled all of the meat from the prior night's roasted chicken and made a chicken salad: chicken, homemade mayo, diced celery, green onion, apple, salt, pepper and dill served over a bed of lettuce. Larry had declared it was his pizza night so this worked out fine. Jim was over and shared with me. He liked it as well. We agreed it needed a little more tweaking, however. Halved grapes would be good.


Note: Having some important "make-aheads" on hand is critical! Had I NOT had the homemade mayo already made, I'm sure I would have had to come up with something other than the chicken salad. Other important "make-aheads" for me are salsa and MPV.


Observation: Even being a Saturday night, my wine yearning was minimal and fleeting. I spent the afternoon "crafting." When my customary, "Oh, look at the clock, 5:00! A glass of wine sure sounds good while I continue on this project for a little longer," thought hit my brain, I wandered out to the kitchen to take inventory of our tea selection. I settled on pomegranate green tea. Tasty. And the thought of wine was laid to rest.


There we have it; Day 10, short and sweet.


Day #11
BS 125


Much like yesterday, we woke to a dreary, rainy day. I could feel my conviction to get out and walk today slipping away. And then...the power of persuasion, delivered in the form of back to back emails and texts from Lorna and Tiffany. Talk of registering for the Color Run later this spring, favorite playlists for running and then, photos and posts reporting their respective miles logged. That was it. After some chores and grocery shopping, I came home, strapped on my phone, fired up my "Couch to 5K" app and out the door I went, accompanied by an equally out of shape black Labrador. I was pleasantly surprised that I made it through the entire "Week 1 Day 1" walk/run workout with no cheats! I logged a total of 1.84 miles in 30 minutes; 1.26 miles walking at a pace of 17:26 min per mile and .58 "running" (ha, I don't know if what I do is technically "running") at a pace of 13:42 min per mile. Not exactly record breaking, but it's a start (again).


B: 2 friend eggs, over spaghetti squash, topped with cubed avocado and salsa. Pineapple. Coffee w/almond milk.


L: Breakfast was late again, so lunch was in a snack form: baby carrots, almonds, leftover roasted chicken


D: NEW FOODS: Roasted sweet potato, fan sliced, drizzled with oil, seasoned with salt and pepper. Mahi Mahi with Fennel, Citrus and Chiles

Whole 30 Day 9: Thanks Jillian Michaels

Due to the continuation of our nasty weather I woke at 6:15 on Day 9 to go downstairs and workout. Unfortunately, I also woke to the news that Parker's school had been canceled due to freezing rain. Lame. Although my hopes of going to the Commissary with only one kid and not two were dashed, I still trudged downstairs to workout. I was tempted to turn on the Wii to do one of the workout "games" I have for that, but I have consistently been disappointed with the workouts. So, I decided to use our fancy new Blu-Ray player's WiFi and log into our Amazon Prime Instant Video and find something good. One of the first workouts that came up was Jillian Michaels "Banish Fat Boost Metabolism". It is a 40 minute circuit workout with about 6 different circuits with 4 moves per circuit. It kicked my butt. I almost didn't finish it, but funnily enough what got me through was reminding myself I will need to have perseverance to finish the W30 and had to practice that perseverance by finishing the workout. It was awesome and I will definitely be doing it again.

Breakfast: Eggs over leftover sausage, peppers, and onions from egg muffin prep. After the workout this breakfast was great!

Lunch: Leftover Zoodles with Meat Marinara and half an apple

Dinner: AMAZING! I made Nom Nom Paleo's Super Easy Roast Chicken With Caramelized Shallots. As advertised it was very easy and delicious. I used two packages of chicken thighs so I have lots of leftovers. I made noodles for Ben and the kids to go with the chicken. I also sauted up some green beans with onions in some bacon fat. 

Now off to the weekend. I will admit the weekends are my biggest struggle because of the temptation to have the glass of wine and some off-plan food. But I will persevere (word of the day) and I already have a trip to Trader Joe's planned to stock up on more freeze-dried fruit.

Day #9 Freeday Friday

Back in the day, by that, I mean pre "TW30", "Freeday Friday" would lend itself to activities that the name implies; Free eating, Free drinking, Free whatever my little old heart desires (within the confines of weekly chores that get put off until Friday, of course).  But, now that I am within the throes of making changes as a result of TW30, Freeday Friday takes on a new meaning.


I still treat "Freeday Friday" as a bonus day, during which I indulge myself. But right now, indulging means taking a little longer over my coffee, lingering over my yummy breakfast, taking a walk later in the day and then perhaps a creative pursuit. I also will be getting my hair cut and colored this afternoon; believe, me...right now this is a necessity, not so much an indulgence! Anyway, one of the things I also do during Freeday Friday indulgences is to peruse some articles of interest on the internet. I found this article the other day and quickly skimmed it, saving it for a more focused read later on. This morning, I took a little longer to read it. I found the author's points very interesting and pretty insightful. He addresses some of the thoughts I have had around alcohol and TW30 and, in a larger sense, a healthy lifestyle.


http://www.primalpal.net/paleo-recipe-blog/143/Whole30-and-Alcohol-Consumption




In addition to these lovely pursuits, I also love Freeday Friday because I can take the time to prepare a nice, healthy meal and not feel like I am flying by the seat of my pants. I have a whole chicken defrosting on the counter. Tonight will be thyme roasted chicken, roasted sweet potatoes and probably a green salad. Speaking of which...


I have made reference to MPV; short for MaPat's Vinaigrette. After having a wonderful salad served with a basil vinaigrette at a local restaurant several months ago, I came home to try my hand at re-creating the recipe. Here is what I came up with.




TW30 disclaimer; when reading the ingredients of the Penzey's creamy peppercorn seasoning, I found that there is a small amount of sugar (ingredient 3 in a list of 6). So, if you're wanting to make sure that no sugar sneaks into your TW30 foods, go ahead and make your own version of this herb mix, using my note at the bottom of the recipe, omitting the sugar)

MaPat’s Magical Basil Vinaigrette

 

½ cup roughly chopped fresh basil leaves

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 tsp Dijon mustard

¼ cup Champagne or white wine vinegard

¾ cup olive oil (I used light)

1 tbsp. Penzey’s creamy peppercorn salad dressing seasoning (I LOVE Penzey's for top quality spices; here's the link to their website http://www.penzeys.com/)

 

Place all ingredients in glass measuring cup or immersion blender container. Blend with immersion blender, tipping to incorporate and emulsify oil. Cover and refrigerate. Good for up to one week.

 

(Assuming you don’t have any Penzey’s seasoning on hand, I would just use a combination of pepper, kosher salt, sugar, garlic powder, dried thyme and dried parsley to equal 1 Tbsp.; those are the ingredients in the Creamy Peppercorn Seasoning).


Since it is currently winter, my supply of basil leaves much to be desired; by that I mean it consists of some spindly brown stems sticking out of some slimy dirt/compost in a garden container on the patio. I'm reduced to getting my basil at the grocery store (when I'm lucky enough to find it) or :::gasp::: substituting dry for fresh. If you substitute the dry, use roughly one generous tablespoon. Believe me, this recipe alone makes planting a little basil in your garden or containers worth it.

 

Now off with my Freeday Friday


Breakfast: The last of the artichoke, spinach, coconut milk, seasonings that comprised the filling for the prosciutto wrapped chicken tossed with some spaghetti squash (I tell ya, I'm getting some mileage out of this week's spaghetti squash!) and warmed. Served two fried eggs over this and topped with cubed avocado. 2 strips of bacon. Fresh pineapple. Coffee w/almond milk.


Lunch: (on the run) Teriyaki jerky, baby carrots, roasted rosemary almonds, banana


Pre Dinner beverage: Lemon Blossom tea; love this!


Dinner: Thyme roasted chicken, roasted sweet potatoes (seasoned with thyme, garlic powder, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper), sautéed greens (chard, collard greens, chopped sautéed onions, crumbled bacon, salt, pepper, garlic powder, balsamic vinegar)

Day 8 - Adventures in Chick-Fil-A Cuisine

On Day 8 I woke with much more energy than previous days. I still couldn't get a run in because the temperature had only risen to a balmy 12 degrees with windchill. But, I puttered around the house to try to at least get some energy out. I am definitely starting to see some subtle changes that I am grateful for - I have definitely noticed that my face is less puffy and my love handles (which have become very UN-loveable indeed) have shrunk a bit! As I said before, I didn't even weigh myself before beginning the challenge this time, so these changes are truly the way I am measuring results. 

We also had to do a little shopping for a friend who just adopted a brand new baby girl, so we were heading out to Rockville and Buy Buy Baby - also know as the Baby Crack Store. After picking up some baby essentials for my friend Ashley we headed over to Trader Joes to see what kind of goodies we could find. Of course some Rocketship crackers for Parker and a couple of LaraBars for me. 

We also found my FPF of the day: Trader Joes Freeze Dried Strawberries. They are amazing. It is a pretty big bag of just strawberries. They definitely satisfy the sweet/crunchy thing that can be missing from the W30. The serving size is a whole bag, but I could never eat it all in one sitting - they are very flavorful. I ate a couple in the car after my disappointing lunch (get to that later) and then also had a few after dinner during another episode of Justified. I definitely plan to go buy some more this weekend. A little spendy at $3.49 a bag, but a great little treat.

I made a second attempt at roasting Kale chips and solidified my decision that I do not enjoy Kale. The leaves themselves were OK without the stems (which were very bitter) but once again, the people who say that they can substitute that for chips are crazy - luckily I don't really eat chips anyway, so it isn't a big loss. I did find a great bag of pre-washed pre-cut Kale at TJ and only baked up about half of the bag, so I am going to try some sauted Kale recipes and see if I like it that way better...

Now, on to the disappointment of lunch...After all of our running around I promised Parker a stop at Chick-Fil-A for lunch. I was originally planning on just having a LaraBar and water until I got home and could add some veggies, but decided to go ahead and try a Chick-Fil-A salad instead. I ordered their Cobb without cheese or dressing with grilled chicken "nuggets". As we sat waiting for our food to be delivered I checked out the Chick-Fil-A website to see how their grilled nuggets are made. Unfortunately I found: 100% natural chicken breast, seasoning (salt, monosodium glutamate, sugar, spices, paprika).  So, pretty disappointed in the monosodium glutamate and sugar. Decided not to eat the chicken on the salad. So, pretty much ended up with a green salad without protein. There was also some corn on the salad that I had to pick around that I would remove next time...Oh well Chick-Fil-A, not horrible, but not a "win" for me.

Finally, I cooked up a great recipe of sweet potato egg muffins for my crazy mornings - like when we are headed out to school. The recipe originated from here: http://www.paleonewbie.com/paleo-sweet-potato-egg-cups-recipe/ but I adapted it a bit for what I had. Additionally, I did not pre-cook my sweet potato. I grated it and then put it in my baking cups - which by the way, silicone baking cups are my greatest new find - how did I not know about these before? I put my uncooked potatoes in the oven at 375 for about 35 minutes until they were crispy. My filling was eggs, green peppers, onions, and sausage. I cooked the sausage first, then sauted the eggs and peppers in the sausage fat before combining it all with the whisked eggs. They came out great. I also had extra grated sweet potato so while my muffins baked I fried up the leftover potato into hash and had that with the leftover sausage/pepper/onion mixture with some fried eggs for breakfast. Based on how good that was, I have high hopes for the muffins.

Breakfast: Sweet Potato Hash, sausage, onions, peppers, eggs

Lunch: Green Salad (no dressing), freeze dried strawberries, hard boiled egg at home

Dinner: Grilled Chicken (yay Ben!), green salad, roasted baby carrots

Post-Dinner Snack: toasted coconut and freeze-dried strawberries!

Day #8 ... And you do the Hokey Pokey and you turn yourself around...

Sorry, about the post title. I had to. From what I hear, Parker is learning the Hokey Pokey, and I love the Hokey Pokey! Plus, I thought that particular line just worked, right?




Anyway, Day #8 and away we go! It's my Friday!


BS: 126




Breakfast: 2 eggs, scrambled with a couple of tablespoons of the leftover filling mixture from last night's prosciutto wrapped chicken, I also chopped up the small amount of leftover prosciutto and mixed that in with the scrambled eggs. I served this over spaghetti squash and topped with MP salsa and diced avocado. I also served myself 2 strips bacon but ended up only eating about 1/2 of a strip; the egg dish was quite filling. Fresh pineapple. Coffee w/almond milk.




Lunch: Leftover prosciutto wrapped chicken, green beans, orange




Dinner: Deconstructed (i.e. no shell/chips, cheese or sour cream) taco salad (with lots of other goodies; seasoned meat, lettuce, olives, carrot curls, tomatoes, salsa and avocado). This is one of those dishes that, for me, didn't actually convert particularly well; taking out the sour cream, cheese, refried beans and tortilla shell left my salad a bit lacking. However, I was exhausted by the time I actually was ready to face dinner and having the seasoned meat all ready and just tossing all of the other ingredients together made it a fast, easy fix.


As promised, here is a great recipe I found in Paleo Indulgences:


Roasted Sweet Potato Salad


Potatoes
4-5 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
3Tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 tsp coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste


Salad
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
1 cup diced carrots
1/4 cup diced red onions
1 small can black olives
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill (or 1 tsp dried)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (I always use flat leaf)
1/3 cup Paleo mayo (here's a great recipe, http://www.theclothesmakethegirl.com/2010/06/03/the-secret-to-homemade-mayo-patience/). When I make this, I use my immersion blender; I combine all the ingredients (including the oil) allow to come to room temp and then blend, putting immersion blender all the way to the bottom of the container and then tipping and lifting to incorporate all of the oil. It works great!
1 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 tsp granulated onion
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
(I also added a small amount of chopped dill pickle)


Preheat oven to 450.
Place sweet potatoes in a large bowl, add the coconut oil and stir to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Place the sweet potatoes in an even layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are soft and browned. Cool in the pan on a wire rack.
Meanwhile mix the salad ingredients in a large bowl. (I mixed the dressing ingredients (mayo, seasonings and herbs) together in a separate bowl, adjusted seasonings to taste and then, once blended, tossed it over the other salad ingredients. Add cooled sweet potatoes and stir to combine. Chill salad at least 1 hour before serving. Store salad in an airtight container in the fridge up to 2 days.


Note: I cut this in half and it made approximately 4 generous servings.


Enjoy!

Day 7 - Would This Weather Please Leave?

I NEED TO GO ON A RUN!!! This weather is nothing short of debilitating. I hate it. I really don't mind the cold - or running in the cold - but I can't justify bundling up the kids and then making them ride in the BOB in a windchill of 9 degrees. That seems like minor child abuse, and I would like them to keep their noses. Another school day for Parker yesterday and I was missing my morning run! I had really hoped that we would be able to venture out on Friday for our pre-school run, but I now learn there may be freezing rain! AHHHH! If we ever move to Alaska I don't know what I would do - join a gym I guess! 

Yesterday was definitely one of the worst wine craving days I have had. By the time the kids were down I really just wanted some wine, but alas, I stuck with my sparkling water and then tea. It wasn't perfect, but it worked. Of course, the new season of Justified started on Tuesday night, so we have it saved on our DVR. That is one of the few shows Ben and I both truly enjoy together, but we decided we want to watch last season again before we watch the new episode. So down to the basement I went with my cup of tea to watch the first episode of last season with him - to which he so nicely commented that he always told himself he would never watch Justified without a beer. Ha ha! Starting to see more and more the examples of food association behaviors that they talk about in ISWF...Luckily I didn't have to worry about that particular temptation because Ben has a PT test on Friday so he isn't drinking this week either...come the weekend I might have to resort to other measures. But I did enjoy my tea downstairs and I ate a package of the freeze-dried apples from Costco. 

Which leads me to what I will now be calling Fabulous Paleo Finds (FPF) - The freeze-dried fruit packs from Costco are lifesavers. I love them for snacks. I don't eat them for meals - I am trying to limit my fruit and so I will only occasionally have fruit with a meal, and when I do it is a regular piece (or half) of fruit. But, when I want something crunchy and sweet these are a lifesaver. I don't really think it is breaking the W30 spirit to have these as a sweet snack, because I honestly can say that before it would have been a piece of chocolate! So, I feel good about the switch and can definitely see myself continuing it post W30.

My other FPF so far is Larabars. I mentioned them in an earlier post. And although I haven't had another one yet, I keep one in my purse in case I am out and can't/don't want to eat what the kids are eating - Like a Chick-Fil-A Day that I see in the near future. They are kinda spendy - all those energy/power bars are - and I don't like the packs available from Amazon. I don't want 16 of the same bar, and the multipacks have bars that are not W30 approved. So, for now I will probably just buy mine at Whole Foods...I may check Trader Joes too...but either way, at least in the store I can check the ingredients. 

Breakfast: Eggs over Asparagus and Onions with bacon - I really am going to make some Sweet Potato Egg Cups tomorrow.

Lunch: Avocado Chicken Salad using the chicken from last night. It was really good. I added diced red onion and some garlic salt. I used romaine lettace for wraps and yum!

Dinner: Crock-pot Balsamic Beef - modified from a pinterest recipe. I put about 1 TBS oil in the bottom of my crockpot, added about 1 1/2 TBS minced garlic and 1 sliced onion. Beef round roast on top. Then mixed 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar with 1/4 cup coconut aminos and 1 cup beef broth. Poured that on top and set the temp to low. It cooked for about 7 hours. The flavor was awesome. The meat was a bit tough, but that was because I didn't have the right kind of roast. Next time I will find one with more fat, because those do better for crockpot recipes.
The kids and Ben had white rice and I had another pass at Cauliflower rice. I sauted onions and garlic in olive oil, added chopped snowpeas and some shredded carrot. Sauted it all until soft and then tossed in the cauliflower "rice" and mixed it all a bit to soften added some of the Chef Paul Prudhomme's Magic Seasoning Blend that came from Amazon yesterday. It was very good. I do think next time I will add a little coconut aminos, but the cauliflower rice has redeemed itself. 
We also had a salad and I followed up on my experience from Panera the other day and just topped mine with EVOO and Lemon - it was great.

Note: I also used an awesome Pinterest trick for saving my avocados yesterday! I had purchased the bag at Costco with 5 avocados. They were all very ripe yesterday - on the verge of going over the edge. So, I scooped all peeled avocados into a bowl and smashed them with my Pampered Chef Mix'n'Chop (my favorite kitchen too). Then I divided the avocado into 4 FoodSaver bags and vacuum sealed them. They are now hanging in the freezer. I did this once before when Ben brought home some avocados from work (a gift from an avocado lobbyist LOL) and it worked great. Whenever I need some avocado I take out a bag and let it defrost on the counter. The bag of mashed lasts me about 2 days, but I guess I could make smaller bags too. But once it is thawed I mix it with a little lime or lemon juice to keep it from browning and then refrigerate in a tupperware.

These Are A Few of My Favorite Things

It's tough to remember where you saw what; was it Pinterest? Someone else's blog? A recipe that someone emailed to me? YIKES!


Anyway, here are a couple of my favorite resources:


For the nitty gritty, there is nothing like "It Starts With Food" (ISWF). This is the cornerstone to TW30. I had been dipping my toes in the Paleo Waters and Lorna (my guru for all things Paleo) recommended this book. I had received a copy right before we were flying east for Parker's birthday. I was probably half way through it by the time we arrived. Well, amidst all of the birthday fallderallandfiddledeedee, the book got set aside. And then, we received the phone call that rocked the start of my 2013; Grandma Sterr had likely developed pancreatic cancer (this was confirmed within a few days). On our return flight, I finished ISWF; the information contained within was compelling. This was it. I was going to do The Whole 30; my mom's condition and the information I gathered from the book put me firmly on that path.


A great beginner Paleo recipe book is Well Fed, followed by Well Fed 2 by Melissa Joulwan. These are both filled with tasty, basic Paleo recipes. Melissa Joulwan does a great job of putting things forth in a simple, straightforward manner. These are not "foo foo" recipes (as Larry would say) but just good, clean basic Paleo. Here is one of my most favorites of her recipes:


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


This is amazing! And I just love the  spice blend she rubs on the chicken! I make up extra and keep it in the freezer; I've used it on grilled pork chops and fish.


(And, her blog is pretty funny too)


Speaking of blogs, one of my new favorites is http://nomnompaleo.com/recipeindex
She has a TON of great recipes, I've provided the link to a list of them, above. But also, just poking around her website is fun; she has a great sense of humor. She also seems to be very responsive to comments and questions on the blog.


Another book I like is Practical Paleo by Diane Sanfilippo. I haven't dug into this book as much as a couple of the others, but it's really, really informative and has a ton of recipe and menu planning ideas.


And a new favorite of mine is one that Tiffany gave me for my birthday; Paleo Indulgences by Tammu Credicott. There are quite a few recipes that, while Paleo, aren't TW30 compliant. So, I'll be marking those to try out after TW30. But in the meantime, there are lots of great recipes that WILL work during TW30. One is a recipe for a great Roasted Sweet Potato Salad. I'll post that recipe later on.


There you have it, These Are A Few of My Favorite Things. Shall I break into song?

Catching Up...

Whew! Thanks, Mandy, for creating this. I think it's a great way to keep all of our TW30 thoughts, logs, recipes, menus, challenges and encouragement in one place! So, since I am officially transferring over from "that other place," here's my "catch-up" (as opposed to Ketchup, which has sugar in it dontcha know)


Day #1: 01/02/14 (workday)
BS165
B: Eggs in a cup (2 eggs, chopped cooked bacon, chopped mushroom, handful of baby spinach) microwave 2 min. Orange. Coffee w/almond milk
L: Turkey soup. Spinach salad (baby spinach, shaved HB eggs, bacon, mushrooms, MaPat's vinaigrette)
D: Pan seared pork chop (seasoned with best chicken rub), thyme roasted sweet potatoes, baby artichokes w/homemade mayo

Day #2: 01/03/14 (Freeday Friday)
BS 126
B: Eggs in a cup (see above). Orange. Coffee w/almond milk
L: (none; breakfast too late) Note to self: must eat breakfast before 9 a.m. in order to get three meals in
Snack: (see above, because I was STARVING right before dinner) almonds, clausen dill pickle, black olives, baby carrots
D: Spaghetti meat sauce (Mandy's homemade marinara, ground beef, tomato sauce/paste) spaghetti squash

Day #3: 01/04/14 (Saturday)
BS 131
B: 2 Egg muffins (for 12: 12 eggs, 1/4 cup chopped sweet onion, 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper, 1/4 cup chopped mushrooms, 2 c chopped baby spinach, appr. 1/2 pound browned country style sausage bake at 350 20 minutes. Freeze. Bag it up.). Orange.
L: (again, no lunch, late breakfast...FIX THIS)
D: Rib steak (Safeway, tough and definitely NOT a rib eye steak.Disappointing. Note: it SUCKS to be disappointed in a food item when you're trying to hard to eat carefully and enjoy it, to keep from getting discouraged/unsatisfied). Mashed cauliflower with crumbled bacon, chopped green onions (try as I might, I'm still not lovin' the mashed cauliflower, it's something about the texture), green salad w/beets, crushed almonds, avocado, MPV
Snacks: (late night) Trouble sleeping, craving SOMETHING. Got up and ate some almonds (too many, I'm sure) and a banana. Had some "Calm" drink. That helped. Note to self: Have Calm every night before bed.

Notes:
(1) Rough day, this Day #3. Headache. Feeling like I'm "fighting" something (could be de-toxing OR fighting Larry's cold).
(2)Really, REALLY, REALLY wanted wine! Chamomile tea DOES seem to ease this craving a "bit."
(3) Checked the Costco Fletcher's bacon, lo and behold, it does have sugar in it. Damn. Oh well. I'm not going to chase all over the globe looking, nor pay an outrageous price, for sugar free bacon. This is going to be one of those things that I let go of; I'm still going to enjoy my moderate amount of bacon.
(4) I "thought" the sausage I bought from Sherm was free of all of the crappy stuff; it was his own ground sausage. Not. It does have sugar. Albeit, not all of the other crap, nor sugar in the form of corn syrup, but it's there. I'm not going to toss the muffins I made, but I WILL be on the lookout for sugar free sausage
(5) Almond milk. Baby steps. I thought it was compliant until I read it has tapioca starch and carrageenan. Again. I'll let this go; huge step from Carnation Coffee Mate and even a big step from my Coconut milk creamer.

Day #4: 01/05/14 (Sunday)
BS (forgot to test it)
Walk 40 min. 2 miles
B: 2 Egg muffins. Orange. Coffee w/almond milk
L: (light because it was 3:00) Turkey soup
Snack: roasted almonds
D: Chile verde, wrapped in cabbage leaves, roasted sweet potato salad


Day #5
Great night's sleep (note to self: remember nighttime vitamins and Calm); probably 7+ straight hours
Woke up clear headed. As shower, prep was underway, energy/focus definitely much improved. Yay! The Magic may have started already!

BS 126
B: 2 egg muffins, 1 orange
L: chile verde wrapped in cabbage leaves, roasted sweet potato salad
Snack: almonds
D: spaghetti meat sauce over spaghetti squash, green salad w/ MPV           


Day#6
BS 116
Felt like I was "coming down with something" yesterday. Hopefully, a false alarm and a symptom of TW30 cleanse. The flu is running wild around here and Larry has been sick for a week. Didn't sleep quite as well last night, tough falling asleep, but once I did, out like a light.
First "food dream" last night, except it was a "drinking dream." Dreamt I had a beer (mindlessly) and was devastated when I realized what I had done. Silly me. It was just a dream

B: 2 breakfast muffins, 1 orange, coffee w/almond milk
L: Meat spaghetti sauce over spaghetti squash, green salad, MPV
D: Baked hamburger steak, mashed cauliflower, steamed broccoli

Tough time falling asleep, got up and ate a banana to ease up the RLS.


Day #7


One week!

Last night was rough. Incredible sugar cravings late at night. TOUGH time falling asleep, finally about 11:30. Didn't drink my Calm last night. Also suffering from RLS. Need to switch to a different sleep aid. Advil PM isn't working well (may be the cause of the RLS). Try Nytol.

BS 136 (hmmm, wonder why it crept up? Could it have been the banana late at night? Also, could the dip early in the week have been a result of walking? I need to research this a bit)

B: 2 egg muffins, 1 orange, coffee w/almond milk
L: Baked hamburger steak, roasted sweet potato salad, broccoli - note, those hamburger steaks are filling! I was satisfied right up until dinner.
D: Spinach, artichoke stuffed chicken breasts, roasted sweet potatoes, green salad (plan)
D: (ACTUAL) In the non-TW30 days, this would have been "one of those days" when I threw in the towel and said, "forget about what I planned for dinner, I'm exhausted" and would have eaten crap food from the freezer (i.e. pizza) or gone out for Mexican food. But persevere, I did. I ran by the store to pick up a couple of things I needed to make the stuffed chicken breasts. However, I didn't have it in me for roasted sweet potatoes and a green salad with MPV; that would have required even more work as I didn't have any MPV on hand. So instead, it was a can of green beans and some fresh pineapple. It worked. And Mandy, those WERE good. Dad even like them! (Be still my heart!). And I have enough leftover for lunch tomorrow.


So, there you have it!
Happy TW30!