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!