Whole30 Day 17 - Dinner

Almond crusted garlic chicken

I adapted this recipe to fit into Whole30 guidelines.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons crushed garlic (I used jarred chopped garlic because it's what I had)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup almond crumbs (I took a handful of raw almonds and put them into the food processor until fine like bread crumbs. 1/4 cup was not enough and I ended up making more.)
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
Warm the garlic and olive oil to blend the flavors. In a separate dish place the almond crumbs.. Dip the chicken breasts in the olive oil and garlic mixture, then into the almond crumbs. Place in a shallow baking dish.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

This was pretty good! Next time I will process the almonds a little more and at some point I will try cashews too. You can taste the nuts, so don't try this if you don't like nuts!

The carrots I steamed and then sauteed in balsamic vinegar, broccoli is frozen steamed broccoli.

Chicken!

On my way home from Raleigh this morning, I ended up behind a chicken truck. *sadface*

Whole30 Day 17 - Lunch

Sweet potato and an uncured beef hotdog.

Not the best lunch, but I was rushing around and it was the easiest thing. I was starving, after having only a banana for breakfast and a few bites of a larabar in the car while I was doing my grocery shopping.

Hopefully dinner will be much better, I have some chicken thawing and hopefully I can find something tasty to do with it today after such wimpy morning and mid-day meals.

Whole30 Day 17 - Breakfast

Woke up with a sour stomach. I didn't feel 100% when I went to bed last night so I am not surprised I woke with an upset stomach. I am blaming the beef.

So today for breakfast I am having tea and a banana. I need to find other tea. Most of our teas that are Whole30 ok are caffeinated. I have been staying away from caffeine, but I don't care for the decaf teas we have in the house so I am having caffeinated tea. Hopefully it doesn't kick me in the ass in a few hours.

Whole30 Day 16 - Dinner

Leftover steak on a bed of romaine topped with natural green olives.

So I have been thinking today about where to shop tomorrow for groceries. I spent a lot of the last few days assuming I would go to Sam's. I figured my choices were, go the cheaper route, Sam's, where I can buy normal grocery store quality meat in bulk for cheaper. OR, keep going to Whole Foods and buy grass-fed/organic meat that is more expensive but much healthier. I think I started getting off-track from why I started doing this to begin with. Then I saw this video from a new blog I am reading.


This video helped me remember. So, I have decided to continue going to Whole Foods and buying the best quality meat I can find. I don't mind as much about buying produce locally, it's cheaper and I can find it at farmers markets soon. It's really expensive at Whole Foods. I am also going to stop eating beef except for maybe once a month. I am eating soooo much more beef than I ever have and I think it's possibly part of my issue with not losing weight. So I am going to be looking for fish, turkey, chicken and some pork and we'll see how the next 2 weeks goes.

Whole30 Day 16 - Lunch

I am eating down the leftovers so not very exciting food today.

Baked sweet potato and leftover slow cooker chicken.

Earlier I had some cashews and jumbo raisins and a handful of olives.

Whole30 Day 16 - Breakfast

Two eggs fried in pam spray.


Something has to change, because honestly I am getting depressed doing this. I know it isn't about weight, it is about being healthy. But I cannot help feeling down about all the work I am doing food-wise and not seeing those changes reflected on the scale in a positive way. I stopped tracking my food, I stopped worrying and started just eating. I don't know what the issue is. Lack of exercise? But you would think with 60+ pounds to lose, a little more would come off just from eating better. Right now I am in the process of GAINING back the 7 pounds I lost so far and it's really frustrating.

Maybe I need to make some diet changes? I never ate much beef before starting this, very little, like once a month if that. And now I am eating it a lot more often, multiple times a week. Seasoning steaks involves a lot of salt, and I think my salt consumption is WAY up too from where it was before Whole30, so that needs to cut back too. I feel very bloated every day.

When I started this I thought I would feel great and all that, but I honestly don't feel much different. I have noticed I have slept better in the last 2 nights, but it isn't enough to be a pattern to me. My skin is still breaking out, I am still wearing the same size pants and they aren't loose and I don't have extra energy.

I am feeling pretty down about this choice right now and am wondering if it is worth the time, effort and money I am putting into it.

Whole30 Day 15 - Dinner

Grass-fed steaks (salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and avocado oil)
Frozen steamed green beans
Brussel sprouts roasted in olive oil, salt and pepper

It's just been one of those days that makes me want to throw in the towel. Trying to cook meals, even simple meals, with 3 kids ganging up on you is stressful. My oldest usually runs off the second his homework s done to play with friends. Now that it is nice out my 5 year old is out playing too, which is fine except when I hear him bawling his eyes out in the driveway because he didn't get his way and his friends won't play with him anymore. Brennan is teething and being generally irritating trying to pull things off the counter, climb the stove while I am cooking (and of course the 2 large eyes on the stove top are at the front of the range, not the back).

I am running low on food (and money) so I can't wait for Thursday to get here so I can go to the store.

I am still trying to figure out where to fit in exercise. Just taking Brennan for a 30-45 minute walk isn't doing much, and he doesn't seem to enjoy them much after about 25 minutes. he takes one 2 hour nap during the day and goes to bed at 8pm (I go to bed around 9-9:30). Yes, that leaves me with 3-3.5 ample hours to exercise. But during those times are also the only times I can do dishes, laundry, shower or have 'down time'. I keep telling myself I will do it after he goes to bed, then I am worn out from the day and never do it. I suppose I could get up at 5am instead of 6am.. I don't know. It's hard doing the single parent thing and trying to figure all this out.

Whole30 Day 15 - Lunch

Leftover crock-pot chicken, cauliflower and baked sweet potato fries with cinnamon.

Whole30 Day 15 - Breakfast

Leftover chicken scampi and spaghetti squash.

I feel tired today and I have a headache. I don't feel like doing much of anything. I need to incorporate some exercise into my day but I am so tired and worn out all the time!

Whole30 - 1/2 way there

Weekly loss: .4

Total loss: 7.4

Weekly inches: 4.25

Total inches: 11.25 inches

I am feeling kinda blah this morning. My non-stick pan is in the dishwasher and I have no sweet potatoes cooked up. I don't know what to eat! it would be all too easy to just have cereal or oatmeal but I know I would feel like utter crap if I did that. So I will probably scrounge up some leftovers to have. Breakfast is my least favorite meal of the day.

Chocolate take #2

Well, chocolate is definitely off the menu from here on out. I decided to treat myself to the chocolate bar I bought and mentioned earlier today. While I did not feel sick or gross while eating the chocolate, the after effects are not to my liking. The chocolate bar was delicious and slightly fruity. But the sugar now has me shaking and feeling jittery and I just really have never liked this feeling. If all sugar is going to make me feel this way (with the exception of fresh fruit) I have no problem avoiding it completely for the rest of my life. I just can't go back to feeling like crap and feeling shaky and tired and jittery over a few ounces of chocolate is not worth it in my book.

It's too bad because I do love chocolate, but I realize the longer I eat this way that I don't love it as much as I thought I did. I think I was addicted to the sguar and additives, because now it doesn't taste the same. Sure it's good, but just... too much.

So I am done with it. I might consider trying some Paleo friendly treats when this is over using natural sweeteners or something but at this point I don't even know if I will do that. I am just kind of done, over it.

Whole30 Day 14 - Dinner

Slow-cooker salsa chicken

Ingredients

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I used frozen chicken breasts, not thawed.)
1 cup salsa (I used a whole jar of Muir Glen mild salsa)
1 package reduced sodium taco seasoning (I used 1/2 TBSP homemade seasoning listed below.)
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup (condensed)(I left this out)
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream (I used coconut milk instead)

Directions

Add chicken to slow cooker.
Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken.
Pour salsa and soup over chicken.
Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.

Taco seasoning

Ingredients

1 tablespoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (left this out, didn't have any)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container.

I also had leftover roasted carrots and peas with it.

I have made this before using the original directions and packaged low sodium taco seasoning and it was really good, we've made it a few times. I was a little nervous making changes, especially leaving out the soup and replacing the sour cream with coconut milk, but it was still really good. I loved using lettuce leaves as the taco shells. Every time we have made this before we have eaten it as tacos or nacho topping. I meant to chop up some olives as topping but I didn't have time.

Either way, really good and I have yummy leftovers and will definitely make this again. Finally something to do with chicken!

Whole30 Day 14 - Lunch

Leftover sweet potato, asparagus and meatballs all mixed together.

I have some chuck-eye steaks here and I have no clue what to do with them. Online, I find they are not a very tender cut of meat and would be better off using them in the slow cooker. But I am not sure what to cook them with etc. So I have some searching to do.

Whole30 Day 14 - Breakfast

2 eggs and a slice of nitrate free bacon cut in half.

I am thinking I need to find a way to cut back on the salt, i've been feeling bloaty and sort of... dried out if that makes sense.

Almost 1/2 way through the '30 days' and about 1/3 of the way through the 45 days I am actually doing!

I discovered yesterday that I need a chef's coat. I don't own many long sleeved shirts and even if I did I wouldn't wear them to cook. I am getting grease splatters on my arms while cooking and while it isn't leaving marks or anything, a long sleeved chef's coat would prevent that from happening while I pan sear steaks and chicken or make bacon etc. And it wouldn't matter if it got grease splatters on it, compared to my actual clothes which I care about. But hmm would I look silly standing in my kitchen wearing a chef's coat?

Anyway, I think today I am finally going to add in some exercise. I remembered I have a DVD that I enjoy doing and I have done before. After my 2nd son was born I used this DVD 6 days a week for 3 months and lost like 30 pounds if I remember right. So hopefully adding some exercise will continue to help my progress. I am by no means saying I am going to start exercising 6 days a week, I think I am so out of shape that would fizzle out fast. I will start slow with like 2 days a week, maybe 3.

I also bought anther chocolate bar yesterday-


I didn't eat it yesterday and I probably won't eat it today but I will eat it before the end of the week because April1st starts my SERIOUS attempt at this. I say serious because well, I ate a chocolate bar (not allowed) and I had bacon and am having bacon again today (has sugar). And I am going to do my best to complete the month of April as clean as possible but I am not going to stress out over it. I probably won't even seek out grass fed meat because it is far away and expensive. I will do the best I can with what I have available locally and that is all I can do. Anyway back to the chocolate- The other one was organic and loaded with oils/liquers etc. this one is different, which is why I bought it, to see if there was a difference in how I felt eating something natural. (Ingredients- cacao beans, sugar, cocoa butter, non-gmo soy lecithin and whole vanilla beans) This will be my last attempt at chocolate for a while so I hope it's good!

Whole30 Day 13 - Dinner

Omega meatballs




1 lb. lean ground beef
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 medium grated carrot
1 scallion, diced
1 egg, beaten
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder

Mix all ingredients and make small meatballs. Place in a baking dish coated with olive oil. cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 35 - 45 minutes or till done.


Paired with roasted carrots and asparagus. (olive oil, sea salt, fresh ground black pepper)

I realized when I taste tested the first meatball and thought 'hmmm these are missing something' that I forgot to put the egg in. I don't know how much difference it would have made in the taste, but they could def. use some salt and pepper I think.

Whole30 Day 13 - Lunch

Leftover chili, not very exciting I know. I'm in a blah kind of mood this afternoon and didn't feel like cooking the steaks I have in the fridge. I am also struggling with one of those "I'm in the mood for something but I don't know what" snacky sort of moods. I have been able to avoid snacking though, so yay! I did have one of the egg, sweet potato puffs mid morning after a short bout on the treadmill.

I think I am making turkey meatballs for dinner. I am going to head to the store in a bit and see what veggies I can find to roast to go with it.

Whole30 Day 13 - Breakfast

Typical breakfast, 2 eggs fried in pam spray. Though this time I used 2 of the leftover store brand eggs I bought for yesterday's breakfast and they really spread out a lot compared to the cage-free eggs I had been using. Didn't taste any different but it was more of a pain the flip over since the two eggs formed into one unit.

I have a lot of mixed feelings today. I'll get the bad feelings out of the way first so I can end on a happy note. I knew a few days into this that my SIL stopped eating Whole30. She never did it at home, but stopped taking food to work with her after the 1st day of working while on Whole30. I knew she had gone back to eating like before, but I was irritated she felt she couldn't just tell me. I am still continuing to cook and eat this way, so it doesn't matter what she does. But I guess her not telling me was upsetting me more because I never knew how much food to cook at each meal. Now I know 100% she isn't on board with me because she went to the store last night and bought some candy and breakfast bars. And you know what, more power to her. If she wants to eat that, that's cool. Not my thing anymore. I guess I am more upset that she didn't... trust? respect? some other word? me enough to just say "Hey, this isn't for me right now." And then tell me if she IS going to be eating the food I cook or isn't. Before Whole30 she usually kept the freezer stocked with a few lean cuisines and stuff like that for lunches but would always eat dinner. I am fine with that, I am also fine with making lunch for both of us. I guess I just need to know where she stands, because I am not stopping or quitting even when the 30/45 days is over. The proof is in the chocolate bar.

So onto something exciting. I keep weighing myself. Don't get down on me. I am a grown-up I can weigh myself every day if I want to. Anyway, I weighed myself today after nearly a week of dipping down to my 'low' from last week (loss of 7 pounds) and back up a pound, back down, back up, etc. It was frustrating. Today.. I am BELOW that 7 pound mark but a smidge and I'LL TAKE IT! w00t!

I know when I met my husband I was a lot smaller than I am now, but I never realized HOW small. I finally went out into the garage and got out all the clothes in boxes from the move that had been collecting dust in the top of my old closet. I washed them (mostly jeans) and sorted them today. My smallest size pant is a 9. NINE! I didn't think I was that small, though I suppose by today's standards a 9 isn't small, but whatev. I have a nice little stack of 14's to wear when I lose another 5 pounds or so, then I have a pair of 13's, a few 12's, a few 11's and a couple 9's that are not jeans and I probably won't wear one of them because they are from Hot Topic and have zippers allover them and I don't dress like that anymore. But still. I piled them on my dresser from biggest to smallest so when my current jeans get loose, I can grab something off the top and try it on!

I can't wait to have my own little jean's fashion show, complete with shinking muffin top! LOLzzz :)


ETA: I wanted to add a little extra thanks to my step-dad for answering my cooking questions all the time! (On FB and when I call asking how to cook meat :) ) Thanks Chris!!

Whole30 Day 12 - Dinner

Chicken Scampi

1/2 cup butter (I left out the butter and just used 1/3 cup olive oil total)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
4 boneless chicken breast halves, sliced lengthwise into thirds
Directions

In a skillet heat the butter or margarine and oil over medium high until the butter/margarine melts. Add the parsley, basil, oregano and garlic and salt and mix together in the skillet. Stir in lemon juice.
Then add the chicken and saute for about 3 minutes or until white. Lower the heat and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear. More butter/margarine can be added if needed.

I put the scampi on top of spaghetti squash and added peas and fresh steamed cauliflower.

I'm having cravings again thanks to the chocolate bar, it just keeps coming back to haunt me.

Whole30 Day 12 - Lunch

NY strip steak seasoned with sea salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder then smeared in avocado oil and pan fried in avocado oil. I then tossed some fresh asparagus into the pan and cooked them tender-crisp in the steak drippings and oil.

It was REALLY good. And now I am stuuuuffed!

Whole30 Day 12 - Breakfast

I have a hangover today, a chocolate hangover. I woke up with a terrible headache and I did not sleep well at all. Live and learn right?

I started off the day with a banana because I woke up really hungry and I needed to wait to cook my breakfast, which would take a little bit.

So today I thought I would try out a recipe I found called Portable PWO Paleo Egg & Sweet Potato "Puffs".


Ingredients:

1 Medium Sweet Potato (I used a 10oz and a 9oz potato cut into small cubes.)
15 Egg Whites
Cinnamon
Sea Salt

Directions:

Peel and dice Sweeet Potato into fairly small cubes
Put SP in a skillet sprayed w/ a little Pam (I used olive oil because I am not using these as PWO, I am eating them for breakfast so the fat content is fine. But for PWO you would want to keep your fat content down so use Pam.)
Sprinkle w/ Cinamon and Sea Salt to taste
Cover and cook about 5 minutes, stirring a few times (just long enough to soften the potatoes up a little - you don't want them "mushy")
Distribute SP Cubes evenly between 12 deep-ish muffin pan holes
Beat 15 egg whites together until they are a little frothy
Pour egg whites evenly over the SP cubes in the 12 muffin pan holes
Place in Oven at 350 and cook about 20 minutes
Pull out of oven and turn pan upside down onto cooling rack
Let cool completely before placing in fridge (If you don't let them cool completely, they'll get mushy and soggy)

(FYI without salt and cinnamon they are 44 calories and 6.6 grams of protein per muffin. I calculated for those wanting that sort of info.)

The verdict: They stuck to the pan a little, I sprayed the pan with PAM, but I still had to loosen them up with a rubber spatula before I could get them to dump out. They taste pretty good! I will definitely add the cinnamon and salt next time though because they just kind of taste like eggs and potatoes, but still good. I am eating mine hot with a fork, so I don't know what they taste like cold yet, but I think I will be keeping these in the house as a go-to quick snack for sure!

The crappiest part of making this is cracking 15 egg whites. I broke two of them but only a smidge got into the bowl. You could spend the money to buy carton egg whites, but I didn't feel like it so I bought regular old store brand eggs and cracked them myself. I also totally forgot to add cinnamon and salt to them because I was cooking the potatoes, making 2 kids breakfast and cracking eggs at the same time and it didn't occur to me until I started to smell then and realized they didn't smell like sweet potato. Oh well, hopefully I will remember next time.






Earlier today I got an idea from ... I don't know where it came from, I think from reading someone's comment on the Whole30 page. Anyway, since cleaning out my pantry I had very little on the shelves, yet I am down two cabinets thanks to Brennan. I used to have every cabinet full, now they are overfull. So I took some of the bigger pots/pans items from my cabinet and put them on one of the shelves in the pantry to free up some space for my everyday cookware. Yay! Don't know why I didn't think of that before.

Also, I have a little exciting bit to share. See, when I started this, my size 16w jeans were a bit tight in the waist. I have a pair of 16reg that a friend gave me and they are NICE quality jeans, not that stretchy crap jeans seem to be made out of today. Well, when I began this I could get them up, but not even come close to attempting to button them. Today I could get them buttoned but not zipped. I had to have lost at least 6 inches off the circumference of my hips to be able to do that! I bet by the time this is done I will be wearing those jeans, then I can set my sight on another pair I don't fit in! Another thing, there was another pair from the same friend, size 16 but a more high-waisted 16 and I could wear them, but not for long because they were tight. I just put them on and not only do they fit but they are a little loose! SCREW THE SCALE! The proof is in the pants! Ha!

Anyway I think on Monday I might head into town and check out Sam's and see if they have decent produce and meat before I commit to their membership.

Whole30 Day 11 - Dinner

Leftover chicken sausage, leftover green beans.

I feel really rotten. I didn't even want to eat dinner at all but I knew I needed something in my stomach to fuel it since the last thing I ate was that damn chocolate bar. My stomach is not happy. My blood is not happy. I feel weak, like I am going to collapse or pass out or something and at other times I feel like I am going to be sick.

WORST EFFING IDEA EVER TO EAT THAT CHOCOLATE BAR!!!!

Seriously people, I feel like I drank a 6 pack of redbull and ate a gallon of lard. (I imagine, I have never actually consumed either.)

But seriously, I feel really terrible and I did not want to eat dinner but I made myself eat a little bit of food to try and work that sugar and grossness out of my system and I am drinking a ton of water.

I hope I feel better tomorrow.

But I wanted to say this. I know I have been complaining about the weight this week, I know. But you know what? I have been noticing something, well a few things actually. My skin is clearing up. it isn't perfect, but I can see my pores actually getting smaller! Another is, since having baby #3 and gaining weight, I have had this belly flap hanging down. Since giving birth I have had to slightly lift it to see my c-section scar. I noticed this week that with each passing day I can see the scar more and more without moving my belly flap, because it's going away! 6.5 years ago before I got pregnant the second time, I had a mostly flat belly, soft, but flat. In 11 days I would guess I have lost a good 2 inch hang off my belly. Hopefully sometime this year I will have that flat belly back.

Chocolate = bad.

I decided to enjoy my dark chocolate mint bar while waiting for my son to get out of school.

Ingredients: Organic Chocolate Liquor, Organic Raw Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin (Emulsifier), Organic Peppermint Oil, Organic Vanilla Extract, Organic Whole Milk Powder *


It tasted ok, not great. I have more appreciation now for the taste of something sweet because I have not had any in a while. if I try this experiment again, which I am sure I will, I need to find a better chocolate. This tastes.. oily. Like, I could taste the peppermint oil, it just tasted slightly off somehow. I ate it, mainly because I didn't want to waste it.

I noticed as I was eating it my throat felt mucous-y. Since finishing it 20 minutes ago my nose is stuffy and my stomach feels off. The back of my throat/tongue actually feel a little swollen. SOMETHING in that chocolate bar does not agree with my body. it could be the milk, the soy, the sugar, hell the chocolate, I don't know.

I will probably do some research on dark chocolate bars and try a few over time, but I may just have to give up chocolate if this is the result. 11 days ago if you had told me I would consider giving up chocolate I would laugh in your face, today I am not laughing. Right now, it's just not worth it.

I've had my sugary treat and it wasn't worth it. I am sure in time I will find treats that ARE worth it, but the Green & Black mint bar is not one of them.

Looking forward to getting back on track. Big thumbs down for that treat (especially because now my mouth feels weird and I have peppermint oil aftertaste.) But big thumbs up for learning something, yay!

ETA: I feel kinda sick like I wanna throw up now. Soooo not worth it.

ETA2: The more time passes the worse I feel. My heart feels like it is going to beat out of my chest. I feel weak and disoriented and just... blah in mind and body. I do not like this feeling at all. I suspect it is the sugar, but I can't know for sure. Either way, this sucks. Consider this lesson learned the hard way.

Whole30 Day 11 - Lunch

Leftover chili on spaghetti squash.

This was my first time making or eating spaghetti squash. For those in the dark like me, I cut the squash in half length wise, it was hard to do, the sucker is hard to cut! Then I greased a cookie sheet and put the halves face down on it and stuck it into a pre-heated 375 oven until soft. I had a smaller squash and cooked it for 50 minutes. Then I let it cool for a while so I could handle it and used a fork to scrape out the 'spaghetti'. It was good and I can totally see substituting regular spaghetti with this.

I did go to the store earlier and I did buy a chocolate bar.


I have not eaten any of it yet, I don't feel like it. I figure, when the time comes I will know and then I will eat it, until then, it's just here and it is not taunting me or anything.

Also, I apologize if sometimes my photos are hazy or glassy looking. Brennan plays with my camera and sometimes I forget to look at the lens for fingerprints before I take pictures.

Whole30 Day 11 - Breakfast

Leftover baked sweet potato and 1/2 a packet of tuna in water.

I'm feeling pretty uninspired for breakfast. I actually am feeling pretty uninspired food-wise in general. I am going to the store to get some stuff to make breakfast muffins for tomorrow.

I should be calling this the whole45 really. I am glad I am going about this the way I am. I planned in the beginning to do this until the end of April, to use these last two weeks of March to understand HOW to eat and WHAT to eat and I am definitely learning a lot about food and cooking and myself.

I have been really stressing out over every little thing this whole time. So worried I am eating too much or not enough and it's really a lot to handle. That on top of trying to find grass fed meat and only stuff with no additives, that really limits my choices a lot and I think it was starting to make me mental. For example, I am not a huge fan of eggs, but if I could put some turkey sausage in it I would be fine, but all the sausage I can find (turkey, chicken etc.) all have additives for color so I wouldn't buy them. (Even though I found 2 packs of chicken sausages on sale for ONE DOLLAR at Food Lion the other day which I am now kicking myself for not buying.)

The point is, I have been agonizing over buying the perfect food I have lost sight of what this is about.

I made a decision last night that today I was going to treat myself for trying so hard that I made myself a bit crazy, then move on and try to do better. I thought, i'll buy myself a chocolate bar or something else that I enjoy, but still eat normal the rest of the day, just one treat, nothing that will carry over leftovers like ice cream or something. I made peace with that, it wasn't a rash decision, it was me rewarding myself for trying so hard I made it harder for myself. It was me telling myself it is ok to have a treat once in a while as long as it isn't because of emotional eating or boredom etc.

Today I have been thinking about what I want to have and I really don't want anything. Sure there are things that would be tasty to have but I don't know if I really want anything. I think I am afraid that one chocolate bar will undo everything and cause me to binge. But really, my brain says 'oooh chocolate is tasty!' but my body says 'Yea, so?'

This is HUGE for me. Huge. Only people who really know me would even understand how huge that is for me.

Anyway, I am going to spend the last week of march trying to relax and stop stressing and just start trying to eat healthy food. That means I don't HAVE to buy only grass fed meat or refuse to buy something because it has a color preservative in it. I will do the best I can within limits and that's all I can do.

I have never been to sam's club, does anyone know if they have a butcher case? Decent meat? I don't have a membership there and I don't want to buy one just for produce, but if they have decent meat I would consider it.

Whole30 Day 10 - Dinner

Soooo, I was on the phone with my husband when I plated my dinner and totally forgot to snap a picture of it. Sooo.... I don't have a nice pretty picture of my bowl of chili. I took a pic of the crock pot instead.



I got this recipe from Heide off the Whole30 comment section.


-four pounds of your favorite meat.
-five cans of Trader Joe's Organic fire roasted tomatoes and chiles (or you can use your favorite W30 compliant salsa which was what I used to do before I discovered these fantastic tomatoes.)
-one medium onion, diced and sauteed.

Now the spices (ground):
2 Tbs of: chili powder
1.5 Tbs of : cumin, paprika,
1Tbs of: granulated garlic
2 tsp of: black pepper, coriander
1 tsp of: salt
1/2 tsp of: celery seed
dash of: cinnamon

It was really good. Once I got over the absence of kidney beans and let myself stop missing them, I really liked it. I did put in a couple spoons of coconut milk (because I love my chili with sour cream in it). Next time I am going to try and make it with a leaner meat though. I know that full beef = full flavor, but I would like to cut back on the fat a bit. It was VERY filling. I ate 1 cup of it and I was nice and full after. This is my first tomato while on Whole30

It was so good I am freezing some and then I think tomorrow I will cook up that spaghetti squash I have on the counter and top it with chili!

Ok, so no more craziness. No more measuring food, calorie counting, no more. From here on out I am going to just eat food when I am hungry until I am not hungry anymore and let the chips fall where they may. I have to let go of some control and just let my body do its thing.

Whole30 Day 10 - Lunch

Leftover pork burger from yesterday, slice of fresh pineapple and a bowl of spinach.
Calories:403
Carbs:12
Fat:25
Protein:32

Earlier I took a walk with Brennan. I felt pretty good during the walk. I didn't feel exhausted at the end like I usually do. When I got home I had 2oz of starkist chunk light tuna in water and a small sweet potato. (no picture)

I have chili in the crockpot for dinner... I hope it tastes as good as it smells!

Whole30 Day 10 - Breakfast

Two eggs fried in organic olive oil cooking spray. 1/2 cup raspberries, 1 small banana and some coconut flakes. The raspberries were too tart, too sweet so I didn't eat them all.

(I am going to start posting nutrition info if I can.)
Calories: 477
Carbs: 46
Fat: 25
Protein: 21

Now, I am 10 days into Whole30. They say not to weigh yourself for the whole 30 days but I have been. I am glad I have been. If I had not, I would never known I had stopped losing, gained a little back. Knowing that prompted me to really look at my diet and try to figure out why. If I didn't know that so far this week I gained .8 then lost .4 of that I would just keep going, doing what I was doing. Now that I see that I have lost lost any weight in 4 days, but gained weight, I think I see the problem. My friend Meg told me she thought I wasn't eating enough. I feel like I am eating a ton and was scared to add more calories. See, when you eat this quantity of food (bad food) it's WAY more calories than good food. So I was really worried I was going over my calories and that was what was causing me to not lose. In fact it is the opposite. I tracked my food for yesterday and I didn't even consume 1000 calories, which is 250+ under what I should be consuming. When you don't eat enough for many days in a row, your body thinks you are starving and holds onto everything it has. Soooo, that means I need to track my food for a few days to get the hang of what I need to be eating to get enough calories, fat and protein every day without going over/under.

Eating healthy is hard! When you are so used to eating high calorie foods, it is easy to get all the calories you need and then some. But healthy foods are low in calories, real healthy foods. (Not fake healthy foods like frozen dinners and lite breakfast sandwiches lol) So you really gotta know your stuff to make sure you are getting the nutrition you need.

BTW, I track my food at SparkPeople it's totally free and awesome.

Whole30 Day 9 - Dinner

Pork apple burger with fresh pineapple on portabella mushroom 'bun'.



(I halved this recipe, but I used 1 whole egg still instead of 1/2 an egg. I also completely left out the teriyaki sauce and sprinkled a little seasoning salt (whole30 ok stuff I bought locally.) I also added a little dried parsley to the mixture. I pan fried the burgers and the pineapple slice in coconut oil (med-high for 3:30 per side, covered during the 2nd side). I roasted the mushrooms at 450 degrees for 12 minutes. (sprayed w/ cooking spray before then S&P after coming out.)

Ingredients

2 pounds ground pork
1 Granny Smith apple - peeled, cored and chopped
1 sweet onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1 egg
8 hamburger buns
1 (20 ounce) can sliced pineapple, drained
Directions

Preheat grill for medium-high heat.
In a large bowl, mix together ground pork, apple, onion, garlic, teriyaki sauce, and egg. If too dry, add some juice from the can of pineapple slices. Form into eight patties.
Lightly oil grill grate. Grill pork burgers for 10 minutes, or until well done. Toast buns on grill. Serve burgers on toasted buns topped with pineapple slices.

O. M. G. This was good. Do not skip the pineapple, it really made it awesome. It was VERY messy for me to eat. The kids had theirs on bread and were fine but the mushroom with the pineapple and the burger, juice was dripping everywhere. The mushroom as a bun, genius. it was soo good and I never missed the bread. I ate it with a fork. The kids loved it too and they didn't have the pineapple.

Definitely a keeper and we will be making this again. I did not eat the potato, I was too full. I am keeping it for after I workout tonight I think.

Whole30 Day 9 - Lunch

For lunch I had leftover chicken on raw broccoli slaw with a bowl of coconut milk, raspberries and almonds. To be honest I didn't eat it all. I wasn't a huge fan of the coconut milk and the chicken really filled me up so I only ate a couple bites of the raspberries.

I have no idea what I am doing. I am kind of floating along here trying to figure things out one day at a time. It is frustrating not knowing if I am eating the right combinations of food or the right amounts of food etc. But I am doing the best I can. The only thing I can add to this to help would be exercise and I am trying to do that when I can. I can only keep trying to eat healthy and add in some exercise and hope my body responds. I really don't want to be this weight anymore, so I just have to keep going no matter how hard the "sugar tantrums" get. I am hopeful that by the end of week 2 this will all be a lot easier.

Whole30 Day 9 - Breakfast

Leftover sausages from yesterday and leftover broccoli.

Hard times.

Days like this are what make this change feel impossible. I try, I really do, to not weigh myself every day. But I can't not do it. I need that reward, that motivation. When I am actively TRYING to be healthy I need that reward on the scale to show me my hard work is paying off. Unless I get a day like I have had the last few days. I am eating healthy, I even didn't have ANY nuts yesterday and less fruit than usual. I did not lose even an ounce (my scale measured pounds and ounces) Monday or Tuesday, today I got up expecting to be the same weight for 3 days in a row, but no. I GAINED .8. I feel defeated. I can gain weight eating crap food! Why bother eating like this and feeling depressed about foods I long for if I am going to gain the weight back anyway? Yes, I know our bodies fluctuate weight, but I am not some semi-fit girl who is close to her goal weight. I have a GOOD 60+ pounds to lose. I was eating bad and not exercising, you would think the weight would be falling off, dripping off. But it seems that after the initial water weight came off, that's it. Why? Now I really feel like throwing in the towel which is stupid, but I am angry at my body.

Whole30 Day 8 - Dinner

Applegate sweet italian chicken & turkey sausages. (no sugar, I swear!) And leftover green beans.

Today was very difficult. There were many times I just about threw in the towel. Then I would look down at the muffin top hanging over the edge of my pants and remember why I am doing this. Then an hour later i'd be about to give in again and some other flabby part of my body would remind me why I am doing this. *sigh* I hope this ends soon. I'm also pretty low on variety for food stuffs for the next week, which is making things hard. I'm not giving up, there is a end to this tantrum.

Edited to add snacks for today..
I had a bowl of green grapes and strawberries earlier, before lunch. I think that was my only snack today if I remember right.

Whole30 Day 8 - Lunch

Raw spinach leaves, leftover chicken from yesterday and black olives.

I am having a really hard time today. It is taking everything in me to not run out and buy something bad.

I'm struggling today.

Really struggling. I went to the store to get household necessities and more cereal for the kids and temptation was everywhere. I was having a hard time ignoring it today. There was a new flavor of ice cream at the store. it was peanutbutter ice cream with peanutbutter swirl and caramel chunks and marshmallow swirl. uuuugh. I did not buy it.


I want to do this, I do. I am tired of being overweight and feeling bad about myself. Week 1 I felt fine, I was good. Today I feel... deprived. I want to eat food I like. I like chocolate. I like peanutbutter. I like ice cream. But these foods are what got me here. Where do I draw the line? I don't exercise enough to include those foods in my daily life. But I like them. I like pizza and spaghetti and tomatoes. I am tired of eating the same bland food every day.

I feel terrible. Coming off such a great week now I feel like I want to fling myself head first into a bucket of chocolate.

Whole30 Day 8 - Breakfast

I woke up today feeling good. I was disappointed that the scale didn't move at all from yesterday but today is the end of my daily scale jumping. When I got to the kitchen to figure out breakfast I suddenly felt over it. I didn't want to cook eggs again, I was tired of eggs and cooking. But I mustered up some willpower and reheated some meatloaf and carrots. I didn't eat all the meatloaf, maybe half. (That's a salad plate BTW, not a dinner plate lol)

Week 1 had its ups and downs, but in all it was a lot easier than I imagined. The cooking was difficult because I don't know how to just make something up, I need a recipe, so finding recipes that are Paleo without tomato etc. has been hard. I need to start exercising too. I have not exercised in so long and I am so sedentary that my muscles are weak and tired. I don't know where to start so I am not diving in too deep so that I give up. I wish I could afford a personal trainer so show me what to do. I'll figure it out somehow.

Here's to a great week 2!

Whole30 week 1 complete!

Week 1 is complete!

Results-

Down 7 pounds!

Lost 7 inches total!

I am not going to weigh again for 1 week. I was weighing every day this week so I could get an idea of how the daily food was affecting my weight and I think I have a pretty good handle on things so next week it will be a surprise!

Whole30 Day 7 - Dinner

Made-up dinner!



I took some organic cage-free chicken breast and cut it into strips. I then seasoned the chicken with-
Salt
Pepper
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Oregano
Paprika
Ground mustard

I let it sit for about 45 minutes in the fridge before cooking on the stove top in avocado oil. I paired it with fresh steamed organic broccoli and leftover peas as well as some olives.

it was pretty good. Next time I will be heavier on the spices. I am always so worried about over seasoning things that most of the time it's lacking flavor, or enough flavor. The flavor was good, but not strong enough. So next time, double the spices. And I have leftovers for the next couple days!

I'll try to recall snacks I have had today-
Banana
Olives
Cashews
Strawberries/grapes
Hard boiled egg

I snacked a lot today because I felt so hungry all day long. I ate a huge dinner and I am pretty full so hopefully I am done for the day.

I don't think I am eating enough.

Or at least enough of the right foods. I am hungry a lot. Like, stomach growling hungry. But I worry about adding more protein or fats to my diet because I don't really exercise. I don't want this to backfire. What to do, what to do.

Whole30 Day 7 - Lunch

Spinach with nitrate free roasted chicken breast deli meat, one clementine and a handful of chopped olives.

Blaaaah.

I am feeling blah. I want something bad. I want pizza and chocolate. I know I am doing this to be healthier, but there is that part of my brain that is saying "Why can't you have pizza and chocolate today and then pick up where you left off tomorrow?"

When this 30 days is done I may adapt that, MAY. I mean, I am sure I will not go the entire rest of my life not eating pizza or ice cream or chocolate. but I also worry if I let myself have it once, I will fall back into that trap. Bad food is EASY. it's easy to make, tastes good and is usually pretty cheap. Eating healthy is a lot of work, physically and mentally. I have to THINK about what I am eating. I have to really PLAN my meals. if I forget to pull something out of the freezer I can't just go up to McDonalds or Taco Bell. I'm running low on leftovers and I don't know what I am going to eat for lunch today. Because I didn't PLAN anything I am having SERIOUS cravings for bad food. Uuuuuggghhhh!!!

Make it stop.

Whole30 Day 7 - Breakfast

Day 7?!? Woohoo!! I have lost 7 pounds so far. Niiiice.

Breakfast today is two eggs fried in organic olive oil pam with a small bowl of strawberries. I was going to have meatloaf, but I changed my mind hehe.

Whole30 Day 6 - Dinner

Primal meatloaf.

Ingredients

2 pounds Ground Beef (I used grass fed ground chuck)
2 Jumbo Eggs (I used 2 large)
2 Apples (I used 2 gala)
1 Onion (I used 1/2 a large sweet onion)
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Tbsp Dried Mustard Powder
2 Tbsp Worcestshire Sauce (I omitted this completely.)
1 Tbsp Parsley
1 Tbsp Basil
Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees
Chop Apples, Onion and Garlic and add to large mixing bowl
Add all other ingredients to mixing bowl
Mix ingredients thoroughly with hands
Press mixture into a loaf pan
Place tinfoil over a baking sheet
Place loaf pan onto tinfoil (so if it spills you have no cleanup later!)
Bake for 45-60 minutes
Let cool, serve and enjoy!

I did also add bacon to the top, 3 slices of thick sliced applewood smoked dry rubbed center cut salt cured bacon that I got at Whole Foods. Yes it has some added sugar. Sue me. I did not do it because it has sugar, it did it because I thought that the apple and bacon would go well together.

While cooking I became aware of how much I am not used to cooking with full fat meat. I had to pull the tray out once and spoon the fat off because it was like, drowning in it. I need one of those baster things so I could have just sucked the fat juice off instead of using a spoon and a bowl lol Now I don't know if the fat was from the ground chuck or the bacon or both. I am guessing the chuck because the pan was full to the brim. It smells SOOO good though. it better taste good!



Here is the bowl of grease I poured off the meatloaf, yuck!

The meatloaf was pretty good, though it tasted like it was missing something to me. Could have been the Worcestshire Sauce or not enough S&P, I don't know. I would definitely have it again to play around with the recipe.

Whole30 Day 6 - Lunch

I took the leftover orange ginger chicken from yesterday and put it on a bed of baby spinach. After that I wasn't quite full so I reheated a baked sweet potato too.

Snacks and other things.

I have not really been talking about my snacks. I do have 2 snacks a day usually. But it's mostly the same thing every day so I don't mention it. I got to thinking today, someone who is reading this before starting Whole30 might be wondering about snacks.

My typical snack once a day (sometimes twice) is cashews and strawberries or some other fresh nutritionally dense fruit. Sometimes I have a hard boiled egg sprinkled with a little s&p and a small handful of raisins. (seriously small, like 10 raisins). That is really all I eat for snacks, just something little to tide me over till meal time. Oh yea, sometimes I have a handful of olives.

I've also sort of become immune to the smell of the grocery store. The first few times it drove me crazy! But today I went and it was just a smell, it didn't move me one bit.

Anyway, I don't know where I am going with this, I need a snack!

Whole30 Day 6 - Breakfast

Oh cravings how I loathe you. I do get cravings. Every time I make food for my kids, I get cravings. Every time I see a commercial on TV for something sweet, I get cravings. I can handle them sure, but it's like being an alcoholic and having everyone around you drinking alcohol, not necessarily your favorite drink, but alcohol is alcohol when you want some.

I am going to make meatloaf tonight and I am trying to decide something. I normally put ketchup on my meatloaf but since I am going tomato free I can't do that. (Not to mention ketchup, store-bought anyway is not Whole30 ok.) But anyway, I have some bacon I bought at WholeFoods. I didn't notice till I got home that it has sugar in it. I assume the sugar was sprinkled on the outsides of the cut of meat. I am trying to decide if I should put bacon on the meatloaf or not. The amount of sugar I am sure is very small, but is it cheating? Gosh I don't know.

So breakfast today is 2 large eggs fried in organic olive oil pam spray and 1 plum.

Whole30 Day 5 - Dinner

Everyone I have talked to said day 5 is the hardest, but to me it doesn't feel any different than any other day. Maybe my preparation helped me? I don't know. But I do know I am not having any INTENSE cravings. I am having cravings, but nothing bad. I am still having panic attack type episodes, so I wonder if that is my body's way of expressing intense cravings? I have no clue.

Dinner tonight is-

Sauted orange chicken with ginger.

Ingredients
4 chicken breasts cut into chunks
pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup orange juice (I used simply orange)
2 navel oranges, peeled and sectioned (I used clementines)
1 1/2 Tbsp ginger (I used fresh chopped ginger)
1 tsp dried basil
4 tsp lemon or lime juice (I used fresh squeezed lemon juice.)

Instructions
Season chicken with pepper.
In a large fry pan, heat oil over medium heat.
Add chicken and cook, turning, until brown all over, about 10 minutes.
Add garlic and cook for one minute.
Pour orange juice over chicken. Add orange sections, ginger, lemon/lime juice, and basil. Stir well.
Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, until chicken is tender.


I had to add this photo because it's in one of my mom's old dishes that I love.




I added a baked sweet potato with cinnamon and some broccoli/carrot/cauliflower mix.

Whole30 Day 5 - Lunch

Nothing exciting for lunch, just leftover soup, the last of it. This is definitely a lot easier to do with having leftovers. I would not be able to cook a full meal 3 times a day. Having leftovers to heat up is very nice and convenient.



I am looking forward to dinner, I hope the chicken recipe I got is tasty!

Whole30 Day 5 - Breakfast

Breakfast casserole!

Approximately 4 servings

1 pound ground breakfast sausage or other ground meat
3 turnips, peeled and grated (a food processor works well for this)(I hand grated then squeezed the excess water out.)
4 eggs, beaten
3 scallions, chopped
Instructions:

Sauté sausage, breaking it up into small pieces with a spoon or spatula, until almost cooked through.

Mix the sausage with the rest of the ingredients.

Spoon into a 8×8 baking pan.

When ready to cook, heat oven to 400 degrees. Bake covered for 45 minutes then uncover the pan and bake for 25 minutes more. Let cool 15-20 minutes so the casserole sets before cutting into it.

I calculated the nutrition info, and I now wish I could have found a better sausage to use because the sausage in this makes one serving about 500 calories. If I can find some chicken sausage or something that would probably cut down on the calories.


I wasn't sure what to expect with this since I have never had turnips before. It looked pretty burnt when I took it out of the oven, but it tasted really good! I was surprised! It was a little spicy, I think the turnips are spicy maybe? I don't really know. But it was really good and the reviews said it reheats really well, so we'll see tomorrow if it tastes as good as it did today.

Whole30 Day 4 - Dinner

I am eating dinner a bit later than usual. I wasn't really hungry earlier and to be honest I am not very hungry right now but I know I gotta eat something or I will wake hungry during the night. I was pretty much cooking just for myself tonight, so I decided to try a little something different.

Coconut Tilapia
frozen tilapia (thawed)
raw unsulfured shredded coconut
2 large eggs
coconut milk
coconut oil

Directions:
1. Season the fish fillet with salt and pepper for about 15 minutes or more
2. Beat the egg with some coconut milk (amount is up to you- just not too much that it’ll dilute the egg)
3. Prepare the shredded coconut flakes on a separate shallow dish
4. Heat up the skillet with Extra Virgin Coconut Oil in medium heat
5. Dip the fish fillet in the egg mixture, then coat with the shredded coconut flakes
6. Fry until brown – on each side

I added steamed fresh baby carrots to complete my meal.


Oh. My. Wow. This is sooo good! And what amazes me about using coconut products is, it doesn't TASTE like the coconut you are used to. it doesn't have that super sweet artificial coconut taste. I could totally see using this method on chicken as well. it was really good and I hope it reheats well as leftovers.

Day 4 is over and to be honest, I thought this would be harder. I guess we'll see how I feel about tomorrow, everyone says day 5 is the hardest. I think what has helped me is that I have just adapted my mindset to this is how I am eating now and there is no room for negotiation. I do get cravings, but I have little desire to cheat because I know this is how I want to live and cheating will only set me back.